A tranquil Sunday and Lavender Yumminess in a cup

CONGRATS: Lia won the challenge. Elise is saying "I'm stucky!", which nobody was even close to, but she did ask for me to put her up there and asked for her picture to be taken, which Lia got right. I will be sending you some culinary lavender to play with, Lia.

First of all, today was just a very nourishing day at church. Sometimes you go to be fed and sometimes you go to feed others. On a good day, both happen. I don't know if I did a lot of feeding others today (I did run the library and get a lot of people their goods, cheerfully), but I sure did get fed. There were two talks about leadership today that focused on leadership in your family. Wow. I won't get too religious about it all, but my friend Tina talked about how sometimes we teach our kids the right lesson for the wrong reason. I think I do this more than I would like to admit. She used an example of when she was correcting a daughter's behavior because she was embarrassed, but not really because it was a good time or situation for correcting her. Anywho....the whole day just made me want to strive to be a more loving and nurturing mom. Here's a quote that I loved and then we'll move on to more lavender craziness.

"Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these little ones. Now, love them, take care of them. Fathers, control your tempers, now and in all the years to come. Mothers, control your voices, keep them down. Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones, welcome them into your homes and nurture and love them with all of your hearts." -Gordon B. Hinkley

Ok...one quick thought. I HATE when people admonish my kids. I feel like they don't understand the situation, they are being nosey and it just kind of rides my nerves in a major way! Pet peeve. If they would at least talk with me, we could figure out what is best for my kids. (Like the airline stewardess that FREAKED Rachel out when she was 2)  I just pictures Heavenly Father up in Heaven, watching me parent and being highly annoyed with my lack of understanding for his sweet little daughters.  He probably wished that I would talk things over with Him a little more before I jump the gun.  I need to visualize that EVERY stinking day. Wow.

Ok. Now to lavender. We were in Eugene, OR last week and I got to taste a lavender italian soda. It was an absolute taste bud overload. Delicious. I decided that I needed some lavender italian soda flavoring and Lia gave me the great idea of adding lavender to vanilla syrup. I just tried it out and I must say that I have that little deli in Eugene beat, hands down. If you've never had Lavender in food, this is a pretty easy way to try it without spending hours cooking. Then you will know if you want to waste your time cooking with it. Chris announced that he only likes it in small doses, which I think is GREAT because that is one less person to share with.  I must say that with it hanging over my kitchen table, every meal has me thinking I should add lavender to everything.

Lavender Italian Soda
Club Soda
Half and Half (I use fat free so I can have more whipped cream)
Can of Whipped Cream
Syrup of your choice (The kind at Starbucks....they are cheap at Cash and Carry, but you can get them at most grocery stores for an arm and a leg)
One straw (must have)

I just added the lavender into the vanilla syrup and let it sit for a while because I want that whole bottle to taste of lavender. If you just want to try it, I would put a little vanilla syrup (2 tbsp maybe?) into a bowl and mix it with lavender. An italian soda is a little to taste, but I fill my glass about 5/8 full of club soda and then add my flavoring and half and half to the top. More half and half than flavoring, but if you like more flavoring....add more. Then you get the can of whipped cream and make it nice and pretty. Stick your straw in (this allows you to also mix your whipped cream in as you go) and enjoy.