a treat

Saturday evening Evie and I went to Walmart because it was SUPER hot and we needed to get out of the house. Since it was too hot to want to be outside Walmart seemed like the next best place to explore. :) Evie was very good and I told her that she could get a treat (she's usually really bad when she and I go shopping). We were in the frozen veggie aisle when I told her this and she got really excited and started saying "treat! treat!" Then she opened one of the glass refrigerator doors, grabbed a bag of frozen peas, put it in the cart said "treat!" again and then smiled up at me. Frozen peas can be a treat I guess! What a funny girl I have. I love her. :)

Music

Earlier this week while driving in the car I heard a song on the radio that has significant meaning to me. It wasn't Sunday, so I wasn't listening to Soft Sunday Sounds on FM 100, but I'm pretty sure it was FM 100 I was listening to (there was nothing on any of my other pre-set stations except commercials). It was "I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone." Why on earth would this song have any meaning for me? I'll explain in a minute. Years ago, my dad became friends with a member of the church. Her name was Peggy and I've mentioned her in a previous post. He was at BYU visiting her and some other friends from home while he was still investigating the church. He says that at that time he was working his way through the Book of Mormon, and trying to decide if this church was true and if he really wanted to get baptized. He says that he was reading the Book of Mormon in one of the boys dorms that he was staying in and all of a sudden he could hear the "Carry on my Wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done, lay your weary head to rest don't you cry no more." You, know... that song by Kansas. He says that those words touched his heart and were the answer to his prayers about what he was reading and about joining the church. I love that story. It shows that the Lord knew my dad and knew what he wanted to know and answered his prayer in a very personal way- that was meant just for him. I know the Lord loves my dad and wanted him to know the truth. I love, love, love this part of my dad's conversion story. :)

Now, back to my own musical experience. When Ryan and I first started dating, it was before he left on his mission. People who know me really well know what that time was like. I was soooooo in love with him (and I still am!), but his mother was not happy that we were dating. Things got so bad that I broke it off with him, which was the hardest thing in the world for me to do. I started to have these weird anxiety attacks after that. I couldn't really sleep and eating was hard. I felt like I had lost my love forever, that he would never know how I felt and that I would regret letting him go for the rest of my life. Up to that point I had never prayed for anything so hard in my life. I figured that if my desires were righteous then the Lord would help me. I prayed for peace, because I sometimes felt like I was going to die- I couldn't even think clearly. I prayed that Ryan's mom would somehow like me and Ryan and I could at least be friends. I needed serious help. At that time I was working in the mornings, when it wasn't very busy. This was bad because I had lot of time to think about everything that was going wrong. :( But then this song would come on and this intense feeling of peace would come over me.

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright
Sun-Shiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for
It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright
Sun-Shiny day.

Look all around, there's nothin' but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin' but blue skies

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright
Sun-Shiny day.

I bought myself a copy of this song (by Johnny Nash) and listened to it over and over again. The dark clouds that had me blind were Satan trying to make me feel like my world was coming to an end and there was nothing I could do about it. The rainbow I'd been praying for was help, and help did come in the form of more answered prayers. It's hard to really put into words, but this song was like a hug from the Lord, a pat on the back and, a keep going- I promise everything will be OK. And when the Lord makes a promise, He keeps it. It was a serious answer to my prayer for peace and I knew the Lord knew me and loved me at that time more than I had before in my life. I know He knows us each and knows what we need, when we really need it. And He will answer our prayers privately and in the most perfect personal way for each of us if we trust in Him and sincerely ask for His help. It happened for my dad and for me and I know it can for you too. And who knows, maybe it'll be through Kansas and Johnny Nash. ;)



Lyrics | Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now lyrics

.75 cents and more

Sorry I haven't posted in a million years... life has been pretty busy lately and things have changed a bit since Oct when I posted last. I'm still working at the American Fork Old Navy and even though many people may think I've been doing the same ol' thing for a long time, my job is ANYTHING but the same ol' thing. Being the type of store that we are (Project ONE), there's always something. :) But anyways... Ryan finished his independent study class this past week so that means that he is officially a BYU grad!! I cannot tell you what this means for our family. Ever since we found out he had to take that class it felt like we were stuck, unable to move forward. :( It was a little rough. But now we're excited about being able to apply for jobs and say truthfully that Ryan does indeed have a degree from BYU. Happiness. :) Other things that have changed around the Watkins' house are the number of Sunday newspapers we get: three! Are we crazy?? Maybe... I started couponing about 4 months ago and I'm hooked! Here's an example of my couponing awesomeness: Yesterday I went to Smith's and got a Schick Hydro 3 razor, ice cream, heavy whipping cream (the last item I needed for a meal), and lo mein noodles (another last item for a different meal), and only spent .75 cents!! The razor was on sale for 5.70 and I had a coupon for $5 off PLUS an ecoupon loaded onto my smith's card for another $4 off the same item (you can use one physical manufacture's coupon and an ecoupon on the same item), so I ended up getting the razor for FREE and having $3.30 left over! Holla!!! So I spent it on items we were missing for a few of our favorite meals and a treat. If I had REALLY planned ahead I could have purchased items that I had other coupons for and got even more with my free money, but I was kinda in a hurry. But I'm still SUPER excited about only spending .75 cents for what I got. :)