Genealogy Fan Chart

Genealogy Fan Chart

I am going through the family history class for Sunday School. The teachers told us about this site that will show your family history as a fan chart. It is really interesting to see where the research needs to start.

Developing a Personal Relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ

This week I have been thinking about the last general conference and trying to finish the conference issue Ensign before the next one comes out. Going through it so fast with a highlighter was really amazing. Do you know there was a major underlying theme in most of the talks? It was that Heavenly Father knows and notices us. He knows our trials, sorrows and our joys. He remembers us and wants to help and bless us. He is waiting for us to develop a personal relationship with Him and to come to Him in prayer to ask for the things that we need. Those ideas were in almost half the talks in the November 2011 General Conference.

I talked to my husband about it last night and about how it was such a reoccurring theme throughout the conference. He said that in our minds we know that it’s true that Heavenly Father loves and cares about us but sometimes it is hard to feel it in our hearts. I had that problem once and then I was called into the stake. I found that in order to serve the Lord, I had to have that personal relationship because it was a calling that I was unable to do on my own. It seems that it takes going through times of difficulty and hardship that forces us to develop a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father

As I read through the talks it seems there are steps to developing this relationship. First you must have sincere prayer. Like any relationship communication is so important and when we communicate with Heavenly Father we do it through prayer. Sometimes we think that we can only pray for big things but if you go to Alma 34:17-27 it says to pray for your houses, flocks, fields, crops and basically everything. Things may seem small and trivial to others, but what is important to you is important to the Lord.

Another thing we need to do is study the scriptures. That is were we find revelation and where our Heavenly Father can speak personally to us. I love reading the Doctrine and Covenants because the Lord seems to speak to me through the Doctrine and Covenants. I can put my name in the place of whosever name is mentioned. D&C 6 has become a special section to me because as I was reading it, it was if the Lord were saying the same words to me. It is through the scriptures where we really learn about our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. I love the Book of Mormon too. I love Nephi, Moroni, Alma, all the wonderful prophets and their teachings. I think if I were on Survivor, my personal item would be the Book of Mormon with a picture of my family taped inside.

Then finally you need to keep the commandments and serve others. We tend to be drawn to people who like the things we do, and who are like us. If we are like our Heavenly Father or if we are trying to be like Heavenly Father we will seek Him more. When I think of the Savior I think of his love, care and compassion. He took time to bless those in need. He called children to come unto him and he blessed them. He taught, rebuked with love, and cared for each one individually. He still does that now! The personal relationship you develop with your Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ will help you to overcome any trial or adversity that may be in your way.

"A Hair of His Head Shall Not Fall to the Ground Unnoticed" D&C 84:116

The other day I was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants. A scripture popped out at me, as scriptures tend to do sometimes. It was such a random scripture and one that you would usually pass over in your reading. The scripture was; "Let him trust in me and he shall not be confounded; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed" D&C 84:116. I thought about a hair from your head. Have you ever noticed the amount of hair that you pull from your hairbrush after brushing your hair? You really don't miss them from your head and you wouldn't know they were gone if you didn't find them in your brush. But the Lord notices, a hair is such a little thing but He notices when it falls. That thought stuck in my mind for a few days and every time I would see a hair I would think that the Lord has noticed this hair.

Yesterday just as we were sitting down to dinner the phone rang. The call display said the call was from Utah but I didn’t recognize the number. When I answered, it was an Elder Lund calling from Lisbon, Portugal. At first I was worried about Sister Thomas. She has been serving a mission in Lisbon and has been there for only two weeks. Elder and Sister Lund are also serving a mission in Lisbon. They told me that they had spent the evening with Sister Thomas and what a wonderful sister she was. Sister Lund had given her a hug and fed Sister Thomas and her companion brownies. They also told me that she looks good and has a sweet spirit about her. Sister Lund also asked about what kind of cake Sister Thomas likes because she wants to make a cake for her and make sure that she gets her birthday parcel on her birthday next Tuesday. The joy that filled my heart after talking to the Lund’s was indescribable. I had been so worried about my daughter, in a new country, learning a new language and being alone. There in the mission field was a senior couple from Utah with loving hearts taking care of my daughter and the other missionaries in Lisbon.

I thought again about the lost hairs in a hairbrush. The Lord notices us; He knows when we need a little help or comfort. Having someone in Lisbon who would love and care for my daughter may have been just a little thing in the eyes of the world, but to me it was a big concern. I am so grateful for senior missionaries who serve around the world and the love and support that they offer to young missionaries.  “A hair of his head will not fall to the ground unnoticed.”

2011 Thomas Family Christmas Poem

The Thomas Family November 2011

Merry Christmas! To friends and family we send our cheer,

As we tell you what our family has been up to this year.

Kelly is still busy at the school every day,

Teaching and leading and helping kids on their way.

Records from the past he’s been indexing in his free time, 

And as long as he does more than his mother he’s just fine.

 Kathy has had a crisis mid-life,

For all she’s even been is a mother and wife.

So she’s taken the plunge into childhood again,

And is taking piano lessons which she quit way back when.

Matt, Sharelyn, Cassell, Paige and Macy

Matt and Share moved into a beautiful new home,

Now they’ve got lots of room for more kids to roam.

Matt works helping people that are put on probation,

While Share has made being a wife and mother her vocation.

 Cassell is in grade one and is beautiful, bright and sweet,

Watch out Dad because she is going to knock the boys off their feet.

Paige gives the best hugs and loves and she has just turned three,

In Grandma’s treat cupboard is the place she likes to be.

Share got a special Birthday present but she came one day late,

But having Macy Lynne Thomas join our family is just great.

Joe works in Lethbridge as an engineering tech,

Joe, Krystle and Chuck

And it’s water pipelines he draws supervises and inspects.

He tried something new that kept him busy this fall,

He was the head coach of the Magrath High School JV volleyball.

Krystle has her hands full keeping Joe and Chuck in line,

And she has made their home in Magrath beautiful and fine.

A new addition to their home will bring her lots of fun,

For now she can play her new piano when all her work is done.

 Chuck is very busy and at two is into everything is seems,

We should nickname him after his hero Lightening McQueen.

He doesn’t like Grandma or Grandpa but at their house he has fun,

Because he likes to do turkeys and loves his Uncle Tyson.

Matt, Sadie and Kaia

Matt and Sadie are the traveling kind,

Matt graduated from university and a job in Red Deer he did find.

Matt and Sadie were not happy and didn’t want to stay,

Then they found out that a baby was on the way.

So they came back to Southern Alberta where their hearts will always be,

Close to all their friends and especially their family.

 Kaia is sweet and beautiful as well,

She’s going to be another heart breaker I can tell.

Of course her parents can’t wait for the day,

When she gets a basketball in her hands and starts to play.

Elder Casey Thomas

Sister Emily and Elder Casey are our missionaries we have out.

And that we look forward to their letters there is no doubt.

Elder Thomas has been out for 19 months in the sun,

Serving the Lord in Las Vegas and having way too much fun.

He loves the gospel and is actually maturing,

Which for his parents is very reassuring.

 Irma Thomas went to the Missionary Training Center in November,

Irma Emily Thomas

And all those new Portuguese words she is trying to remember.

On January 3rd^h, to Portugal she will go,

Far away from Canada’s winter ice and snow.

She is learning a lot but is a little homesick,

Hopefully lots of letters and parcels will do the trick.

Tyson, Heidi and Julie are our children that keep us young,

Because from our home they have not sprung.

Emily, Heidi, Julie and Tyson

Tyson is sixteen and now can drive and go on dates,

Being kind, caring and responsible are his traits.

He’s started to notice that girls are pretty neat,

And one may have actually swept him off his feet.

He would rather play basketball than eat lunch,

But everyone sure loves him a whole bunch.

 Now Heidi has hit the great age of fourteen,

And is one that likes to be noticed and be seen.

Whither it’s in the latest fashion or driving the car.

Her hair and makeup is done perfectly for she is the star.

She does really well in piano and school and loves to create,

But it’s the sports she plays that she thinks are great.

 Julie is our author and she loves to write,

In fact writing her stories keeps her up late at night.

She is growing up fast and is ten years old,

And she loves to be creative if the truth were to be told.

She plays the piano and loves arts and crafts,

But she is a big tease and always makes us laugh.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

May your lives be filled with comfort and cheer.

Our Missionaries

After two months in the MTC Sister Emily Thomas will be leaving for Portugal on Tuesday. Here is what she wrote, "Jan 3, 2012 - We leave Salt Lake at 8:35 am. Then at 2:20 pm we arrive in Atlanta. In Atlanta we have a 4 hour lay-over so that is where we will hopefully be calling! Our plane leaves at 6:05pm from Atlanta to Paris. SO be expecting a call hopefully between 12-4 your time on Jan.3. We then have an overnight flight and will get into Paris at around 8:35 in the morning on the 4th. Well we have a 5 hour layover in Paris and then leave at 1:25pm and are supposed to get to Lisboa at 2:55pm their time. So I will then be about 7-8 hours ahead of you! That's crazy to think about. We have 15 missionaries in our traveling group. Our district and then another district who came same day." 
We are going to stay close to the phone on January 3rd! The address of the mission home in Portugal is: 

Portugal Lisbon Mission
Apartado 40054
1500 Lisbon Portugal
351-217-620-832
When she finds out where she is going to be she will let us know her new address.

On Christmas Day Elder Bednar and his wife came to speak to the missionaries in the MTC. I wish I could of been there: "One really neat thing that happened yesterday was during Elder Bednar's talk. He talked a lot of characteristics of Christ and how He would always turn outward when the rest of us would turn inward. He likened the "natural man" to the cookie monster... and even did impersonations of the "missionary cookie monster" saying, "I want baptisms now! I want investigators now!" It was really funny and interesting to see an apostle doing cookie monster impersonations... he was really good!


Then she had a great experience of cleaning the Provo Temple on Boxing Day.
"Today, of course, is p-day and we got to go clean the temple. I didn't know this but I guess once a year they renovate some part of this temple because it is the busiest so they are repainting and doing different things in it but since it's Boxing Day (did you know America doesn't call it Boxing Day!? Sometimes I don't get this country) all the people weren't working and so they had the Elders scrub the grout with toothbrushes to make it all nice and white and us 3 sisters got to help this lady named Sharon clean the temple presidency offices. Talk about intimidating! Apparently, if even the slightest thing is moved the Temple President will notice and then Sharon will get reassigned to a different area of the temple. So we were scared about touching anything but she does this every single night and has been doing it for 2 years! She was a great lady. Not only is she on the custodial staff for the temple, she is also a cook here at the MTC. She told us some really great stories about her conversion and what would happen when she didn't listen to the counsel of the Lord. What else was really interesting was that she knows, it seems, almost everything about the paintings in that area. So she had us stand in front of them and asked us different questions about what we noticed or what the faces looked like. There is this one where Jesus is confirming one of His disciples and the guy is kneeling. She had us look at all the faces of this painting until we realized that if you take off all the facial hair of every person. They all look the exact same. She said she thought that this was the way that the artist intended it to be. To be all in God's image. It was really neat."


It is exciting to see her learning and growing. I know that she will be a great missionary in Portugal.

We also got to talk with Elder Casey Thomas on Christmas Day as he is serving in Las Vegas. The fun thing was that we got to talk through Skype. It took me awhile to figure how to run Skype but wow is it worth it. We could see and talk to him and he could see us. He looks good and he is doing well. I can't believe that he has only five months left on his mission. He doesn't write the great letters that Sister Thomas does but then he's a boy. What a great blessing it is to have two missionaries serving the Lord.