10,000 Masses For the Unborn

I saw this on my friend Esther's blog, and thought it was so important I had to share it with all of you.....

Hello.

The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization is now in the process of coordinating the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES effort, scheduled to take place from January 13th - January 21st, 2009. This will be a Novena of Masses offered for the following intention:

For the protection of unborn human persons. I greatly encourage you to help with this effort by having one or more Masses offered.. Additional information, including how to register, can be found at St. Michael the Archangel Organization.

In addition to contacting me about the registration of one or more Masses, please let me know if you would like to be on the email mailing list of the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization. My email address is PatrickBenedict@SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org.

Sincerely,

Patrick Benedict
Saint Michael the Archangel Organization

p.s. I also encourage you to let other people(including, of course, priests) know about the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES. The following bulletin announcement may be placed in a parish's bulletin:

The 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES is scheduled for January 13th - 21st, 2008. During this Novena, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered for the following intention: For the protection of unborn human persons. Persons wanting to help with this effort may do the following: 1) Ask a priest to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as part of the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES(of course, a person may ask that more than one Mass be offered); and, 2) Register the date and location of the Mass with the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization(P. O. Box 41257; Memphis, Tennessee 38174; U.S.A. or send an email to PatrickBenedict@SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org). The website is St. Michael the Archangel Organization

p.p.s. Presently, there are over 550 Masses scheduled to be offered as part of the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES. This includes one or more Masses being offered in: Australia, Trinidad, Rome(Italy), Fargo(ND), a Trappist Monastery, a Carmelite Monastery, Canyon(TX), Covington(LA), Brantford(FL), Poland, etc.

*The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization was founded in the year 2007. The Organization has coordinated the following: ROSARY FOR LIFE SUNDAY(October 14th, 2007); ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES(May 3rd, 2008); and, the WORLDWIDE ROSARY FOR UNBORN BABIES(October 18th, 2008). As mentioned, the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES is presently being coordinated. It is hoped there will be a ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event on May 1st and 2nd, 2009 as well as a WORLDWIDE ROSARY FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event on October 17th, 2009.

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL ORGANIZATION
P. O. Box 41257 Memphis, Tennessee 38174 U.S.A.
PatrickBenedict@SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org

Thanks POMS!

Thanks Poms for your help! Loving having a nice background! You are the best!

Mrs. Murphy

Cha-cha-cha-changes...

I've gotten tired of not having a 3 column blog, I feel like it's too much of a pain to keep scrolling and scrolling down to see all the information, so I have changed it. What a ton of research and work though! But I finally did it, thanks to the Beginners Blogger Guide. Thank you! I did have to do a bit of tweaking on my own to get the columns just right...and unfortunately for it to work I had to take off my super cute background from The Cutest Blog on the Block, and now to my ultimate frustration their site is not working and I cannot see any of the backgrounds! Can you??

Send me a comment and let me know of any other sites like this one, that has html-add cute backgrounds, before I lose my mind!

Breathing, breathing,
Mrs. Murphy

Thanks Sherry!

Another awesome site has been given to me to share with you! Thanks Sherry (my middle school BF!) for the link for 365 days of Crock Pot Recipes! It gives a description of the meal, a picture of the ingredients and a picture of the dish when it's done, the recipe (of course) and often a review. How awesome!

I've also added a site for the ultimate e-cookbook which has, well, everything you could ever want the recipe for! You will have to check it out for yourself! Kudos go to my friend Poms for that one!

Happy cookin'
Mrs. Murphy

Thanks Sonja!

An awesome new kids site was added today: ABC Ya! , thanks so much Sonja! I want to encourage my blog, with all the military, homemaking, money saving, fun kids games and educational resources, to be shared with more than just homeschooling moms, so much can be used by anyone!

I am so happy my good friend from the good old Cherry Point Play Group (way back when my big girl was a baby) shared this with us, my kids are itching for me to get off the blog so they can get on and play, thanks again!

I'm going to be expanding more, to include a section of frugal family friendly recipes (to include meat-less and crock-pot), so, send me your favorites!

Loving the Sharing!
Mrs. Murphy

More New Stuff!

Well, you can see the sections with resources for Homeschooling, Great Kids Places and My Favorite Catholic places are a bit longer! Thanks Marti, from the Olympia WA, Catholic HS Group for sharing so many awesome sites! Again, I pray that eventually, when a homeschooling mom is thinking, "where can I go to find some worksheets? Some games? Some Catholic resources? A way to support our military? Something to help the kids of a deployed dad?" another mom will say, "Why, to Mrs. Murphy's Methods, of course!"

My resources lists are getting long again, so in a few days you may see some restructuring into sub groups, like printables, foreign language, music, etc. Sit back, relax, and let me do the research for FREE, dependable, Catholic and family friendly resources for you!

Also, if you don't mind missing the Inauguration Ceremony, the Washington State March for Life will be at the Capital on January 20, starting at noon. Details are through the link I posted under the January section. And, if you have ever been interested in learning more about 40 Days for Life, click on the poster and it will take you to the official site. I have friends who are active at both the Tacoma and Olympia Planned Parenthoods, so if you have any concerns, questions or would like some support to participate in 40 days, let me know in a comment and I will help you out!

God Bless, enjoy the resources, and pass this blog along to your friends!
Mrs. Murphy

Free Christmas Lapbooks

clipped from www.youtube.com

On the Second Day of Christmas Mrs. Murphy gave to me, tons of FREE Christmas Lapbooks plus a How - To video, and some awesome Recipes!

I know, it's a bit late, but I was thinking about all the fun Lapbook and printable activities to do for the 12 days of Christmas and well, found a bunch of FREE stuff for the entire season. (On the right in the Christmas section.) I will be sure to re post this all come the end of next November!

And, now that I know what I am looking for, how to find and organize it, I will be sure to post these groupings for Holidays, Feast Days etc., a few weeks ahead so it is all ready for you! Oh, and I promise that I will be previewing everything I post and make sure that it is all FREE!

Happy Printing!
Mrs. Murphy

Merry Christmas!

Happy First Day of Christmas! Today begins the 12 days of Christmas, ending on Epiphany, January 6. I hope you all had a blessed day on this the day of Our Lord's birth. The Murphy family had a wonderful time, and although a modest gift giving, I'll say the girls weren't any less thrilled than in Christmases past. I say it every year, we could have done less and it would have been just as joyful!

Each year for Christmas Day I try to make 2 main meals, a breakfast feast and a dinner feast, usually featuring "roast beast" (ha ha, that rhymed!). During the day we nibble on smoked meats, cheeses, crackers, black olives and the sweet Gherkins that Daddy gets in his stocking every year from St. Nick! (The girls think that is just hilarious!) I'd like to share with you this year's breakfast feast, as it was a huge success.

As a miserly mom, of course I save my bread ends! I keep them in a big ziploc freezer bag and I had accumulated about a loafs worth, maybe more. This recipe has been adapted from the one my sister-in-law sent me from NH, that she makes for her family on Thanksgiving morning.

French Toast Bake:

Last night, I thawed my bread ends and tore them into about 1 inch by 1 inch, some smaller, pieces and spread them in a 9 X 13 casserole dish


In a separate bowl I mixed:
10 eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup maple syrup
8 Tbls melted butter
1tsp vanilla

I poured this over the bread and then I stirred it all together to make sure all the bread was soaked. I covered it and let it sit in the fridge over night.


This morning I baked it at 350 for 45 minutes.

It came out all golden and yummy and mapely...oh so good! My husband and kids added more syrup to it, and next year I'll have on hand some powered sugar to shake on top!

We also had Sausage Balls, one of my favorites as a kid. My mom made them every year.

3 cups Bisquik
1 lb HOT sausage
8 oz shredded SHARP cheddar cheese

Let the sausage and cheese come to room temperature. Since I don't like to touch meat so much, and I'm not into hand mixing, I put everything into the Kitchen-Aid and let it do all the mixing work for me!
Roll the mixture into small balls (about 1 inch) and place on baking sheet (I only use stoneware). Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.
I did this last night and put them in the fridge when they were cooled. It was so easy to pull a big glass casserole of them out and put them in the oven to warm after I pulled out the french toast bake.

I hope your Christmas morning feast was as yummy as ours, I'd love to hear what you have for traditional foods! So much comes from family, handed down generation after generation. Enjoy the season and God Bless you all!

Now you can sing "On the first day of Christmas Mrs. Murphy gave to me...some awesome Christmas recipes!"

With Much Love,
Mrs. Murphy

Let's Say Thanks!

About Updates

My husband made a good point, and that is to let you all know when and what updates I add to the side bar. Yesterday I spent a good amount of time sorting and double checking my resources, making sure what I wanted to share with you would be useful as well as easy to use.

I added a good amount to the "Military Support" section, including deployment resources for kids and information about sending care packages and letters to troops. I also included in that section information about DECA (your Commissary) and AAFES.

The Christmas section has some more fun stuff plus information on O Antiphon. A new section of some fun You Tube videos has been added. I've shared my favorite homeschool quarterly magazine, Mater et Magistra, and Washington state homeschool information including the Northwest Catholic Family Education Conference link.

The EWTN Kids link and a fun "Turkey Shoot" has been added to the kids section, as well as a few more of my "Favorite Catholic Places" and some additional resources such as how to find products that have been recalled to the Homemaking section.

And, who wouldn't like to have the Holy Father's email address? If you send him an email, and get a response, please share it with me!

Let me know if something doesn't work, if there is something I should add or take off, and whether these resources are helpful or fun for you!

Thanks for checking me out! And special thanks to Regina for helping me get my Advent wreath to flicker!

With Blessings,
Mrs. Murphy

Leftovers Soup

One of my favorite tightwad tips is making leftovers into a big pot of soup. It's become a tradition and depending on what we eat it takes about 2 weeks to make a 2 gallon pot.

First, I keep a huge Tupperware bowl with lid to keep the leftovers in the freezer. All the cut up meat, veggies, potatoes, rice, gravy - it all goes in the bowl after every meal.

About 9:00 every night, my night time snack is a cup of Rauman noodles. Usually chicken, mushroom, oriental or shrimp. I use the leftover broth to put in the bowl to make the soup stock.

Some things I don't recommend putting in are a lot of broccoli or asparagus (too strong - the kids complained about the "after taste"). If you want to add leftover spaghetti, cut it up into small pieces.

Really good to add are leftover mashed potatoes, this thickens the stock. You can puree the leftovers from baked potatoes, skins and all in a food processor to add. Did you know there are lots of good vitamins in potato skins? If you have that odd can of beans, throw them in!

We had this last night with some home made biscuits and it was the perfect meal on a cold snowy night! I take great comfort in not wasting any food, especially in this world where more of us are going hungry than not. Praise be to God for all He has provided for us!

Stay Cozy,
Mrs. Murphy

How I got Kung Fu Panda for $3

My "Amigas" and I are really into this Miserly Mom thing lately. So, I have to share how I got the deal of the year on one of the movies of the year. I braved Walmart on Black Friday, oh yes I did! I bought Kung Fu Panda, plus a few other movies that will be from St. Nicholas, for the advertised $9. That weekend coupons came in the mail for $3 off each movie. I brought the coupons plus my receipt back to Walmart and asked if they could be applied after the sale, and they gave me the difference in cash! So, that's down to $6. Chef-Boy-R-Dee is giving a rebate of $3 when you buy 5 of their products and send in the receipt plus the Kung Fu Panda proof of purchase. Wow! A blockbuster kids movie for $3!

What a deal, now I plan to expand my "resources" for miserly penny-pinching moms as myself and add resources that are real, practical and easy to use!

Happy Saving!
Mrs. Murphy

What Blessings!

Just like homeschooling, when you decide to become a blogger, a whole new world opens up to you! I'm amazed at the blogs, sites, and people (women just like me!) that I have found on this journey. I'm amazed and blessed and so thankful for all the support I have received! Thank you!

You can see my side scroll is much longer, with new games, sites, blogs and resources listed. I may have to find a new way to store this information, a virtual "closet" and pull it out when the season or time comes. But...the snow is coming down hard, the hubby is home, and it's cookie time.

It has taken me a few years to try different recipes on my gaggle of guinea pigs...but now that we have collected a bunch we all like every time I'll share my Christmas Cookie Collection with all of you.

Two amazing recipes from my Great-Grandmother Nora (after who my first was named)
Angel & Sugar cookies

We also love Peanut Butter with Kisses, M & M Shortbread, Snickerdoodles and of course, chocolate chip.

Hope your cookie baking is blessed!
Mrs. Murphy

Snow Day!

Prayers answered came in the form of a SNOW DAY! An event I wanted to get out of... out door fun for my kids... guilt free time to work on my blog!

Today I dedicated many hours to my project and yes, my brain is melting. Yesterday at bible study, I was asked, what do I put on a blog? While many are so talented sharing their crafts, their cooking, their celebrations, I like to share my resources. So, I went through 700+ emails that I had saved over the past 6 or so years that had links I thought would one day be "useful". What a wonderful place to organize them and keep them for others to use!

I had places saved that I had forgotten about like science sites, reading help, home organization tools, all mostly free resources. Now they are in one place for you and I to utilize and enjoy. I just hope I didn't delete any thing when trying to upload, organize and categorize!

More will come and I plan to organize them in the side bar under titles such as "Thanksgiving", "Easter", "Homeschool Resources" etc. I pray that this blog becomes utilized for the mom looking for a much needed resource. Pass it along!

Enjoy the snow!
Mrs. Murphy

Mrs. Murphys take...

These past few months my world has been pummeled with several controversies. Pants vs. Skirts. Communion in the hand vs. on the tongue. Chapel veil or no chapel veil. To immunize your children or not to immunize your children. These are all valid life choices, choices which we all must respect comes from the will of God.

When faced with these decisions, it is so easy to get caught up in the onslaught of opinions (of which, as my dad says, just like a certain body part-everybody has one!) from family, friends, online forums, and usually the debate becomes heated. This is where I feel the urge to back out and crawl away...because I don't want to be judged for my decision.

In all these things which we are called to do to bring us closer to Christ, to live a life more holy with each step, we must go to one for the guidance: Our Lord. The first step is to contemplate with prayer, the second is to do your own research, and finally, the third is to follow through with your family in what you have felt God has called you to do.

By no means is this a cop-out on hard decision making and I in NO WAY condone the "do what you feel like" attitude. We must be true to the Church and follow the guidelines set for us. Any other way would be leading us in the wrong direction, and the goal each and every one of us should have for ourselves is no less than Sainthood.

Beginnings and big plans

So, I've been thinking about what I want to focus on in this blog since there are SO MANY Catholic Homeschooling moms with blogs out there, oh my! Perhaps what will separate myself from the bunch will be our Marine Corps twist.

I would like to have military homeschooler resources listed, as well as tips and resources for the military spouse and keeping house, kids and faith filled and fulfilled. What do you think?

Today the girls got up to snow! Not too common for our southern Puget Sound region. #1 made her annual snowball and put it in the freezer. I have been a bad mom and let them indulge in hot cocoa, pop corn, raisins and graham crackers while watching Christmas movies after their early morning romp around the neighborhood. Motive, of course, for me to have more time to learn about this new world of blogging!

What I would like from you, input! Let me know what will be different and what you would want to learn and read about. Tell me!

Mrs. Murphy

What to expect....

I think I'm getting the hang of this while making pasta and doling out hugs! I'm slowly joining the world of technically savvy home school moms who share their ideas, recipes, prayers and joys, and my hope is that one day many will find great resources from my blog as I have found from others!

Once my husband gets us a new camera I will be able to post some photos of our crafts, creations and gatherings. In the meantime, the imagination will have to kick into gear when I tell about my Catholic Connections group, the Little Flowers and Blue Knights, our Feast Day celebrations and more...

This is exciting! And hopefully a tool to keep me accountable! Happy Blogging!

Mrs. Murphy

Ok, wish me luck, this is my second attempt at a blog...the first was too confusing!