Friday night we had the Fall Fellowship for our co-op.  Our co-op has about 20 families and while we do have 3 classes for the kids each Monday morning, a big part of our purpose is fellowship. 

We wanted our children to have an opportunity to get to know each other more than just at the once a month support group meetings.  We also wanted to get to know each others' families. 

So last year we started having 4 fellowships a year.  We would meet together at a local church for a potluck and we'd usually try to have the kids show a little bit of what they've been learning in their classes.  We really went all out for the first few with decorations, goody bags, the program and what not.  But you know what... even though that doesn't sound like much, it was too much on top of everything else we were doing.  It started becoming a burden for us to organize.

So now we've simplified our fellowships.  We pretty much are trying to use the same church each time so that whoever is early can help arrange the tables and chairs.  We keep the decorating limited to colored tablecloths and simple table decor.  And we don't organize any type of program.  It is just a simple meal with plenty of time to fellowship.

This fellowship was so much easier.  No stress, no mess.  And every bit of as much of a success as any fellowship that we've had before.  Our families appreciate the laid back, come as you are fellowship and the kids enjoy the freedom to explore around the little country church.  These are the times when we really get to encourage one another and talk about what is going on in our lives.  So these fellowships are important and now that they are a little more simple, I think we can all relax and enjoy them more.

And then we all have more time to play with the cute babies!