Wednesday, November 27, 2013

December Playdate: John Henry England at The Rio

John Henry England


We will be meeting Wednesday, December 4th at The Rio at Washingtonian Center for Little Tots Winter Fun. John Henry England will be playing and some of the local restaurants and shops offer discounts on lunch and snacks (think buy one, get one free at 16 Handles).

We will meet at 10:15am to get seats and the music starts at 10:30am in the Rio Center's lower level atrium near the movie theaters.

Hope to see you there!  

Thursday, November 14, 2013

November MNO: Christmas Trees!



Friday November 22nd is our next Mom's Night Out.  This month, we will be doing a simple but fun Christmas craft - making centerpiece Christmas trees out of old paperback books!  You can find the directions we'll be using here, on Kayla Aimee's blog:

We will meet in Derwood Bible Church's old auditorium at 7:30pm.  (For those of you who were in MOPS last year, that's our old meeting space!).  We will have materials, but feel free to bring your own book(s) to use.  Cost should be around $10 per person.

Please RSVP via comment by Tuesday, November 19th, so we know how many to buy for.

Hope to see many of you there!

Joan & Meaghan

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Registration



Name: Meaghan Trout
Husband: Eric
Kids: Alyson (5), Nathan (2), Lucy (3 months)

Hi!  My name is Meaghan Trout.  My husband, Eric, and I met at Penn State and moved down here for his job with the federal government.  We said we would move back to Pennsylvania after a few years and here we are, 13 years later!  We lived in Rockville at first and have slowly crept north to where we live now, in Damascus.  We have three beautiful children, Alyson, age 5 and Nathan, age 2 and Lucy, age 3 months.  I was an elementary school teacher and came home the day I had Alyson.  It was very lonely at first, so when I found Derwood MOPS, I was so thankful!  The first meeting I went to, a mom talked about an experience from her life and I related to her immediately...I knew I was in the right place!  This year I will be serving in the Registration role.  I tend to be a very organized, Type A personality, so you can see why I fit in that position so well. ;)  I feel very blessed to be a part of MOPS and to have met all the moms who have become my friends throughout the years.

Lisa - Hospitality


Name: Lisa Cimilluca
Husband: Sean
Kids: Grace (5 1/2)

Welcome to all of the MOPS moms!  My name is Lisa Cimilluca and this is my second year being involved with this wonderful, supportive group of women.  My husband Sean and I just celebrated our 22nd anniversary this past August 1st on a 7-day Royal Caribbean cruise!  It was the first time we had been away from our only daughter Grace for that many days.  Whew!  She survived staying with her Aunt Kelly and two cousins and we had a much-needed BLAST! 

I consider myself an “older” mom for three reasons:  

1.  I am 48 and have a 5½ year old daughter.  My sister is 45 and her daughter just graduated college…sigh.
2.  When I got pregnant at 42 I was put into the “Advanced Maternal Age” category.  I am sure the doctors thought they were being helpful.
3.  I can barely keep up with my very active daughter…physically and intellectually!
But as you all know, having children is a blessing from God that makes us become better women…..BRAVE women!

My husband is an officer with the NOAA Corps, which means we move every 2-3 years.  The NOAA Corps is considered the 7th and smallest service in the military/uniformed services.  Moving often makes it difficult for the three of us to cultivate friendships.   The MOPS community provides a way to immediately get “plugged in” with a group of like-minded moms who are socially active and spiritually supportive.  I feel blessed to have found this community.  I only wish I had known about it sooner.

Last year I attended Derwood MOPS and met many wonderful women.  I forged friendships with the ladies at my table and we shared many play-dates, mom’s nights out and laughs.  The meetings and gatherings left me feeling reenergized and rested and I appreciated all of the hard work the steering committee gave to make that possible for me as well as the other busy moms.  With this being my last year at MOPS (sniff), I felt the need to “give back” and wanted to be a part of the MOPS “hands and feet” providing comfort and peace, even if for only 2 hours, to moms who really need it.  I’m not sure how I am qualified in “hospitality”, but I do enjoy baking, making people feel welcome and simply nurturing those in need.  I pray that in the comings months you will also feel cared for, energized, rested and renewed. Please know that the entire steering committee is praying for the Lord to provide us with the energy, creativity and nurturing spirit that will enable us to provide those things for you. 

May God bless this MOPS group and help each and every one of you
 “Be You Bravely!”