Hello from Third Period in Room 300

For as long as I can remember, creating things, journaling, making videos, collecting stickers, rearranging my bedroom furniture in the middle of the night and doodling was my greatest outlet. 

 

God love my mother and her tolerance for that audacious phase of paint pens 😳 

labeling everything I owned. 🖌

Humor me, please, and tell me I am not the only one that VAN GOH'D everything I owned. 

My light switch of all things, AND my phone AND Sony boombox. 😂

And the grace my father showed me when he fired up his jeep to jam out to what he thought would be Huey Lewis and the News--turns out I indeed would need "The Power of Love." 

Barbie and Ken's conversation would not be enough to save me. 

(yes, I used to record conversations between my barbies and dad's beloved Huey Lewis fell victim) 😅

(The Power of Love - Huey Lewis)

video reference

Creating things and bringing things to 

life was SURE AS SUNSHINE a big part 

of me. 

As a teacher, expressing my creativity has continued, while ensuring my students make meaningful connections to difficult concepts.   

💡If the available materials weren't enough to provide ample practice for my students, I would design my own.💡

Developing resources and ways to inspire learning comes natural to me, and its something I genuinely enjoy. I’ve spent countless hours -😳over 25 years😳- designing materials that not only engage students but also bring fun and creativity into their learning space. For me, teaching is about more than imparting knowledge—it’s about making the experience memorable and inspiring for everyone involved. 

A few years ago, I had a class with some special students that impacted me in MANY WAYS! 

They encouraged me, relentlessly, to pursue my teacher store and make it work! So, I did it. But never promoted it! I would create material, load it up to my store  and thats it. A few years later, I'm continuing to work on material and they still ask how my store is doing........

It's 'THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT' that finally resonated with me.  

Like a walking paradox- I am encouraging my students to be bold and take risks, yet I hesitate to do the same for myself. 

Perhaps, I'll follow my own advice.  

It will always be a work in progress, just as it is for them. 

So, here I am! 

Officially sharing Ms. Murphy’s Makings, a space where teachers can find unique, thoughtful, and creative classroom materials that are teacher tested and student approved.  

It’s more than a store—it’s the culmination of years of passion, creativity, and thoughtful collaboration with co-teacher professionals along the way. 

 

TpT Store

Thank you sweet girls from 3rd period in Room 300, and for the name of this blog! 

A NAME WITH MEANING 

Their enthusiasm is contagious, and their belief in me brought me here.

❤B

return to my love: after 15 years

Nooooo, its not a man, silly, BUT........ Fifteen years. That’s how long it’s been since I last shared my thoughts, my heart, and my words with the world. A lot can happen in a decade and a half, and let me tell you, a lot has happened. Life has been a mix of beauty and brokenness, triumphs and trials, and moments that tested every fiber of my being. Some experiences brought me to my knees in gratitude, while others forced me to my knees in prayer. Through it all, one thing has remained constant: MY FAITH. Growing up, my parents instilled in me a spiritual foundation that has been my anchor. It’s the very foundation that has carried me through life’s storms and reminded me that even in the darkest moments, there is purpose. AsReal Talk Kim so powerfully puts it, “If you have a pulse, you have a purpose.” And today, I’m leaning into that purpose by returning to the one thing that has always been a part of me: writing. The past 15 years have been a journey of rejections, heartbreaks, and redirections. But every single one of those experiences was not a detour—it was a step closer to my destination. Every closed door taught me resilience. Every painful moment reminded me of the power of hope. And every redirection led me closer to the path I was always meant to walk. So why now? Why return to writing after all this time? Because I’ve realized that stories have power—our stories, my story, your story. They remind us that we’re not alone, that we’re all navigating this beautifully messy thing called life. Writing has always been a way for me to process, to connect, and to heal. And if sharing my journey can bring even a glimmer of hope or encouragement to someone else, then it’s worth every vulnerable word. This is not just a return to the page; it’s a celebration of survival, of growth, and of faith. It’s a reminder that no matter how much time has passed or how far you’ve strayed from a passion, you can always come back. Because if you’re still here, you’re not done yet. There’s more to be written, more to be lived, and more to be shared. So here I am, pen in hand (oops-fingers on keys), heart wide open, ready to embrace this next chapter. I don’t know exactly where this journey will lead, but I do know this: every word I write is a testament to the grace that has carried me this far and the purpose that propels me forward. Thank you for joining me on this continued adventure: it's like a postpartum episode of 'creative conclusions'... Stay Tuned... Here’s to the stories- yet to be told and the capricious journey yet to unfold. New blog name loading......... "Patience is key—they say good things take time, so I'll change my profile pic later........ like in 15 years. Until then, let's not distract my subscribers with the shocking glow-up!" 😎 ✌️ my friends and followers.

Find your niche

I've been blessed this summer to be a part of a writing group. But, this is not just any writing group. We are the Great Bear Writer's of 2009! This has been a summer of becoming a better teacher, while improving my writing skills at the same time. It just doesn't get any better than that! Our days are filled with sharing our stories and ideas that are effective in our classrooms. I am overwhelmed with the wealth of knowledge and exploding ideas I will be bringing back to my students this coming year! I have a confidence, unlike ever before, that my students are going to be the best writers they can be and they are going to love it. I just know they will!

This writing group has awakened the bear, for Spring, that resides within me. I LOVE TO WRITE! I never thought I would say that. I have had the opportunity for the past three weeks to concentrate on something that has been buried for a long time. The old saying, "practice makes perfect" rings true for me this summer. While, I'm not perfect, I've gotten better and I owe that only to the mere fact that I have practiced everyday since I started this journey.

Yesterday, we spent the day in downtown Little Rock's River Market in a writing marathon. We found different spots sprinkled throughout this area all day long. We were divided into our writing groups, which made me feel secure. See, I've become very close to the ladies that make up this group. We have shared life stories and even written fictional ones. There is a sense of freedom that comes from writing. Within this freedom, we have shared things that will only stay within our group and for that I am grateful!

During this marathon downtown, I took lots of pictures, I guess that makes me a visual person. I noticed lots of different people and found myself writing about my observations, mostly. People are so interesting and you can certainly find some of the most interesting here. I tend to write most of what comes from my heart and those are my experiences with my Savior, Jesus Christ. Anne Lamott talks about our need to get out our personal emotions as we begin as writers, so I guess that is where I am. I have written about a lot of emotion, which always returns to Jesus. All of who I am and have become I owe to Him!

While, I'm not to the publishing line of my writing ruler, I suppose I will share some soon. However, I have found a niche to add to my list and want to encourage you to find yours, as well. Who knows? writing just might be yours, too. You might be surprised. Just give it a whirl, entertain yourself, write for a few minutes every single day! There may be a sleeping bear waiting to be awakened within yourself.

Life goes on............

even when I do not post! It's been a long while. Life is still continuing at an assiduous rate.

I thought summer was for resting. HA HA HA!!! But, I can honestly say, I enjoy being busy and having things "TO DO".

The kids have VBS this week and are excited about that.

Kathryn just turned 2o months old. WOW!

Audrey finished 3rd grade and will be 9 on the 22nd.

Alex finished kindergarten and we are finally celebrating his 6 bday this Friday(big deal, considering he's been 6 since April).

I finished 4th grade and Jim completed one year of Daddy DayCare!

We have just about packed everything up from our 2nd home at the ball field. Alex has his last game Monday and Audrey finished Thursday night.

We survived our first year of mommy going back to work! It was a challenge, but we persevered!!!

The Sunday after VBS, Audrey and I leave for Summer Church Camp, here. We're really excited about it! It's going to be a super sensational week of total Focus on Jesus!!! :) It just doesn't get any better than that!

The weekend we return we head to North Little Rock to shack up with my parents. I start the Summer Writing Institute at UCA for a full month! I cannot wait to begin! It's going to be life changing!!!

Here's to a busy summer and hopes that I will continue to feed my oh so hungry blog!

I'll leave this post with some pictures from this past Spring!

Summer Writing Institute

I was accepted to the UCA Great Bear Writing Project and I'm thrilled! This is where I'll be spending 4 weeks of my summer!!!

http://www.uca.edu/cfac/writing/cawp/SummerInst.html

So the Murphy clan will be packing up and living with Mawsie and Papa June 22-July 16. We'll come home on the weekends, I'm sure!

17 Things about Kathryn (17 Months)

1. Her precious little smile

2. How she is standing in her crib, when I walk into her room.

3. She always brings things to us like a little helper

4. She asks "what eez it" about everything.

5. When she sees someone she says, "who eez it?"

6. Her chubby little arms and legs.

7. How she lies her head on her shoulders and smiles real big when she is proud of herself.

8. She calls her pacifier her sassy.

9. She LOVES animals.

10. She loves to play 'night night'.

11. She loves Eggo waffles.

12. She loves Outzi (outside).

13. When you ask her for a hug, she gives a BIG ONE and says, "ooh".

14. She climbs on everything. (Jim found her standing up on Audrey's play kitchen)

15. She cheers for Audrey and Alex at their basketball games.

16. She loves to look at books.

17. How much she adores Audrey and Alex!

(These photos were taken by Julie Brooks)

Project 365

Okay, I've jumped in, like Julie has encouraged me to. It's scattered and uneven right now, but I figure I have to start somewhere. You can find out about it on Julie's blog or you can hop on over here.

I have placed my photos and journaling on photoblog.com . I don't know much about it, just went with the suggestion from this blog.

I encourage you, jump in and give it a whirl, I think you'll be glad you did!!!

My photoblog is here.
http://www.photoblog.com/jbaak/

100 Days of School

Kindergarten makes a big deal out of the 100th day of school, which is really exciting for the kids. In turn, this means the parents get to make some projects and do some counting of their own.

Alex is all about sports so I thought I would sew on 100 sports beads to his shirt. Oh yeah! Great idea, Beth! 2 hours later, I was asking myself what in the world was I thinking? I didn't even have any rhyme or reason to the placement of the beads and it was a total experiment as you can see from his shirt. LOL!! He didn't care, he was proud! Alex stuck on transportation stickers to his poster, and I counted out 100 pieces of cereal, beans and pennies to send along for their activities at school.

Sharing other bloggers

This precious lady posted on my blog about food allergies. As I clicked around in search to respond to her, I stumbled all over her blog and fell in love with all of her creations and words of wisdom. So, if interested, check her out here. :) This particular post spoke volumes to me.

I've got some growing up to do!!!

These past few weeks have been extremely frustrating for me. With Jim's travels, this horrible cold I have been fighting, and the demands from work, I have found myself having a bit of a pity party. Thank you God for making me see that it is not all about me. I just wanted to share my daily devotional from Beth Moore's Breaking Free series.

For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like Me.
Isaiah 46:9

We make life so much more complicated when we think life is "all about us." The rest of the world never cooperates. No one else got the memo. When we see ourselves as the center of the universe, we live in constant frustration because the rest of creation refuses to revolve around us.

Life vastly simplifies, and satisfaction greatly amplifies, when we begin to realize our awesome roles. God is God. From our perspective, it's all about Him. He is the center of the universe. We seek to please Him. He seeks to perfect us-and life works. Not without pain, but definitely with purpose.

Makin' the Most of My Day

I've been fighting a terrible cold. I wanted to get so much done this weekend, since I am off work tomorrow. But, that didn't happen. Instead I've been couchridden all weekend fighting a cold. Today I scrapped and made the most of my time. :)

Shabby Miss Jenn


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