january newsletter

january 2011 • www.southcrestmops.com • 1

Woman by Design...This Month:

Strong or Soft? Tough or Tender? Just What Were We Created For, Anyhow?

Southcrest

2 • Southcrest MOPS •january 2011

Southcrest MOPS

In This Issue ................

Recent Birthdays........................2

Magnetic Marriage ....................3

Anticipated Arrivals................4

Newest MOPPETS.......................4

Playdates........................................4

Food .......................................5

Speaker Information ...............5

Experiment of the Month ......6

Meet Your Steering Team..........6

Book Nook.......................................7

MOPPETS this Month ..............7

Thank You.....................................8

Sponsor Spotlight.......................8

Next Month ...................................8

Organize Those Rooms.........9-10

New Music ...................................10

Mompreneur Businesses........11

Bunco Buddies...........................12

Speaker Notes..............................12

Layout & Design by

NiTROHype Creative3104 CR 7520

Lubbock, TX 79423806.781.8482

www.nitrohype.com

Tiffany Mainord January 8thSara Simmons January 8thLeAnn Newberry January 14

Recent Birthdays

january 2011

“I will give you a NEW heart and put a NEW spirit in you; I will

remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ezekiel 36:26

Happy NEW Year!


Would you consider your marriage to be magnetic?Believe it or not, marriage is magnetic. Some days you are like opposite polls who cling

together by an invisible force. You want to hang around your spouse and laugh and share. You want to cuddle or be close to your loved one.

There are other days, however, when you more closely resemble two like polls of a magnet. When you come close, you both want to push away. It is on these days that you need your space. Everything you say gets on your spouse’s nerves. You argue about everything from who made the bed last to why the toilet paper is on the roll wrong. You just don’t feel like touching or being near one another.

On the attraction days it is fun to be married. You can enjoy and love each other with ease. You may even begin to think you have married life all figured out. But there come the repellant days. On these days you question why you would marry someone who annoys you so much. You see your marriage as work instead of fun. If there are enough repellant days in a row, you might even start to wonder why you got married at all.

My dear friend, take heart, this is totally normal. Those magnets attract or repel each other depending on how they are positioned. It is not quite as easy to change whether you are having an attraction or repellant day with your spouse, though. Each type of day will come and go. There is no need to brag on the attraction days or fret on the repellant ones. Instead of worrying about the status of your marriage on the repellant days, try the following…

1. Realize it is a normal part of a relationship.2. Tell your spouse how you are feeling so they know you aren’t upset with them.3. Watch what you say and how you say it so you don’t cause extra hurt feelings.4. By mutual consent, take some time apart to do your own thing.5. Allow your spouse to have alone time too without taking it personally.6. Look forward to tomorrow when you will have another attraction day.7. Most importantly, spend some time with God asking Him to comfort your heart and repair your attitude.

Magnetic Marriage


• Joni Andrews is due on February 16th.

• Kristi Hart is due on June 1st.• Amanda McCaslin is due

September 1st.

Anticipated Arrivals

Newest MOPPET

Meredith and Trent Riddle were blessed with another baby boy on December 15th. Hogan Reed Riddle was born at 12:42 pm and weighed 6 lbs and 14 oz. His older brothers Brennon and Lincoln are excited about his arrival.

PlaydateCome to a fun musical playdate! Increase your child’s curiosity about music by singing, moving, focused listening, creative movement and exploring musical instruments. We’ll also get to make our own instrument to take home.

All materials will be provided, so please make sure you RSVP. Choose from one of two sessions: 9:30-10:30 am or 10:45-11:45.

The playdate will be held at Whitney’s Music Studio, 7506 County Road 6100.

Directions: Come down Frankford towards the Clovis Hwy (Hwy 84). At Clovis Hwy and Frankford intersection turn left (West) and go approximately 3miles on 84 to another stop light. At the stop light (this is County Road 1540) turn left (South). Go 6/10 of a mile

to a stop sign. This is County Road 6100. Turn right (West) and our house is right there. There’s a field across from us and a field to the West of us. There are two mailboxes out front and our house has trees and a chain link fence around it. The studio is positioned right at the front of the property by the mail boxes.


Speaker Information: Kim Mills

Who Is Bringing the Food?January: Purple tableFebruary: Pink table March: Orange tableApril: Red table May: Blue table

Please don’t forget your dates! We mommas need energy to chase after all our preschoolers!

Kimberly Mills was raised in Dallas, Texas, and has been on the move ever since. She spent several years overseas in Indonesia and Southeast Asia where her parents served with a mission organization, Wycliffe Bible Translators. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics Education from John Brown University, and a Master of Arts degree in Math-ematics from St. Louis University. She spent several years teaching middle school, high school, and undergraduate math classes before changing careers in 2000, when she began working as a Network Engineer for Cingular Wireless. In 2004, she launched into a law enforcement career with the FBI as a Special Agent. Kim worked with the FBI in Oklahoma City for four years, then moved with her family to Lubbock in 2008. Phew! That’s the “official” bio, but the truth is, I’m a typical Soccer Mom. In 1993, I married an amazing man, Kevin, and we’ve been blessed with three kids: Kyler – 8, Kaleb – 3, and Kara - 1. I spend every moment I can with my family, and I’m incredibly grateful to be in Lubbock, where coming home for lunch and making it to school events are possible for a working mom! When I started working for the FBI, I did some serious soul-searching to find out what God had to say about feminin-ity, working and womanhood. Turns out that God has a lot to say about it!! Now I find it is one of my passions to share with other women what I’ve learned about being a woman, by God’s design. The world constantly tells us what it means to be a woman – we are powerful, smart, sexy, and not to be dominated by men. The world shows us that we need to be strong, which is true, but the methods through which they encourage us to be strong are suited for men. They don’t take into account the very nature and strengths of what it means to be a woman. To be strong and beautiful women, we need to look intently at God’s original design for women. He was purposeful when He created us, and if we learn to appreciate and embrace our design, we will find amazing fulfillment, strength, and purpose in our lives.

We heard Kevin, now it is time to hear the other half of the

Mills Dynamic Duo!


Experiment of the Month: Static Electricity

Meet Your Steering Team: Rachel RiddleWhat is your husband’s

name?Scott Riddle

What are your kids names and

ages?Reece almost 4,

Rynn 2

What is one thing people might not know about you?I used to dream of being a mom to 4 boys. :)

What did you do be-fore you were a mom?Coordinated the Wom-en’s Cardiac Services

at Covenant

What is your favorite snack?Chips and guac

What do you do to relax?

If I could get a mas-sage and pedi at the

end of each day I would!!

What is the best piece of advice you could give to a new mom?If you feel hopeless in whatever baby stage you’re in, hang in there...it’ll pass so

quickly!

Around our house we have learned to grab hands before leaning to give our loved ones a kiss. It only took about 50 times of getting shocked on the lips by the static electricity to teach us. Here is an interesting way to use that static electricity for good instead of evil.

The Experiment: Turn on a faucet so that the water runs out in a small, steady stream, about 1/8 inch thick. Charge a comb by running it through long, dry hair several times or rub it vigorously on a sweater. Slowly bring the comb near the water and watch the water “bend.”

The Explanation: Combing your hair moved electrons from your hair to the comb. The comb had a negative charge. The water molecules, which are slightly positive on one side and slightly negative on the other, flip their positive sides to face the comb since opposite charges attract. Due to this attraction, the water moves towards the comb.


What your MOPPETS are learning this month

Book Nook: In Praise of Stay at Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger Warning: This book is not for everyone!

If you have ever heard Dr. Laura’s radio broadcast, you know she can be very abrasive and controversial in what she says. She does not sugar-coat things and sometimes belittles those who disagree with her. While her style is not my own, what she says in this book was so encouraging to me as a stay-at-home-mom that I highly recommend this book to you.

In a culture that says what we do day in and day out as stay-at-home-moms mat-ters very little in the grand scheme of things, Dr. Laura is a breath of fresh air. We intrinsically know that the sacrifices we make to spend time teaching, training, and loving our children are important. It is easy to forget the importance of our job in the midst of the dirty diapers and fingerpaint, though. Dr. Laura is able to reinfuse the job of stay-at-home-mom with all the dignity and respect it deserves. It is a quick but very encouraging and important read. You might want to keep a copy of this book handy to reread in those rare (haha) moments you are feeling undervalued!

This month’s lesson is entitled “Be Cherished”. The key scripture is Luke 15: 3-6 Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ The goal is that the kids leave knowing that Jesus is always with us even when we feel lost. And just like our mommies and daddies love us, Jesus will love us always too.


Peek at Next Month

Sponsor SpotlightSouthcrest Baptist Church cordially invites you to...

• Worship Services: 9:15 a.m., 10:50 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Childcare is available during all ser-vices)

• There are two new life groups starting up for young couples. One is during the 9:15 hour and one is at 10:50. Ask Tiffanie Robertson, Kristi Hart, or Christi Brooks for more information on those.

• It is not too late to join some awesome ladies on Wednesday mornings from 9:00-11:30 as we study the Bible together. On January 12th we be-gan a book study of David: Seeking a Heart Like

His by Beth Moore. Childcare is free. Contact Patti Rickman to sign your kiddos up. We meet in the Worship Center.

Southcrest MOPS would like to thank the businesses who donated items for our Christmas Favorites.

Sonic gift cards were generously supplied by Jeff Jakstas, manager of the Sonic at 4611 34th St. across from Coronado High School.

Chick-fil-A supplied us with the wonderful calendars full of coupons.

Our bags to take all our stuff home were supplied by United Supermar-kets.

Let these businesses know you appreciate them!

Thank You Corner

Back by popular demand is Gabi Keenum. In the past she has talked to our group about the sexual Christian woman. Although her final topic has not been decided on, she is sure to be informative. This is one lesson your husband won’t want you to miss!


Now that Christmas is over it is time to find room for all those shiny new toys your kids got from Santa. If you are tired of stepping on the legos or tripping on the hotwheels,

we are here to help. Here are some tips to get those messy rooms organized.

Remove:• Remove all the broken toys or ones that no longer work without the pieces that have been lost.• Remove any clothes or toys that they have outgrown. Give them away to someone you would like to bless or take to Good-will if you don’t know of anyone who needs them.• Remove out of season clothes and store in an attic or some other place where they won’t be clogging up drawers or closets in the kids room.• Remove extra toys by creating a rotation system. Fill a big tub with toys that your kids can do without for a couple of months. When you bring them back they will be new and exciting again.

Be sure to refill the tub each time you bring one in.

Reorganize:• Instead of using huge toy bins or boxes where everything is thrown in together and gets lost at the bottom,

consider smaller storage solutions. • Large pretzel jars with lids like you get at Sams work well to contain crayons or Bar-

bie clothes. Plastic coffee cans and other plastic jars can be used in the same way. • Plastic tubs of various sizes can be purchased for cheap and stacked easily. • Plastic tubs on rollers that go under the bed are great for toy or clothing storage.• Use laundry baskets to store stuffed animals in. Also, you could buy or make the

adorable zoo storage like pictured below. It will be more expensive than a laundry hamper but so cute.

• Hanging shoe bags are great to store barbies or hotwheels or other small items.• Ziploc baggies are helpful for keeping small pieces to games or puzzles together. If

you label the puzzle with a number and write the number on the back of each piece that goes to that puzzle, it will be easier to sort if they get mixed up with other puzzle pieces. You can store puzzle boards on your bookshelves.

• Make sure to label all of these plastic tubs with words or pictures so kids can know easily where things belong.

• Store toys that are alike together in the same bin. Then kids can play with one bin at a time and cleanup is easy. (in theory)

• Make sure bedding is simple and easy enough for a young child to manage.• Use hooks for coats and jackets. They are much easier to navigate than hangers.• Install a lower clothing rod so kids can reach their clothes to get dressed or hang

things up. (This would not be good for kids who are in the stage of pulling every-thing off shelves.)

Organize Those Rooms


Most importantly, it is essential that you include your child in the effort to organize their room. Let them suggest places to keep things or what toys should go together in bins. This will not only buy a little cooperation when it is time to pick up but they will be learning valuable organizational skills.

Routine:Now that the room is organized, the real trick is keeping it that way. How in the world can you get your preschoolers to clean their room? Try these strategies.• Hang a basketball goal over the laundry hamper to make a game

of putting dirty clothes away.• Establish a pick up routine like the same time every day or pick up

the same things at a certain time.• Sing a clean-up song to cue the picking up.• Some children just want company while they clean so consider

taking some work into their room so you can get things done while they are cleaning.

• It may be easier for some children if you break it down into sepa-rate tasks like put your books away, now your shoes, now hang up your coats etc.

• Challenge your little ones to a pick-up race.• Set a timer and see how much they can pick up in that amount of

time.• Have your kids pick up a certain number of items before they can

do something they want. We would pause the DVR during their favorite shows and have them pick up 20 things before they could resume the show. It is amazing how fast those 20 things got put away.

• And my favorite suggestion from all the websites I looked at—Clean with Daddy!

Organize Those Rooms (continued)

New Music for a New YearIf you have ever considered getting a piano for your fam-ily, have I got a deal for you! First Baptist Church here in Lubbock has some pianos that they are willing to get rid of in exchange for a very reasonable donation. We bought one for my daughter for Christmas and couldn’t be more pleased with our purchase. It looks and sounds great. So you could get a gift your entire family could enjoy and help others in the process because the money they get from the sale of the pianos will go to benefit the preschool ministry at First Baptist. If you are interested in knowing more, you can contact Rachel Riddle at [email protected]


Erin West-Mary Kay Consultant806-781-7453

[email protected]/erinmwestFREE facials and makeovers…

no obligation & no strings attached!Great gifts with FREE gift wrapping and

fun stuff for you too!

Christi BrooksDiamondMarriage.com

Information and resources for engaged and newly married couples

618-917-7274www.diamondmarriage.com

[email protected]

Whitney’s Music StudioMusic Munchkins-Music Exploration for Early Childhood; Sunshine Generation-

Children’s Performing Group; Piano, Guitar and Harp Lessons

[email protected]

806-832-0531

Tiffanie RobertsonPersonalized pacifier clips

[email protected]

Regina PenneyProfessional Photography

[email protected]

www.penneyphotography.net

If you have a business, give lessons, or share information and you would like others to know about it, please send

Christi an e-mail to: [email protected]

and she will get it in the next newsletter!

Rachel RiddleCustom designs for mom and baby

790-0605

Sara SimmonsMary Kay Cosmetics

[email protected]

Crystal WillettPersonalized bibs and nap mats

773-8267

Mompreneur Businesses


Speaker Notes

Bunco: January 18th. Mark your calendars and watch for your evite for the location. You can email Lee Ann Newberry at [email protected] for more infor-mation.

january newsletter

Documents

repellant days

attraction days

new heart

magnetic marriage

repellant ones

heart of flesh

new spirit

heart of stone