Great deals of the week (April 25-May 1)

After reading my sister-in-law Cynthia's blog about posting her menu for a week, I knew that would be a disaster for me and very disappointing for those who believe I'm a good cook. I might try posting meals sometime in the future, stay tuned. I love to cook but I don't cook every night because I'm not, or my family is not, always home because I'm running Duncan here, there and everywhere, attending a function or doing church callings. We eat a lot of leftovers, sandwiches, or cereal.

But I got the idea to tell my great deals I find each week. So here goes for this week. If I find more, I'll edit the post so it could change.

Non-Food
**At Staples.com, I bought two 20 pack AA Duracell batteries for $19.98 (free shipping) with a $19.98 rebate. Cost = FREE!!
**Suave shampoo, 15oz. Cost = 49 cents
**The Children's Place.com has sale items with a current 15% off your order (Code: C4A4A - expires 05/12/10) Yeah!!!
**Photoshop Elements 8 and Premier Elements 8 bundle (regularly $135) $74.00 with free 3-day shipping and $30 rebate. Cost: $44.00 Woo-hoo!

Groceries
**Yoplait yogurt was 60 cents each. The manager added a 25 cent coupon, used a manufacturer coupon for 50 cents off six. Cost = 26 cents each.
**Broccoli flowerettes (just the tops) Cost = 69 cents per lb.

Round 4

(This is NOT us. It is a picture I pulled from lds.org)

John and I have been called to serve as Ward missionaries/Ward Mission Leader once again. It is a calling that we love. Over the last eleven years living in Grantsville, we have learned to love the full-time missionaries that have served in our area and the people we have taught/baptized. They become life-long/eternal friends.

We have kept in contact with several of our former missionaries:
*Elder Jared Mackrory (New Zealand)
*Elder Auguston Zsida (Hungary)
*Elder Lee Oddy
*Elder Russell Harrington
*Elder Shaun Tramel
*Elder Adam Buffington
*Elder Gilvani Da Luz (Brazil)
*Elder Oliver Crane
*Elder Sam Da Silva (Brazil)
*Elder Thomas Knutson (Norway)
Oh how we love them. Just like Helaman called the stripling warriors his "sons" so do we call these young men our "sons".

We are looking forward to the service again.

No One Owns A Calling

Yesterday after serving for 2 years and 3 months, we were released as a Relief Society Presidency. It was a sad day. If anyone had told me 4 or 5 years ago that I would love Relief Society with all my heart, I would question their sanity but here I am saying that very thing. The 7th Ward sisters taught me through their service, love, words, and charity that the Relief Society motto is alive and well.

I learned to love our president, Shelly Johnson. She is so patient and calm regardless of what is going on around her. She is quietly strong and abundantly loving. She taught me each and every day about our Savior's love and mission. Never would I have known that she understood every challenge I was faced with over the last two years. She had the answers I needed to give me peace and comfort.

I learned to love the other counselor, NanC Smith. Oh, the wisdom and unconditional love she has. She is a rock and the most loving mother - though she has no children. I am grateful for all the insight and leadership she taught me.

I learned to love our secretary, Lynette Richeson. She didn't know what to expect with this presidency but she was strengthened. I love her innocence of the gospel - just simplify it. She has a teenage son so she had answers and support when I needed it.

These sisters served and magnified their callings. Oh how I'm going to miss our weekly presidency meetings - the laughter, the tears, the love, the friendship, the sincere concern for each other and our sisters, the prayers, the decisions.



I learned to love visiting teaching and how vital it is in the church's role in members lives and it's leadership. If visiting teaching is going well, the sisters are doing well. If the sisters are not getting visited and the teachers are not unconditionally loving their sisters, things don't go well.

Love and service is the key to coming unto Christ!

Personal challenges during this calling
It was through my personal/family challenges that I relied on the Relief Society from which I learned and grew to love the sisterhood.
*Two weeks after being called, my mother-in-law attempted suicide in our home after living with us for nine months. Shelly knew exactly how it felt from personal experiences with family members and said just the right things. NanC and Lynette shared their support and love.
*Six months into the calling, Marcie called to inform us of her and Emry's challenges. Shelly opened her heart and home to Melanie and loved her unconditionally. That gave us great strength through some tough days. The love and service rendered when Emry was born and then after her death. Eternal gratitude and service is just not enough to pay it all back.
*Sixteen months, Duncan disappeared overnight and drove to Enterprise. What a dark night! Lynette come to my home when I was all alone when everyone else was searching for him. She does not know how much I needed that right then.

Now that we have been released our personal/family major trials are over, right?! (hee, hee, hee)

Another Girls Day Out

Jennifer, Cynthia and I were signed up for a cooking class at Orson Gygi today at noon. When we arrived, they told us it had been canceled and would let us know when they might reschedule it. We waited for Cynthia. And unfortunately, there was a mix-up in the time so she didn't make it. (We missed her!) As we were waiting for Cynthia, Jennifer and I decided to do something fun since we were planning on doing something so we did! We had a few ideas but settled on visiting Gardner Village. Oh, bubba. What a great time!



We dreamed as we walked through the different shops, discussed/investigated HOW to make certain things, and gathered many ideas.


The highlight of the day was at Sweet Afton's. I have a really good fudge recipe that I've been making for decades but this shop expanded my vision and, more importantly, my taste buds. Oh my! It was divine. They only allow one sample (I didn't see the sign) but I asked for two. I tried Caramel Coconut Fudge and Boston Creme fudge. Jennifer tried cookie dough. Soooooo good! I loved the Boston Cream. It was Amarillo, maraschino cherries, and chocolate fudge. Yummy! The cookie dough was white chocolate with real chunks of cookie dough. Yummy! But the best, most divine, was the Caramel Coconut Fudge. I bought enough to bring home to figure it out. Oh, bubba! I MUST try to duplicate it so everyone can try it.

Thanks Jennifer for making my day!!

My Mother, Marcia Watkins

I don't have a perfect mom but she is perfect for me.
We can visit for hours and not realize time has slipped away so quickly. Since being married, I've never lived close to my parents, at the minimum 2 hours and now 7. I would love to live close so we could visit more often. Thanks for raising me, and my siblings, and enduring all the challenges you have faced with a fervant testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Happy 71st Birthday, Mom! I love you very much.

Tender Mercies

Heavenly Father,
We would be ingrates if we did not acknowledge your hands in our lives this past week. Thanks for the protection and guidance!
Amen.

We had a wonderful week with the Cozzens family in Port Orchard, WA (See another post for details). As we began our supposed-to-be-15-hour-long drive home, the rain beat down upon us for about an hour and a half. The Blue Mountains of WA introduced snow and snow packed roads. The sign requiring chains made our hearts skip a few beats but prayers were offered because we did not have chains or traction tires. Slowly but safely we moved along our trek eastward.

Rain continued, mixed with snow for another few hours. The interstate in OR was slushy, sometimes with 3-4 inches on the road, with continuous snow throughout. As we approached the Cascade mountains in OR, we had VERY strong winds at Umatilla. We were inspired to add fuel before entering the mountains though we knew we had plenty to make the 60 miles to our next desired fuel stop. We finally realized we were in a very serious spring storm as snow began to pile up.

I-84 was shut down between LaGrande, OR and Baker City. We were forced off the interstate by the highway patrol. There was only a very overcrowded truck stop so we drove down a back road hoping to maybe find a motel or another route.

We pulled into the Hot Lakes Springs Museum which is absolutely beautiful but kind of out in the middle of nowhere. I've included a photo and a little info about it below. A most helpful lady got on the internet, showed us the storm, roughly sketched an alternative route and sent us on our way. Thank you for your assistance, dear Manuel family! Without a GPS or any way to really know where we were, we had the faith to follow the prescribed path through Pyke's pass to North Powder where we re-entered the interstate to slowly make our way to Baker City.

**For our poor memories and future trips, the cheapest gas is at Loves Truck Stop which is just west of Ontario, OR.


Hot Lake Resort always attracts the attention of passers by.This huge old brick building is but a fraction of a once sprawling complex alive with hundreds of visitors who came from around the world to take the waters and renew their health. The spa/resort/hospital was known as the Mayo Clinic of the West, as the famous Mayo Brothers were visitors and friends of Dr. Phy, the administrator. The resort was in its heyday from 1908 through 1932. A complete history of this fascinating place is available at the visitor center. Hot Lake Resort, now called Hot Lake Springs, is under-going a major restoration. It is the new home of the David Manuel Gallery and bronze foundry and future plans are extensive and exciting. Site tours are available and gallery are open daily. Visit the website. www.hotlakesprings.com

Snow, slush and rain continued for the remaining travel through Oregon and into Idaho. After being on the road for 11 hours, we stopped in Boise for dinner. Utah was only 230 and 3 hours away. Therefore home would be about another 5 hours. Right? The snow had disappeared on the plains of Idaho but rain persisted.

As we traveled about 200 miles from Boise just before the Utah state line, we read road signs - Severe Weather Area. We had experienced just that already but it was only raining so we could handle that. Nope. Rain changed to blowing blinding snow. As another sign indicating snow chains were required, we began praying again. Our slow travel took 5 hours from Boise, ID to Tremonton, UT.

From Tremonton to Ogden was horrible. It was very difficult to even see the lines on the road, lots of traffic and blowing blinding snow. We finally safely pulled into our driveway at 1:30 am after 18 hours of terrible weather but with much heavenly protection.

As we entered the house absolutely exhausted, half of the house had lost power. We were so tired we said we would deal with it in the morning. Grandma and Grandpa Watkins had gone to a mission reunion in SLC and arrived at our place around 11:30 to discover the power outage and the empty house. We had planned to make it there before they arrived. Oh well.

When we awoke, John and Grandpa tried to figure things out. John was anxious to complete a school issue about his graduation from WGU that had worried about the entire time in Washington and while he was doing this, he called his dad. Grandpa Thomas convinced him to call Rocky Mountain Power to figure it out first.

As the 2:00 session of General Conference began, a Rocky Mountain Power guy came. He found the problem, turned off the power and was horrified. While we were gone, extra power line had shorted-out and burned a 3"-4" hole through the metal roof and wooden frame of the roof. He said if we had not had a metal roof, our house would have burned down! He quickly took care of it and returned the power so we could finish the last half of the session. Tender mercies! Oh how we are grateful for the protection and safety our home received while we were gone.






When you begin to question whether you are doing what is right, just muddling through life or completely off track, Heavenly Father is very aware of our heart's desires and needs. He watches over us always! Our family is definitely far from perfect but, apparently, our Father in Heaven continues to encourage with his love and tender mercies.

Ten Little Piggies

In about six months (approx. arrival Sept 22), we are going to be counting ten little piggies, kissing one pudgy little nose, making lots of silly cooing sounds, and cuddling with Marcie and Ben's newest little precious one - our third grandchild.

We are VERY excited!