Changes

Well, we've been reading all about Treen and Jax's adventures in Taiwan andI thought this whole blog thing seems like a really easy way to keep in touch with everyone. So, especially for those of you that we haven't talked to in a long time, here's what's happening with us:

Summer 2002 - Al attended Police College in Aylmer after being hired by the London Police Service. Jenn spends half the summer in Barrie working for Pier 1 before moving to London. On August 31, 2002, Al and Jenn are married in Woodstock and enjoy a 48-hr honeymoon before returning to London to start work. Jenn is contracted to the London Future Shops doing visual merchandising. They settle into their new home in southeast London. It's a modest 3-bedroom townhouse where Al must accustom himself to washing dishes by hand again.

Fall 2002 - Jenn begins working for a hi-end home furnishings/design store in downtown London, while Al works through 3 months of training on the road with a coach officer. It slowly becomes apparent that Jenn is working for a lunatic who doesn't pay her bills, but she takes solace in the fact that she has made a wonderful friend in Beth,who works there with her, and that they can endure their misery together.

Spring 2003 - The job hunt continues for Jenn until she takes a position for a married couple who represent several home furnishing lines around southwestern Ontario. Jenn spends her days working mostly independently, travelling to different stores as a rep. Al has now been on his own since December and catching on to the job. Everyday is a battle not to sink deeper into cynicism, but it has it's fun moments, too. There's been several car and foot chases and he's making some good friends at work.

Summer 2003 - Al and Jenn contemplate buying a home, possibly in the Dorchester area. They have been attending North Park Community church but haven't found it to be quite what they're looking for. By the end of the summer they start attending Stoney Creek Baptist Church and find it more up their alley. Jenn's job is going well and Al is gaining a bit of a reputation as a "traffic guy", doing his part to keep his platoon's ticket stats up. After a year, though, living in London has become something neither Al or Jenn can see lasting long.

Fall 2003 - For Thanksgiving, Al and Jenn, along with Jenn's family, travel to Orillia for the weekend, renting a cottage there. During the trip, Al and Jenn visit her old co-workers at Pier 1. Al gets an idea to call the Barrie Police Service to find out if they are hiring. He calls and, before he even has a chance to run the idea past Jenn, he's scheduled for an interview. Jenn is surprised, but excited about the idea of moving back there. The interview goes well, but it will be several months before they hear anything concrete back from Barrie.

Winter 2003/04 - As London seems to take a good pounding from winter, Jenn has to deal with ongoing issues with her employers. The man, in particular, can be very demanding and neither he or his wife seem to be aware that labour laws exist regarding hours of work or that something called "holidays" exist. Jenn is advised that she will take her holidays over Christmas, as retailers aren't interested in seeing reps during that busy time. That's fine with Jenn, until they start calling and emailing her from Florida to run errands for them. Jenn politely advises that she is on holidays and is too busy to run the errands. They do have a lady who works in their office, however, she doesn't speak English very well so she is not allowed to answer phones and she refuses to touch the computer, so they couldn't possibly ask her. Following their trip to Florida, the husband promptly fires Jenn for not taking time out of her holidays to run his errands. A Ministry of Labour investigation ensues and they are found at fault and are required to make restitution to Jenn. It was a trying situation, however, Jenn is happy that she was able to stand up for her rights. Jenn now works part time at both her mom's Christian bookstore in Woodstock and at Pier 1 in London. Al and Jenn continue to wait for work from Barrie. Finally in early March Barrie calls to say they are going to start Al's background check, indicating that the odds are very good that they will be hiring. Al lets his supervisors at work know of his intentions and finds everyone very supportive. They provide a very supportive reference to Barrie.

Spring 2004 - At the end of April, Al gets the word from Barrie and begins work there on May 10. Al and Jenn have been looking at real estate listings online for a while now and have a few that they are interested in but one in particular really catches their eye. Al stays at his grandparents in Barrie, while Jenn remains in London to continue working. On a visit up, Al and Jenn go to view the home that they are keen on and the decision is immediately made to make an offer. The offer is reasonably countered by the vendors and the sale is made. On June 4, Al and Jenn take possession of their first house. Praise God...everything worked out so well! Jenn will be hired back by Pier 1 and starts at the beginning of July in a management position.

So, here we are...still packing up in London and looking forward to it all being over. I know our life isn't quite as interesting as Jax and Treen's is now, especially with the little Jax almost here, but we hope some of you can keep in touch with us this way and we pray that you are all doing well!