All Discount Service

These have been on my mind. Archer's 47 formula scoops. Now that he's one we are done with formula. When my milk dried up at six weeks and I cried my eyes out at having to keep my miracle baby alive with stinky science juice it seemed like buying expensive formula would never end. Now it's here and of course it was worth it. No more Enfamil baby blue duckling canister scraping the paint off the windowsill by the sink due to overuse, no more bottle brush, no more scoops to save. I don't know why I saved them all. Maybe because I wanted to prove to Archer how much I loved him; how much he cost.

Greg (who is usually not sentimental unless it's, say, the day the Broncos lose the Super Bowl) saved the duck canister and put all the scoops in it. Plus a Ziploc bag full of more scoops. I'm determined to do something with the scoops. If I can't figure out some crafty-crafterson thing to use them for Archer has the tools to bake 47 mini mud pies in a few years.

Other than not having to buy him clothes until he turned one (because sooooo many people sent baby gifts) that kid has cost a fortune. He better be good to me.

So the formula was a recent memory when someone called to borrow my sewing machine a few days ago. She returned it the same day I had a massage. I had to remove my machine from the travel case to put it back in my sewing cabinet. Hanging on the handle of the case was the repair tag from the last time I had it tuned up. I love old school carbon paper and printed ephemera so I untied the tag for safe keeping.

I love this tag because:

1) It's from my father-in-law's shop ALL DISCOUNT VAC & SEW in Colorado Springs. I love Herb. He's a one-of-a-kind diehard family man who proves he loves his kids with deeds, not words.

2) You can see they wrote "Melissa Larson" and corrected it to "Melissa Lawson." Story of my married life, although no one could spell "Durkovich" right, either.

3) There was no charge. Freeloader? Yes. But isn't that the perk of having a father-in-law with a sewing store?

Perhaps because I was getting a massage and perhaps because my neck was so tight from the hotel bed and couch and drive from Boise I read the rest of the tag in a different light.

SERVICE TENSION/MAKE IT PERFECT

Oh man, I hope Ruth can work out my neck tension and get me back to perfect. Oh man, I wish my massages were free like my sewing machine tune-up was.

Can you imagine being fixed for free? Made perfect for free?

And then I instantly thought of the Savior and His Atonement which allows me to do just that. And I understood while it technically didn't cost me anything there was still a hefty price paid. And I kind of smiled in my laundry room with my sore neck and felt warm and fuzzy for a moment while I ripped off the claim check stub. I flipped it over:

Seriously? How much more holy could this repair ticket get?

The sale is over (Gethsemane and Calvary) and my service (obedience) is what Christ is counting. He paid a fortune for me. I better be good to Him.

"And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal." -Alma 34:14

All things really do point to Christ; from formula scoops to ticket stubs.

*I will never forget the valuable advice Kenon gave me when my milk was drying up and I was a few breast pump hours away from insanity. "You are going to miss the joy of this baby by stressing over milk. Buy some formula and start living the good life." Formula ended up being awesome, convenient, and super delicious according to Archer. My mom, who was basically the president of La Leche League in the 70s, showed her newfound support for formula by calling me every time she heard something positive about it. It was endearing to say the least. And my unused nursing pads got stuffed in my armpits on Sundays I had to teach, conduct, or play...so nothing went to waste. It always works out!