Determination

We have traveled the Tri-Cities this month to find out who the strongest principal was!

okay, okay.... not really.  But we did have a lot of fun learning about determination and how we each have special gifts to share with one another to encourage one another and to help us reach our goals.  Due to snow and school closings we had to miss 3 schools.  Sorry principals, we will let the rest of you break boards with Mr. Brown from Red Dragon Karate another day :)

No one has a bigger influence on a child than his or her family!
That's why it's so important to share the values at HOME and at SCHOOL.

This month your child is learning about DETERMINATION in school:
deciding it's worth it to finish what you've started.

We hope you'll enjoy this monthly ezine
(ezine = emailed newsletter!)
and get some ideas for talking about DETERMINATION with your family.

   
Car Time -
Enjoy a song about DETERMINATION while in the car.
Listen to a preview HERE of "Finish What I Start." 
It's also easily downloadable to your phone or iPod for $1.39 a
song!

 
Open Wide - Just for Fun:   
Can you guess how tall the world's highest mountain is?

DISCUSSION STARTER:
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain. The summit is 29,029 feet-that's almost five and a half miles straight up! Climbing Mt. Everest is incredibly dangerous. In fact, no one had ever done it until Sir Edmund Hillary reached the top in 1953. The crazy thing is that two men almost reached the top only three days before him, but they turned around only 300 feet from the top because they were too exhausted!

 
WHAT DO YOU THINK? 
Why do you think it would be hard to climb a mountain like Mt. Everest?
What is the payoff for all the hard work that climbers of Mt. Everest have to do?
What are some tasks you have to complete-at home, at school, or with your friends?  Why is it sometimes hard to finish these tasks?
What good might come from our determination to keep doing those things?

Rest Time - (K-2): The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by: Mordicai Gerstein; In 1974, French aerialist Philippe Petit threw a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade Center and spent an hour walking, dancing, and performing high-wire tricks a quarter mile in the sky. 

(3-5): The Incredible Journey by: Shelia Burnford; Instinct told them that the way home laid to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure, and wild forest animals to make their way home to the family they love.


Experience: We all know that overwhelming feeling of being at the beginning of a huge project-homework, room cleaning, or home renovations to name a few. It can be discouraging. But when you get to the end and see your accomplishments, it's totally worth it! Learn this great lesson together as a family this month by setting up a complicated looking jigsaw puzzle. Work on it throughout the month, as a family and don't give up until it's finished!

Leviticus

We began studying the book of Leviticus this weekend.  Here is the lesson video and a fun song:)

Spring into Service

I know it is still winter but the Children's Ministry at Celebration Church is going to "Spring into Service".  We have various service opportunities from January through April for families to enjoy serving together.   Hope you will join us in serving Jesus as we serve others :)

Today we served dinner at the Salvation Army in Bristol.  Thanks to all who joined us.  Hope you left blessed as much as I did.

Happy New Year! 2013

We had a blast ringing in the new year with other families at Celebration Church.  We had an early ball drop at 10 pm so little ones could get home and off the roads.  A few highlights include the ultimate wii just dance competition on the big screen, board games, families laughing together and of course the balloons dropping from the ceiling at the end of the countdown:)  The kids were so excited.  They enjoyed watching the balloons drop just as much as they loved popping them all after they fell.  

January

So sorry it has been a bit since my last blog.  After I returned home from Africa in December things became so busy!  Macey had a birthday to celebrate on December 21st:) She is now 11 years old.  My, how the time does fly! Christmas was rapidly upon us after that and for a week my house was in a state of confusion.  The red and green decorations for Christmas were also mixed in with the polka dot birthday party decorations and to be honest, it was a full week after her birthday when I realized we still had the "Happy Birthday" banner hanging over our sink.  LOL  I guess between the Christmas decorations, presents and our busy schedule I just did not notice it.   Finally, the holiday was over and the decorations all came down.  The house and cars received a good deep cleaning and schedules resumed to normal.  I love holidays when they are truly a holiday.  Websters defines holiday in this way " a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically : a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event".  I'm laughing so hard I can barely type.  I dare say there are not many women who would agree with this statement, especially during Christmas.  I find myself running around in circles to make sure I have purchased all the presents, made the favorite foods and visited all of the relatives.  It is so hard to just stop in all the madness and worship the reason for the season.  Stop doing and just "be".    

Recently we had a snow storm that produced 8-10 inches of snow at my house.  We lost cell phone service because a tower had fallen and we also lost electricity.  I could not go anywhere, my phone could not ring and I could not power any electronics.  PRAISE THE LORD!  That was a holiday :)
At least it was a holiday for one day, on day two of no electricity my daughter became sick with a stomach virus and we were forced to go to a nearby hotel with electricity.  Something about not being able to see where the vomit is to clean it up freaks me out!  Just sayin'