The Savage Chronicles

That Thine Alms May be in Secret

2011-04-18T08:32:00.000-06:00

As I was reading in 3 Nephi 13, I was struck by the Savior's words on doing alms to the poor and how sometimes we do alms In order to be seen of men. So I started thinking about all the things I do and wondered at the reasons I do them. I think that sometimes I have thoughts in the back of my mind that as I do these things, I am waiting for others to tell me what a wonderful person I am for doing all these things. It made me stop and think, "why am I teaching this lesson"' "why am I teaching my children?"... Am I spending so much time on this lesson so that in will receive compliments and accolades from the students and everyone will know what a great teacher I am, or am I doing so because I want the girls to feel the Spirit and learn the same truths that on have learned from studying this lesson? Do I want my children to be good people and have strong testimonies of the Gospel because I want others to think I am a wonderful mother and teacher or do I do the best I can because I love them and know that they are heavenly Father's children and I want us to be together forever with our Heavenly Father? I would like to think that I do it for the right reasons but, I think that sometimes I do those things for the wrong reasons. So it made me stop and think and examine my motives. I know that I do the things I do for good reasons and sometimes bad, simply because I am human. I also realized that my Heavenly Father loves me and wants to teach me and that he did so through the scriptures. That is why it is so important to study the scriptures so that He can teach me and help me to become more like Him. I know I will try harder to do things for the right reasons.

Random Ramblings

2011-03-24T16:57:00.000-06:00

I wish I had the gift of gab like my daughters who seem to be able to blog about anything and everything, but I don't, so I will quit wishing for something I don't have... ha ha fat chance! I have been trying to keep a journal lately because as a presidency we set some goals to do PJS on a personal level (Prayers, Journal, Scriptures) everyday. I have been working hard at doing that and it has been going pretty well. So I think I will just share some things from my journal lately:

March 12: We went to the temple today with our youth. It was really nice. All but one of our active girls were there, so that was cool. We had set a goal to get everyone there, so we came pretty close. The kids had donuts and milk in the cafeteria afterwards and seemed to enjoy that, even when they dropped a chocolate donut on the carpet. Yikes! Good thing we had Mike Grant to clean up.

March 13: We had Ward Conference today. Bishop Hyde talked about tithing and how important it is. He told us of the blessings of paying tithing and some experiences of paying tithing. It was a good talk. President Caldwell talked about being pure and making good choices. President Steenbakkers talked to the youth about dating and relationships. He had some really good information about it. We had a good time visiting with the kids tonight. I am really blessed with wonderful kids! They have such a good grasp on the Gospel and I can see their testimonies growing each day. I am very thankful to the Lord for sending such great children.

March 14: Keesha and Sean have been home for Spring Break. Keesha decided to paint a mural on Savanna's wall with a BYU theme (big surprise there). It is looking really good. Sean did the BYU logo, which turned out really good. I'll post a picture of it when I get a minute. For FHE, we filled out March Madness brackets and Doug gave the lesson. He talked about enjoying life the good times, because we all know there will be bad times so that we can grow and become stronger because of our weaknesses. That kind of worries me a little, because our life is really good right now, no major problems or anything like that.

March 20: Mat has been playing little league basketball and having lots of fun. They haven't won any games yet.

March 21: Today was kind of boring.

March 22: I didn't do much today.

March 23: We had mutual and the kids practiced their skit for the Stake Talent show. I think it is going to be good. Not much else is going on.

I can see by some of my entries that I need to do more so life won't be so boring. I'm sure I bored all with this, but I thought I should say something on here once in a while. Well, life is good and I hope it stays that way for a long, long time!

Goin' to the Zoo...

2010-11-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

A long, long time ago... in the age of summer, the Savage family took a trip to Colorado to enjoy some fun with the family. We went to a Braves/Rockies game which didn't turn out so well! but, we did have lots of fun watching and enjoying the family. The next morning before driving home, we went to the Denver Zoo. The kids had a great time and the weather was just right... not too hot, not too cold.

Coming into the BIG CITY :)

Coor's Field

J-Hey

I think they are very intent on the Game...

Our awesome signs

A.J. thought it was great :)

Jax not so much...

Ranee` and Jax

The ever picture happy Mat...

These are just pic from the Zoo...

2010-10-13T15:32:00.000-06:00

The Middle School had a lip sync contest last Thursday night.... I just wanted to share what my very talented daughter and her friends did to earn a 3rd place finish. Let it be said, that 'I' think they deserved 1st place, however, to be fair the other acts were good.... :) I don't think anything else needs to be said.... Let the video speak for itself :)

My Post

2010-10-08T18:26:00.000-06:00

I would post some awesome pictures of our trip to Colorado.... but someone lost my memory stick adapter, so I have to wait til the new one comes.... But, we did have a great time! :)

Homecoming :)

2010-08-15T22:56:00.002-06:00

Well, it's finally time to blog again… I've been waiting the mandatory 2 months J

Seriously, though, we had a great time going to the airport to pickup Sean. It was great to see him again after 2 whole years. He didn't change much in looks, (he told us he was fat) but, I saw a huge change inside him. He had to speak to the missionary prep class on the Sunday following his return and I'm not even saying this just because I'm his mom… But, he gave the best talk I have heard in a long time (at least since one of my other boys came home from a mission). He gave a great lesson and talk. After he spoke, Brother Simmons ask doug and I to say a few words about how Sean's mission has affected our family. All I could say was that everything was good. I also told them that this was NOT the same boy I sent out… I had sent out a boy and a man had returned. I'm sounding too much like a proud mom, but hey… this is my blog and I can say what I want J

We made t-shirts that spelled WELCOME HOME on them… Sean was kind of embarassed…

"Is he really coming? He'd better not pull a Jordan!"

Cheering, clapping…. I think I was a little shakey when I took this pic…

And here, too… J

He's looking a little embarrased by the t-shirt show…

"Can I get back on the plane and go back to Indy?"

"Who are all these people, anyway?"

Now, that's a great smile…

"Ok, mom, you can quit taking pictures, now"

He still has the laugh…

It has been great having him home. He has the usual missionary preachiness… ha, ha, but I think we'll keep him.

2010-06-06T21:27:00.000-06:00

So, it's time to let go... Not a fun thing to do! Someone asked me if graduation got any easier with the younger kids... I said NO! It actually gets harder because you house is getting emptier. They also asked me if Keesha was the 3rd or 4th one to graduate... ha, ha, ha, ha... I said she was number 6! Oh, yeah, you do have lots of other kids! :) Maybe that means they aren't around enough... But, it is easier knowing that Keesha will be at Powell for a year, so she'll be around a lot. It also makes it double hard to lose her because she is my Laurel President (make that was) and she really did her job well. She was like my 4th counselor ;) and now I have to train someone new! I guess that comes with the territory :)

She's just lovin' it :)

Her two escorts.... I think she's cuter than them :)

They're just really excited to get their picture taken :)

(Mykel & Keesha)

So Proud :)

Now that's how she really feels!

2010-06-06T21:00:00.000-06:00

The elementary School had their annual Fun Day... Mat had a good time doing all the activities. Here, he is completing the obstacle course. As you can see by the blur... he is running really fast :)

In this race, they had to hold the ball between them and run to the next person in the relay... Mat just decided to pick up his partner and carry him...

Passing the baton... again... the blur

"Tag" your it!

2010-04-07T13:14:00.000-06:00

Since I have been tagged, here goes... The rules: A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning. B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asks them to read your blog.

1. I was born in Lovell, WY along with my twin sister, Ranee`.

2. I grew up on a farm near the 'small' town of Cowley, next to the big city of Lovell. (We did all our shopping and dating in Lovell!).

3. I am the youngest of 7 children, meaning I am YOUNGER than all of my OLDER sisters! :)

4. I grew up loving horses and animals, even though I eventually developed an allergy to cats! (It must be because I played with them so much while growing up). I especially loved playing with our german shepard, Queen.

5. I am the mother of 8 children, 4 boys and 4 girls. They are awesome kids and I'm glad they're mine!

6. I'm married to the coolest guy around :)

Tags:

1. Ranee`

2. Jill

3. Ashleigh

4. Chauna

CERT Training

2010-04-07T10:26:00.002-06:00

I was just looking at some picture and saw these of my CERT training. For those of you who don't know what that is: Community Emergency Response Team. I learned how to behave if a disaster were to happen in our area. On the last day, we did a mock disaster and I got to be triage leader… I learned, that is was very hard to mark kids as 'dead' and to decide who needed immediate treatment and who could wait… especially when your daughter is one of the 'victims'. All in all, it was a very informative and interesting class. I also learned a lot about fires and emergency preparedness… something that the Church teaches constantly. So, I have decided that I need to revamp my emergency plan and be prepared in case something really does happen!

Charri and Mike, he's patching her up… her eye is covered because the eyeball was hanging out… eeewww!

Charri, again… looks kind of real, huh!

As part of our training, we had to 'lift' a very, very heavy concrete slab by using the 'cribbing method'

Using leverage and cribbing to lift up the slab

It's getting higher… apparently, there was a 'victim' under it and we had to get him out.\

Carola and I putting out the fire…

Savanna, the 'victim'

It was really kind of gross… her insides were hanging out and I didn't tag her as dead… Of course, she was moaning very loudly and thrashing about… kind of hard to be 'dead'

Getting her out… the two man carry wasn't as easy as it seemed…

Just Stuff

2010-04-06T23:11:00.003-06:00

So, Ranee` tells me that it only takes 5 minutes to write about your day... So here goes...

I don't think my day was very interesting. I read a book by Georgette Heyer and decided that the Hero should have been a little more masculine. I don't know... just my humble opinion. However, it was a nice little read. I got a letter from Sean and he is doing quite well... having great experiences and getting sworn at and doors slammed and all that good stuff. Savanna came home from school and I told her she needed to make cookies (I'm training her to be more like Nikki), so she made some delicious homemade oreo cookies. Of course, now there is a small mess in the kitchen.... To top the evening off, we went to Ranee`s Pampered Chef party and enjoyed good company, good treats and great grandsons. Keesha wasn't allowed to come because A.J. had been a 'bad boy' earlier in the day... I'm not sure I believe that, my perfect grandchildren would never be "that" rude to their parents. Of course, getting mom a wee bit wet may have been cause for withholding A.J.'s precious Keesha from him :)

I had a wonderful chat with Ranee` and it reminded me how much fun it is to just sit and chat and spend time with her. It is wonderful to have daughters who are my best friends! So, I guess that wasn't so hard. Maybe I'll do it again sometime. :)

men in suites

2008-10-13T23:48:00.001-06:00

men in suites, originally uploaded by birdmom8.

So Arent these guys great lookin!

California Hillbillies

2008-10-13T23:33:00.003-06:00

Doug and Mat… if you look close in the back ground you might see some dolphins

Jenny (Jill's sister), Savanna and Keesha… time to jump in!

Mat… Is this fun, or what?

Sean & Doug… ridin' the wave! "Man this water is salty!"

Sean & Keesha… "Sean, are you sure you can handle this?

Savanna, Keesha & Sean…. Please, Keesha, don't go in, there are sharks!

Sean, Nikki & Doug… "Dad, dad! Are you okay? Don't swallow the water!"

Well, as it has been a couple of weeks now, and everyone has read Ranee's excellent blog regarding our trip to California for the wedding, I will put my 2 cents worth in and put a few pictures up on the blog. We began our trip on Monday, June 16 and traveled to Utah to spend the night with our friends, Randy and NovaLea Beddes It was great fun, they provided us with pizza and all the good stuff. We got to see Nikki for a few minutes, too which was great! On Tuesday, we got up and headed for Sin City (or more commonly known as Las Vegas). It was a nice drive and continued to get hotter and hotter the further south we went. At one point the temperature in the Pickup said 116! I would post pictures of Las Vegas, but someone deleted them from their computer…. But, we had a great time (as long as we kept our eyes averted from the ground and certain people) swimming and seeing the sights along the famous strip. On Wednesday we got up and headed for sunny California, however, as we were leaving Las Vegas, we heard the dreaded sound from the back seat…. Yup, you guessed it, someone was throwing up! So, we quickly found the nearest exit and proceeded to find someplace to clean up Mat and the seat. Doug told mat, "You need to tell someone if you're going to throw up, don't just throw up!" Mat just meekly nodded his head, however, a few minutes later, he whispered to Sean, "I couldn't, I was choking!" Wow, that was scary! So we told him to get someone's attention if he was choking and to take smaller bites! We then traveled on the California without further mishap. I would like to say the drive was beautiful, but, alas, I cannot. I didn't know that there was so much desert between Las Vegas and San Bernadino, Ca. WOW! But, when we actually saw the coast and all the green, it was beautiful. We went to Newport Beach on Thursday morning. It was great fun and the kids and Doug really enjoyed the boogie boards and catching the waves! Thursday evening, we went to the Newport Beach Temple with Jill. It was a great experience. On Friday, we all loaded up and drove the 70 some miles to San Diego to the temple for the wedding. It was a beautiful day and we could see the coast for most of the drive. The temple was as beautiful as all the pictures and the ceremony was especially wonderful. I now have a beautiful daughter-in-law who is a pretty on the inside as she is on the outside! Our trip home was uneventful, except for the detour to Hoover Dam (which wasn't all it was cracked up to be) and the search of the pickup at the gate and the park ranger who thought we were driving too fast! (was 15 mph over the speed limit?). So it was a long drive all the way to Spanish Fork where we stayed the night with Melin and family. Sunday morning, we went to church with Melin and then headed home. It sure was nice to pull in the driveway! I thought my driving was over, but, I had to go to Billings to pickup Jordan and Jill and Lauri (Jill's mom) from the airport on Monday evening along with the cakes and stuff for the reception. The reception on Tuesday was very nice and lots of people came (more than I thought would for a middle of the week reception). On Wednesday, Nikki left bright and early and I took DJ, Jordan, Jill and Lauri to the airport. Our house seemed awfully quiet! But, Ranee saved the day and came and spent the rest of the week with us (Adam was out of town) and of course Melin and family came for Lovell's days. All in all it was a great week (or 2).
.

Christmas at the Savage’s

2008-01-06T00:10:00.001-07:00

Well, it's about time I updated the blog. I'm sure everyone is tired of the Build-a-Bear thing. Actually, Mat and Savanna are still really enjoying their 'made-to-order' pets. But Christmas has come and gone, so it is time to tell everyone what's up! First of all, Christmas was great with everyone getting here (eventually, Jordan didn't make until the 28^th) and having fun. We even had all 8 kids (+1) for Scripture Study one night. How cool is that? The Christmas break was great after enjoying basketball and wrestling for a few weeks. Keesha has been doing well in basketball and Sean is doing well, also, in wrestling. Christmas was grand with mat waking us all up at about 6:00 am! We then enjoyed opening presents after Mom and Dad rolled out of bed around 7:00. Everyone was very appreciative and I especially enjoyed watching everyone open their presents. We then adjourned to Grandma Savage's for the traditional Christmas Breakfast… with all the fixings!

Here's Nikki getting busy with the traditional Christmas Spudnuts, wow, I think we had them all over the Kitchen!

Jordan and Jill (his girlfriend) enjoying opening their presents...

Keesha..."hmmm what's this lovely present?"

Mat, following in his mother's

footsteps… a future blogger

Doug modeling his new hunting attire

Nikki.... "wow are all these for me???"

"The Boys"

Savanna surveying the loot

Sean, practicing his flying skills...

Build A Bear

2007-11-01T18:45:00.000-06:00

Well, Savanna and Sara (that's Sara Clark, Ranee's little sister-in-law and Savanna's best friend) finally got their Birthday wish... They saved and scrimped and sold little projects (I wonder how Grandpa and Leeann are enjoying their Duct Tape Wallets?) to earn money to go to their favorite store in the Mall... Build A Bear... or as Doug likes to put it... Mangle a Monkey!

Here they are choosing clothes and dressing their newly stuffed friends. Sara has a cute little kitten and Savanna a mischievous monkey! Shopping for clothes for animals is almost as expensive as for real people!!

Inspecting their choices! "Do you think these boots look okay?" or "Do these pants make me look fat?"

Mat even got into the fun and chose a puppy and dressed him as.... well, need I explain? Here he is naming his puppy and printing the 'birth certificate'. Wanna guess what his name is? Mat's puppy only cost him $7.00 (that's what he had in his wallet). Wow!

The only one to actually get a BEAR! Keesha is naming her 'angel' bear.

This finished product! They had so much fun. I was worth it just to watch them choose their animal and the accessories! But I don't think we'll do it again for a few birthdays!

The Center of Attention

2007-10-24T13:18:00.000-06:00

Sean has been doing his best to keep up entertained since life has been pretty boring around here this week, since volleyball is over and wrestling and basketball have yet to begin. We, did, however, very much enjoy Nikki being home over the weekend. It was too short, though!

End of Volleyball

2007-10-14T21:48:00.000-06:00

Well, Keesha has finished her volleyball season on a winning high. They played Rocky Mountain on Tuesday and soundly defeated our arch rivals, beating them in two games. Keesha had some awesome kills and great blocks. She also served up some great serves. In the Meeteetsee game, they took the Lady Long Horn varsity to 5 games to take the match. (I think they just wanted to play more ball and let them win a couple just to play more games). On saturday they faced the Cody Fillies and let them know that they were too tired to play (some team members stayed out all night due to homecoming the night before) and lost the match 1-2. However the season was great and the girls had a lot of fun. Keesha was, of course the best player on the team (I'm not prejudice or anything). It was a lot of fun watching her play and I enjoyed the season. Now all Keesha can think about is Basketball!

Just look at the air she's getting!

I didn't know she could jump like that!!! (Pictures courtesy of Leeann Savage).

Men in Suits

2007-10-07T22:16:00.000-06:00

Now here are some great looking boys (or should I say men?). There are 3 preemies and 1 current (david) and 1 returned.

One of my very beautiful daughters!

2007-10-07T20:42:00.000-06:00

I just found this picture again and thought I would share it. Since I miss her and wish she were here, I thought this might be the next best thing. This is Nikki, by the way, (the one with the long hair) and me. I guess it's a good thing that my other beautiful daughter is here to keep me company (and fix my hair)! You know it has been said that the ugliest parents have the cutest kids... I guess Doug and I must be REALLY ugly! :) cuz look at all the cute kids I have! (so how does that explain my very cute grandson?)

Keesha's Losing Volleyball team

2007-10-04T22:20:00.000-06:00

Well, we just returned from a volleyball trek to Powell to watch our wonderful daughter, Keesha play. Unfortunately, the Lovell Bulldogs choked and could not win a single match. Of course, my daughter played very well, serving up some mean balls, blocking and hitting (when the ball occasionaly came her way). We enjoyed watching, but hope the team can pull together and win a few this weekend as they travel to Pinedale for some conference duals. Unfortunately, I am unable to go watch because of the length of travel and such. (I couldn't find a ride with anyone going or find a motel room).

Baby News

2007-10-02T11:02:00.001-06:00

I guess I should clarify who is going to make me a grandma again! I assumed everyone would KNOW that is is Ranee` since no one else is married yet (hint, hint). We are really excited about the new addition, due to arrive around April 22. Ranee is hoping (actually, pretty sure) that the Dr. will help this one come a little early, due to the size of number 1! She is feeling better now, but had a hard time hiding the pregnancy due to constant morning sickness. It was also hard to keep a secret because her Dad kept trying to give it away. I'm surprised that no one guessed! Maybe they did, but kept it to themselves? Life is pretty good, so be happy!

2007-10-01T23:22:00.000-06:00

Hey, everyone! I'm trying to be like everyone else and keep ya'll up to date. We are slowly dwindling with only 4 kids at home now, Sean (18), Keesha (15), Savanna (9) and Mat (6). Doug is keeping really busy at work and Church. I am keeping busy trying to run the house and do my family history calling at Church. I am also having a great time with my favorinte grandson, A.J. who lives in Byron with his mom and dad, Ranee and Adam Clark. My other 3 kids are off gallavanting at school, Nikki is a sophomore at UW, soon to be a transfer student at BYU. DJ is a sophomore at BYU and Jordan is working in Provo and a soon to be student at UVSC in Provo. I am looking forward to seeing them all in November when we travel to Laramie to watch BYU vs. UW in football.