5-Day Clubs

This is an email from Kerri F.

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5-Day Clubs are like summer Vacation Bible School but held all throughout the summer at various locations. Kids ages 4-12 are invited to any 5-Day Club in your area. You can come to just one day or all five days (all five days yields the best results). Kids learn about Jesus, have fun puppets, stories, and games. There is a prize at the end of the week. Jesus said: "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them."

A.M.s THIS WEEK - June 29 - July 3 - Monday thru Friday 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. at Oshner Park in Baraboo.

P.M.s THIS WEEK - In Portage: June 29 - July 3, 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. located at Cindy Peterson's house on Fox River Rd. (off of Hwy F). (608)742-8462.

I will try to keep you posted as to when and where there will be other clubs throughout the summer.

If you're interested in hosting a 5-Day Club at your home, or at an area park, contact Johanna Wynn at (608) 697-9761

Prayer Request Updates

Can you send this out to Mops please? People can leave comments on the funeral home website if they want. The family has been reading them each morning.

http://www.funeralplan2.com/ritchiefuneralhome/mem?action=memorials&id=172554

Thank you to everyone for their prayers and kind words.
Lisa

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Here's what I know as of now. We are actually here in SD with the family....

Friday Aubrey had a biopsy of the tumor. She will be in ICU for 5 days. They inserted a shunt to the brain to drain off fluid. The tumor is inoperable. They can do chemo and radiation for 6 weeks daily. However, the dr's feel this will only buy them around 9 mo. The tumor is VERY fast growing and has grown considerably just since they went to Denver less than 1 week ago. It is in the back part of the head, but with several "fingers" reaching out. They are choosing right now to do the treatments as Brenda and Tim don't ever want to tell her down the road or think "they could've done more". Aubrey needs a complete healing.

I will update more as Billye lets me know what's going on. Thank you for your prayers on behalf of the Bonnichsen family.

Tanya Schoessow

Childcare Needed

This email is from Kendra L.

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Hello Ladies! I hope everyone is having a splendid summer so far.

I know it’s a ways off, but I want to put the word out about my upcoming childcare needs.

Starting the week of September 1st, I will need childcare for my 4 year old Nathan. He will be in the 4 year old Preschool program in the mornings, and I need someone to watch him in the afternoon. The hours would be 11:15 to 3 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday’s only. I do all of the drop off and pick up from school so that part won’t be a concern. Pay is negotiable as I have no idea how much is usually charged for only one!

The twins will be in school all day, so this is a shock to my system to only worry about arrangements for one child!

If you are interested, or know someone that might be interested please call or email me when you can. Like I said, I know it’s early, but I’m a planner and I’d like to get thinking about it.

Thanks so much!

Kendra
745-1655
klacrosse@verizon.net

For Sale

This is an email from Janette K. I hope someone finds a good deal!

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Hi Everyone!

I hope your summer is going well. Tracy and I have been cleaning out the house as it seems to be consumed with toys our children have outgrown. I have some bigger items for sale (we're not doing a formal garage sale this year) and I thought I'd just let you know in case anyone was interested:) All items are very gently used. If you want to see pictures of a particular item, just let me know and I can email it.

Fisher Price Little People Castle with accessories $15 OBO
Fisher Price Little People House with furniture/mom/dad & baby $15 OBO
Fisher Price Little People Ramps Around Garage with cars/mechanics $15 OBO
Fisher Price Little People Noah's Ark set with extra animal sets $15 OBO

Little Tikes Play Kitchen with 2 chairs/loads of play dishes and food to go with it $20 OBO
Little Tikes Play Workshop with 2 hard hats and some tools $15 OBO
Little Tikes Doll Cradle $10 OBO

Bob the Builder Workshop with magnetic blocks $10 OBO

LeapFrog Desk with Chair and a My First LeapPad with 1 book/Alphabet stencils (desk has been crayoned on) $10 OBO

If you are interested in any of the items, you can contact me via email kopfhamers4@verizon.net or give me a call 745-0492. Thanks!
Janette

MacKenzie Center

Join Us for

Outdoor Skills Day & a Prairie Interpretive Walk

MacKenzie Environmental Education Center

Saturday, July 11th, 2009
9 am – 2 pm (near our lodge)

FREE ** Fun for all ages!
Rotate thru a variety of hands on skills like:
fire building, outdoor cooking,
fishing, archery, shooting sports and more
or take a walk of the prairies at 10am and
tours of the State Game Farm too!

A concession stand will be available during event time. This event is hosted by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Friends of MacKenzie Center. The MacKenzie Environmental Education Center is located 2 miles east of Poynette on County Road CS & Q.

Please phone 608-635-8105 for more information.

Prayer Request

~Please keep Lisa Francis and family in your prayers. Tim's mom has been battling cancer for some time now and is now in peace. They left for Iowa today to be with his family and help make preparations. They may not be back until Tuesday or Wednesday.

~A friend of mines daughter Marissa Jordan (10yrs old in august) has batttled lukemia and won, just celebrated her 1 yr anniversary, BUT... today she was med-flighted to the UW childrens hospital w/ a brain anurism and lung/heart failure!!!! she was put into a drug indused coma, and will stay in that state for 2 weeks, she survived surgery, and they removed the blood clot and anurism, PLEASE BE IN CONSTANT PRAYER FOR HER AND HER FAMILY!!!!! i will email updates Thanks Jenn Selbach and Jordan Family

MOPS Reunion

Hey Everyone,

I am so sorry for that late update regarding the final details on tomorrow's MOPS event. Here the are the details and I hope to see lots of you there!

Tomorrow Saturday June 27th at 10:30am

We will be gathering at the North Shore of Devil's Lake. We do not have a shelter reserved for our group so please bring your own blankets and chairs.

This is an event for all current and past MOPS families.

This will be a fun and relaxed time to hang out and get some laughs in!

So pack your lunch and wear your comfy clothes!

You can also bring your registrations forms with you. The current registration cost for next year is $35 but don't delay because it will go up to $40 coming in July. Any further questions regarding registration contact Shelly Jenkins.

Can't wait to see everyone!

Verse of the Day

Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights.

Proverbs 18:15 (The Message)

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What is something that you have learned today or insight that you have gained?

Cool Books!

A MOPS mom sent me this email regarding some pretty cool gift ideas for you child or another child. Go to www.ladybugtreehouse.com Here is what the rest of the email said regarding this new company. "Make your child a star today!! Each book is personalized to include a child's name, age, hometown, and friends. The books are a great gift idea! Each storybook is a hard-cover, bound book. We also do school and charity fundraising! Check out our site for more details. We hope you enjoy our site. We will be adding more merchandise soon, so keep checking back. Please feel free to forward this email on to others!"

Update on Aubrey

For those of you who have been praying for Aubrey I just received an update on her.

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Good Morning Everyone!

We finished with our appointment yesterday with the Neurologist. We will be leaving for Denver Childrens Hospital this morning sometime. Aubrey has an appointment with an incredible Neurologist in Aurora , CO tomorrow (Weds) at noon.

It has been amazing to see God's handiwork in all of this! The Neurologist here gave us the choice of going to Denver Childrens, Mayo Clinic, or University of MN Research Hospital . He discussed the importance of Aubrey being at a specialty hospital, and these were the three he recommended. We talked about it with Aubrey, and she helped to make the decision. For us, the Childrens Hospital was the perfect fit.. As many of you know, we have family in Colorado , so we would have an incredible support system there. Unfortunately, the doctor we saw in Rapid would not be able to do the surgery if we chose Denver , so he had to refer us to a neurosurgeon in Denver . Our prayers were answered when we received the phonecall that it would be Dr. Ken Winston. I googled his name and discovered that he is the Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado ! As I did more research I find that the hospital is top notch, has a Blue Distinction Award (for those who are familiar with BCBS insurance standards!) which means it is a quality facility that has to mean high criteria in all phases of care! SO...God has made the way for the best doctor and the best hospital so she'll have the best care!

The brain tumor Aubrey has, he called a Glioma. It is in the middle of her brain at the brain stem. He said it is quite large and has been growing for sometime. We'd noticed the biggest difference in Aubrey from about the middle of the school year and as the school year went on, there were changes that were more and more evident. (Her grades were dropping, it was very difficult to get her to complete writing assignments or any big projects, not wanting to do PE because she claimed to get headaches and stomach aches and she seemed to be fatigued all the time. We noticed she was talking loudly when carrying on a normal conversation, and had her tested and found that she had some hearing loss in her left ear. Now looking back it all begins to make sense.) The Neurologist here said that it is very likely that she'll need to do some radiation therapy or chemo. We are praying that will not be the case!!! We are believing that Aubrey will get to tell her grandchildren the story of how God brought her through this situation and the way He prepared the way for her to have the best! By the way, Aubrey is doing GREAT!!!! She is very resiliant and refuses to focus on anything negative!! She is a fighter in her own unique way! We have been so proud of her...what a trooper!!!

Through the suggestion of many, we will be starting a Caring Bridge webpage so you can log on and read about what is going on with her. Between Tim and I, will we keep the website updated as often as possible. If you register on the site, everytime we do an update, you will receive an email. More about that when it comes! Thank you again for all of your love, support and prayers! It has been so incredibly awesome what so many of you have done so far! I couldn't find the time to get online last night, because so many were dropping by to express their love and concern. Our family so appreciates and loves you all. (Although I have a 5 yr old who is NOT grasping why everyone is giving things to Aubrey and she isn't getting anything!!!) Please keep little Chloe in your prayers too...this has already been kinda hard for her to grasp, and at times will start crying and not know why. But together, as a family, we'll conquer this and come out on the other side victorious!!

Blessings!Brenda Bonnichsen

Moppets

Hey Ladies ... before you have your next garage sale, please check over your toy supply. I am looking to replace the toy bins for this coming year with more age appropriate, gently-used toys. I will be replacing toys for ages 2-5. If you have any toys that you would like to donate, please email me and I will make arrangements to pick them up.

Some ideas for toys are: toy cars - or other boy toys (we dont really have alot of those); bald babies, maybe some barbies for the older girls, ABC/123 toys, and anything else you can think of.

Thanks for your time - and your donations in advance!

Faith, Hope and Love

Christy

Marriage

In the marriage arena, the [couple] invariably mix [personalities] up according to the cliche, "opposites attract." Then, once the marriage is underway, opposites attack. The tendencies that seemed so charming about the person because they are different and create a balance in our universe become the very traits that cause us to bang our heads against hard objects.

Taken from: "If you Can't Lose it Decorate It!" daily calendar by Anita Renfore

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When I read this I about fell off my chair because I was laughing so hard. I wasn't laughing because it is just funny...I was laughing because it is so TRUE! (Well at least for me.) I literally was just carrying on a converation with myself a couple days prior to reading this and was thinking the same concept. In my mind, I was complaining about the little things my hubby does that annoy me. But then it hit me...those very things is what made me fall in love with him. So I had to ask myself, "if he has not changed then why I am complaining?" The obvious answer that I concluded was that it was me. So now when he does those little "annoying" things...I just remind myself to laugh!

Summer Projects

I was given this information from another MOPS mom.
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The Paint It Pottery Shop in Wisconsin Dells is offering classes for kids ages 5-12.

June 25th: Handprint Plates ($18 from 10am - noon)
July 9th: Clay Building ($18 from 10am - noon)
July-August: Various Art Camps including Story Hour with Project, Tie Dye adn Fused Glass Tiles ($15-$30 per Art Camp session)

Spaces are limited so contact them immediately if you are interested. The phone number is 608-254-5456 and the website is www.paintitpotteryshop.com

Events

Good Morning Ladies!

We are having a couple of events come up rather quickly here.

The first is going to be on Thursday June 18th at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison. This is a Mom & Kids day out! We are planning meeting at the zoo at 10:30am and then having a picnic lunch together. If you are interested in going please leave a comment so that further arrangements can be made regarding carpooling and meeting at the zoo.

The second event is on Saturday June 27th at Devil’s Lake Park in Baraboo at 10:30 am. This is a family event and is going to be our MOPS reunion. Come and meet MOPS mom from years past to either reconnect or create new friends! Bring a snack lunch and lots of smiling faces! There was an Evite sent out regarding this. Please respond to the Evite so that we can make further arrangements; if you did not receive the Evite contact Shelly.

MOPS registration will be available at the MOPS reunion event. Make sure to get your registration in early before the price goes up.

If you any further questions regarding either of these events please contact Ann.

Believing is seeing...

"Seeing is not believing, it is only seeing. The real triumph of this life is to understand that 'believing is seeing'."--George MacDonald

Trust Him more today than you did yesterday. If you can't understand, just keep following. Though it may be dark right now, you will see that eventually He has led you out of the mountain.

Taken from Fresh Grounded Faith, Jennifer Rothschild

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My daily struggle is believing without seeing, however when I look around I am constantly reminded of how great God is! I pray for everyone to be able to trust God today, trust that He is with you and will lead you out of the darkness!

Have a great sunny Friday!!! Sarah


Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 NIV

Help Needed

Hello Ladies!!! This is an email that I received from Laci; I just wanted to make everyone aware of what's going on and the help that is much appreciated!

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Hello MOPS Friends- As many of you know, I have been on a trip to WA state to get our storage unit unpacked. We will be leaving WA for the 25 hour trip tomorrow afternoon. I will be returning home to Portage about Noon on Sunday June 14th. I would really appreciate any help you or your husbands/families could give to unload our U-Haul. I will provide pizza and beverages to any sort of work party we can get. I would like everyone to show up at our house (202 E. Franklin Portage - the corner of Franklin and Adams) at 1:00 PM. If you can offer any bit of help please e-mail me at bandljamison@hotmail.com or call me at 509-981-0458, that way I can make sure I have enough food. Thanks very much for all the help I can get.Fondly,Laci Jamison

Survey

"It's a God thing."...As if anything isn't. Sunrises are God things, air is a God thing, coffee is a God thing. Chocolate, music, hot baths, great friends, autumn evenings, Dippin' Dots ice cream, cloud formations-I believe that they are all pretty much "God things."

Taken from: "If you Can't Lose it Decorate It!" daily calendar by Anita Renfore

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The survey is to tell us what your "God thing" is. Just post a comment and let us all know!

I'll go first - Everything stated above plus hearing my son laugh, hanging out with my mom, thunderstorms and sleeping in! (Just to list a few; the list is obviously longer)

1001 Things It Means To Be A Mom

* (Being a Mom) Being a mom means thinking you're the luckiest person in the world.

* (Pregnant Moms) Being a mom means realizing that perhaps the greatest gift in life is a baby.

* (Baby Moms) Being a mom means learning what an inflatable donut is all about.

* (Toddler Moms) Being a mom means learning the "terrible twos" is false advertising. The condition lasts longer than a couple of years.

* (Moms of School Kids) Being a mom means inexplicably breaking down in tears when your child starts first grade just like you did when she started preschool. Husbands will not understand this.

* (Moms and Computers) Being a mom means having children beg for a computer, beg to put the computer in their room, and beg to let them join MySpace.

* (Moms of Teens) Being a mom means wondering why your teens has nothing to say when you ask how their day went.

* (Moms of Adult Kids) Being a mom means aking your twenty-two-year old, in front of his date, about his constipation issues.

* (Working Moms) Being a mom means getting everybody out of the house by 7:30 a.m.

* (Single Moms) Being a single mom means knowing that, while two-parent homes are best for children, life doesn't always work out that way.

* (Moms and Money) Being a mom means figuring out how to cut your grocery bill 40 percent after you quit work-even though you're adding another person to the family.

* (Moms and Difficult Issues) Being a mom means explaining to your kids that even though drugs are dangerous, you have a medicine cabinet full of them.

* (Moms and Grace) Being a mom means recognizing that your children are a gift from God. And treating them as such.

Verse of the Day

God makes everything come out right;...Gos is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, He's rich in love. He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever...As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is His love to those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:6, 8-9, 11 (The Message)

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I don't know about you, but I am so glad that my God is loving!

Moppets

Happy Wednesday Ladies!

I know that it hasn't even been a week since our last MOPS meeting, but thought it would be appropriate to send this email out to you - since MOPS would be still fresh in your mind.

Over the next couple of months, if you happen to think of anyone who would love to volunteer their time and love to MOPPETS for our upcoming year - please send me their name, and phone number. You can also give them mine if you like (745-0502).

Please also give them this information:
* We meet the SECOND THUR of each month from SEPT - MAY
* Time commitment would be 8:45 - 11:45 AM
* They DO NOT need to be available each month to volunteer. Only 1 time/yr is
required.

MOPPETS appreciates all the help we can get!

Thanks! and have a great summer!

Faith Hope and Love -
Christy

Convention!

This year the MOPS convention is in Nashville, TN!!!!

I personally have never been to convention but have spoken with people who have in the past and everyone said it was a MUST to go; so I'm going!!!!

To get the pre-registration (early bird special) we must register by June 22nd (that's only 19 days away). You can go to www.mops.org and then click on the "Events" drop down box and then select "MOPS convention" to get further information.

We need to know who is interested in going ASAP! Everyone who is going will have $100 to go towards their registration fee (thank you to the anonymous donor) and we already have other various fundraisers set up to reduce the cost even more!

This is going to be a great way to get some relaxation, have some fun, create deeper bonds with other moms and get refueled! Hope to see you there :)

A mom update...

This was sent to me from one of our MOPS mom (Kenda L.). I think it is awesome what she has done and strongly encourage everyone to vote for her...you rock Kendra!

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Hey ladies. I took part in a Pay It Forward challenge through Summit Credit Union in April. The rules were to take their $10 and “pay it forward’ somehow. I decided to see how much food and non-food items I could get for the Portage Food Pantry. I ended up with a grand total of $160.64 worth of stuff! I’m very proud of my accomplishment, and it gave me a great opportunity to show selfless giving to my kids.

They are now holding a voting period where people can vote for their favorite results. I am writing to ask for your vote! You can use the following link to see the video follow up and photos, and vote for me. The “winner” of the challenge wins $500 and $500 for their charity as well! If I won, I would support the food pantry here in Portage.

Please consider voting for me, I would really appreciate it!!


http://payitforward.summitcreditunion.com/page.php?page=3&pid=179&sf=p

Thanks. Kendra