My dearest...

Oh my dearest Antonio Rapido!

I love your grammar and writing skills. Threw versus through. To versus too. Umm, there were a few more, but they make me smile. I'm so proud of you for starting to blog! YEAH!


Sunday...the day of rest. And boy was it, except for my workout. I finally got back into working out. I took a couple weeks off after volleyball ended. It feels good to get going again. I hate how it takes me time to get into a routine, especially when it comes to exercise. Once I've got one I'm good, but getting there is the hardest part. I love how it feels when you finish a hard workout, but it is so hard to get motivated to start at times. Thank goodness for DVR, the Amazing Race, and Survivor...shows that keep me enticed and not focused on my elipical trainer when I'm stuck inside due to below zero temperatures.

Lately it has been nice enough to run the loop out front with my dog Buddy, but the temperatures and wind direction can be harsh some evenings. Tonight I just ran two laps with Buddy and knowing that wasn't enough, came in to ride the eliptical. Poor Tony had to deal with me cranking the volume up loud enough to hear the TV over the machine and watch some of his not-so-favorite shows. He loves me! Thank goodness, otherwise I would be even less excited to get my habit and routine going again. Hopefully I'll get him to still go on walks with me this winter...that is one of my favorite things to do with him at night.

Tony's First Blog

I can't believe that I am actually writing a blog. I makes me think back to high school when we had to write journal writings. We had to do a 10 a quarter and then read 8 of them to the class. Of course it was Darin's job to make us all laugh. Sarah's job to enlighten us, and rest of us just to come up with enough substance to a grade out the deal. And as you can tell that i didn't learn a think about grammar and sentence structure or what is to long of a thought to make a run on sentence.


Well now that I have established that if you reading my blogs and they don't make sence, know that the thoughts in my head may not make complete sense on here. I am purdy sure that i will even fool spell check a time or two.


So anyways.

Today the day after we all started packing on the pounds for the holidays, I feel full. We chopped feed today for the cattle. Griding hay bales into green mountains of delectable forage for the cows . Thinking back on it being the day after we all ate to much food for no other reason then that we got together with family. Yet there is something more to it all. We spent time with cousins, grandparents, uncles, parents, and aunts. Some of them that came over a thousand miles. It makes you think that no matter how bad the media makes everything seem to be, it doesn't matter. Everything stops around you for that day. No talk of Crude Oil or how much Wall Street is hurting. Playing games, laughing and just enjoying everything around you.

I have this little cousin that is about six and he is a little fireball. Just has to be doing something but yet that's how all little boys are I think. So Caleb and Hannah wanted a ride on dad's prowler(side-by-side four-wheeler) with Amy and I. We took off, taking it kinda easy. Letting them get used to it. Driving threw the ditches and threw the wheat fields. There we found some hills that the kids thought felt like a roller coaster. Caleb yelled Boy are we going to have a story to tell mom and dad. making use laugh as it seemed like nothing to us but they loved it. The only thing that could have made it better is if we were going threw snow and fish tailing, then Amy and I would have had a story to tell. But we will save that for the frozen slews of Nebraska in a month.

So anyways that's my first post if you liked it great, if not that's fine I didn't ask for your opinion. Just be glad that maybe half of it made sence, I think.

I've got the bug...

Yes, I do have a bug of some sort...a cold, cough, fever, runny nose...as a teacher I always get it about this time of year. But that is not the bug that I'm referring to this time. So I know it is not Thanksgiving yet, but I've got a bug...the bug to start considering all of the things that I am thankful for.

God is so wonderful. He gives me what I need even before I need it, and that astounds me. I am thankful for God and his mercy, grace, and unconditional love that He pours over me. I am thankful for the gifts He has blessed me with so that I may share His love with others.

I am thankful for sunrises and sunsets.


I am thankful for God's beautiful creation of the earth and all it's splendor.


I am thankful for the everlasting life that Jesus offers us if we believe in Him and accept His sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins. I am thankful that He chose to die for you and me, and that we will someday live with Him forever in Heaven.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever choses to believe in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life." John 3:16

I am thankful for the husband and best friend that I have in Tony.


I am thankful for my other "Buddy."


I am thankful for my family and close friends and the love that we share.


I am thankful for God making me me.


There are so many things that I could add to this list. I consider myself more than blessed and can never be thankful enough for all that the Lord has provided for me.

I know I'm over a week early, but Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Take some time to step back from all the chaos and praise God with shouts of thanksgiving for what He has blessed you with.

Tony's Man Hut; An end to Volleyball

Our garage has finally come together! Eventually the rest of the house will take on the same look with the siding and NovaBrik. There is also a driveway in the plans for next spring or so. Tony has begun working on the inside creating his Man Hut for the local guys to come and relax in.

As for me, volleyball has officially ended. I feel as though a 300 pound load of bricks has been lifted off of my shoulders. The girls did so well this year...we were able to make it past the District tourney and on to Divisionals. This group of girls has been great for me and my faith walk. So many of them have been able to begin to form a relationship with Christ this season by some teammates and I simply inviting them to Wednesday night youth group. They see me outside of my teacher/coach role as a real person with a growing relationship with Christ and they tell me how they want the same, and that makes it all worth it for me. It has been a long and trying season with many ups and downs, but in the end I can look back and see the difference that I was able to make in many of the girls' lives, both on the court and off. Prayer got me through it, thanks to God!

Good Memories

Funny story...

When my little brother Brian and I were little, we used to say this bedtime prayer every night:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Be there with me through the night
and wake me up with the morning light.

If you say it through mumbling or fast enough, it sounds like "Now I lamy down to sleep"... which Brian thought the prayer was written specifically for me as "Now I lay Amy down to sleep."

So, he used to say instead, "Now I lay Brian down to sleep," which still cracks me up to this day. How cute!

Just wanted to share that bit of joy with you all!

lost.in.the.midst.of.it.all.

there are some times i wish that life could just freeze for a little while...that i could just step back from the situations around me and have time to really Think, Pray, and try to fully Comprehend what is going on around me.
life has been going so Fast lately that i feel like i'm Lost in the midst of it all. so many new things are coming up that are keeping me so busy that i just don't know what to think of it all.


my life is in His hands and i must remember that. i need to stop worrying about things and let Him be in control. He has plans for my life, and whether these plans keep me busy or not, i must stop and spend time with Him and in His word.

For there is a proper time
and procedure
for every delight,
though a man's trouble is heavy upon him.
--Ecclesiastes 8:6 NASB

There is an appointed time for everything.
And there is a time for every event under heaven.
--Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB