Mothers' Association of Chapin M.A.C.

2009-01-22T15:25:00.000-08:00

Out & About with MAC

Our next Mom’s Night Out will be this Saturday at Chapin Station for dinner at 7pm and for those so inclined, we’ll move on over to the Tipsy Toad for drinks and karaoke. I’m sure this will be a fun night. Everyone is welcome.

During the month of February, the ballet Snow White will be at the Kroger Center. My son’s 3 year old preschool class went to see Hansel and Gretel over Christmas and they really enjoyed it.
The Fun Zone is always a fun activity for toddlers through school age children. Check out www.funzoneforkids.net

Chapin Christian Gymnastics is offering an open gym on Wednesdays from 3:00-4:00. The cost is $40.00 for 8 weeks which works out to $5.00 a week. It's a great winter activity for the children!! If you’re interested in signing up, contact Kelly Fowlkes at 414-3813.

Looking Ahead with MAC
We are currently looking for someone to take over the monthly MAC newsletter. If you’re interested, please contact Hope Jeffcoat at hjeffcoat1@aol.com
Remember that during the next few months we will be looking to start the process of appointing new MAC officers. Start thinking about stepping up and taking an active roll in this amazing mom’s group!If you have any ideas or suggestions, we want to hear from you! We will start having monthly meetings on the first Monday of each month. Place is still to be determined, but we’ll let everyone know that soon. We are inviting all active and non active members to join us so we can get some new and fresh ideas!

Save Big, Save Small

Ten money-saving strategies to reduce household expenses.Cynthia Sumner
Declare a Time-Out: If you need to save money to catch up on bills or just get a little ahead, declare a "no spending" month in which you only pay bills and buy necessities such as food, diapers and gas. That means no toys, books, haircuts, movie rentals, clothes or eating out. You'll be amazed at how much you'll save.
Clean Up: The markup on household cleaning products is huge, so consider making your own household cleaners. An excellent how-to book on the subject of nontoxic homemade cleaners is Clean and Green by Annie Berthold-Bond.
Get Thrifty: Remember infants and young children have no label preference (unless you instill it). You can save a lot during these years by using hand-me-downs or buying at secondhand stores and garage sales.
Save at the Grocery Store:
*Save money when you buy bread, rolls and snack cakes from a bread or bakery outlet.
*Purchase nonfood items at a discount store instead of the grocery store.
*The best deals on grocery store aisles are on the top and bottom shelves. Manufacturers pay a premium to display their goods at eye level and pass the costs on to you.
*Don't buy food you're not going to use from a warehouse club. Buying more than you need is wasteful regardless of how low the price. Consider dividing bulk goods and their costs among friends and neighbors.
*Keep nonperishable snacks and drinks in the car to cut down on visits to fast food drive-throughs and convenience stores.
Save Seasonally: There are times of the year when certain items are less expensive. Shop off-season and save yourself a bundle.
January: Christmas decorations, cards and wrapping; winter clothing and bedding.
February: housewares and small appliances; furniture; jewelry and chocolates.
March: outerwear; gardening supplies; luggage.

Happy Birthday to our
MAC Moms & Kids!
Zachary Jeffcoat 12/20/04
Christie Favero 12/30/72
Cameron Crow 1/7/04
Laura Ferry 1/15/67Hannah Lybrand 1/20/04

Happy Anniversary to:
Christie & Nolan Hennessee 12/31/97
Lisa & Wayne Sams 1/2/93Kim & Mark Szabo 1/15/03

January Moms Night Out

2009-01-20T19:24:00.001-08:00

MAC MNO is coming up fast...it's scheduled for this Saturday, January 24th at Tipsy Toad in Chapin.
Come Enjoy The Company and Karaoke!!

And don't forget that our monthly meeting is Jan 22nd at 7pm...that is this thursday! See you then!!

Photo Fun Party with Earth Angel Portraits

2009-01-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

Earth Angel Portraits, Kim Bradford, and Creative Memories Consultant, Betsy Dorton, invite you to join us for a relaxing, fun afternoon to celebrate memories.

First Kim will show you how to use your camera. What do those camera settings mean? How do you get shots even in tricky lighting? And how to take better pictures of your children and how to make picture taking fun for kids will be covered too!
Then Betsy will share how to manage your digital images along with ways to enjoy your photos and memories! You know you have tons of digital images that you haven't done anything with yet!!

When: Saturday, February 7th from 4-6pm
Where: Earth Angel Portraits New Studio located at 118 Columbia Avenue, Chapin SC
Bring: Your camera with a memory card, a notebook and a pillow to lounge on
RSVP: To Kim Bradford at 351-9771
There is NO CHARGE for this event, but space is limited!!!

www.EarthAngelPortraits.com

Melting Pot Fun...

2008-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mom's Night Out was at Melting Pot this month...

Summer Luau

2008-10-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

Our Summer Luau was a blast!! The food and fun was in abundance!!

Ladies Night Our for OCTOBER!!

2008-09-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

Mom’s Night Out for the month of October will be Ladies Night at The Melting Pot on Mon., Oct. 13. More to come on the evite!

***Remember that our OCTOBER monthly social is a BIG deal! It’s MAC’s 5 year anniversary! We’ll have some special surprises for everyone, so you don’t want to miss it!***

9/11 Showing Our Thanks!!

2008-09-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

On September 11, we took our kiddos to the Chapin Fire Station to show our appreciation for all they do for our community. We brought baked goods and made a card with all the kids’ handprints. The firemen showed the kids the trucks, answered their questions, and gave them fire hats, pencils, and lots of other goodies. It was a lot of fun and I think they appreciated us thinking of them.

Get to Know a MAC Member

2008-02-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

Get to Know a MAC Member
Kim Bradford
http://www.earthangelportraits.com/

Kim Goad was born on the American/Canadian border in Van Buren, Maine to French Canadian parents and thus Kim’s first language was French. After her parents divorced when she was 3, her mother remarried an American soldier serving in the U.S. Air Force. Shortly thereafter her family was transferred to North Carolina where they lived until Kim was in the 2nd grade. By this time Kim had mastered the English language as well as her native French. Next her family was moved to Germany where she learned to speak German. She lived in Germany until she was in the 5th grade. From Germany they moved to Zaragoza, Spain where she attended middle and high school and learned to speak. Then, before her senior year of high school, her family was transferred back to the states to Sumter, South Carolina.

Kim, the “world traveler,” graduated from Hillcrest High School in Sumter and lived there until she was 21. Having been used to moving around, she moved to Maryland with some friends and got a job working at Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse. She lived with 2 other roommates who became fast friends with another group of 3 roommates who also worked at Lowes. As her friendship with one particular guy in the group grew the two were oblivious to what others around them saw quite clearly. Kim shared that they even each had various boyfriends/girlfriends break up with them because the two “friends” spent so much time together. They remained in their state of oblivion for about 2 years when finally after a party one night, her best friend Doug kissed her.

Over the course of the next couple years the couple moved up and down the east coast due to Doug’s job as he rose through the ranks of Lowes into management. They lived to Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia and South Carolina and at times back and forth and in several places within a state. Meanwhile, Kim took night classes, but never completed her degree. They dated for 6 years before tying the knot on May 7, 2000 on a beach in Nags Head, North Carolina and yes, Kim was barefooted.

Their first child Koral Rose was born in Sumter on September 20, 2001. They then moved to Georgia and back again to South Carolina to the Northeast where their second daughter Marina Marie was born on May 14, 2004. They finally moved to Chapin in October of 2004. It was after Marina was born that Doug decided to leave Lowes and is currently the Manager of Petsmart on Harbison Blvd which allows him to spend more time with his family.

It was after the birth of her first child that Kim became more than a little interested in photography. When Koral was born, Kim developed what she calls an obsession with getting Koral photographed. She took Koral for professional portraits every week for the first three months of Koral’s life. Kim then took her every month for the next two years. Doug wasn’t too happy with this and kept telling Kim he thought her photos were better than the ones they were paying for. She joked that she’s not sure if he really meant it or not - like if he just said it because he was trying to get her to stop spending so much money on portraits, but it got her interested in developing her own talent. Her friends began asking her to photograph their kids and families for Christmas cards, etc. Then when Doug decided to quit Lowes due to long hours, she realized she needed to do something to help out with the bills so she decided to make a go of the photography business. She trained for two weeks under a photographer in Myrtle Beach and then over the next 6 months she traveled back one weekend per month to complete the initial training. She continues to participate in training 2-3 times a year to continue her education as well as attending other workshops during the year to stay on the cutting edge.

I asked Kim at what point did she begin thinking of herself as a professional as opposed to someone who just takes pictures on the side. She said that for a long time people would ask her if she worked and she would say no, because she didn’t think of her photography as a business or herself as a professional. It took about a year and ½ before it dawned on her, as she watched a mother crying while looking at the photos Kim had taken of her children, that she was living her passion, her dream, and that she actually was a professional. She finally understood that she really did have something to offer that made a difference in the lives of the people involved and that the difference and her hard work was worth them paying for. She’s since been kept extremely busy, but regardless of how busy it gets, she says she still loves it, that no matter what, it’s still her passion and it doesn’t feel like a job to her.

Kim’s love of photography has a lot to do with the way she was raised. Life overseas is very different culturally than here in the States. People there are more relaxed and have a greater appreciation of art and history than the majority of Americans. It’s part of their everyday lives and their culture as opposed to us, where we often have to make an effort to be cultural. Her parents took her and her sister to go museums and historical places often. She grew up gazing at Van Gogh and marveling at King Tut’s exhibit. Her parents taught her to appreciating art, old buildings, and the history behind them. For Kim, photography is not only a creative outlet for her, but it’s also a way of instilling in her children, as well as in her clients, memories of things we too often forget and take for granted. She makes a point to bring art and artist into the lives of her girls. From a very young age, Kim would take her girls to the library and pull a book on an artist to talk to them about what they saw and about the differences in the way artists portray the images they produce. That is her way of teaching the girls to appreciate culture as she was taught by her parents living in Europe.

Kim will actually be returning to Spain with Doug and her sister and her sister’s husband next year for a vacation. She says she is more interested in going back to feel the life she remembers, as opposed to doing the tourist thing. She just wants to sit the café listening to people talk and watching them live their lives.

When I asked her to comment on what MAC means to her she said it’s very simple. When she found out about MAC, through the cookbooks at Palmetto Fine Arts, she had not been in Chapin very long. Even though she had already established a good client base here and had met a lot of people, she was looking for other women that shared the same interest of nurturing their children and themselves, a mothers’ support group. She was looking to make some connections above and beyond what she could through her photography. She sent Christie a package about her photography as well as a request for info about the club and has been a thriving member ever since.

Kim has served MAC one way or another for over two years now, but that has not been her only contribution. She is an extremely intelligent and gifted woman who is committed to improving her community and herself. She has introduced the club to many great ideas for projects. Her input has helped the club grow beyond what might have occurred without her. Her willingness to serve others and to share her experience has been a godsend to MAC. Without a doubt Kim has truly been one of our greatest assets. It’s women like Kim Bradford that inspire and give of themselves that make MAC a group like no other!

Easter Portraits Specials at Earth Angel Portraits

are March 14th and 15th.

Call Kim at 351-9771 to schedule your appointment...they always book up fast!!

2008 Upcoming Events

2008-01-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

Monthly Socials- 7:00 pm @ Stoney Pointe Club House

Mark your calendar to join us on the 4th Thursday of each month!

January 24, 2008: HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Join us for a night of fun, fellowship and discussion for the upcoming year of MAC! Don't forget to bring an appetizer and a friend!

February 28, 2008, March 27, 2008, April 24, 2008, May 22, 2008, June 26, 2008, July 24, 2008, August 28, 2008, September 25, 2008, October 23, 2008, November and December- Dates to be announced!

Mom's Night Out-

Mom's Night Out will return in February! Look for more details soon!

THANK YOU!!!

2007-11-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

I would just like to take a moment to thank ALL of you who donated items to the Jones Family! We received over $200.00 in gift cards and cash and the items donated are too many to mention! Bunk beds, twin beds, sheets, dressers, rocking chair, shoes, clothes, books, pots, pans, dishes and a table were all delivered to the Jones Family just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas! The family was completely blown away and very appreciative of our heart felt support of a family that we did not even know!
To date the items keep coming in, a delivery was made just this week to GOodWorks and there are plans in the works to receive even more items for the many families in our area who are in great need.
I thank each one of you, for without YOU this out pouring of love, care and concern would have never happened! I know that it is on the top of everyone’s list this time of year to reach out to those in need, and though it is a true blessing, there are families in our area who are in need not just during the holidays but year around.
I challenge you all, our faithful MAC members, to continue your quest to serve our community and reach out to those in need throughout the year! As Sue Madden mention last month, there are so many things we can do to help, so let us use our Motherly power to reach out and touch someone. Keep a look out for opportunities throughout the year for MAC to make a difference in our community! I w0uld personally like to thank each of you who have contacted me concerning this family! The out pouring of support has been unbeleiveable!! I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, and I know that this family will too!!! THANK YOU!!!

"YOU ROCK" Award!!

2007-09-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

Introducing...the "YOU ROCK" award. An award established to show our appreciation and to recognize those in our community who set an example through their commitment and dedication to helping others.

On August 23, 2007, in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to the health and well being of the children of Chapin and the surrounding areas,
Dr. Luke Bonnett of Chapin Pediatrics was presented with the first M.A.C. "YOU ROCK" award.
Dr. Bonnett, we thank you for ALL you do...."YOU ROCK!!"
Pictured from Left to Right: Amy Byrd, Laura Ferry, Dr. Luke Bonnett and his wife Betsy, Christie Hennessee

CONGRATULATIONS to Mrs. Sue Madden of GOodWorks! MAC newest recipient of the "YOU ROCK" Award! Sue was presented the Award at our November 22nd, 2007 meeting. Sue's commitment and dedication to the families of Chapin is nothing short of a blessing! Thank you Sue and the staff at GOodWorks for ALL you do for our community..."YOU ROCK!!"

Up Coming Events

2007-09-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

Monthly Socials- 7:00 pm @ Stoney Pointe Club House

**Due to the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays, we have changed the date of our Monthly Socials for November and December**

December 12, 2007: Join us for our annual Ornament Exchange! Brings one $10.00 unwrapped Christmas ornament for exchange! You know what you bring...but what will you leave with! Come celebrate the season with us! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

November 15, 2007: Join us for extra special guest speaker- Sue Madden of GOodworks! Also, please remember to bring any donated items to the Social for delivery to the Jones family! Thank you in advance for your generousity!

October 25th, 2007: CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. C for winning the Tailgate Trivia and a $20.00 gift certificate to Dicks Sporting Goods and to "The OSU Fan" (pictured), Mrs. K, for winning the award for "Most Crazed & Best Dressed Fan" at our October Tailgate Social!

Mom's Night Out-

Mom's Night Out has been cancelled for December and January. Mom's Night Out will return in February 2008!

Chapin Heros

2007-09-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

In honor of 9/11, MAC moms brought their children to the Chapin Fire Dept on Lexington Ave to present the fire fighters and police department with baked goods and to thank them for their service to our community. Our heros of Chapin were most thankful and let the kids hang out in the fire trucks...our children had a great time.
God Bless Our American Heros!!!
The 9/11 victims, families and friends are in our thoughts and prayers!!