17 Years

It's been a long and really short 17 years!




17 1/2 years ago I went to my first ever single's activity through our church. I was 18, only going because I was asked to. We played a frightening game of volleyball. When I say frighting I mean I was scared for my life and face. I'm not a big fan of this game!!

While at this activity, I saw this young, cute guy, who had a group of girls swarming around him. I knew he had to of been at least 21, but he didn't look it. I watched him that night, and didn't think too much about it. But I got the impression that he was going to be my best friend, but my brain was telling me, PLAYER!!

Max in Korea on his Mission

About a month later, we met in the hall at church. He remembered my name (if you know Max that is a HUGE deal). With the help of my mom, who was standing next to me, we set up a date.

Our first date lasted about.... 8 hours. Two days later was our second, and we've seen each other every day since(almost)!

4 beautiful babies later, and a LOT of growing experiences we are still in Love. He truly is my bestest friend in the whole world! Such a great man, he makes me laugh, and helps me to embrace the life I have.Our anniversary day. I wanted to take pictures too.

I love you Forever!!

Baptism Pictures

Still getting use to this blog thing. These are pictures that should of showed up on my blog about Jacque's birthday.


Jacque and her Dad (Max)

Joseph Fuhriman and Jacqueline Drown, Sharing this special day together.

Ben, Max, Joey, Jacque

Yummy cake made by Nana Pat.

Congratulations You two!!!

Jacqueline Alta

My Jacque turned 8 on December 11th!

She was a very hard baby. We tell her this all the time. She spent the first year of her life being held by me, Max or Aunt Heidi. If she wasn't being held, She was screaming. Not just a cry, but a ear splitting, around the world hearing, Shriek! Good thing she was cute. She had Dark curly hair, and lots of it.Photo by: Hearthbound Photography

After a year she was fun loving and super super sweet! She is the kindest child. I call her the glue to our family. She pulls our family together like no one else can. She is smart and just gets life and all it has to offer.

She is still emotional, and holds everything in until she gets home. But she has learned to keep things in balance (she is smart).

She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. She Loves him so much and they have something special together.

Being 8 she has chosen to be Baptized a member of our Church. We baptize at 8 because until now, they are not accountable for there actions. But now they have learned and make decision for themselves. She shared her day with her cousin Joey, who is 3 days younger. This is a very special day for them. Both were baptized by there Father's.

I could not picture my life without this little, strong girl. Happy Birthday Jac - a - Smack, Curlytop -Squawks- a -lot! My life is better with you in it!

Side lined

After I found out what I did.

If you keep up with me on Facebook, you know about this already.

I had to take a sudden leave of absence from the exercise/ running life.

I Biffed! HARD! Ate Asphalt. I don't recommend it.
I didn't want to run this perticular morning. Partly because it was 6AM, it is always 6 AM when I run. I didn't have any motivating factor to keep up the routine, except the awesome ladies I run with, and if I let myself talk myself out of going, it would only be that much easier the next time. Also that morning the alarm went off and I as wondering why I needed to get up. Totally blocked running from the brain, this is not normal. I went running.

Did I tell you how awesome the ladies I run with are? They are fantastic!

I was the slowest runner in the group that day, but since we weren't training, nobody minded taking an easy. Good thing too, I was running in front (somehow) and then I felt no road beneath me, ankle turned, I knew it was BAD! I screamed before I hit the road with my Knee, and both hands, and did an awesome roll. Everyone saw it. I wish I had video.Val, Me, Monica, Maigan, Andrea, Emily (my nurse on the side of the road), Nita (our leader), Janette

After assessing my wounds and my growing ankle, I knew I wasn't moving... well I was moved out of the road that I rolled into (Thanks Janette!). 6 ladies stood by me while I was in shock waiting for 2 runners to get there car. It felt like forever. They talked to me, and help me keep it together. I can tell you it didn't hurt very bad, I was just ANGRY!!!! Very mad. Very MAD.


Some people passed offering help. Then this car pulled over. I sorta knew the car, I knew the hair of the driver. I declared, "I'm going with her!" "help me up." Just then the 2 runners pulled up with there cars (Thanks Val and Janette) although I didn't go with them, I do apologize, but the other car was a Blessing!

Lynne Moore. She is Fantastic. She lives in my neighbor hood. She goes to my church. Not only that, she is our Stake YW Pres, so with Camp I work very closely with her. AND her Husband is our Home Teacher. I was more than willing to go with her. I called Max from her cell, because no one runs with cell phones, too bulky, and no, I still will not run with a cell phone. I never run alone anyway.Lynne on the far Left.

I get home, right before kids get up for school. Max gets me set up in the kitchen to ice my ankle, and start digging rocks out of my knee and Hands. As soon as I am alone, I lose it. uncontrollable sobbing. My poor kids walk into a kitchen where mom is bleeding and bawling with an ankle the size of a grapefruit. Remember, I'm ANGRY.The next day

Sigh.

After finding out I pulled tendon/ligaments, and ripped a piece of bone off my ankle, and am side lined for 6-8 weeks. I work through the anger, and learn how to let people help me. Learn that I will heal, and how nice it is to have a working body and mind. I learn that exercise really does help keep my figure firm, and that I'm hungrier when I exercise. I learn that I'm older and it takes my body a lot longer to heal than it use to.

This really was an "OK" time to be side lined. It was after my race, and nothing is coming up till the spring.

I did some things here at there within the past 6 weeks of my injury, but It still bothers me. I guess it really will take those 6-8 weeks. I walked with Max today, 4 miles. I made him slow down on the last 2. I want to run again, but I am gun shy, and it will take some getting use to.

6 weeks. Still a bit larger, but feeling better.

What did you do this weekend?!

Chapel Hill. Look at that hill. (This is the easier one)

I RAN A HALF MARATHON!! Yup 13.1 miles. Crazy? Yes, why yes it is. Rewarding? Yes it is. Will I do it again? I think the answer is yes, among other things.

I've always been athletic, or so I think. I love to move and sweat (and I sweat A LOT.. it's gross). I did sports all 4 years of high school, and somethings before then too. Then I got married and was very off and on about anything regular. I did eat though.

I ran a couple 5K's over the years, quitting after finding out I was prego with number 3, and some nagging stress fractures. My body was just too big for the running thing.

Last March my awesome sis in law (I have MANY awesome sis in laws.. this is just one of them) introduced me to my way out of the fat suit and into a leaner NORA. 50 lbs later, the opportunity to run came up.

The gym I work out at, has an incredible instructor, who is very inclusive and invited her Body Combat Chicks (BCC) to run a half marathon. They were starting from square 1. I ran. I woke up at 6 AM. I WOKE UP at SIX AM!!! 2 days a week and ran. We worked our selves up to the longer miles on Saturdays. My mental block was at 6 miles. Who can run six?! I missed that week and went straight on to 7 and almost cried that I ran 7 miles. After that, it was cake.

Along this physical journey, I also made some great friends. This group of BCCers was 50-60 strong. I was bound to find someone my pace to run with. It took a while. I was lazy and slow, I wanted to breathe, I couldn't keep up with some. After some soul searching a little bit of talks with some veteran runners and some encouragement and insights from some fellow runners. Something click. Everything worked together, I ran hills better, kept up with the gang, and had some great conversations. And I was able to breathe, or I just told myself I had all day to catch up on that breathing thing :0)

I was ready for race day. After running 8 miles, adding more miles didn't seem to affect me. It was a beautiful day! Cool and a little breezy. I guess I should mention that we trained in the hottest, most humid summer in a long while. 6AM was still not early enough for cooler weather. I think things started working out for me too, when the temp was below 70.

I found my pack, there is 5 of us, who stick together. We ran. The beginning was great, mile 7 was harder (first hill) But my Max and Family were waiting for me at the top of that hill. Then the next 4 miles were torture. Hills, Hills, HILLS! Yuck. By this time my pack had split up. I run with some fast ladies, and I didn't want to go that fast, and I stopped for water one place they didn't. By mile 11.5 I wanted to stop, quit, walk, sit, drink, stop. Then someone next to me stopped, I thought, QUITTER. So I kept going, and didn't stop till I crossed the line. 2 hours and 6 min, 34 sec later. Paced at 9:40 average 29th out of 75 in my age group, top 3rd of all runners. My target was under 2:10.The girls

A dear friend came over and told me how proud she was of me. That I must feel like I accomplished something grand, and that it must feel great. My feelings about this are way more complicated. Yeah, I ran it, I had to train for it, I knew my body can do this. But I could not of done this without the group of ladies who were constantly there waiting to run at 6AM. The ones who ran last year that we all tried to keep up with, were soooo encouraging and positive, ALL the time. The new ladies that learned the mechanics of running and that there is a right and wrong way to do it. My pack who listened to me whine, and encouraged me, and talk about ways to keep going, quicker and easier. Who distracted me with conversations about Religion, Husbands, Kids, Family, Friends, Life. There is where my gratitude and accomplishment lay. Not with myself but with my new friends.

What is next? I have always wanted to do Triathlons. I swim, who can't bike, and I can run. I found that there is a group that trains for these here in Columbia. I thought a mini tri (Sprint) would be all I would EVER want to do. I'm rethinking that after running 13.1, I think triathlon that lasted only and hour would not be as challenging as I would of thought. But I'll start there. Will I do a Marathon? NEVER EVER. The time commitment and stress on the body is insane! I don't like running that much. I have nothing to prove, and I don't want injuries. Not for me.

Stevie Weavie

Keaton and Stephen

My Boy is turning 12!! This is a HUGE event in our lives. It means he survived life for 12 years. Also at church he is Ordained to be a Deacon, and he gets to participate in the older boys activities that also meet with the ... GIRLS... hehe.


He was such a fun baby, and HUGE. Always smiling


He coined key phrases :
Plug Out (plug in)
Bangle Butter (Cream cheese)
Water House (imagine hardwood floors with a 1/2 inch of water on it)
Puzzle Man (Humpty Dumpty )


Wrote some magnificent poetry:

Homework is a Complete Waste of Time, by Stephen

Stephen was born while Max worked full time and at school full time. So when Max came home Stephen sat right on his lap and watched Daddy play V-games.

Man of Many names:
Steve Steve
Stevie Weavie
Cletus
Handsome
My Boy
Last Place
Moth Boy
Spud
Spudly
Stephen


Oh how I love him and his great sense of Humor. Happy Birthday Handsome!!

FHE

FHE Board, made out of whatever we had around

EVERY Monday we have FAMILY HOME EVENING. We clear our schedules and make time for just our family. We have done many things, some fun, some spiritual, some service orientated. We have through the years tried to come up with something that works for older and younger kids. Above is an activity we did on a Monday night. We used whatever scrap paper and stickers I had around. Which is not much, since I do not scrapbook. So we had to get creative on how we spelled things. It is a chart so we know who is in charge of which component of FHE.

This Monday Jacque was in charge of our activity. She wanted to have a coloring contest. We all had to draw pictures of a sunset. .


Emily was in charge of taking some of the pictures. Here is us discussing the way the pictures made us "feel". Max is so funny!!

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On another note


Abbie has started Early morning Seminary. Our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. aka Mormons)
Has a early morning scripture study group for all the High School students. If you are lucky enough to live where there are a lot of Mormons around, they offer it as an extra class during the school day. But we do not live in such an area, so our kids (and me... when I was younger) get to go early.... EVERY DAY. 6:15 -7:05. (I went at 5:45AM!) So my night owl daughter who didn't wake up before noon the whole summer is shocking her system.
This is what she looked like after her first day.

Stinker still didn't go to bed till after 10!