REFLECTIONS OF CHRIST...

A good friend had this video on her blog and recommended that I watch it...So glad I did it's one of the most beautiful video's I've seen! So I wanted to share it all with you since it goes perfectly with what I've been going through and the previous post. CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO!

PROMPTINGS AND INSPIRATIONS...

Promptings and Inspirations were not only
the main topic at church today but also have been happening to me in many different ways. I have been really in a great place lately and feeling so good about myself and happy. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the exercising and training for marathons well and eating better too. But also spiritually. Today at church everything felt so good and perfect. For the last couple weeks I have been in turmoil over a situation that has been on my mind for and seems to consume my thoughts every day. Some days are better than other's but this is different. I've come to the conclusion that it is definately the spirit. The holy ghost has been trying to tell me something that I havn't really understood until now. I found it so ironic that this was the topic at church today especially because of what I've been praying for and dealing with these past weeks. Heavenly Father sure has his hand in everything we do, I truly believe that and we just have to be prepared and ready to listen to what he needs us to do here on earth for those who are not here anymore. I'm trying to prepare myself the best I can to do what I know now I need to do but I just hope I can be understood and welcomed with an open heart and an open mind. I just feel so compelled and havn't felt the spirit so strongly as I have lately in a long time and it feels so good! I just wanted to write down these feelings and possibly help anyone else realize how important it is to listen to the promptings of the spirit even the small things. I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life and to know without a doubt that we can be with our families forever and through eternity if we do what is right and follow God's plan. I just loved church today and am so grateful for so many faithful and welcoming neighbors and members in our ward, I love them all so much and am so grateful for all there friendships and help! I just hope that everyone can love the gospel as much as I do at this very moment and cherish it with all your heart, it is truly a blessing to have it in our lives.

Friend Tribute...Darren Christian

So to many of you that are reading this post did not know and will never get the chance to know Darren. I know this is the second sad friend tribute in a row but this month he has been on my mind and I also got some developing information about his murder case as well and that I'm sure is the biggest reason he's been on my mind. I thought I should share with all of you my story on him and the good hearted person he was. I met Darren almost 12 years ago now when I was a junior in high school. We were introduced through a good friend of mine at the time, Jocelyn Burnham. And of course he was 3 yrs older than me, a rebel without a cause, loved to party and of course the parents were not the happiest in the world. But there were so many fun times that I remember and focus on those moments that I remember him the happiest. He was always smiling and making you smile or laugh. He always had to have nicknames for EVERYONE and mine was always Jamilia. There was something about him that just made you never want to leave b/c you always felt so happy. He had such a good soul and heart. He didn't make the best decisions of course but if you knew him you could see the goodness behind his eyes it was unmistakable! But he also had a lot of hurt and sadness inside of him too and dealt with it in well just not the best ways possible. And I knew it wasn't the road I needed to be on, not at first but after graduation I felt so strongly that I needed to be in Utah where my sister was going to school. And I knew moving would be the only way to try and get on the right path, so I did it. That's what got me here to Utah 10 years ago. I never did plan on staying here that's for sure but it happened and there obviously was a reason for me needing to come here. So we kept in contact just a little right after the move on the phone and I saw him a couple times on my home visits but the last time I saw him we played pool in his parent's basement with some friends and it was so fun to catch up with him. For some reason it was very hard to leave that last time I think I knew it would be the last time I saw him deep down but I knew I had to. And it was the last time I saw and talked to him. If I only knew then that his life would of been ended so fast and at such a young age...Could you imagine how differently our lives would be if we all knew when and how everyone goes. It's so interesting to think about. Well his life was taken a little over 2 years ago in Tacoma, Washington where he lived at the time. On February 7, 2006 at only the age of 28, one of his "friends" murdered him and two other people that were with him in his home that day. Sometimes I think what if I kept in contact with him and he knew how good your life could be if you lived in a way that you arn't making ex-con's your "best buds". I know that Darren had every intention that was good with any and all of his friends and he didn't care who you were or what your past was he accepted you for who you were that's just who he was and that's why so many people love him so much. I just feel so badly about how it happened. When talking to his mom after finding out she just said, " I wondered if you'd heard. He was just starting to turn his life around she cried. " How is that, when someone is just starting to get there life back on track and trying to do the right they get killed for it. Life just seems so unfair sometimes. If anyone wants to read the whole story about the murder click on this link. There are also audio interviews of the murderer by press under his picture. There is also an article written by Darren's friend that got shot sister. I just wanted to write about his story because he was a big part of my life then and I just wish he would of had time to finish turning his life around as his mother put it. I am so sorry Kathy and Gerry, you guys are great parents and I know he loved you so much. I also know he is in a better place now and looking down on all of us as an angel. I just hope everything is the way it should be and can be where he is and I also know that Handy, Darren's murderer will definitely get what's coming to him if not already. Rest in peace Darren and know that you are in our hearts and you will always be missed by so many. I'm sure you have your green Ford Mustang with you too...
PS...I apologize if anything in these pictures are offensive to anybody these are the only pictures I have from then and well that was Darren, what can you do!

2:30:27, 11:29 & 6165 ALL HAVE WHAT IN COMMON??

These numbers have the SLC half marathon all in common! My official time, my pace p/mile & my race #. The marathon was amazing! I've never done anything like it before and it was the best experience I've had in a very long time! Saturday morning we all woke up at 5:30am and left the hotel at 6am. To arrive at the Olympic Legacy Bridge where the starting point was. There were thousands of people there all for the same common goal. As we warmed up and stretched I was getting so anxious and nervous yet excited at the same time. All day the day before I had the same feeling it just wouldn't go away! I havn't been in a situation like that since swimming in high school which was 10 years ago and it felt awesome! I bulked up on energy gu and took just a sip of water so I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom during the race! So at 7 am sharp the countdown begun and we were off and on our way! I figured for sure I would take at least 3 to 3 1/2 hours to finish and I surprised myself tremendously! I ran pretty much the whole way with the exception of a few times walking just for a second to catch my breath and rejuvenate then started running again right away! The entire 12 weeks of training I couldn't seem to get better than my 15 min p/mile time. Well on the first few miles I noticed the time they had posted and I was 5 then 10 then 15 and so on minutes early...I was so pumped each mile to see how ahead of my personal time so it kept giving me that extra motivation to keep ahead of it! Randi and I were running together in the beginning but I lost her to the bathroom at about mile 4...Dang those bathrooms!! But every so often I'd look back to try and find her but we were going about the same pace so she came in behind me but not by too much she did so great and I'm so proud of her! My awesome hubby ran so fast! He ended with an awesome 1:59:22, I couldn't believe for no training whatsoever he did great, even though he was DYING at the end and now sais he'll never do it again! You watch I'll get him to do it with me in June at Bear Lake!!! Brent took off in the very beginning while Brian ran beside me in the start but just for like 5 minutes and after that he said see ya!So Brian caught up to Brent and ran w/him for a bit but Brent went too fast too soon and had to walk for a minute so Brian kept truckin on! Brent did no training and finished only 20 minutes behind Brian. I couldn't believe it you guys are great! Rachel also did amazing and she was so excited to of even been doing it, it was such a great feeling of accomplishment for her and I'm so happy for her! After the run we all went back to the hotel to get some much needed rest and showers! Then we headed off to some yummy grub at Rodizio Grill! Dave had been waiting for his Brazillian food for so long and was extactic to finally get it and treated everyone to it, thanks you for dinner Dave & Jena you guys are fabulous people and we're glad to of been a part of this journey with you! Well we all did it and we all feel great mentally but none of us can walk! If you see me you'll be seeing nothin but limping and slow movements! I wouldn't be surprised if it takes us a week to recover! Thanks to a week of rest before preparing for the next 1/2 marathon! Yes I said it I'm going to do it again and in only 2 short months! I think I'm crazy but it's in Bear Lake and I figure I'm living there at that time so I have no excuse not to do it! So next week I'll be working toward that for my next goal! Thanks for all your support getting me through this amazing accomplishment and being there with such support! I love you all and I challenge any of you reading this to work toward maybe the marathon in Bear lake or even just any goal it feels so great and is the best thing you can do for yourself! Also here are the final results if anyone wants to get technical! There are also a couple of our friends' time's on there as well Dave & Jenalee Demarco. It was great and I'm glad I did it even through all the pain I feel right now!

READY OR NOT...

The time has come! In almost 24 hours I will be attempting my very first half marathon in Salt Lake City! Wow...Who would of thought, me...running...and liking it?!?! Well I just wanted to write down my expressions of gratitude to all of you who have supported me and helped me get my training done and being able to get this far in my goal. I appreciate everyone's help and love through this amazing time in my life. So far I've been able to loose 15 pounds and I've kind of started to reach a plateau but I'm not giving up on those last 10 - 15 pounds. So far I'm planning on doing the Bear Lake marathon too in June w/Randi, Kristen & maybe Ginger but I guess the real test is to see how we like doing it in the first place since I haven't even ran one before and I'm already planning future one's I guess I must really like this running thing. I also like the feeling of reaching such a great goal and finishing what I've started it feels really good! I don't think Rachel will be able to run the one in June with us b/c hopefully she'll be in Columbia picking up her kids which is definitely way more important! Well all those 6 & sometimes 5am's aren't going to end anytime soon I think now that I'm going to do another one and that is the only good time to exercise while having 2 kids and work to do during the day so sorry honey I'll try super hard to wake up on the first alarm;) Well that's it just wanted to give everyone an update on the marathon and if anyone is interested in coming and seeing us finish it is on Saturday April 19th at the Gateway is the finish line. I'm sure I won't finish anytime before 10 or 10:30am, I'm not the fastest runner - but who knows Brian might make it sooner than me so you might want to make it there by 9:30am just in case...I guess you never know! Thanks again for all your love and support and hope to see some friendly faces as we cross that finish line! Oh and BTW you have to put in your vote on if you think I can beat Brian or not it's over on the far right column...Happy Voting!

LAS VEGAS BABY!!!

So we just returned home from a long weekend in Vegas... Yet another spontaneous trip except this time we decided to do it 4 days before the trip instead of 2! Rachel's in-laws and friends put on a shower for her and Adam and the 4 kids their adopting and we decided to make the trek over to celebrate with them! We had a lot of fun but of course once again missed having our eldest child with us because it was her daddy's weekend again. But we keep promising her that she'll be with us no matter what when we go on the Disney Cruise in October and she's definatley excited for that! The shower was a great success and they were so blessed with everything they will need for the 4 little one's when they come! There were so many that made it there to support them in such a wonderful experience and I was so happy to be able to be there too. Mom met us there and we were able to get a room pretty close to her's in the hotel. So Grammy got to spend a little extra time with Spencer which was well needed since he doesn't get to see her much and his memory is kind of nonexistent at such a young age. We got to eat out at really yummy places which we don't have here in small town usa! And of course Rach and I made sure to get our Saturday run in even though we were out of town. We had to the marathon is this coming weekend so we only had a week left so it wasn't even a question if we would do it or not we had to! Also we did it with her friends that live there and are coming up from Vegas to run the marathon! It was so awesome to run in sunny, warm weather! What a difference I didn't have to bundle up in long pants, long jacket and gloves it was fabulous! I just hope it's warm weather here on Saturday or well it will just plain suck!!! We also were able to meet up with some of my family from Washington while in Vegas! They happened to be there for my cousin's 21st birthday so we went to there hotel and swam with them and got to visit for a little while, that was really nice! And thanks to Rachel's great friends for having us over Sunday night for a fun filled evening and delicious grub! We enjoyed visiting and getting to know you all better...Rach you have some awesome friends! Well and of course there was a little slot playing that had to be done...going to Vegas and not doing some form of gambeling just seems impossible. Now for me I could of gone without I really don't have much of a desire b/c the whole time I'm doing it I keep thinking of all I'm doing is wasting our money! But Brian has fun with it and likes it more than I do and that's okay...I did it a little with him and the other times he was on his own while we played cards in our room and I was good with that!!! Well that was our funfilled trip to Vegas not there for too long so we didn't catch any shows but hanging out with the fam and friends was my favorite part anyway!!! Once Rachel and Adam move back to Vegas in a couple months I'm sure we'll have many opportunities to catch some great shows.

Spring break with the parents...

It all started when mom drove up from Washington with Rachel & Adam for her spring break since she's a teacher. She's done it every year as time to see her far away grandkids and we love it! Dad usually isn't able to make it b/c of work but this year was different! I was so excited to find out that he was going to come too, not till the middle of the week but we still had 3 1/2 glorious days with him! Also he and Adam were nominated to help Brian get the shelves up in the garage which were planned to be done over a year ago and never started...So Rachel came up w/a great plan that while dad was there he and Adam could help Brian get the shelves done, I don't think Brian planned to do it yet but he was so very grateful and excited to learn he would have help so why not do it now before summer comes and it's another year before they get done! So off Dad went w/Brian to the hardware store to get all the wood and supplies...Brian waited to get everything because unknown to us women it is the BEST part of building things is going to the hardware store to buy the stuff, it must be a man thing...Well to make a long story shorter they got them done painted and all! What an accomplishment, Brian was so happy and excited to finally get things off the ground and have things more organized, me too by the way! There's still the other half, his shop area, but it's a start and I'm very proud and thankful they got that much done!
So as a reward for working so hard we played hard! Friday night we went to the climbing gym that is here and it was a lot of fun! I've never rock climbed before so that was an adventure. I had been repelling before so at least I knew how to get down once I was up but boy do your arms kill from going up. I learned you have to use your leg muscle more than your arms or else you die, ya a little too late didn't know that till I had gone up already! But dang it was a great workout..at least I had some strength training at the gym or else I don't think I would of made it up to the top...So it took the second try to get to the top but I did it alright!! Brian was like a monkey he made it up every time, but am I surprised no he is good at everything he tries, men.. they make me sick! Adam of course the pro did great and dad too, even though they had done it many times before it had been a very long time since they did it and they did GREAT! Brooklynn is amazing, she is a natural I can't believe how good she did for a 7 year old who has never done it before! She made it almost half way up the wall but everytime she tried she would get a little farther each time but there was a certain place she just couldn't get past but with practice I know she could make it to the top! Thanks to mom and Rachel watching the monster Spencer we were able to do this fun activity, Spence even climbed a little, he is so strong it's crazy! So afterwards we sure had an appetite so we went for some yummy mexican! Saturday and Sunday was conference and that was a great experience to sustain our new prophet and presidency, what a great memory to have and there were some great talks given too! I'm so thankful for the chance we have to hear such great words of comfort and wisdom, I do love conference weekend! And during the breaks we of course found time to go shopping, play out in our fun new yard with the kids since the snow was finally melted, the boys went up in the Logan canyon to see some Snowmobiling hill climb competition and one of the funnest things we got to do was sit around our firepit in our backyard and roast marshmellows and eat yummy smores! So not on my healthy eating kick but you have to splurge sometimes or it would never last, right!!! We told stories of fun memories and also made up some scary stories and real stories for Brooky who countless times wanted to hear a scary story over and over again! Such a fun time we had and thanks to my parents for taking the time out from their busy lives to come help us and play with us, I know Brooklynn loved having her Grammy and Grampy all to herself, that doesn't happen much when there's 8 soon to be 12 grandchildren in the family! We appreciate everything you did while you were out here and had a lot of fun with you too! Here are some fun pics of our adventures during their visit!

Someday Soon I hope...

Well life here in the Hirschi household has been quite hectic. Being busy is definately not new for us but these past weeks have seemed to be extra hectic with all the new things we've started and the traveling! Someday soon it will slow down, right? Once we got back from Washington we started swimming lessons for the kids. Every Tuesday & Thursday Brooklynn and Spencer go to lessons for 40 minutes each time. Spencer of course has mommy in the water with him, it's a parent tot class and he is loving it! Still getting used to the dunking, mommy is giving him a break on that since he gags a lot after going under but it's just the gagging that is a problem, he doesn't mind the water in his face at all in fact he loves that! Also it's nice b/c we are in the same area as sissy Brooklynn so I can watch her and talk to her when needed while I'm in the class w/Spencer. It works out great!Brooklynn is also loving her class too! She is always so excited to
go to swimming and when she's happy, mommy's happy! We are also taking a family class together on Tuesday night's so it's very hectic b/c swimming get's over at 5:40 and class starts at 6pm. We have great help though between my mom when she was here and my dear sister and her great hubby! They help me get Spencer dressed while I get Brooklynn ready and myself it's wonderful and helps us get to class on time! Randi & Gavin are also in the class with Spencer and I so that's a lot of fun to share those memories together since those boys need a lot of getting used to the water since we both live at a lake in the summer. I thought I better get at least one of my posts posted since it's been a week since I've posted ANYTHING...I have many more fun stories to tell but I will post them later!