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Murdock Newsletter
December 5th, 2007
I’ll be in the Murdock area taking pictures of Christmas displays this week. Please send me anyinformation you have about your display, Christmas traditions, special recipes, Christmas activities and events, memories, etc. as well as any other info you’d like! THANKS!
Calendar 
Thursday, December 6-Elementary Winter Concert at 7:00 pm in Elmwood
Saturday, Dec 8-ACT test at Murdock
Wednesday, Dec 12-School Board Meeting at Murdock 7:00 pm
Thursday, December 13- JH/SH Winter Concert at 7:00 pm in Murdock
Thursday Dec. 20 – Last day of 2nd quarter and 1st semester
Friday Dec. 21- Jan. 2 – No School -Winter Break
Thursday Jan. 3 – School resumes after winter break
Inspiration
The Christmas Pageant
My husband and I had been happily married (most of the time) for five years but hadn't been blessed with a baby.
I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His word as my guide.
God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son. The next year God blessed us with another son. The following year, He blessed us with yet another son. The year after that we were blessed with a daughter.
My husband thought we'd been blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old.
I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a minister once told me, "I f you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella."
I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four children and I didn't want to disappoint Him.
I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks.
I tried to be understanding... when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs.
When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess.
In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time , I still thank God daily for my children.
While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect mother -
I didn't even come close... I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God.
I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too.
Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his "last wife."
My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant.
My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine.
My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line, "We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes."
But he was nervous and said, "The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes."
My four-year-old "Mary" said, "That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten clothes."
A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing.
I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, “Mama-mama."
Mary grabbed the doll wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived.
My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, "We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur."
The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one," laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes.
"For the rest of my life, I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur."
"My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing," I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.
Murdock and surrounding areas hit by ice storm caused little damage
The ice began accumulating early Saturday morning. By the time most of the Murdock community rose from bed, the town was covered with a pretty thick layer of ice. Thankfully, the forecast brought fast relief. By early afternoon rising temperatures turned the precipitation into rain which quickly thawed the layer of ice that had accumulated just hours earlier.
It was pretty while it lasted:
SCHOOL FOOD DRIVE
We are again asking for parents and students to donate non-perishable food items to our local food pantry. Students may begin bringing food items to school on Monday, December 3, 2007. We will collect food items until December 14, 2007. If we collect 1,500 items at each school, we will dismiss early on December 20, 2007. We are currently scheduled to dismiss at 3:25 p.m. If we meet our goal we will dismiss at 1:15 p.m. Cash may also be donated. One dollar is worth four food items.
ELEMENTARY WINTER MUSIC PROGRAM
The Winter program is Thursday, December 6th. Please plan on bringing your child to their classroom by 6:45. The program is a required event; students who do not attend diminish the quality of the program. If your child is unable to attend I need to be contacted in advance. I understand that if your child is ill and unable to attend school that he/she will not be at the program.
JUNIOR ACHIEVMENT PROGRAM NEEDS PARENT/COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
Information has been sent home regarding Junior Achievement’s Elementary School Program. The Elementary School Program teaches students in kindergarten through sixth grade, basic economic concepts through hands-on activities. The volunteers (who teach the lessons) are the key to the program’s impact in the classroom.
We are seeking parent/community volunteers that are willing to share their time, 30 to 50 minutes once a week for five visits, to enhance the students’ understanding of the local economy. In addition, the volunteers will inform the students how school relates to their future. The curriculum is offered free of charge to the school by Junior Achievement. We are planning on beginning this program in February. An informational/instructional meeting is scheduled for January 24, 2008 for people that volunteer for the program Please contact, Principal, Bruce Friedrich, if you have any questions or would like more information about the program.
What’s Happening Around Our Community
S.O.S. Participating in the Our Family Labels for Learning Program
We are all aware of the increasing difficulty schools face in acquiring sufficient funds to provide the necessary educational and extra-curricular materials needed for our children. Budgets today simply cannot keep up with the high cost demands. Our area grocery stores have the same concerns we do about providing a quality education. That is why they have introduced the Labels for Learning program.
Area stores participating in this program are No Frills, Jack and Jill, Food Pride, Bag-n-Save and Sunmart. During 2007 through July 2009, they will donate 5 cents for every Our Family product barcode that you purchase and turn in. A collection area is currently being set up at the elementary school in Elmwood.
For every bundle of 500 UPC barcodes collected the Elmwood-Murdock SOS will receive $25.00. The SOS will then be able to use this money to help supply the needed materials for our school. This program is so simple because Our Family is so popular. Did you know that 22,000+ Our Family products are sold each week? Collecting the bar codes adds up quickly. We encourage you to save "Our Family" barcodes to help Support Our School.
Earn a Barcode While Making Your Whites Sparkle
Did you know that automatic dishwasher detergent makes a wonderful bleaching agent for white clothes? Simply fill your washing machine with the hottest possible water for the fabric you are working with and add ¼ cup to ½ cup of automatic dishwashing detergent. Agitate for several minutes and then add clothes. Soak for 30 minutes or even overnight. Then add detergent and launder as usual. If you don't want to use your washer, you can also accomplish this technique with a bucket. Fill a bucket with the hottest possible water for the fabric and add 2 tablespoons of automatic dishwashing detergent. Soak as directed above. Dump into the washer and launder with your detergent as usual. By using the Our Family brand of automatic dishwasher detergent, not only will you be getting sparkling whites, but you will be earning a barcode for the elementary school.
Helpful Hint
Be great today! You can do so much more than you think! You are strong.
Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of.
Benjamin Franklin
Tidbits
Read out loud the text inside the triangle below.
More than likely you said, 'A bird in the bush,' and.......
if this IS what YOU said, then you failed to see that the word THE is repeated twice!
Sorry, look again.
Next, let's play with some words.
What do you see?
In black you can read the word GOOD, in white the word EVIL (inside each black letter is a white letter). It's all very physiological too, because it visualizes the concept that good can't exist without evil (or the absence of good is evil).
Now, what do you see?
You may not see it at first, but the white spaces read the word optical, the blue landscape reads the word illusion. Look again! Can you see why this painting is called an optical illusion?
What do you see here?
This one is quite tricky!
The word TEACH reflects as LEARN.
Last one.
What do you see?
You probably read the word ME in brown, but....... when you look through ME you will see YOU!
Do you need to look again?
News to the Editor
- Please send all your Murdock area news to me. Birthdays, anniversaries, announcements, events or news are welcome and will be added to the upcoming newsletter. Thanks in advance for all your help!
Teri Bowman
Editor@murdocknebraska.com
