Each year I write a poem, just telling of some of the happenings of the year. Here is the 2009 Christmas Poem from the Thomas Family.
Christmas 2009
It’s just about Christmas and time to reminisce,
And tell you all of our 2009 bliss.
We survived the winter with all of the snow
A four-wheel drive was the only way to go.
So Kelly retired his old truck that was red
And behind the trees he sadly put it to bed.
Once in a while when sadness fills his heart
He goes out to old red and cheers, as it will still start.
He walked around awhile with a frustrated face,
For he had to wear a big ‘honkin” brace.
It was a rotary cuff repair that put his arm in a sling,
But now he has full use of that mended right wing.
Matt and Share have two sweet little ones
Cassell and Paige think grandma’s is fun.
But don’t let grandpa come around
Or cries and wails will be the sound.
Matt’s busy at the jail and houses Share cleans,
Cassell started preschool and thinks it’s a scream.
Paige has turned one and is sweet and happy,
She must take after her mom and not her pappy.
Joe and Krystle awaited anxiously for a bundle of joy,
And in November they were blessed with a sweet baby boy.
Little Chuck Alston Thomas spent over a week in NICU,
How excited we were when he finally made his début.
Joe works for an engineering firm and is taking classes
Getting his business engineering and we hope that he passes.
Krystle was able to take some much-needed time off work
But now that she’s a mommy, she has not time to shirk.
Matt and Sadie have a new addition too,
He’s little and hairy and he’s a pup named Lou.
They are coaching the Taber High Jr. Varsity basketball team,
And with their wins they are really good coaches it seems.
Sadie’s a teacher assistant at Taber Jr. High
While Matt is giving the banking business a try.
He goes to school and works part time
And they are really doing just fine.
Emily’s life has gone into a spin,
She dropped out of the program she was in.
Now with so many options she doesn’t know what to do,
Not marriage, but maybe a mission, or even music at BYU.
She works for Dr. Kutsch at the front desk part time,
And for the YSA speakers for Friday Forum she does find.
She’s grown up and the single life is a bit of a bore,
So we’re looking for any young men suggestions she can explore.
Casey has graduated and moved away,
He likes Lethbridge and thinks he will stay,
He doesn’t like school but being on his own is fine,
The best part about it is he doesn’t have a bedtime.
He hopes to have a mission call come,
Just a couple more interviews and his papers will be done.
Somewhere Spanish speaking he wants to go,
So when his call comes we will let you all know.
This year Tyson has grown very tall,
His brothers better watch out for he’ll be taller than then all.
Basketball and Nintendo are the things that he likes,
Along with making creative sandwiches and riding bikes.
We think Tyson misses Casey being at home,
The girls now out number the boys, so he feels alone.
He’s taken over Casey’s spot at being the last out of bed
It’s a good thing he’s a boy and doesn’t do anything to his head.
Heidi turned 12 and thinks she’s all grown up,
She got her ears pierced, and can wear makeup and stuff.
She loves to dress up and to the boys give the eye,
Hey Heidi! No dating ‘til your 16! Nice try!
She plays the piano and basketball too,
And volleyball, crafts, everything she likes to do.
She loves being with friends and being the center of attention,
And she’s a major drama queen, did I mention?
Julie turned eight and was baptized by her Dad,
Now she gets to fast, which makes her very sad.
She has her Dad wrapped around her little finger,
And for tickles and teases she loves to linger.
Piano and choir her Mom takes her to
But coloring and playing with friends is what she likes to do.
Julie will be with us for a long time still,
And we are so very very glad that she will.
The new member of our family is a dog-named Cocoa,
And when we leave him he really goes loco.
Julie and Cocoa as friends they are the best,
But to Kelly Cocoa is “stupid dog” just like the rest.
The kids complain that Moms never home,
With young women things she always does roam.
Her stake calling keeps her very busy,
But now speaking to groups doesn’t put her in a tizzy.
While scrapbooking, painting or on the computer, you can’t talk to Mom
Around her when she’s busy the world is all gone.
In fact it’s said that if there was a fire that burned the house down,
She would be still sitting at her table never hearing a sound.
As the year 2009 is coming to an end,
Our warmest wishes to all we send,
May 2010 be full of happiness and cheer,
Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Do We Really Know How Someone is Feeling?
Yesterday was Sunday as we attended our church meetings. I have been thinking lately how little we know about people. We can sit in church and see the smiling faces of those attending with us, but do we really know what is going on inside their hearts?
As you read the Book of Mormon and you think of Nephi, you picture a great prophet, strong, talented, obedient, maybe even handsome. He might have had all things going for him. Yet he had trials just like we all do. Some of his family members hated him. He had to do some very hard things like living in a wilderness and killing Laban. He made mistakes and he got depressed. In 2 Nephi 4:17-35 he tells how his heart weeped because of his sins and the problems he was having. When Nephi was sad he knew where to turn. He began to count his blessings and he turned to the Lord in prayer and trusted in Him.
Things are not always going to be just the way we like it. There will be problems to face and dispair to overcome. We need to do as Nephi did and count our blessing, then turn to the Lord in prayer and put out trust in Him. Two of my favorite thoughts are hanging on the wall of my office. They are important to remember every day.
"There is always, always, always something to be grateful for" and
"When life gets to be more that you can stand...Kneel."
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
"Come unto me all ye that labour or are heavy leaden"
We had an experience in our family that has really made me think of how much our Savior and our friend loves us.
When Emily was a little girl she was very afraid of bugs, especially spiders. Many times we would have to kill any bugs or spiders that she found in her bedroom before she would even go back into her room.
The end of August of this year the house she was living in became infested with bed bugs. She would call in a panic and up date us as to where the bugs had spread. One time she called in tears and said there one only one room left between her and the bed bugs. This problem came at a time when she was already stressed getting ready to start a new semester at school.
The girls in the house began to prepare for an exterminator to come in. They had to wash all their bedding and clothing and put everything but their furniture into garbage bags. The day that the exterminator came and they couldn’t go into the house until after 7:00 at night. She spent from after work at 5:00 until 8:00 sitting in her car reading. When she finally went into the house she was tired, the house was dark, the furniture in her room and in the house was turned upside down, and there was no one home. It was more than she could handle. She called in tears, so I talked her into going to our son Joe and his wife Krystle’s house. Joe and Krystle were at a movie but they told her where the extra key was. It was dark and she couldn’t find the latch to their back gate so she used the light from her cell phone. As she shone the light, there right by her hand was in her words “the biggest cat spider she had ever seen”. That put her right over the edge. I couldn’t calm her down over the phone but made arrangements for her to go to our other son Matt’s house. Matt gave her a blessing, which calmed her and she spent the night.
The next day after she got off work, she came home and as she walked in the door I gave her a big hug and just held her for a moment. Then she said the most astounding thing. She said. “Thanks for letting me come home. My roommates parents won’t let them come home until after the bed bugs are gone.”
I have thought about that comment. We sometimes have bed bugs in our lives. They could be sins that we have committed. They could be difficulties brought on by our own poor choices. They could be hurts that have been inflicted on us by others. Or they could be health, financial, family, spiritual, emotional, or physical problems that seem to be a part of life.
Never at any time has our Savior said, “When the bed bugs are gone you can come unto me. Just the opposite, in Matthew 11: 28-29 He says “Come unto me all ye that labour or are heavy leaden and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall found rest unto your souls.”
Even when we are overcome with bed bugs of sin, he doesn’t turn us away. In D&C 101: 9 says “… notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath I will remember mercy.” Of course we will need to repent, like the girls had to wash there bedding, but then our Savior’s atonement takes over, much like the exterminator coming into the house.
Sometimes when we are in the midst of these problems and afflictions our faith fails and we wonder; “does the Savior really care about me and what I am going through?” I had a time when I felt like that. During that time I opened my scriptures to a random page and found this scripture. To me as I read this scripture it was as if the Lord was speaking to me. It’s in D&C 38:7-9 it reads: “But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me.”
This scripture brought to me great comfort and I knew that no matter what I was going through, my Savior and my friend was there. I know that we can always, through our prayers come home to our Savior no matter what our problems or our sins may be.
When Emily was a little girl she was very afraid of bugs, especially spiders. Many times we would have to kill any bugs or spiders that she found in her bedroom before she would even go back into her room.
The end of August of this year the house she was living in became infested with bed bugs. She would call in a panic and up date us as to where the bugs had spread. One time she called in tears and said there one only one room left between her and the bed bugs. This problem came at a time when she was already stressed getting ready to start a new semester at school.
The girls in the house began to prepare for an exterminator to come in. They had to wash all their bedding and clothing and put everything but their furniture into garbage bags. The day that the exterminator came and they couldn’t go into the house until after 7:00 at night. She spent from after work at 5:00 until 8:00 sitting in her car reading. When she finally went into the house she was tired, the house was dark, the furniture in her room and in the house was turned upside down, and there was no one home. It was more than she could handle. She called in tears, so I talked her into going to our son Joe and his wife Krystle’s house. Joe and Krystle were at a movie but they told her where the extra key was. It was dark and she couldn’t find the latch to their back gate so she used the light from her cell phone. As she shone the light, there right by her hand was in her words “the biggest cat spider she had ever seen”. That put her right over the edge. I couldn’t calm her down over the phone but made arrangements for her to go to our other son Matt’s house. Matt gave her a blessing, which calmed her and she spent the night.
The next day after she got off work, she came home and as she walked in the door I gave her a big hug and just held her for a moment. Then she said the most astounding thing. She said. “Thanks for letting me come home. My roommates parents won’t let them come home until after the bed bugs are gone.”
I have thought about that comment. We sometimes have bed bugs in our lives. They could be sins that we have committed. They could be difficulties brought on by our own poor choices. They could be hurts that have been inflicted on us by others. Or they could be health, financial, family, spiritual, emotional, or physical problems that seem to be a part of life.
Never at any time has our Savior said, “When the bed bugs are gone you can come unto me. Just the opposite, in Matthew 11: 28-29 He says “Come unto me all ye that labour or are heavy leaden and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall found rest unto your souls.”
Even when we are overcome with bed bugs of sin, he doesn’t turn us away. In D&C 101: 9 says “… notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath I will remember mercy.” Of course we will need to repent, like the girls had to wash there bedding, but then our Savior’s atonement takes over, much like the exterminator coming into the house.
Sometimes when we are in the midst of these problems and afflictions our faith fails and we wonder; “does the Savior really care about me and what I am going through?” I had a time when I felt like that. During that time I opened my scriptures to a random page and found this scripture. To me as I read this scripture it was as if the Lord was speaking to me. It’s in D&C 38:7-9 it reads: “But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me.”
This scripture brought to me great comfort and I knew that no matter what I was going through, my Savior and my friend was there. I know that we can always, through our prayers come home to our Savior no matter what our problems or our sins may be.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Wait out the Storms
Last night we had at over 6 inches of fluffy snow fall softly down. This afternoon the wind started to blow and that fluffy white snow began to blow too. When you looked out the window you couldn't see anything but white. For a few hours that wind blew with all it's might. Then the wind suddenly stopped. It reminded me that sometimes as we go through this life storms start to blow and for a little while we might get discouraged. We can't see where to go or we don't know what to do. If we can just hold on for a little while the winds will stop and the way will be visible again.
In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." That is what faith is all about. Trust in the Lord and just hold on. He will lead you through any storms or trials that may come to you in this life.
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