I got a DSLR camera for my birthday in December.  I love it. I don’t know how to use it, but I love it.  I want to take amazing pictures of my kids, but they move around a lot, so I’m practicing on food.

That’s not the whole truth.  I’ve had this lifelong dream of being a food blogger….well, not that long, since food blogging is a recent phenomenon, but I really think it would be cool to be a food blogger.  Like Mel, or Joy.

Not gonna happen anytime soon for me though, if ever. I can barely get dinner on the table, let alone snap fancy pictures of what we’re going to eat.  I did it tonight though!  Just for you.  I had to banish my kids to the basement, but I took some pictures of my most favourite tea biscuits.  I love these things.  They’re super easy, incredibly versatile and they don’t take long at all.  I even use these as the base for cinnamon buns.

I found the recipe in an old Robin Hood cookbook.  I’m pretty sure it was this one. Here she is!  Enjoy.

Don’t be too critical of my pictures.  They’re some of my firsts!

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup shortening or butter (I use butter)
• 1 cup buttermilk

Preparation:

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a mixing bowl.  Using two knives, a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add buttermilk all at once to dry ingredients and stir with a fork until a soft dough forms.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently eight to 10 times.  Roll or pat to ¾ – inch thickness.  Cut with a round cutter.  Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake in a 425 degrees F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden.  Serve warm.

Variations:

• Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar for a finishing touch.
• Stir in about 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese for a savory biscuit.
• Add 2 tbsp sugar to the dough for a sweet biscuit that you can use a base for shortcake.

So I was hoping to begin my first blog post with some sort of witty or insightful  word, but alas, I couldn’t come up with anything, so we’ll just have to dive right into  talking about me!

I was definitely very excited when Maja asked me to start blogging with her and with the two other ladies that will be joining us as well.  I had a blog of my own back in the day, however, due to a growing family I just couldn’t maintain it anymore.  I won’t give the link, because I may steal some old posts and put them up here, for those days when I just have nothing exciting or helpful to share!

Anyhow, moving along, as Maja mentioned, I’m Stacey and I’m a 30 year old wife to Julian Freeman and mom of three beautiful little ladies, Susannah Lynn (5), Caitlyn Adele (4) and Madalyn Joy (almost 2), whom I love with all my heart… so much it hurts.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour and He saved me from my sin when I was about 12 years old.  He is the reason for my joy and hope in life.

I have been blessed abundantly by the Lord as He has given me many good and perfect gifts, like that amazing family I mentioned above.  I have also been blessed with an amazing church family at Grace Fellowship Church Don Mills, which my husband planted and has been pastoring at for just over a year.

I LOVE cooking, like way more than Maja even does (that’s a joke, in case it wasn’t clear).  I spend too much time looking at food blogs and finding new recipes to try out for my family.  I’m always looking to make new traditions in our home and they typically revolve around food!  I’ll give you all a list of my favourite food blogs at a later date…don’t worry, I will talk about food again.  And again.

I like swimming.  Notice I didn’t say love.  I like it while I’m doing it; I love it when I’m done. It’s tiring and difficult for me.  After all, it is exercise.

I love hanging out with friends.  I am a crazy extrovert and cannot say no to being with people.  My poor husband didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he married me. I like playing games with said friends, just chatting with them about casual things, but mostly I love talking about our good and amazing God.  I love theology.

And finally I love being a mom.  I love watching my kids grow and learn and I love snuggling with them and nurturing and nourishing them! I love teaching them about God.  I’m not gonna lie though, it’s way harder than I anticipated and there are many aspects that I find incredibly challenging and some aspects that I just don’t love. Like going to the park with my kids in the winter, sometimes even the summer, or playing imagination games.  Is that terrible?  I do it (when I can), and I love their joy, but it’s crazy hard for me.  I don’t love when they disobey, but mostly I don’t love it when I fail miserably. I just wanted to let you in on that.  This mom thing is really hard, but thankfully, God gives grace!

I think that’s enough about me for now.  I look forward to blogging more and my hope with writing is that somehow something here might be a blessing to you, that you would grow in your love for the only one worthy of our love and adoration, our Lord Jesus Christ.