chosen for all time

Eight years ago, on September 25th, a teenage boy left to serve the Lord. His experiences helped him grow. The Spirit of our Heavenly Father filled his heart. He returned two years later a man, knowing his mission – and his great worth.

I am called of God. My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him. To stand in His place. To say and do what He himself would say and do if He were personally ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me. My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts. My words are His words and my doctrine is His doctrine. My commission is to do what He wants done. To say what He wants said. To be a living, modern witness in word and deed of the divinity of His great and marvelous Latter-day work. How great is my calling.

This man leaves behind him a great legacy. And there will be another Elder Thomas that will wear his tag. How honored I am to be this man’s companion – to be the mother of this next witness. How I wonder what our Father in Heaven has planned for these little hands.

don’t cry over spilt oatmeal

We had a good day today. But, I kept telling myself to be calm, and remember that I am the mom… and then I would think to myself, “Duh, what are you doing? Are you really that much of a dimwit?”

I left Ammon in the same room as his oatmeal this morning while I ran into the kitchen to grab something. Not even 10 seconds later, I return only to find that Ammon has made it across the room and dumped out his oatmeal. Why did I think he wouldn’t get into it? I haven’t the foggiest idea. But, being the mom that I am, I had to run and get the camera. Did I take Ammon with me? No. Why? Who knows. I return to find him pushing the oatmeal around with his spoon. I document the moment and put the camera away. I return to find Ammon strewing oatmeal all over – which wouldn’t be so much of a problem if it had been prepared oatmeal. No… Ammon was having the time of his life grinding flaky-impossible-to-pick-up-oatmeal into the carpet. Again, why didn’t I take Ammon with me to put up the camera, or at least clean up the mess? Why? Well, we all know that answer to that… I am a dimwit.

But, apart from this – and Ammon unraveling our couch yesterday, and Ammon laying on my Cheerio box today… enjoying the crunch noise, and Ammon changing all the settings on my cell phone again – we have still had a good couple of days. Ammon is exploring all his new territory. In fact, I didn’t see much of his front side today… he was always off to the next adventure before you could blink. He is a very quick crawler. And he is sneaky. And because he is so small, he gets into the tightest of crannies. He likes to get stuck under the couch for some reason. Today, I caught him intentionally pushing all his toys under the couch, then making his way under there himself. Why? I couldn’t tell you. It must be a boy thing. I, for one, would be terrified to hang out under our couch…

Did you ever have to make up your mind – pick up on one and leave the other behind. It’s not often easy and not often kind – did you ever have to make up your mind?

Speaking of toys… Ammon is a hoarder. He will work with all his might to get all of his toys in his little lap. And when he moves, his toys move. I don’t know if he just always wants them right there with him, or if he is afraid that I will gink them and play with them myself, or if he just can’t make up his mind – whatever it is, he is too funny to watch. So opinionated this one is – so big for his age. He thinks things through like no 9-month old I’ve known before. So big for his age now… and growing more every day. Cut it out, sweet pea. We can't keep up with you.

just a normal day

Mary Jean Iron : “Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.”

it’s just one of those days

Yes… it’s been one of those days. And yesterday was about a zillion times worse. Lesson #498 : Bribing, playing, television, toys at mealtime, the off-limits stuff, favorite foods, or any other coercion does not work with teething boys… they will not do what their mom wants them to do… for that matter, they don’t know what they want to do… and they don’t mind hurting some feelings along the way.

Yesterday was a nightmare. I thought that Ammon would at least cheer up when Brian got home from work. Not so. He is really having a hard time with these two teeth. They can be seen now, but have yet to break the surface. We can now add double-extra drool, runny noses, coughing, fever and diarrhea to the teething-accomplices list, which previously only had throwing up on it. Heaven only knows what is taking these teeth so long to come in. I hope that something lights a fire under them soon.

Today was slightly better, but not by much. Ammon had his fair share of terrible-two-style fits, but the day wasn’t a constant meltdown like yesterday. I could get him to eat today, and actually play a bit. He explored the entire living room today – corner to corner, nook to cranny. He is having a slight problem figuring out just why he can’t get past the baby gate into the kitchen…

When Brian came home, he found me drowning in a pile of paper that I had pulled out of our filing cabinet to reorganize. He offered to take Ammon to the park when he got up from his nap so that I could finish up what I was doing. There was no way in heck that I was going to miss a trip to the park and the wonderful weather that we had today. I was feeling a little bit better today - not 100%, but better – and I was going to force myself out of the house. So, we trooped over to our little park and went for a nice walk. Ammon loves being outdoors – and he certainly enjoyed being outside today. It was probably a nice pick-me-up for the sweet little bug. Now that the weather is finally cooling off a bit, we can resume our trips to the park in the mornings. And, before we know it, Ammon will really be big enough to play on the playground. Then the fun begins…

I’m so tired. Tonight is my night to do Ammon’s laundry, but it is going undone today. I just can’t do another late night. Or I should say early morning, as I was up past 2:00 this morning doing this, that, and the other. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now with the family, the home, the church calling, the whatever – and I’m struggling to meet deadlines; get others to take some responsibility; learn to just say, “No.”; take care of my family and other priorities; find the guts to tell some folks to take a long, long hike in the opposite direction; find the energy to take that one last thing upstairs; keep from tripping over my own feet. I’m grateful for Brian, and his willingness to take full charge of Ammon in the afternoon so that I can get done what I need to get done, even if it is just getting a shower. I’m thankful that he does so much around our home. I’m grateful for friends – you know who you are – and their willingness to listen to me rant… and feel the frustration right along with me. I’m trying to get better organized, so that things don’t rot along the wayside, and get forgotten. I’m trying to work past the problems that I am facing meeting that goal, and the trials that are causing those other problems in the first place.

Deep breaths. Kind words. Lots of patience. None of which are things that I am good at. Ammon and I have had two rough days. Looks like we’ll be cutting some teeth together.

oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day

Nap buddies are all the rage right now on Woodburn Drive. We’re all lost without them. So fun to watch Ammon pick his favorite buds. He loves having a party in his crib with his peeps…

Yesterday was a busy day for everyone. I was finishing up some things upstairs; Brian had to leave by 3:00 for Stake Conference-related business; my mom, Ammon and I ran some errands around town; I stayed up past 1:00am printing labels. And… I have caught a cold. Not something that I have time for right now. But, when does a mom have time to get sick? We have no days off. I’m sure that all the dust that I’ve been kicking up all week has had absolutely nothing to do with my current predicament.

Today, we had Stake Conference. Such a blessing it is to have inspired leaders - lending their inspiration to each of us. Ammon did a lot better than I anticipated him to. My mom got him to sleep – after he charmed the whole Mother’s Room – and he slept through the rest of the meeting. Hooray for that... and no complete and total meltdowns...

This afternoon, Brian, Ammon and I finally made it to the park for our family park-date. We enjoyed a nice little walk – and the heavenly weather! To bad it won’t stay like this. I guess we should just make the most of it while it lasts.

We have been having a Robin Hood weekend here at the Thomas home. Yesterday, Brian and Ammon watched Disney’s Robin Hood - which Ammon loved. And even though I didn’t watch it with them, I have been humming a certain little ditty. And by that, I mean I’ve had, Robin Hood and Little John walkin’ through the forest – laughin’ back and forth at what the other’ne has to say – reminiscin’, this-‘n’-thattin’ havin’ such a good time – oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day, rooted in the far-reaches of my brain. I sure hope it doesn’t get stuck in all of your heads, too… it sure is hard as heck to get out. And, to top it all off, Brian and I watched Robin Hood : Prince of Thieves after dinner. I’m not a Kevin Costner fan – but ironically, Robin Hood is one of my favorite movies. Sean Connery is in that movie, too – and he is one of my favorites, too, you know…

the beginning of the rest of my life

I do it to myself. I am to blame. I deserve it. I put off washing clothes and before I know it, I’m living in a Chinese Laundry. My home becomes a maze of clothing. Again, I do it to myself. Again, I am to blame. Again, I deserve it. All this because I hang-dry the majority of our clothes. People may laugh – and they have. People may scoff – and they have. But that is how I roll. And, as a result, we get lost just walking through the kitchen.

This week has brought with it many mixed emotions. We have had highs and lows. The good thing: our highs are real high. The bad thing: our lows are real, real low. Ammon is still working on cutting those incisors. I should say, he is working on getting them period. They haven’t broken through yet – much to my dismay, as I thought that one of them had. The beginning of this week was fairly miserable for poor Ammon. The photo above does not do that day justice. You can’t see the tears in his eyes – but they are there. You can’t hear the whimpers of discomfort – but they were there. Long days, longer nights. All around a bad equation. But somewhere around the middle of the week, things started looking up. No teeth, but a better mood. A much better mood, in fact. We are coping so much better. We are enjoying our days. We are sleeping at night. No teeth – but we’re taking it one day at a time.

Brian has been doing his best to make sure that Ammon is a boys-boy. Not like he had to work very hard. I mean, the child lives for wheels. But, Brian has been teaching him all kinds of fun (and slightly unnerving) tricks. Like jumping off the couch and/or bed (i.e.: lean forward, fall off (that’s where I get panicky), get caught and thrown in air). Ammon also got to play with his first Transformers the other day. We know what Ammon wants, that’s for sure. All we have to do is wait for the double-reach and ooo-ooo-ooo whistling noise. Needless to say, there was plenty of that that afternoon. Brian was right… it’s in the genes.

I have been the busiest bee on the face of the earth. I have completely revamped my bedroom. Getting rid of things, moving furniture, making a space for all my goodies. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product. It’s nothing special – but, I got so tired of the way it was. And, I’m trying to make the most of my space. It isn’t ideal… but it works for now and I'm fairly pleased with how it all turned out. Next on my list: going through Ammon’s clothes and then… downstairs.

The weather has been cooler the last few days. Unfortunately, I have missed it. I was inside slaving away – thinking that it was still far too hot to venture outside. So, we have a family park-date this weekend… just to make up for lost time. Fall is by far my favorite season. Winter is my second favorite season. And, as luck would have it, living in the South I miss both of them. But, we do have a few good days. A few crisp days that just make me feel happy. Make me think of school supplies. Which I adore, of course.

Speaking of that… I was at Target the other day and walked past the remnants of school supplies. They just smell good. Ever sniffed an eraser? Luscious. Mouthwatering. Makes me want to send myself a bouquet of sharpened pencils…

Ammon’s improved mood might just have something to do with him being just a tad pleased with himself. Wednesday marked the day that Ammon really started crawling. He crawled just a wee bit on Saturday to get to his bink, but we aren’t really counting that. On Wednesday, however, he took off. None of that let-me-get-used-to-this jazz. None of that ooo-lets-take-this-slowly riff-raff. Nope, he just got up on his knees, rocked a bit, made an oh-what-the-heck sigh and up and crawled across the room. Brian and I weren’t really that surprised by it – maybe a little taken back by how quickly he figured it all out once he started. What really surprised us, me anyway, was everything else that he decided to start doing all in the same day.

When I went in to get him up from his morning nap, I was shocked to see two little hands on the top rail of Ammon’s crib – with the bug himself pulled up on his knees, taking a look around his room. And once we got downstairs, he was trying to pull up on just about everything. He crawled right over the top of me. He got back into a sitting position from a crawling position. He managed to reach up high enough to swat at our entertainment center doors. Ammon is looking at everything with brand-new eyes. Almost as if he is looking at things for the very first time, with the thought, “…hey, I can get to that...” running through his brain.

We have been getting the wait-until-he’s-crawling comments for a while now. Things like, “…it’s all over then…” and “…let the race begin…”. And while things have been more hairy the last few days, I am just plain happy for him. I got over trying to patent a way to keep him from growing a long time ago. I knew this day would come sooner or later. No, it isn’t fun constantly having to pull Ammon out of things. No, it isn’t fun to have to hurdle over a baby gate to save a quarter that he got from who knows where. No, it isn’t fun trying to baby-proof a non-baby-proof-friendly townhouse. But, apart from all these things, I am still happy for him. My heart thrills at his excitement. My heart melts at that look-what-I-can-do squeal. Such a big boy. Such big times.

So, let us just call Wednesday the first day of the rest of my life. Running after a silly boy that makes me smile. And I've got a good partner-in-crime to help me do just that. All of which sounds perfectly good to me.

amusing tantrums

My mind goes all fuzzy when I try to remember exactly what went on this past week. I was so busy trying to get settled back in our normal routine that I didn’t have time to really breathe. A few things stand out in my mind – some good things and some not so hot. We did have some fun times this week, but Ammon’s teething woes have got us tied up in knots. He is cutting both of his incisors – and this has been the worse round of teething yet. In fact, when I imagine what real teething is like – the joys that we have been spared prior to now – this is what I envision. And we really can’t blame the poor guy – it can not possibly be any fun whatsoever. But, holy heck, has he been a terror – going through a Jekyll and Hyde transformation every five minutes. One minute he wants nothing to do with me… the next minute he wants to snuggle with me and smother me with kisses… the next minute he is thrashing and squirming and screeching and shirking away from me as if I had the plague. His temper tantrums are actually quite humorous – in a sick, twisted kind of way. I want to scream myself and yet I find myself laughing. A release, maybe? A way of coping? I don’t know. Fun play time isn’t really Ammon’s thing this week. And meal times? Oh my…

Monday night we all trooped down to the Nub so that Ammon could hand out his Grandparents Day cards to Brian’s parents and grandparents. We went to dinner with Ann and Larry in Graceville, Florida followed by a nice visit with MawMaw and Granddaddy.

Wednesday, Ammon and I headed up to Enterprise for our “Day of Relaxation and Recuperation” with our pals, Kristy, Kate and Caleb. We had such a good time swimming and playing. We enjoyed a nice lunch and then Kristy and I settled in for a nice chick-flick while all the kidlets took their naps. How much fun was that day?! How needed was that day, is more the question. Thanks guys for the great time… we love you.

Friday night we went to cousin Shelby’s Homecoming game to watch her perform – she plays flute in the band. This was Ammon’s first-ever football game. Needless to say, we did watch Shelby play a tad, but we didn’t make it to halftime. Ammon had a tremendous meltdown. Complete pterodactyl antics. But, it was fun while it lasted. I love a good high school football game. It was strange for me to be in a small stadium with a small band and team (not so much for Brian who came from an even smaller school than Rehobeth) – and the heat, my gosh, the heat! I enjoy cooler football weather, myself. And eventhough I am far from a Rebels fan – I’m a Wildcat fan, all the way – I even felt that twang of school pride and had to join in. It was nice to reminisce about my high school days and those unforgettable nights at Bates Memorial Stadium. Go Big Blue.

This weekend has been incredibly productive for me. The lack of motivation that has plagued me of late is far from over – but I am beginning to find ways of working around it. I’ve whittled away here and there at my unimaginably long list. It’s now about the length of a short novel – but it is shorter than it was on Friday. I didn’t get everything done, but I am happy with my progress. That’s a start, at least. My mom came by this evening for a visit with the bug – while she was here she helped with my laundry pile that was beginning to take on a life of its own. What a help that was. Now to put it all away. Any volunteers?

the blessings of a little vacation

Last week was a great week. Not the week that just wrapped up, but the week before (No cracks at the lateness of this post… I’m not up for it). My grandmother was home from rehab, my aunt was up for a visit - so Ammon and I decided to go on a little vacation. A little vacation just half an hour away. A little vacation to the place I feel most comfortable, the place I feel most at ease. To Enterprise, Alabama - my home away from home.

Ammon and I stayed exactly a week, with Brian coming up in the evenings for dinner and spending the night on the weekends. We had such a good time. Really - such a good time. Even though we stayed very, very busy getting my grandmother settled and meeting her physical therapists, we still had a lovely, relaxing time.

We went shopping. Ammon and I went to the library and wreaked havoc in the children's section. We went swimming. I caught up on my Jon & Kate Plus 8. Ammon practiced his almost-crawling. We giggled. We cooked. Ammon and I went to the park - Ammon talked to the geese, ducks, birds, dogs and squirrels… and is content just playing with the benches rather than on the playground. I got my hair-bones trimmed. Grandma got her very first manicure. I made my first apple pie (with some help). Ammon and I spent time with my dad and grandparents. I had a nice visit with my pal, Kristy. I got to doodle on my mom’s seminary chalk board. We caught up on some politics. Brian and I went on a date to see The Dark Knight one more time. Brian got to catch up a little bit on Ghost Hunters - and freaked us all out just the tiniest bit. We were present for baby Caleb’s blessing. Some days we did nothing at all - and yet it meant everything to us.

It was beyond nice being back home. We enjoy living in Dothan, but it isn’t our first choice. Yes, in Dothan there are more things to do. But in Enterprise, there are more things to live for. A different atmosphere. A different vibe. A different feeling. We so enjoyed being in Enterprise Ward that Sunday. I felt like I was home. Home is such a wonderful feeling. My friend, Kira, and I were talking about it this week. Her family is in our ward, but that Sunday we all just happened to be back in Enterprise. We talked about how great it was being back. How great it felt to be home - and how much we have been missing it.

But, we don’t live in Enterprise. And while we do make the drive to go to the better park and better library and (dare I say it) better ward - we do live in Dothan. That is our home. I am trying really hard to be happy with that. To be happy with my current situation, make the most of what I have, and live with the things that I can not change. I know that this is a temporary phase - a bridge between what was and what will be, if you will - but that doesn’t make it any easier to get through. I am happy with what my life has been blessed with - it’s the logistical stuff that makes my blood pressure go up.

And speaking of blessings - I have so many. So much to be grateful for. I was recently criticized for being too gushy on our blog. But - hello - I have everything money can’t buy. So, I feel that I have every right to be a little sappy. Everyone else can just suck it up or be jealous - whichever they prefer.

But back to our blessings. We have a sweet family that is full of love. We have a home that is a haven from a turbulent world. We have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We have an income and we aren’t starving. We have a way to get to that better park in good ‘ole Enterprise. Our family is eternal - which is a powerful thing. So, by all means, let me be gushy.