rambling rhino

our apt. pics

2009-01-11T19:32:00.000-08:00

These are the pics of our apartment after i finished painting. The walls all obviously used to be white. So I painted the walls, then steph got new curtains for the patio door (and we took down the blinds), and then we found a couch/loveseat set on sale just after christmas that we got for a really good deal. Steph suddenly had the nesting urge while she's been pregnant and wanted our apartment to look more like a home than "just white walls and not homey feeling."

long awaited pics

2009-01-11T19:21:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures i've been promising. this first one is steph at 24 weeks (taken on friday). she is doing really well and both her and the baby seem to be really healthy!! We've been taking Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way classes every Tuesday night for 2 1/2 hours. The classes last 10 weeks, and we've gone to 5 or 6 of them. They have been really informative and are training stephanie and I in how to prepare for an all-natural childbirth. If you have questions about that, Steph loves to talk about it :)

rearranging

2008-12-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

well, with this post i have gotten a bit more frequent, but still not once a week like i've promised. soon though. next monday we have our 20 week dr. appt. where steph will have an ultrasound and hopefully we'll get to find out what the baby is going to be. we have boy names picked out for sure, and are still working on the girl ones. we are so joyful and excited no matter what we are having!!
as for the blog title, we just painted the living room in our apartment, steph put up some new curtains (and took down our blinds on our patio door), and we just got some new furniture for our living room. We are also moving some things around in our second bedroom/office/future baby's room to prepare and get things in place now instead of later. we will have most of it done this weekend so i'll put up some pics next post of the new look.

procrastination

2008-11-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

I just keep putting off updating this blog. Thanks seth for hounding me about updating it, or i probably never would. But I would like to get it going regularly so some of you can keep up with what is going on in our lives if you dont get to see us regularly. Last update i mentioned I had a new job and that steph was pregnant. Well, she quite a few weeks in now, and we actually get to find out the sex of our baby in two weeks (Dec. 8th), so we are pretty excited about that!! Will keep you updated on the developments as they develop :) My job is going well, been there over a month. It's pretty easy and it's nice cause it's routine. I work the same hours, get paid every week, and get to work with good people. I spend most of my mornings doing inventory, sandblasting parts, painting parts, and cleaning them. The afternoons I prepare all the parts that are going to get shipped for the day and then any other tasks that I can fit in. The only other new thing is that steph and I are going to paint the living room of our apartment and put up some new curtains. There will definitely be some pictures when that projcet is finished. If I dont post before Thursday, enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday!!

it's obvious

2008-10-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

Well, i could state the obvious and say it's been awhile since my last post. I laughed at seth's comment from my last post saying it would be nice if I updated this once a month. I'm gonna start trying to do a better job. This way people can get updates on how Stephanie is doing and how the baby is coming along. Yes, for those of you who dont know yet, she is pregnant and due May 1st. We are both pretty excited about it!! I also just got a new job working for Steph's dad at Midwest Diesel (www.usedcatparts.com) and I start that on Thursday. Gotta run, but will fill in more details soon.

another long hiatus

2008-04-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

so the last post i did was on new year's day, which is obviously months ago, but now i am going to try to make this more regular. Not much new going on, steph is still working as a nanny about 30-35 hours per week for a set of twins (one boy and one girl), and i am still doing construction work but just with a different company. I am working for Providence Construction, doing mostly remodel stuff and roofs/siding. Been getting more involved in our church, which has been good! alright, that's a start. stay tuned for more............

an incredibly long time

2008-01-01T10:12:00.001-08:00

the subject says it all.........it's been an incredibly long time since i've posted on this blog. the last time i was not even in the US, we were still in belgium on the SQ trip. But now we are home, we moved from OK back to MN, and steph and i both have new jobs. but i'll get a better update later. merry christmas and happy new year to everyone!

update

2007-08-04T02:54:00.000-07:00

we are still in belgium, wont be coming home till Tuesday. but all of our teams are gathered together again and we'll have a few days together and the basketball teams will have some games over the weekend.
just wanted to post a link you must check out if you like music.......http://www.becrecordings.com/artist_releaseinfo.php?id=264.
Will post again soon with an update about the trip and a link for some pictures!

in Belgium

2007-07-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

hey everyone, im still in belgium!! im also using an "azerty" keyboard so sorry if there are typos. havent had many chances to get to an internet place so thatsd explains the absence of new posts. wont be back till the 8th of august, and then it will be back to minnesopta!!

off traveling :)

2007-07-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

today was a long day, but was a good one! steph and i got up sunday morning and went to church, then had lunch with the Petersen's, and then packed our bags for the SQ trip to Belgium. We stayed up the entire night, and left at 2am to drive down to DFW airport in Dallas (a 3 hour drive). We arrived there late (cause we left late) and just made our flight. We flew into New York and arrived there just after 12pm. We have now been up nearly 24 hours (minus a few on the plane) but we are in New York City. We dropped of our bags at the hotel and took the subway to downtown. We saw the statue of Liberty, ground zero of the former World Trade Center buildings, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Trump International Tower, Times Square, and a host of other cool buildings and sights in NYC. And we did it all on no sleep and in about 4 hours. It was just me, steph, jen and kristin. We then met up with kent and emily and had a little leadership meeting and now it's time to hit the hay. We pick up all the athletes for the Belgium trip at the airport tomorrow and then we fly over to Brussels, Belgium around 6pm. It potentially could be my last trip with SportQuest, and it's kind of bittersweet. I'm really excited for the trip and what is going to happen. Please pray for us and for the people in Belgium if you remember. I probably wont be able to post while i'm gone so dont worry if more than a week passes, i'll eventually be back. and I'll put pictures from the trip to NYC and from belgium when i get back and am able to post. bye!!

link for pictures

2007-07-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

ok, i finally got the rest of the pictures up. If you want to see pictures from the basketball camp and of our SQ team that was in Ireland, click on this link and it will let you see them, http://nwc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017728&l=d0afb&id=110901656.
Things are going good here for Steph and I, just been busy working in the office getting all the last minute things done for the Belgium trip, doing all of our laundry, catching up on personal stuff like bills and mail, and just enjoying being "home" till we leave for Belgium on Monday. Not much more news now, but will post again soon.

Use your creative writing skills to make money!!!

2007-07-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

Let me repeat that........USE YOUR CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS TO MAKE MONEY! A friend told me about a site where you can take advertising opportunities and post about them on your personal blog to earn money. The site is called PayPerPost (www.payperpost.com) and it is the best thing in blog marketing. Not only can you tell other people about great products, but you also earn money for yourself at the same time. I personally have only been a member of PayPerPost for about a month, but I really love the potential that I see! I've been out of the country traveling the last few weeks but I found the time to type one post and made $5.00, but I have friends that are making over $100/month typing up posts on their blog from the opportunities listed at PayPerPost. The BEST thing about PayPerPost is how easy it is to do. You don't have to sit in front of the computer for hours and hours, it only takes 10 minutes to research and then post to your blog, and if you do that once a day, you can be making some good money!! If you haven't ever heard of this site, I urge you to go to www.payperpost.com and check it out for yourself so you can start making money blogging today!!

*This is a paid post

few changes

2007-07-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

I messed up when I put those links in for the pictures in yesterday's post. Disregard those links and try these: for sightseeing pictures of our trip: http://nwc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017628&l=01a91&id=110901656. I'll put the other link up tomorrow when I get the pictures up.

Ireland Trip

2007-07-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

wow!! well, as you noticed in the last short post, steph and I got back into the states late Saturday night. We mostly just rested up yesterday and caught up on a few voicemails and email messages. Today we are back in the office and working, trying to get the last few things finished up in preparation for the Belgium trip (which we leave for on Monday the 16th and will be gone for 3 weeks).
The last 2 weeks were great! Steph and I got to go to Ireland a few days early and visit some friends and do some sightseeing. We arriving in Ireland on the 27th of June, took a bus up to Dublin and stayed there with some friends. We walked around Dublin city and then some other areas in the "suburbs", visited some friends, and got to see alot of cool sites. It was so great to be back over there and also to get to take steph with me. Then on Fri. the 29th we traveled back across the country to Limerick, where we did some more sightseeing and stayed in a Bed and Breakfast.
Finally on Sat. the 30th, the rest of the team (Jennifer, Ronni, Taylor, Kristin, and Seth) arrived in Shannon to meet us for the camp. Also joining us from Ireland were Elton, Ngoni, and George. Overall, we had a great team and we all got along really well, and it was so much fun!! The first two days we went sightseeing to Killarney (Muckross National Park) and then to the Cliffs of Moher, and finally to Lahinch where we went surfing.
The main purpose of the trip was doing a basketball camp Mon-Fri. for 4 hours each day, and then to do outreach with the Shannon Evangelical Church. The basketball camps went really really well!! We had about 30-35 kids and they were very excited to learn and made great progress throughout the week. In the evenings, we had O-Zone (11-14) and JamZone (15-19) for the kids on Mon, Wed, and Fri. at the church. This is the youth group meeting (which is usually just friday nights, but this was a special week) and it was alot of fun. Not too many kids from the camp came to these three evening events, which was a little disappointing but we are trusting that God still moved in their hearts as they saw something different about our team. The other two nights, Tuesday and Thursday, we had sporting events. Tuesday was the Mini World Cup, where we had basketball games between a US team (ours), an Irish team, Filipino team, and then a Zimbabwean team. Also, Seth and I and Ronni sang the national athem for the US, needless to say it wasnt pretty because seth and i were singing. While we sang, steph and kristin had made up an interpretive dance to go along and it was super funny! It will all be on YouTube, so look for that soon!! (http://www.youtube.com/phatrhino13) Then on Thursday we had a night where we split up all the kids from the camp into different teams and they played each other in real games, and invited all their parents. Not many parents came, but it was a really fun night!!
That pretty much sums up our week. The only bad thing was it was too short. I wish we could have been there so much longer!! well, leaving work now. I'll post again soon.

home

2007-07-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

well, it's sunday and we just got back home late last night from Ireland. I'm pretty tired, but we made it back safe and had a great trip! I'll post more details about it tomorrow.

www.couponchief.com - shop at home, save money!!

2007-06-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

I currently have a desktop computer that works great, but I've been seriously looking for a laptop so I can take my work on the go. A friend told me about a great site where I could shop online and still use coupons, it's called www.couponchief.com!!
It's the best of both worlds, you can shop and compare things online but still use coupons to save yourself money.
I checked out the site myself and found out that there are online coupons for over 1,000 different stores/merchants. This worked in my favor as I was able to compare coupon deals offered from different merchants before settling on some coupon offers from Comp USA to purchase my laptop.
If you like to shop online, I highly recommend that you check out www.couponchief today to save yourself money on your next online purchase!!

*This is a paid post

relief

2007-06-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

yesterday we finished packing up our apartment and then loaded it all into a truck. we got all of our things to fit in the backseat of my car, a 6' x 12' uhaul trailer, and the back of a pickup truck. My dady and brothers left yesterday afternoon to drive home and then arrived there early this morning. After they left we spent the afternoon (me, steph and her mom) cleaning the apartment. All we have to do now is walk through with them, turn in our keys, and then we are officially moved out of Oklahoma. Right now we are crashing at the Petersen's in between our overseas trips, it's such a blessing to have good friends!! :)

work

2007-06-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

I finished my first major job on my own today. I've done work for people before, but this was my first big construction project, a roofing job. I tore off and then re-shingled a garage for a friend. I finished on Wednesday night and it was just in time as it rained all that night and the next morning. It went pretty well and Steph even helped me with it some. Anyway, have to run today, my dad and brothers are coming in and we need to finish packing our stuff. It all gets moved home tomorrow and then off to the Emerald Isle on Tuesday!!

the joys of moving

2007-06-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

been a crazy couple of days since my last post. the weather here has still been very abnormal, we are getting rain almost every day and that is not usual for this time of year. I have a roofing job i've been trying to get done but keep getting rained out. I did start it on Saturday (with Steph's help) and we got drenched from the rain while we were trying to get the roof covered with tarps. Then I worked on it Sunday, helped Kent and his family pack the office and their house from 9:30am monday morning till 11:15pm (needless to say, a very long day), and then worked on the roof from 8:00am yesterday morning till 4pm (with heat indexes of around 105 to 110 degrees). Also, last night we drove down and picked up Steph's mom at the airport in Dallas, she is gonna stay the week with us and help us get our things packed up before my dad and brothers come on Saturday to help us move. things are so busy, can't wait for the Ireland trip, it will be like a little vacation!!!

busy

2007-06-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

well, one week fom today, steph and i move all of our stuff home. it's been a busy week and things are about to get busier. I finished working for Peck Family Homes this week (that's my part-time construction job that i do sometimes) and will be finishing up working for Jeff on his farm too. I have to shingle his garage this weekend, so that should be fun (and hot!).
Steph's mom comes on Tuesday, then a week from Tuesday we leave for Ireland!! Speaking of Ireland, I'm praying for guidance in what we should do for a job. Steph and I are planning to move home, but I got an email from a Pastor in Ireland who we've worked with through SportQuest in the past, and he asked me to apply for the youth worker position at their church that is open. It throws a big wrench in the decision making process and now I'm torn about what to do. Lord give me wisdom!
Oh, and if you noticed the little icon in the corner, I've joined Payperpost.com and will be posting ads for various companies/products in my blog. Be watching for that coming soon!!

anticipation building.......

2007-06-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

3 weeks from today and steph and i will be headed to Ireland for the first SQ trip of the summer!! Can't belive June is already here and 4 days old. Ireland will be fun, we have a small group and we are doing just a basketball camp. I cant wait to get back over there, it really is my second home! Steph and I get to go a few days early so we'll get to visit some friends and sightsee.
Also, in a few weeks we are moving our stuff home. that is really hard to imagine. alright, better get back to work.

a challenge

2007-05-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I opened the book of Daniel and decided just to read till I got tired. I made it through the first four chapters, but came across something in chapter 3 that really made me think and has challenged me. You know there are some Bible stories that you know like the back of your hand and sometimes you skim through them because you feel like there isnt anything new you can learn.....well, i found something new last night. Please read Daniel 3:16-18. "16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up'." Read that again. After I read it, I had to read it again, and then again for it to really set in, "But even if he does not......" Shad, Mesh, and Abe (new nicknames) have completely come to grips with the fact that God might not save them from the fire. They know He was able to, but also know that whatever happens is God's will even if that means they stand up for their faith and are martyred in the fire. This recognition is truly Amazing!! Not everyone gets this (and that includes me most of the time), and if Christians would live out this kind of faith on a daily basis, how much better of a witness would that be. I can go on about this longer and will get into it more soon. Just read that passage and think about the ramifications.

long break

2007-05-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

been a few days (weeks) since i've found time to express my opinions or share what's happening in my life on a web journal. Not too much has been going on, just been busy with work. Steph went to Cali for 5 days this past week because Ali had another baby boy (Landon) on Friday. I stayed home in OK and worked alot. I dont really have much info or had time to really think of something to discuss, basically this post is just to add another one so my page is dormant for too long.
I wont get into my thoughts on the NBA because I will get upset. I'm tired of how things go.....ie, the stars getting an obscene number of calls (or non-calls on the defensive side) in their favor, certain teams seeming to get a benefit, and the completely and utterly inconsistent officiating and disciplinary measures being handled by the NBA front office. It makes me not even want to watch the NBA. Enough on that subject before i get upset.
One other random note, my body was able to handle eating Chipotle burritos for consecutive meals on Sunday (lunch and dinner). Ok, I'm out for today. Be back with something better soon.

a growing realization

2007-05-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

while watching tv last night, i realized something that i've thought before but was excellently affirmed in the particular show. Timely music/song clips in tv shows or movies make scenes really come to life and prey on your emotions more than people realize. I love to listen to music, and when i hear a song i like play in the background of a scene, my eyes/ears kind of perk up, or I am more apt to remember a certain scene if I really like the music in the background (ie. the first episode of the Black Donnelly's, there's a scene at the end of the movie after the two brothers just shot the rival gang members and are walking down the street realizing what the consequences are and what they just did and in the background Snow Patrol's "Open Your Eyes" is playing.......that scene is etched in my mind and every time i hear that song, which i love by the way, i remember that scene from that show). So anyway, last night we (steph and I) were watching Cold Case on CBS, and the following songs played....Coldplay - Speed of Sound, Aqualung - Brighter than Sunshine (also happens to be one of the songs on our wedding video), Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars and Open Your Eyes, and then they finished it off with Jet - Shine On. This was a music lover's paradise of a show, i spent more time singing along with the songs in the background than I did listening to what the characters were saying on the show. So I think i found something that would be a really fun job, to be the guy/girl who gets to watch this stuff and decide what music to overlay the scenes with that would put the entire thing over-the-top. Plus then I could have an excuse to listen to music 24-7.

may day

2007-05-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

today is May Day. Nothing exciting has really happened, just another day of work and the usual. I just thought i'd post instead of waiting another week. This past weekend was nice, the weather was good, i worked 11 hours on saturday, and then just relaxed all day with my wife on sunday. we went up to Mt. Scott for a picnic dinner, then waited for the sun to set so she could take pictures with her new camera. the turned out really really good! (http://nwc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014536&id=110901402 if you want to see the pictures :))
one thing of interest, this morning i happened to turn on NBC today show and they were doing a special where Matt Lauer was in Ireland this morning. He was in Galway (i've been there) and then was going to the Cliff of Moher (been there numerous times). The Cliffs of Moher are easily in my top 5 (of places i've actually been too) most beautiful places in the world/best showcases of God's beautiful creation. (in an upcoming blog, i'll name the other 4 places in that said top 5, so be looking for it).
another link for you, http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons, is a funny article about the nba playoffs. time and again i've said Simmons is one of my favorite sports writers. I keep turning people onto him because i find his stuff so funny to read and and overwhelming majority of the time I agree with his opinions, either A. because i thought of them too and then he put them in print, or B. because it is something no one has said and makes alot of sense and is funny. either way, he's a must read. And because i'm in a list mood, maybe i'll dedicate a whole blog to lists of things. coming soon............

another friday

2007-04-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

well. it's another friday, one more week passed. i dont mean to make it feel like i am counting down the weeks or days. But a few changes this week. I started working for John Peck again to make some extra money so we can pay our bills. I will be working wednesdays for him and probably thursdays, and then be in the SQ office mon, tues. and friday. We also sent out some support/update letters this past week as well. We are praying that a few people will help to support us this summer because SQ is not going to be able to and we will be in a tight situation.
I am starting to get kind of excited about moving our stuff home in June, and we will be packing up the SQ office as well during that time. Moving home is going to be fun, and a challenge. We will be moving home broke and starting completely new jobs, which should make things interesting. But God will provide, as He always does and I have no fear or doubts about that.
One thing has been on my mind, in a "normal" life, how do you keep from feeling like you arent making the most of what God has blessed you with, or that you are wasting your life because He chose to save you and extend His grace to you, and what are you doing to share that with others and make your life matter? just a thought. I dont want to settle for things, or just become comfortable, i want to be challenged, to challenge others, and praise God for what He's done in my life.

......

2007-04-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

wow, another week actually kind of flew by without me realizing it. It's already friday, i have 35 minutes till i get to go home for the weekend. It helped that i missed work on monday while driving back from MN. Today we purchased the tickets for the Ireland trip, so things are set for our small team of 6 to go to Ireland this summer. Steph and I are headed there a few days early to visit a few of my friends and so i can show her around. It should be alot of fun!!
Have to work tomorrow all day for Jeff on the farm, should be fun. Then we have dinner with the Peck's. I think they are going to try to talk us into staying in ministry instead of moving home, but John and I are also talking work because i am going to start working for him one day a week to earn some extra money to help with our bills. Oh and steph booked her tickets to go see Ali when she has her baby in May. That means a few days alone for me (better try to play basketball every night :). Alright, i better finish up my work.

end of the weekend

2007-04-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

well...........the equation that was the title of the last post was truly met this weekend and did not disappoint. Kyle and Marie's wedding was wonderful, God provided a truly beautiful day weatherwise, skinny greg's devotional was challenging, and the plenty of tears of joy were shed. It was truly a blessing to be a part of the wedding and to get to witness the love between Kyle and Marie, and to see and hear how much they have impacted the lives of those around them.
It was also great to see alot of old friends and get to spend some time together reminiscing of the old days and the memories made. Also, the excitement is beginning as Steph and I shared of our plans to return to MN and Fat Greg shared his plans to return from Florida as well. Steph and I had a wonderful weekend, it's coming to an end tomorrow as we drive back to Oklahoma. We shared at church this morning what we have been doing with SportQuest and how God has provided for us and been working in our life. I also got kind of a job offer for a construction job, so we will see where God takes that and what He has in store for Steph and I. Well, off to bed and to pack to drive home tomorrow.

road trip + nostalgia = :)

2007-04-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

well.....steph and I are headed home tomorrow night for the weekend. We are driving back to MN for Kyle's wedding. It's about a 12-13 hour drive and we are going to leave Thursday evening and drive through the night. We should arrive sometime early Friday morning. Then Friday night is rehearsal and dinner, Saturday is the wedding, and Sunday we'll hang out with her family. Then Monday we'll stop at my parents and then drive back to OK. Will be a busy weekend but should be alot of fun! I'm excited cause all the guys will be back for the wedding and we should all get to hang out, and I'll get to see people that I havent for awhile. Should bring us back to the college days, a little nostalgia.

birthdays

2007-04-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

wow, just had a slew of birthdays. Sandi (my sister), my cousin Mandy, and my friend Kyle all had birthday's on the 5th, my sister Emily's was yesterday the 8th, my dad's is tomorrow the 10th and so is my friend Chris, and then lastly Jeremy's is on the 15th (tax day). Tomorrow night Chris is coming over for dinner and we baked him a cake (but he doesnt know :)). We were also talking about going out bowling, so that should be fun. I met him playing on the basketball team here, and we just hit it off as friends. He was in the army for awhile and doesnt have too many good friends around here, so steph and I have been inviting him to hang out with us more because he's a good guy who just needs some positive influences in his life. Anyway, not much going on today. Easter was good, had a great time with the Petersen's. Also, they are going to let us move in with them for a few weeks this summer so we can vacate our apartment early and save some money on rent. What a blessing it is to have friends like that!

Easter

2007-04-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Easter. Steph and I wont be going home because Kyle's wedding is next weekend and we are going home for that instead. We will be heading over to the Petersen's for lunch after church to hang out with Ed and Jean, Tyler, and Jean's parents. It should be pretty fun and definitely good food.
Easter is an interesting time of the year. More people go to church on this holiday than any other time during the year. I feel like it is based solely on tradition, such as the whole family gets together and goes to church, then comes home and has a big easter meal. I wish more people took it seriously and realized how important the day really is. The resurrection is one of the most vital parts of Christianity. Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, but him rising from the dead conquered sin and proved he was not just fully man but also fully God. All other figureheads in religion cannot make this claim, they all died but none of them have risen again! The cross is empy and our sins are forgiven. What a blessing it is to be able to celebrate this day!!

:)

2007-04-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

wow! it was a really busy weekend with my family here. It was really fun, but just more than we are used to. We took them out to Jeff Henderson's farm and showed them the baby goats and where I work on weekends, then we drove through the Wildlife Refuge and saw the bison, and finished if off by driving up to Mt. Scott and enjoying the beautiful scenery. The weather was perfect, I think it might have been the nicest day I have ever had when up on Mt. Scott. Overall it was a great weekend and my fam had a nice little vacation. It it going to be nice in August when we move back to MN to be close to both of our families and be able to see them more often.

more visitors

2007-03-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

My parents are siblings are all coming down to visit stephanie and I this weekend. They will be driving down Friday, get here Friday night, stay through Sunday and then drive back home Monday morning. It will be fun to have them here, show them around where i've lived the past two years and introduce them to some of the important people in my life here. It will definitely be a full house but it should be alot of fun!!

frustrated...

2007-03-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

Joel hung out with us all weekend and we had a great time. We showed him around Lawton and just was fun to see a friend. Played in a basketball tournament and that's the cause for the frustration. Our team lost in our own tournament because of poor coaching. I do not think I would be a perfect coach, but I certainly think I could do ok. One thing that bothers me about some coaches is how they dont go out of their way to earn their players respect or know how to motivate and get the best out of their team. It's not that hard, you just have to want to do it. The more I play basketball lately, the more I think i want to try to get into to coaching. And I think I am done playing with the team here in Lawton, since we'll be moving in August and because i'm just tired of people being apathetic.

visitors

2007-03-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

Been too busy this week to post, but not much going on besides just getting back to work and still wishing I was in Florida on vacation soaking up the sun. But I do have a basketball tournament this weekend and Joel Beenken is coming down to visit Steph and i tonight and stay through the weekend, so that will be fun. It's fun when you live away from friends and family, to get visitors and company to come stay with you.

back to reality

2007-03-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

we got back home late late last night, flew into Dallas and then had to drive back to Lawton. It was a great vacation though, beautiful weather, a great time with family, and just a chance to relax. The NWC baseball team finished up 5-5 so that is something to build on. Nice to be coming home on the weekend though, so I have the rest of today to be lazy, watch basketball and then head back to work on Monday. Oh, and I'm picking my Bruins (UCLA) to win the tournament.

Facing the Giants

2007-03-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know that I said I was going to put up stuff about my opinions and what i was reading and sort of debate, etc. But i've been on vacation and havent been reading much, so when i get back to it, then that will start.
I do have a few comments to make though. I recently (as in a few nights ago) saw the movie, Facing the Giants. It's a movie made by a large church and their drama team with the help of alot of volunteers. I had heard alot of good feedback from people in the Christian community that it was a good movie and we should see it to support their work. I did not have super high expectations entering the movie. As we watched it (me, steph, her parents, ali, and matt), there was some negativity towards how the movie was portraying God's blessings. Withouth giving away the movie, I actually enjoyed it and it moved me a bit. The coach who plays the main character, trusts God completely with every part of his life. He holds nothing back that he tries to control himself. Obviously we will not always get everything that we dream of or desire, and there will still be struggles in life, but God will ultimately provide for us and show us His will for our life when we let go of that control. This idea really pushed some buttons in me during the movie, making me realize how much I relish having control of situations and being able to know things ahead of time and so on. Overall I enjoyed the movie and think it does teach some great lessons.

still relaxing

2007-03-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Steph and I are still in Florida with her parents, but her sister Ali, and her husband Matt and Noah all had to leave today. they are headed back to California. We still get two more days here to relax. Didnt watch any baseball today, but have two games tomorrow and then two more on Friday and then we fly back to Oklahoma on friday night. have to run, dont have much time cause we are at Wendy's (who would think Wendy's had wi-fi :).

soak up the sun

2007-03-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Alright, so we arrived in Florida on Thursday and today is Monday. We watched a double header of games on friday and saturday, the boys went 2-2 (1-1 each day) and then yesterday we had off so we went to the beach. I so much prefer swimming in the ocean rather than a lake. Pools are the best because they are clean and you can see everything in the water. Oceans do have sharks, but the water to me feels so much cleaner. Anyway, matt (brother in law through marriage) and i were pretty far out in the water just riding the waves. it was a fun afternoon and a great workout. I am really enjoying the vacation, and excited that we dont have to go back home till Friday. And the NCAA tournament starts on Thursday, could it get any better!

more sports

2007-03-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

after glancing over yesterday's post, i realized i should also alert you to a great sports radio show. www.kfan.com, from 9am-12noon, monday-friday......it's the PA and Dubay show. not a big minnesota sports fan, but i really enjoy listening to these two. so between listening to these guys for three hours in the morning and then reading anything THe Sports Guy writes in the afternoon, you cant get a better full day of sports information.

must read

2007-03-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

ok, i'll admit it......i like sports alot. i like to play them, watch them (most of them), read about them, and share my opinions about them. i read alot of stuff on Espn.com but my favorite writer is Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy. 90% of the time he says things that i've though but never said, or things I agree with, or things that are absolutely hilarious, ludacris, and yet still true. His sarcastic yet blunt sense of humor makes for great reading. if you havent read him, check out this link, http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?entryDate=20070305&name=simmons. it's from yesterday, but the part about Billy Packer is great with the NCAA tournament coming up. if you like sports, www.espn.com and read Bill Simmons on page 2. I dare you.

vacation

2007-03-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

Next week steph and I are headed to Florida with her parents, and also sister and husband and baby Noah (although not quite a baby, but more a toddler). the reason for the vacation.....to watch Jason, her brother and my brother in law, play baseball with Northwestern college. I'm excited to leave office work behind for a week and get some sun in Florida. Not much of a baseball fan (prefer basketball) but will enjoy watching people I know play and in good weather :). Alright, i'll give you more about this later.

feb. 28th

2007-02-28T17:40:00.000-08:00

today is the last day of february, spring is just around the corner, but i wish it was a leap year. not really sure why, but today i was just thinking I wished there was one more day in February this year. kind of random.

just getting started

2007-02-25T13:15:00.000-08:00

hello people, this is Ryan's blog posting things that are happening, my opinions to things (feedback/debate is welcome), stuff i've been reading and what i think about it, and general thoughts that go unsaid sometimes. If you want to keep updated on what Steph and I are up too, check out http://thesmidts.spaces.live.com/ because stephanie does a good job of keeping this up to the week.