Favorite Strawberry Shortcakes

I hope you all had a blessed Easter! I know we did. Church was wonderful, and then we had a fantastic time celebrating with our family and friends.
And now I want to post the yummiest shortcake recipe I think I've ever tried. I brought a triple batch of these to Ransom and Jessica's on Sunday. (from MarthaStewart.com)
By the way, check out Ridge's YouTube channel. I have a link to it on my sidebar, and he is trying to get as many views on his movies as possible. :-)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 pounds (6 cups) strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and quartered
• 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons cold (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss strawberries with 3/4 cup sugar; let sit to bring out their juices.

2. In a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, and the salt until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal but with some pea-size bits of butter remaining, 10 to 12 times. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup cream and the eggs; pour over flour mixture, and pulse until some large clumps begin to form, 25 to 30 times.

3. Using a half-cup measuring cup, gently pack dough, invert, and then tap out onto a baking sheet. Repeat to form 8 biscuits. Bake until lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool, about 15 minutes.

4. Beat remaining 1 1/2 cups cream and 2 tablespoons sugar with the vanilla until soft peaks form.

5. Slice biscuits in half horizontally. Spoon strawberries and their liquid over bottom halves. Spoon whipped cream on strawberries, and replace top halves of biscuits.

I Want It All (with a dash of everything)

Pretty, isn't it?
If you are like most females, looking at lovely pictures and building imaginary dwellings of fine draperies, flooring, furnishings, and landscaping, is a pastime that can eventually become all-consuming. Certainly, looking at creative uses of furniture, fabric, and color, especially when contemplating a real project, like building or renovating a room/house, can be profitable. However, a real tendency is to start a cause-and-effect cycle that can breed discontent. We can easily slip from appreciating the loveliness to wishing we had something like it, and before we know it, we are finding every little thing that's wrong (or at least perceived as wrong) with our own houses and possessions.
And there lies the real problem (besides God's command forbidding covetousness). We follow an ideal that I strongly believe is God's best for families; and that is the single-income family. I rely on my husband for shelter and daily provision, and if, no matter how warm and well-fed I am, I persist in dreaming of what is not mine, imagine what a burden I could place on him! There is nothing wrong in having color and style preferences, but if I continually mention this or that wonderful thing I cannot have, the man who works 10 hour shifts most weekdays for my welfare is left feeling inferior to my expectations and unable to give me what I really want. What a horrible way to make anyone feel! In Ephesians, men are instructed to love their wives, (and wives to reverence their husbands) and Ridge has shown that he loves me very much. That's really all I need.
Life is full of opportunities to acquire lovely possessions, but if we blow our chances with relationships, it's hard to go back.

Hebrews 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have : for he hath said , I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Wordle

After seeing my cousin Aaron's Wordle, I had to go make one myself. I think it's hilarious that the word "little" made it front and centerClick the image to see it more clearly

Guess what this means?

Yesterday, Ridge and I got to see our son!! Of course, we had seen him last month, but we didn't yet know that he was a him! We had so much fun seeing him moving his little fingers and toes, and we got a good look at his face this time. The ultrasound technician said he appears to be doing very well, and estimated that he weighs about eleven ounces. We got a strip of wonderful pictures, and are looking forward more eagerly than ever to the day we get to meet him!

Oh, and the name?
Sean Wilberforce Mallery.

Pregnant, Petite, Peeker

*the woman in the above picture is not me. Ok, glad we're clear on that.
Well, I'm almost to the half way mark in my pregnancy, and am finally approaching that dreaded point that every expectant woman reaches: facing the prospect of spending a good amount of money on clothes that you think are cute now, but inevitably you will hate by the end of your term. Add to that being petite, and it's become clear that finding comfy- yet stylish maternity wear is going to be a challenge. Am I up for it? Do I pledge to avoid polyester tent-like dresses like the plague? And to keep wearing my (modestly high) heels? And to eat (mostly) right, stay active, and exfoliate regularly? Yes, yes, yes, and yes!
One of my main concerns has been my weight. When I was fourteen, although I never developed an eating disorder, I went through a phase of constantly weighing myself (3-4 times daily), and I know that I don't want to be neurotic like that again. I've always been slim-but-not-skinny, and given that and my healthy BMI, height, age, and maternal history, my goal for pregnancy gain is 20-25 pounds. So far, I'm right on track.
I'd say secondary to that is the concern of clothes. Right now, I finally fit the pair of CK sz 2's that were my too-big jeans prepregnancy. I already have a pair of maternity capris, and I plan on getting one or two pairs of jeans, three or four dresses, numerous tops, stretchy skirts, and the holy grail: a modest and relatively inexpensive swimsuit.
Ridge and I have finalized our choice for a girl name, so now we are prepared for either/or. My next ultrasound is next week, and we *might* find out the little M.'s gender. It's getting pretty tempting, and to be perfectly honest, I'm rather alarmed and appalled at the fact that we've succumbed so soon to the seemingly universal urge parents develop to check out their offspring's privates. Shame on us. Pervs.

Many of you might already know, but last Wednesday, our Jeep Cherokee was stolen. It was already having problems, and when it was found a couple days later, the engine was toast. We were able to get a '96 Ford Taurus on Sunday at the Creston Auction. Our mechanic, Mike Shelley, is going to replace the transmission, and then it will need only a few cosmetic fixes. We are so thankful to Jason Ferguson, for finding our Jeep, Dad Vestal, for letting us drive his Suburban while in limbo, Dad Mallery for bidding for us, Mike, for his expert advice and help, and most of all, to God, for making a way for us.
So that has been our life lately.
And now I need to fold laundry and unload the dishwasher.