Why I Celebrate Christmas

I read a post on my brother's fb page a while ago about the origins of Christmas, and have thought about my response to that article. So I thougth I would write. Let me say that while I looked for that article now, I did not in fact find it, so I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies I may give, for it has been a while since I read it, and I am sure I will be corrected. Let me just summarize the gist of the article as I remember it:

1. Christmas isn't really His birthday
2. It is NOT then the reason for the season
3. Christians are not to be taken seriously


The article stated that Christmas began as a Pagan holiday. In fact that day was originally a holiday to celebrate Jupieter, a Roman God, I believe. That is not in question, at least not in my mind.

As a culture, we celebrate birthdays. We celebrate our families' and friends birthdays with joy. We are glad they are part of our lives. They have touched us, and many continue to do so for years. Early Christians wanted to celebrate the birth of their Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ. They did not know what day that was, so they chose one. Does this diminish the celebration or make it worth derision? Absolutely not!! If in centuries to come, I found that my posterity no longer knew when my birth had taken place, but felt they wanted to celebrate that I had touched them in some way, I cannot imagine how incredibly honored I would be if they, in their lack of knowledge, decided to choose a day and celebrate my birth. That to me, is a testament of their love. And it is no different for Christians. That it has remained to this day, and grown to a celebration of world wide proportions only serves to reinforce the effect the Son of God had on this earth while he walked it.

As a child, I heard the story of Christmas, and gave it some thought, though not a whole lot. It gave the day some meaning. But really, I remember the gifts. Not just opening them and the getting of them, but the thoughtful efforts of a child with almost zero money to provide gifts for those I loved. We made them, emptied our piggy banks for them, did whatever we could to, with a gift, say I love you. That is what many in the world do now. That often this is overdone is true, but the love behind the giving is there. Much of the world takes time to find the 'perfect' gift for loved ones, spending their time and treasure in doing so. I was no different, and I am sure that many of you are the same. I remember with warmth the gifts I received that I knew took sacrifice to obtain, like the runner sleds my brother and I received from an older teenage brother who worked part time at a fast food restaurant, and chose to spend what little he had on his little brother and sister. I also remember the pains my parents took late at night so that there was MORE on Christmas morning to greet us when we awoke, evidence that Santa had come. They even let us believe that they were not responsible for this generous giving, letting us enjoy the magic of children at Christmastime. We gather family, contact those far away yet dear, share meals, and celebrate each other. Is this not love?

I loved Christmas as a child, and yes, when it was white and cold, it only added to the ambiance. I say with Scrooge's nephew, in response to his Bah! Humbugging,

"There are many things from which I might have derived good by which I have not profited I dare say. I have always thought of Christmas time - apart from the veneration due to it's sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that - as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, Uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe it hasdone me good and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"

I feel that sentiment applies to the first part of my life. Christmas has done me good and there was no doubt that it would continue to do me good. Lots of it. That good came to me regardless of the fact that I was not a devout Christian. That the origin of Christmas is not centered in Christ is RIDICULOUS to me to consider and would have been so even as a child who didn't give it much thought. Does one not recognize, as Scrooge's own nephew, the origin of the name? Christmas refers to Him who's birth many celebrate. Those who celebrate for reasons of tradition, culture, or habit, are none-the-less showing their love, and receiving gifts from those who remember them, and care that they have touched their lives. Christmas, therefore, has indeed done them good, as someone took care to remember them on that day, or in that season. It's roots are in Christ, and that cannot be denied. No longer do I celebrate Christmas solely because my family, community, culture, or tradition does, though I am grateful that those things happened in my earlier life. Very grateful. We, like Scrooge's nephew, kept Christmas in our way. I am sure that keeping it is pleasing to the very being who's birth we celebrate. Now, I celebrate Christmas for those reasons, but more importantly, I celebrate Christ. He is MY Savior and Redeemer, and I am so grateful that we know that he was born in a stall, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, that angels sang of His birth, and the shepherds recorded it. I am more grateful that He chose to dedicate His life, and during His earthly ministry, His comfort to teach, bless, heal thousands upon thousands, and ultimately suffer, bleed and die for me. That He did this is no longer a question in my mind, and has not been since I asked God, the Eternal Father, if it were true that He had done this thing, and whether it was truly that important. The answer I received was so very personal, profound, and powerful. I have never forgotten. The virgin birth would not have been remembered without the cross, and His glorious resurrection, which we celebrate at Easter time. Christmas without Easter is nothing. But He was tortured, died, and was resurrected. He allowed himself to go through agony for you and me. As was said this morning, of all the gifts that we give and receive, this is the most important gift, and I will NOT leave it under the tree, discarded, ignored, derided, or unwrapped because I couldn't be bothered to spend the time to understand it.

So this Christmas, as I remember Christ, I celebrate because He has PERSONALLY, profoundly, and wonderfully touched my life. I celebrate His birth with joy and gladness, and don't care if that wasn't the day He was actually born, I will still celebrate that He was. I also celebrate that this season of giving, with it's origins in scripture and in the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ (anyone heard of the wise men?), has the effect of opening hearts to one another, even those who have no idea where or why Christmas began. The Spirit of Christ permeates the season, whether we choose to recognize it or not. Bah! Humbug away, Mr. Scrooge, but I say, like Tiny Tim, God bless us. God bless us, every one! Merry Christmas, everyone.

Marleigh Savage

Tale as Old as Time...

Us crazies, goofing off in the West Wing...

This is for Leah, who's been BEGGING for posts (; And Aunt Rusty, who wants to see some Beauty and the Beast pictures!! Really, the play was absolutely amazing. MAGICAL. Someone said it was better than the movie, and someone said it was better than the broadway show (and he saw that one as well). That was our BIGGEST possible compliment. It really was absolutely FANTASTIC. Not to brag, but I was great... (: My lead partner Konnor, who played Lumiere, stole the show, I'll admit...but I wasn't too far behind him, I think! I played Babette, the flirty feather duster...affectionately nicknamed Babs (: We got the BIGGEST applause out of everyone in the bows. That was my favorite part of the show most nights. IT WAS JUST SO AMAZING! So glad to be a part of this! The set alone was just incredible, and it stinks to say was instead of is....we had to tear it down the night of our last performance. Sad to see it go (especially since it went up with about 5 months time, and went down in 2-3 hours). But here are some pictures!

Me and my cousin Sarah, after the show

Beast, on the West Wing singing If I Can't Love Her

Principle Cast, plus a little girl and Ms. Coleman, our main violinist in the orchestra!

A good techie friend Ryan, and me in my human get-up!

Belle, the first song...in a poor provincial town

Belle and Maurice

Haha, Belle and Gaston!

Gaston and his silly girls

My leading partner, Lumiere! He's amazing!

THE WEST WING!

Madame de Le Grande Bouche(wardrobe), Beast and Lumiere

Belle's bedroom! Yes we built that, and covered all the wood with foam!

In Something There

Half of the cast, in the finale...I got cut off, as did the other wing. Oh well!

ANOTHER Long-Winded Update!

Alright, I think you know what time it is! 
It's Been-So-Long-Since-We've-Done-Anything-On-the-Blog-We-Have-to-Let-Everyone-Know-We're-Still-on-the-Face-of-the-Earth time!

-Dani and Josh are now BOTH in South America on missions...we haven't heard anything from Josh for a while and we're just hoping it's because he just got out of the MTC down there...?

 -Dani told some investigators that Christ could take away their dead fish...in Spanish, a very similar word to "sins." She's doing great though!

 -Kyle is doing his homework...without being ASKED first. Expect UFOs to appear soon to give us back the REAL Kyle.

 -I'm loving Beauty and the Beast but the rehearsal schedule is driving me CRAZY...get to school 7:50 some mornings and stay there until 7, get to school at 6:30 other mornings and stay there till (can you guess?) 7. FUN. (It actually is fun...just exhausting. And life consuming.) On top of that I have an AP US History class (APUSH), and I'm kind of freaking out.

 -Mom is ALSO freaking out, and its ALSO for school work. She's taking Physical Science and Musical History classes. She has Caitlin, Dani's roommate in her music class!

 -Grandpa is doing lots and lots better after his surgery

 -It SNOWED. The mountains are covered with SNOW. It's the beginning of October! BLAH.

 -(The one I don't want to write about): Yesterday Jarah was put down. She was 10 years old, and she had cancer that was causing her a lot of pain, once it grew back after her last surgery. We could tell it was a lot for her to go through the surgery alone, and we knew next time she had problems, this is what we had to do. Well, recently she hasn't been eating again, and she's had diarrhea. She was just hurting and we knew the cancer was back and we had to let her go. She is the sweetest, cutest, mellowest, BEST dog ever and we miss her a lot, but we're happy to know she's out of pain.

 -We're not sure about our holiday plans yet...whether we'll make it to Seattle, host a party for homeless begging college students...these are questions yet to be answered.

-I THINK that's all for us...everyone out there, come see Beauty and the Beast by Wasatch High School! October 25, 26, 28, and 29! COME SEE IT! IT'S AWESOME!

Nobody read this!

Yeah nobody follows this any more. Our fault for not writing in way too long.

So now, I get to write whatever I want and no one will even know about it!

...if only I knew what to write, exactly.

Double Wammy

Why not put up two posts in the same night, after not posting for two months? It's still Alexis, and I think I'm the only one who likes updating this thing.
So like I just said in the last post, I've decided I'm going to write a book. At school at the end of the year, I've decided to join the amatuer authors club, after basketball died down and I realized I had time to do things after school. By join I mean I show up once in a while, and since I kept coming everyone decided I was a member. I don't know if it counts, because apparently everytime I've been there things have gotten out of control and not much gets done...not my fault! ...Not entirely! ANYWAYS. There is this page on facebook the club has that puts up writing prompts, and I saw one prompt and used it for my book. Here it goes:

Writing Prompt #3: You receive word that someone very close to you has passed away (how and when it happened is up to you). Write them a letter.

I'm going to write a letter from the perspective of the main character in a book I have started to write--THIS IS MY FIRST ONE I HOPE I CAN FINISH IT. Here it goes:

Dear (don't have a name yet...any suggestions? Character type, very sweet but teasing little brother.GO.),

You are the single sweetest little brother I could have ever had, and ever have not appreciated. I realize now how many acts of kindness went unnoticed by me, and I want so very badly to apologize to you, now that it's too late. I wish I could turn time back to that eventful day, when I let it all happen. To go back to that day, when I couldn't overcome my own fear save your life. I still wake up in the middle of the night, screaming for Mom and Dad to help instead of jumping in and rescuing you myself. You have no idea how many times I've re-invented(sp?) that moment in my head, changed it in my mind so that I rescued you and you are still here with me today, nagging me in the mornings to get out of the shower like you used to...to have you to chase the neighbors' cat with, to walk around the corner and see who can find the most absurd looking stranger. But most of all, I miss telling you things: being able to tell you all about my first date, all about high school graduation and how I tripped in front of everyone; that's something I know we would have laughed about for months. I miss telling you how proud I was to ace the test I worked so hard for, and everything else I've ever been proud to accomplish.

What really hurts is when people find out I have a brother who drowned and they say they're sorry. What do they have to be sorry for? They aren't the ones who have to deal with it every day of their life! They don't have to watch as other kids around them have a good time in a normal family where you know everyone will come home at night. They don't understand the reality of having a brother one day, and then having him whisked away the next. I don't want their sympathy--I just want you back. It only brings back fresh pain to hear them say anything about you. It's not as bad now as it was that first year after it happened, but that makes it even worse. I wonder why I don't feel as deeply in pain, and I wonder if I'm starting not to care, to forget you. That's the thought that really scares me the most--I'd prefer the pain over that! Anything but forgetting you. Anything but knowing that the life I once had, being part of a whole and complete family, is gone. The scars never heal totally, and I never forget the little brother who isn't around any more. I have to deal with the fact that you won't be there for the major things in my life--such as marriage, college graduation...everything.

The other worse part (it's all the worst part it seems...ultimately all these "worst part"s roll together to make one huge worst part) is that I could have stopped it from happening. I saw you there, in the water and I didn't help you. I didn't act on an impulse to do the right thing--my first impulse was utter terror, to scream and scream and not do anything. I couldn't have moved my feet if I wanted to--which I did, so very badly. I wanted to do something but my mind froze, and I didn't know what that something was. That is what I really want to apologize to you for the most.

Wherever you are, I hope you can hear me. I hope you know just how much I still miss you and still love you, and still think about you. Most of all, how much I still consider you a part of the family. You hear people say "This girl had a brother, but he passed away a few years ago." That doesn't change anything! I still have a little brother! They can't erase you! I hope you know that. Wherever you are, I hope it's nice there and that you are far away from the pain and sorrow I feel. I hope you can think of something other than how much I want you back, even if this place is a hell hole compared to where you are. Sorry for being so selfish in wanting you all for myself...do you miss me too? Or do you just hate me for that moment--that horrific, endless moment--when I failed you?

Love,
Your Confused Sister.(Name for her needed as well! I'm still thinking about them...I'm not giving up and asking in desparation! Promise!)

Any help that can be offered, mostly criticism, I reeeaaally like getting. Attack it please! It probably won't make it into the book, I'm just working on the feeling I want for my character.

Long Time No Write!

So, guess how long it's been since we've posted on this blog!
Around TWO MONTHS! 68 days, to be exact. If you want to be REALLY technical, its been two months and 7 days. I think that sounds right.

So what do I have to say? Eh. Not much.

Right now, the happenings in this Savage household are:

• Josh leaves for the MTC on Wednesday in Provo, for 3 weeks before he heads to the MTC in PERU, and then out in the mission field!


• Mom cries and cries and cries and cries when he leaves.


• Mom cries some more.


• Dani is still working at the Heber Creeper, not her favorite job, but it's what she can do right now. She has just finished up intramural flag football, and won a championship shirt for intramural ultime frisbee!


• There is 60 days until she ships out fro the Argentina MTC for her Uruguay Montevideo mission! Woo hoo!


• Mom will cry when she leaves too.


• Kyle got his elk tag not long ago, and he plans to use our Uncle Todd and cousins, and he's also still enjoying TaeKwonDo.


• Kyle is ALSO styling the look of a blue mustache. Wonder why.


• I (In case you haven't found out by process of elimination yet, this is Alexis) am doing the school play right now, Beauty and the Beast, and am having fun with that although it is slow going right now. It kicks into high gear when school starts.


• I'm theoretically "recovering from a mild concussion." Pssh. Cute story.


• I have also decided I am going to write a book! Don't ask how far that's coming along, but it's going to happen! I have one scene written down, and that's it! ...great.


• The whole family--minus Josh, that whole mission thing--is going to drive to New Hampshire!


• We are having a LOT of family in and out, seeing them and having them see us.


• PART of that family visiting in and out, is our Uncle David, with his daughters, Rainy and Mimi, stopping with us on their way to Yellowstone where they will be for a week. It's awesome seeing them, for the first time in a bunch of peoples' memories, and in ten years for mom who remembers them all!


• We got a car that went bad not half out of the dealership. Promising, right? But it is in the shop right now and should be ours again tomorrow.


• Grandpa is doing well after surgery for his back, looking better every day we see him.


• Grandma Tuck has been in the hospital for lime disease, but she is out now. The one requirement and GREATEST CHALLENGE is for her to rest and not do much. Well folks, we'll so how long that lasts!


• Jarah is OLD, but funny. And loving. And attention hogging. And we love her A LOT. She is sharing the house (her domain) with Uncle David's dog Mercedes--for the attention hog she is, don't know how much she likes that.


• Thursday (August 4th) is the mile marker of a year since Dad has passed away. That's been rough...it's also the day after Josh leaves for the MTC. This is an emotionally packed week.

Hmm...that's the update on the crazy Savages.

Missionary News!

Most of you have probably heard by now, but here it is again anyway!

Both mission calls are in!

-Dani will serve for 18 months in Montevideo, Uruguay area. She will enter the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 29th.
-Joshua will serve for 24 months in the Lima West, Peru area. He will enter the Provo MTC on August 3rd, then 3 weeks later transfer to the Peru MTC ro polish his Spanish.

Both will be speaking Spanish. Josh is already quite proficient having taken four years in High School, including AP, and two semesters at BYU-H. Dani had two years of High School Spanish, which she says she has largely forgotten. She does speak French, however, which will help her learn very quickly. Both have passports and the visa applications are underway. So now we wait and work on Spanish! Alexis is just finishing her 2nd year of High School Spanish, so she and Josh are teaching me. Actually, they're doing a nice job! Tests are included. This is sweet revenge. They keep telling me to stay on top of my homework... stop slacking... did you study for your test yet, Missy? You get the idea.

No one guessed the country Dani would go to, so we all had muffins. I know people will be blessed as they set aside thier own interests and ambitions for this period of thier lives and serve thier Heavenly Father. They will get to know and love people in a profound way. They are both lit up inside. So in just a few months, South America, here they come!

This and That

I love '80's rock. Journey especially, but also Boston, Kansas, Styx, and others. I like it much better now than when it was current. Popular music has devolved to patterns that include less imagination and creativity in the arrangements, especially the instrumental side, and constant vocals without the awesome instrumental bridges of the '80s. I am thrilled that our kids also like 80's rock, especially Journey, though some of the songs get us emotional because we listened to them with Blaine all the time, and he was behind reintroducing it to us, and getting us hooked. I can't listen to 'Faithfully' without getting at least a little emotional, sometimes a lot (I'm forever yours, faithfully). The kids also love Bon-Jovi, his old and new material. I guess all this is brought about because his headstone was just finished, and we saw it yesterday. It will be placed by Memorial Day, we sincerely hope. Flooding in the west has slowed down progress, so we have to wait for some of the cemeteries to dry before they start placing them again. Bicknell is dry! I told them. But, there are others ahead of his.

Mostly we are well. Dani is STILL waiting for her call, but being very patient. She is working part time locally, playing intramural soccer and ultimate Frisbee, and going to Provo as often as she can to see her friends. She is grateful for a break from classes.

Josh is excited to leave for the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and then Peru. In the meantime, they both have been studying daily, and Josh has been going out with the Spanish Elders in Heber to teach. I think it has been fabulous for him, and I love hearing him and Elder Santos speak in Spanish. Josh is getting very good, and that will be a HUGE benefit to him in the mission field. He has had surgery to correct a tear in his meniscus, and is recovering very quickly. He never took pain meds of any kind post-op, not even ibuprofen. His doc, the world famous speed skater with 5 golds medals from the '80 Olympics - Eric Heiden, has cleared him to try sports and see what his knee will tolerate. His instructions are to do what he can tolerate. Josh has therefore been playing soccer, racquetball, and a little basketball, though that's mostly just shooting. I don't think he knows HOW to take it slow.

Alexis' mouth started to hurt about three weeks ago. We took her in and found out that she needed her wisdom teeth out. They were coming in at a slant, and were pushing against her other teeth, making most of her mouth hurt. She got them out, and swelled up like a balloon on one side. The other side had only minimal swelling. It has hurt like crazy, but her face is almost back to normal, and the pain is down. She is still waiting for a cast list for 'Beauty and the Beast.' She will be 16 in less than a month. Yikes! Driving, dating; ok, not ready. Mom that is. Lex is totally ready.

Kyle is working hard at his independent study classes with varying degrees of success. For some of his classes he works completely independently with great grades; for others, like math and science, he needs my help, and it takes more concentration. He is learning to write and is doing fairly well with it. This is all good. He still loves Taekwando, and goes twice weekly. We have discovered that meat is very hard on his system, and that a low/no meat diet helps him a great deal. So, much to his dismay, hamburgers and hot dogs are out, green smoothies are in! Yum!

I am busy, just a hand-full of voice students right now. One was invited to the state high school Solo and Ensemble competition. She has only had about 4 months of lessons, so this is exciting. There was a real range of skill shown, from full-blown Italian arias sung well, to folk tunes in English that needed work. She now knows what it is like, and will be well prepared for next year's competition. Go Hannah! There is much more out here vocally than in NH, I think because the resident choral group is none other than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and there is a much bigger population base. The infrastructure to feed such a group is well established, providing a lot more opportunity, and a whole lot more competition. When I decide I want a full studio, I will be able to fill it. That wasn't the case in rural NH. We lived so far out that it was hard to get students, and people were more focused on the fabulous bands and marching bands in that area. I didn't know that in some circles, the northeast was known for their marching bands. I found that out from a niece from Arizona who's band director said he didn't want to compete against those North East bands because they were so good. That made sense. However, those western choirs are pretty awesome, and I love the prevalence of orchestras here.

David is struggling, and that means Rusty is also, as she devotes her time to his care. She is strong and certainly knows how to work, and David is a marine. I think that is why he keeps bouncing back. Not giving in!

The Rockies are lovely in the spring, and we are enjoying the beauty that surrounds us as well as warmer temperatures. Josh doesn't think it's warm, and misses those world famous Hawaiian beaches. Really, nobody here is very sympathetic. Mostly jealous. Life is moving forward. We will post again when Dani gets her call. By the way, we have a map of the world on the wall with everyone's guesses about where she will go. The winner gets a muffin, wherever you may live. Rules are: 1 stateside and 1 foreign guess. Add it to the comments, and we will put your guess on the map. My guesses were Washington state and France. My best guess is "wherever the Lord wants her to go," but the others are still fun. What do you think?

Sheesh!

What a poopy day today has been! (This is Alexis).
My teeth have been hurting ALL day, I didn't get what I want for lunch, and at the end of the day I find out I have to get some wisdom teeth removed! WHAT THE HECK! Thats all I've got to say. Just so this isn't a blog meant for ranting, I'll post a poem I did for english.

Some People’s Children

Parents—
What’s the deal with them?
Why do they think their special?
Why are they such a gem?
Can’t they see their kids are stupid—
JUST LIKE THEM?

Oh, parents talk about how
Stupid we teenagers is,
But have they ever thought to themselves—
Who raised us?
Who raised these kids?

People—
What’s the deal with them?
Don’t they understand
That we don’t know what we’re doing!
Maybe we should start a band!
To express our insecurities—
Heck, to tell them that
We’re the man!

We don’t need no parents’ remarks—
We’ll go down our own paths!
We’ll make our own embarks!

But then I remember, I think to myself:
That parents were kids—
They stole cookies from the shelf.
They did this all before—
We’re not breaking down
Any new door.

And then I think—even worse—
We’re repeating our parents’ mistakes!
We’re beating a dead horse!
We’ve gotta make some new mistakes,Make them our own, of course!

We're still alive...

Holy long time since we've updated on the blog, batman! Sorry about that, anyone who actually reads this dang thing!
This is Alexis, just so you know who to give credit to for the fantastic writing (wink wink, nod nod. To take a page out of Kyle's book...)
Hm, where to start...well, we've got soon to be Elder Savage and we HOPE sooner than later to be Sister Savage living at home again. There's been some delays with her stake president interview, but as soon as that happens the papers are in and we wait for a week and a half. I'm so excited for my sister to go to NORWAY. I'm banking on it.
Josh just got surgery on his knee; he tore his miniscus. The kid doesn't even act like there's a problem with it, says its pretty much painless. He just has a big wrap.
For me, I just auditioned for Beauty and the Beast, the school play...and I got a callback! A callback that I did a pretty dang good job at, if I do say so myself. I'm hoping to be the flirty feather duster, called Babette. It's going to be wicked fun though, whatever I get! Wicked excited! My 16th birthday is coming up...just about a month away. Yes, mom is freaking out.
Kyle...well, Kyle is Kyle. He goes to the rec center most days, is still working on his home schooling. He should be getting his elk tag at the end of May, which he's really excited for! Other exciting news, he is close to being able to test for a yellow belt in Taekwondo! Kyle's 13th birthday is coming up as well, about a month. He's the last one before we're all teenagers or older...freaky!
Mom just finished up her writing class down at BYU...she reeeaally loved the class! Who wouldn't, when you show up and get to test a Grandma's national contest winning cookies! Yum.
Jarah....I'm pretty sure she's happy.
Well that's the Savages at the moment!
Joke of the day:
Question: Why don't blind people like sky diving?
Answer: It freaks out the dog.

Felicitaciones, Elder Savage!

Josh's photo submitted with his papers...

Dani's photo to be submitted with her papers....

Today is March 17th, 2011. (Happy St. Patty's Day, everyone!) More importantly...HAPPY JOSH GETS HIS MISSION CALL, BATMAN! So today started out a good day: there was an assembly at school, which REALLY means nobody has to show up until it's over. Naturally, that means brings friends home and have a good breakfast! (Thank you Mom.) It was fun, and I'm pretty sure Elise, Glen and Tanner have never seen fights that intense for shotgun. ANYWAY. We started talking about missions, seeing as Tanner just submitted his papers, Dani's filling out hers, and we knew Josh was EXPECTING his today. Something to the effect of we can't wait to see where everybody goes. Tanner's going to go to Canada, Dani's going to go to...Norway. I still want someone to go to Norway, and Josh (I was guessing) would go to China. MISSIONS MISSIONS MISSIONS! Later, in track my cousin Seth pulled me out to go skype Josh and see him open his call. Josh isn't patient, so we knew it would be opened in the hour. Everyone got a guess, one state side and one foreign: Rebekah- Chile, or California Mom- China, or Texas Me- Norway, or Mass Seth- Mexico, or Arizona Auuunt Shauna- Costa Rica, or Anchorage, Alaska, Spanish speaking (Specific...) Kyle- Sweden, or Colorado Luke (with help from Aunt Shauna)-Tahiti, or Minnesota And finally, the only guess that was EXACTLY RIGHT, in his own words: Josh: "WHEREVER THE LORD FREAKING WANTS ME TO GO." Ding ding ding!! I swear, it's like they make the beginning of that letter long on purpose! Elder Savage will be heading to the Provo MTC on August 3rd, before going to the PERU, LIMA WEST, Spanish speaking mission. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Good call, Josh. Within three weeks we should have Dani's call in as well....AHHH! I'm stealing Josh's guess this time: My prediction is she goes WHEREVER THE LORD FREAKING WANTS HER TO. I've gotta feeling I'm right. (Norway...)

Gallantry is Alive and Well

I am at the University Community Hospital near Tampa, Florida, where my uncle, David, is a patient. Rusty, my aunt and his wife, had been caring for him for a long time. He began losing the ability to use his legs while enduring intense pain that is generated from his back, as well as other issues. He has made some serious progress in the past 24 hours, now being able to sit up, and use the walker for very small distances, as well as getting some relief from the terrible pain he has had to endure. This is significant. Rusty has not had any real sleep in weeks, and watches him like a hawk. She is exhausted, but vigilant. Just try telling her to leave long enough to get a good night's sleep. She won't leave his side to take care of herself, just to do things she needs to for him. I get to stay here and help so she can at least sleep on the pull-out chair for a while, and she actually is home taking a short nap. She threatens to be back after just an hour of sleep. I am betting she'll follow through, though I have told her I'm fine, she should sleep. David keeps asking for her, however. He just needs to know she's near, and that's why she does it.

On a different note, on the way here, after finding a seat in the Las Vegas airport without slot machines nearby, I met an incredibly nice young man. He was traveling home after business in Vegas, and struck up a conversation. He felt that he had been born in the wrong time. The 50's would have suited him better, he said, with the decade's old fashioned values. He was in the first group to board, and I was going to be dead-last in the B group. He offered to save me a seat and I gratefully accepted. When we got off in Tampa, an airport I was not familiar with, he made sure I got to the baggage area which was in another terminal (I was clueless and would have definitely had a hard time finding it). He then waited until my ride came before leaving, even though it was about midnight. He was truly a gentleman to a complete stranger, and since I'm probably old enough to be his mother, it was just because he was a gentleman. He is single, ladies! And waiting for a true lady who's values match his own. I am confident that she will be worth the wait, because this young man is a catch--mid-twenties, educated, professional, likable, creative--girls, the good ones are still out there. Tony, I hope you find your true lady. She will be worth the wait. I know you will be worth HER wait.

Tuff Stuff.

Today's been a hard day.

This Friday was the 7 month mark from the day Dad died. I was mostly fine (I didn't break down crying in public, at least). But it wasn't until about last night, Saturday, that I started to struggle. Backstory time!
My Aunt Shauna somehow found out a long time ago that I'd never seen Fiddler on the Roof. Criminal! ...The funny part is, this was discovered some time last year...and I finally saw it last night. Anyway, in the song If I were a Rich Man, Reptevye (sp?) says/sings "Would it spoil some vast eternal plan, if I were a rich man?" My dad used this line in a blog post, and rephrased it to say "Would it spoil some vast eternal plan, if I were to beat this cancer?" It wasn't a line they really lingered on, but it still hurt to hear and to be reminded of. But I let it go pretty quick, because I was occupied with trying to dance like Reptevye. All was well, I was enjoying the movie.
However, another scene much later on made me also very sad. It was the scene where the middle girl, Hotal, was saying a goodbye to her father, not knowing if they would ever see each other again. Not to mention she was leaving a home she had lived in her whole life. Sheesh, everything I see or hear targets me lately! (Not to put a knock on Fiddler, it was great and I loved it. Especially the dancing and the fact that I got to randomly shout "Mazzletaff!") Not fair, right?

Today is Sunday, and what did we have a lesson on in Young Women's class? Eternal Families.

WHAT THE HECK!!!!!!!!!

I've just been thinking about Dad and missing him, but I wanted to share a poem that President Bryson Cook wrote and shared at my Dad's funeral:

When in my moment of great despair,

I saw a rainbow in the sky.

The light, the color, the beauty

All helped me say goodbye.

The bow, a token of covenants past

Reminds me that my love can last

Not only for this brief moment

In the eternal scheme,

But forever.

As a family, with my Eternal King.

No matter how much I miss Dad....I know I'll see him again. And that he's watching what I'm doing now...so I better be a good kid and not mess up, and not wallow in self pity lots, right? Right. And ya know what? Apparently it would spoil some vast eternal plan for Dad to survive his cancer, or else he would have. Heavenly Father knows exactly what he's doing and he knows exactly why Dad had to be taken from the earth and given so much pain right at the time it did. So all I can do now is to have trust in Heavenly Father, and know that I'll find out why this happened later. When I can ask Dad why it happened. Until that moment, I'll have to be patient.

...MAZZLETAFF!

-Alexis

black hole

Its kyle time now. Hi how are you all doing. People always ask me how I'm doing. Don't ask me any more because I'm going to tell you right now. So think of a black hole. Now put it in your heart, now make that black hole 1000 times bigger. Not even close to what I feel. So like Alexis(my annoying sister) I had a dream. Its rather short though. One day I was making bread. I looked over and saw my dad. Kept making bread. Then about five minutes later I thought wait what? I looked back and he wasn't there. I thought crud, I'm stupid. well that's the dream, I know its short but it brought comfort. Sometimes I think I'm the only mature one in the house. (That was just to day). Mom and Alexis are crying there heads off and I have to comfort them. Yet sometimes its the other way around but who cares. so by the way just to tell you guys i started taekwondo with my second cousin Tara who teaches the class. now back to that black hole.you know if you can see a black hole life as you know it is over? Well it feels like I just saw that black hole billions of miles away. it feels like life as you know it is over. but yet, still I'm here. It feels like I'm slowly being sucked in to the black hole very slowly. But at the last second I know every thing will be OK. That no matter what I have family and what ever happens I always will. well that's it fore me. See ya all later, Kyle

Dad and Dreams

Hey everybody, it's Alexis this time. This is the first time posting for me, so be nice...
Last night I had a dream. It was in two parts, and the first part went like this:

I was eating at a picnic table on a beach. When I woke up I realized it was Sunapee Beach, New Hampshire. Where I was eating, I could see another picnic table just in front of me, set up kind of like tables in a cafeteria. I don't remember who I was eating with, but at the table in front of me I could see my friends from New Hampshire, but they were all little kids. They were eating, laughing, and talking together. Again, I don't know why, but for some reason I couldn't go eat with them. I remember I started crying, even in my dream. That's pretty unusual for me (actually, it's pretty unusual that I remember my dreams at all, but that's besides the point). Now the second part of my dream:
I just got home from summer camp, and I asked what we had for dinner, looking in the fridge d as I asked. Dad answered me from the living room that he had just made some soybeans tacos and left extras for me. I didn't even realize until I woke up that it was so out of place that Dad had made the tacos or that he was still with us in our plain site. That's what I remember from my dream. What I've gathered from this dream is that:
1) I miss New Hampshire (Sunapee Beach, I guess).
2) I miss my friends from New Hampshire.
3) I miss my Dad.
4) Kyle's new healthy food diet is affecting me.
I told Mom and Kyle about this, and being the big cry babies that we are...well, you know what came next. We didn't just cry: we BAWLED. It was a tough morning. So how did we try and fix it? Play some Journey. BIG MISTAKE! That got us crying even MORE! But then we played some other 80's rock, and it was just fine. For the moment. What an eventful morning...the flip side is we DID get a bacon breakfast and tomorrow night we're having REAL tacos, no soybeans.
That was the temporary comfort. The lasting and more assuring comfort is:
1) We'll be able to visit New Hampshire
2) We'll be able to visit our friends/family/ward in New Hampshire
3) We are sealed as a family for eternity, and
4) I never have to (and never WILL) eat soybean tacos in my life.
Obviously #3 is the most comforting and most important truth: we are sealed together for eternity. We're stuck with each other, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Even though I have my down days were I just miss Dad and all I want to do is cry to my pillow, it's okay--Dad always said tough people cry, so that makes us buff. Although sometimes I feel like crying and just breaking down, I know that doesn't really do anything productive. I know that I'm only away from Dad for a moment. I'm only upset because I miss him right now. Dani also said once that this was his fault for being such a great Dad. If he were a little lousy once in a while this wouldn't be so hard! So I want to say thanks Dad, for being such a great Dad, and making it hard to be away from you for now. Because it will be so sweet when we can be with you again, face-to-face. So for right now, we have to "Be of good courage, and do it." (Ezra 10:4). We have to be of good courage and just do it: remember that Dad isn't far, we're sealed to him forever, and our Savior will guide us through these tough times.
Long story short: we love Dad, and we miss him. But we'll be with him again soon.

Egypt

While the world holds its collective breath, waiting to see how this very fluid situation continues to unfold, I add my own thoughts and prayers to the many, many around the globe.

The mood in the US seems to be 'cautious optimism.' I add my prayers for both our president and the secretary of state that all of their skill and resources may come to bear. May I ask that no matter what we feel towards the administration, we give them a break and let them do their jobs? This is NOT in their control, but they can and are working very hard to have a positive impact on what is going on.

One of the bright spots in Egypt has been the restraint shown by the military thus far. It is widely reported that the Egyptian military has very good relations with the US, and I am sure that both Pres. Obama and Sec. Clinton are using that to the greatest good they can. Let us hope to keep them in our corner, and let them know that we are in their corner. The people of Egypt have demanded democracy. Let us hope they get it, and as those in power now, the military, are a secular organization, perhaps a truly democratic society may take root. Surely it won't be smooth, as all children stumble as they learn to walk, so will a new democracy stumble as it learns to function.

On a side note, it has been fun to watch Fox News defend President Obama and Secretary Clinton from criticism. By the way, it is NOT the first time I have seen this, and not just in this situation. I don't expect to hear Sean Hannity defend him, but then again, I don't listen to him! Let's remember that this is Egypt's baby, and we should not expect our leaders to determine the outcome. It is not ours to determine. But to the extent that we can help a smooth transition occur, women's rights be honored, and democracy prevail, I say we lend our influence to those ends in any way possible. Viva la Revolution.

Our good friends Dave and Linda got one of those calls that set your heart pounding and your stomach flipping. Their handsome young son, Cory Fife, was hit by a car, suffering head trauma and broken bones. He was serving as a missionary at the time in Macon, Georgia. His parents jumped on an airplane while his life hung in the balance last Wednesday. He has now stabilized and is responding to verbal commands. They are not sure what the future will hold, but our love and prayers go out to Elder Cory Fife and his family. Here is a link. http://www.eldercoryfife.blogspot.com/

Moving Forward!

I need to write! Expect to hear about the Savages and read some opinions about some issues. Let's get started!

We miss Blaine who passed away on August 4, 2010, but we are moving forward. We are actively involved in life. He wouldn't want it any other way. Life is full of college, high school and home study middle school classes, basketball, racquetball (Yay!), Hawaiian beaches, dreams, plans, Jarah our lovely golden retriever, etc, etc. The Savage family is determined to live with joy, and that will increase as time progresses.

(The source of my joy and their adorable little cousins)

"I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."-Thoreau in Walden
Yes, it comes from my daughter's blog. I don't think I'll do that too often, but no promises, guys. If you do something good, I'll probably copy it, or brag about it, etc. Congrats to my nephew and niece on the baby that is coming. I have no doubt that you will make wonderful parents. That's all for this one. More next time!