Recharge!

It has been almost a year since we started a group at our church called, Recharge! We have around a dozen moms come each month, and about 20-30 kids.

I used to struggle with trying to figure out where I was supposed to serve. I didn’t get super excited about all the ministry options available to me, even though I enjoyed helping out where I could. So, when my friend Sarah Ellis agreed to join me in coming up with our own group (along with several other women, who helped along the way), I was super excited. I felt like it was exactly what God wanted me to be doing.

Each month, the women who attend comment about how much work it must be to run this group. But, the funny thing is, it doesn’t really feel like work. I am super excited about every meeting, and every planning session.

Sarah and I split up the duties, but one of my favorite parts is handling the marketing and the newsletter. I also love our brainstorming sessions to come up with our meetings. Each month, I feel like we learn and grow to make the next meeting even better. And, it feels like God just provides everything we need, month after month…including the ideas of what to do, and how to accomplish it. He even has provided us with a mentor mom, who is a wonderful resource each month.

I tend to take after my mom A LOT. I think she would have been super proud of what we created with Recharge!, and it feels like she is with me at every meeting. I use so many of the materials she left me from her days as a librarian. She kept insisting that I keep them, because she knew I would find a use for them. She was right. My kids still beg me to tell them stories on Nana’s story board.

Here are some photos from our meetings. For “Make Believe March,” we read the book “Not a Box,” and pretended our boxes were all sorts of things. We also wore our super hero and princess attire, hence my cape.

I couldn’t handle meetings without the help of Jeremy! He keeps track of Abby and Benjamin, and he helps each month with child care! I have such a wonderful husband, and it is great that his gift is taking care of small children. He is so good with toddler crowd control!

We set up a tent, some tunnels and a puppet area, along with a craft area to decorate boxes.

This is my favorite picture. Super Abby, with her super hero cape, loves Recharge! time.

Our first meeting was “Get the Wiggles out” in May of 2013.

Here is our June meeting, where we had a parade with riding toys and bikes, followed by an Olympic games…Benjamin has grown so much since then!

July was “Art with a Bang.” We did all kinds of fun art projects for Independence Day.

August was water fun.

In September, we had a scavenger hunt, and made a “Scavenger hunt in a bottle.”

October was “Mad Science.”

November was “We Give Thanks!” We had a spa time for the moms, and plenty of crafts for the kids. We also had a Turkey Bowl, with games that included pumpkin bowling, pumpkin curling and pin the tail on the turkey.

December was all Christmas related crafts and activities.

In January, we did a cooking theme, and the kids made pizza dough, a soup mix and chef hats.

In February, we did a “We love books” theme, pulling from all our favorite children’s books for inspiration.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take photos at every event. I have a mom taking photos for me now, because I rarely remember to get my camera out when we are doing the activities. So, next year we will definitely take more photos!

Coming up, we have an egg theme for April, and a birthday party for Recharge scheduled in May. Stay tuned!