alandjenn

Warm weather, rainy days

2007-06-04T20:02:00.000-04:00

We are feeling settled in to our new house these days, and finding lots of little projects to keep us busy. The biggest project is the yard, with no one around last fall to care for it, there are a lot of weeds to pull, only after we decide what is a weed and what is "ground cover". There are many invasive plants in the gardens, and until they all have flowers it is hard to decipher between weed and plant.

Hi-ya!

Our little JP is growing like a weed, and is entertainment all on his own these days. He loves to babble, even when no one is in his room.

First day with sippy cup!

With the move we had decided to stick close to home this summer, but we have plenty of room if anyone wants to come and visit!

That's all for now, hope someone still reads this!

Changes

2007-04-29T14:14:00.000-04:00

They've changed the way you get in to edit your blog, it had me confused for a moment. But thats not the only thing thats changing! We move on Thursday. All the contents of our home are packed away in boxes that are now stacked all over the house! Mess stresses jenn out, but now that JP is sleeping 12 hours at night, a big hot fudge sundae with caramel sauce and pecans, is a good way to calm down after a long day of packing boxes, and it won't affect the little one.

Once we move in Al is off to OPC for a 2 week course, and Jenn has lots of sewing and painting to do.

If you are still reading our blog, but want quicker updates you can catch either one of us in that addiction called facebook.

Al and jp

Two Feet Tall

2007-03-30T09:46:00.000-04:00

Since mom and dad seem to be slow to post i think its my turn to share from my small world, my crazy parents have been taking lots of pictures lately but i've discovered that if they get in my face too much i can just reach for and pull that gray string hanging from the camera, now if i could only do that to griffins tale. He's been rubbing it in my face lately and the next time he walks by i think i might just give it a tug!

Mom likes to dress me up sometimes, i don't always mind. The other day she put me in a fuzzy warm robe after my bath, it was a gift from the neighbours, i loved it!

Then there are the sunglasses, they were a gift from Holly, it took me a while to get used to them. But it has been so sunny and warm and mom likes to take me for a walk so I need them!

Mom and dad have started to pack up our things so we can move soon, just 4 and a half more weeks. I do hope mom paints my new room first as it is very pink! With the move coming she's been taking me out shopping quite a bit, I find it a bit of a bore so I often fall asleep or flirt with the girls at Pier 1, i've figured out the more I smile and coo the more attention I get, lovin' that too!

Well nap time has come, so thats all for now. JP

SOLD!

2007-02-17T15:10:00.000-05:00

Sorry we haven't posted in awhile. The last couple of weeks have been kind of busy as we found a house we liked, made an offer, listed our house and sold our house! Yes we are moving, but not until the beginning of May, which will give Jenn a bit of time to pack up here and pick colours for over there.

We are really excited, as this really came out of nowhere. There was a house on line, by one of the best quality builders in our area, on a lot we couldn't resist, SOOOO, we went to see it and decided to make an offer. We had to put our complete trust in God on this. The owners were willing to entertain a conditional offer (the sale of our own home) but only until the end of February. That gave us 25 days to sell our house.

We listed on Friday and had an offer by the Wednesday, and this past Thursday all the conditions were met. God is good. 13 days!! It still makes our heads spin!

On a different note, JP is doing well, sleeping nicely through the night for some time now, and a happy little guy during the day. We went to visit Jenn's coworkers in Richmond Hill this week, and it was good to see them. But we learned not everyone likes the papasan chair!

1 Sleepless night and 2 Stuffy noses

2007-01-30T16:59:00.000-05:00

JP ready for an outing with mom, cute as a teddy bear!

Well JP has had a stuffy nose for a few days now. It was so bad on Sunday, that he loudly snored through Pastor Ricks sermon, and kept both mom and dad up all night. After a quick midnight run to Shoppers, and the uncomfortable use of a nose aspirator, JP did sleep a little more soundly that night. But now Mom has a stuffy nose too!

JP's growing well, somewhere around 9 1/2 lbs, and 22 and a 1/2 inches long!

Dad and JP

Moms turn

2007-01-20T14:59:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, Al thought it was my turn to write, so here I am. We've had lots of snow over the last couple days here in Barrie, everything outside looks all fresh and clean, its pretty, but I prefer to avoid the cold and stay inside. JP is doing well, sleeping a little longer at night, and waking happy during the day, he is starting to make more facial expressions in response to us talking to him which is fun! I am enjoying my days at home with my boys (yes even our two pets are boys!) but I do miss my girls at the store and hope they are doing well. I did get to go out with our friend Tracy and her daughter to do some shopping the other day and that was a nice treat to have some girl time.

Here is the most recent picture of the second most handsome guy in my life.

Well thats all for me for now, would love some visitors if you are in the area!
j.

For the grandparents... 8)

2007-01-11T16:58:00.000-05:00

So, here's a quick update: J.P. is filling out nicely due to his stellar eating habits! Now it's the sleeping we gotta work on... 8) I've been back to work now for a week. I'm training a new recruit which means I spend most of my shift sitting in the passenger seat, trying to bite my tongue. Of course it wasn't so long ago that I was in his position, even though it feels it like a long time! Jenn's doing great, though the nights I'm at work are a little tougher when J.P.'s fussy! Anyhow, here are a few pics to appease the grandparents and anyone else reading!

A post-feeding happy time 8)

About 7 seconds before he threw up on the ottoman! LOL

Last visit with great-oma before her and great-opa left for Florida.

J.P. has some killer facial expressions that I'm only so lucky to catch on camera once in a while!

A few pictures from the last week

2006-12-30T15:03:00.000-05:00

Hi everybody....not sure who that applies to but hopefully there's still a few of you out there reading this blog! 8)

The past week has been great and a huge adjustment at the same time. To make it much easier, Jenn's mom has been here helping us out tremendously! Here are a few pics of J.P.....enjoy!

J.P. and mom

J.P. and Nanny

J.P. expressing displeasure with his camera happy daddy 8)

J.P. mellowed out after a big meal 8)

Please....welcome to the stage.....

2006-12-27T10:45:00.000-05:00

Here he is....the long awaited J.P. Claus, born on Christmas Eve at 906am, weighing in at 7lbs, 3oz., 20.25 inches long.

Labour went on for nearly 2 days for Jenn, but not really progressing very fast. On Saturday, she had contractions all day long, but they never really got any closer than about 15 minutes apart. So I went to work that evening, just working at the front desk in case I had to leave. About 3 hours into my shift, at 830pm, I got the call from Jenn that the contractions were about 7 minutes apart. I rushed home and within an hour we headed to the hospital with contractions within about 5 minutes of eachother.

At about 1am, the contractions were about 90 secs apart and intense enough that Jenn was ready for the epidural. That slowed things back down and she was soon put on a Petosan drip. By 630am she was fully dilated and her water was broken. About 650 she began pushing and that went on for over 2 hours with contractions between 1 and 2 minutes apart. Jenn worked like a trooper and I was gushing with pride watching her!

At 906 J.P. was born and it was all I could do not to ball like a baby! He's a beautiful, perfect creation of God and we are so thankful!

The last couple of days have been a huge learning experience but we've had family helping us along...Jenn's mom is here for a week and it's hard to imagine doing this without her here helping us out! Last night was our second night at home and we actually got quite a bit of sleep! The second picture is of baby, daddy, and great-opa.

Well, I hope you all had a blessed Christmas....it's certainly one we will never forget! BTW, if you want to know J.P.'s full name, just send us an email at allan_claus@yahoo.ca and we'll fill you in! 8)

This just in.....

2006-12-23T12:12:00.000-05:00

Well....Jenn's been hardly sleeping the last couple of nights, especially last night as sporadic contractions have been keeping her awake. Today, the contractions are varying from 10 minutes apart to about 30 minutes apart. She's soaking in a hot bath now to try and help things along and all of our bags are piled by the door. Still a little unclear if it's going to happen tonight or not, but I don't think I'll be going to work! ---- Al

3 weeks to go!!!

2006-12-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

Wow....the pastor at church this morning reminded everyone that it's only 22 days till Christmas....all I could think about was that minus a day was how long until Jenn's due date! It's coming really fast now but I think we're as prepared as we can be. All the bags are packed for the trip to the hospital and the baby's room is ready. Jenn feels like it might come early and the way the baby's kicking she's hoping so! The little one likes to kick and stretch Jenn's tummy out sideways...she tells me it hurts...it just looks freaky to me! 8) We had an ultrasound a couple weeks ago when Jenn's doc wanted to make sure there was enough amniotic fluid. We were a little nervous going to that as we had heard that if there wasn't enough fluid the doc may want to induce labour right away. Under such short notice, neither of us were quite ready for that, but everything was fine! As I type this Jenn is upstairs baking like crazy....her nesting phase might make me chubby!

Here are a couple pics from a few days ago. Jenn wanted to put the Harley Davidson tattoo on her belly...wasn't my idea! 8)

Cute little tummy 8)

Biker baby...

It's been a very busy month, as usual. I've worked a lot of overtime and Jenn has been busy prepping her staff to keep things running when she's gone. Being away from her store will be a challenge for Jenn, but I imagine her time off will fly by! We had a good time at my work Christmas party a couple of weeks ago, a very classy affair! I've also started playing hockey, for the first time in about 20 years. I'm playing in our platoon league at work which can be pretty competitive. Our police service has quite a few former professional hockey players...one of the guys on my team played for Boston, the Leafs, and won gold at the World Juniors. So it was a bit intimidating stepping onto the ice with virtually no experience except for the year I played in Grade 8 (I think I had about 3 shifts the whole season). Anyhow, my very first game, I got run over by my own teamate at the blue line and I scored the opening goal! I ended up getting the first star, even though we lost. In game 2 I scored again on about the ugliest (so I was told) breakaway ever. So I'm really enjoying that , though I don't know how long I can keep the scoring streak up!

We also had a nice visit with Nick and Melissa Alkhoury and their boys recently when they dropping in for a visit. It had been a long time and we're looking forward to seeing them again soon as they are staying a bit closer now than Sudbury!

Well, we hope all is well and who knows, the next update might be from 3 of us. We hope you all have a blessed Christmas and New Year!

53 more days

2006-11-01T08:50:00.000-05:00

Just 53 more days to go, until baby A or J arrives. It still seems like its far off, but we are starting to feel a little more prepared. We've got the baby's room set up, I finished making the crib bedding last week, and we've started buying little things like clothes and cloth diapers. Yep we are going to use cloth diapers! They really aren't as bad as one might think. Thankfully I did get to help my sister on occassion and she put all 5 through cloth diapers. Did you know one child in cloth diapers saves one tonne of disposables from going to the landfill! What a difference not to mention the money savings!

Al bought me my most important pre-baby toy last week, a playstation 2. I figured I might go a little stir crazy in December when I am off of work and needed something to do! Speaking of work, I should be home by the second week of December, the dr said I could work as long as I want since I am doing so well, but Christmas time in retail is crazy and the commute only gets longer once the snow starts to fly, so I decided I need to be home by the second week. I found out two weeks ago who will take my store while I am off, and I am thrilled that it is exactly who I wanted. Its hard to run a business then leave it completely in someone else's hands for awhile, so when I found out that Hugo would be taking my store, I felt a lot of relief!

I just wanted to give you all an update, I'll get Al to post some pictures soon!
j.

Here comes fall....

2006-09-25T17:35:00.000-04:00

Yes...it's been another bit of a wait for this, but, here goes! Things have, as always, been busy around here. Sometimes it's hard to imagine what it's going to be like with a little one under our roof to take care of! But we are SO excited and looking forward to the birth of our little one! We've bought our crib and change table....still got stuff to buy, but we'll be ready! Especially for Sarah, here's a picture of Jenn from yesterday... 8)

We were down to see my sister in Brantford who just had her 4th child, finally a boy, Aidan! We have 3 months left and we'll have our own....though we're not sure what! 8)

On Saturday Jenn and I went to Toronto and saw the Blue Jays whoop the World Series Champs, the Bosox. It was a really good game...the Boston coach even got kicked out of the game!

During the first week of September we went camping at Killbear, as we did a couple of years ago. This time we went in style in our humungous new tent....I think we could pitch 3 or 4 of our old tents inside! 8) Like last time, it was very peaceful as the Labour Day Weekend crowd was gone. Here are a couple of pics of Lighthouse Point and some wildlife:

The lighthouse. On the point. At Lighthouse Point.

Quito enjoying the view.

We saw loads of deer!

Anyways, work is busy...we are finally getting close to having computers in the cruisers....something other services have had for 20+ years! I'm training this week so that I can train the other people on my shift on how to use them. I had an interview last week for a position as a detective constable... the powers that be likely had their choice made before the interview process so I'm really not expecting it this time around but it was good to see what the process is like and to let the powers that be know I'm interested.

Jenn has been busy and was in Ottawa for 3 days last week for a national managers' meeting. While she was there she was announced as the manager of the month for August for all of Canada! 85 stores!!! I'm super proud of her! 8)

So that's about it...the colours are changing and the nights are definitely cooler! The putting greens seem to be more and more covered with fallen leaves which is nice to look at but annoying to putt through! 8) We hope everyone is doing well!

Quickie Update

2006-08-02T20:53:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody...in keeping with our desire to keep this blog a little more current, here's another update:

We celebrated Jenn's 29th B-day on Friday with an ultrasound and lunch at Mike Love's BBQ (the best BBQ north of Memphis). The ultrasound was very cool and we have a copy of it on video if anyone want's to come by for a viewing... 8) Everything appears to be well with our little one and he/she was very active, flipping right upside down...maybe it's that lingering gymnastics influence? 8) Anyways, here's a pic of Jenn with her little tummy... K....blogger doesn't seem to want to upload our pics...I'll try to post them later.

Friday we travelled down to Woodstock where we went out for dinner with my parents. Saturday I hit the driving range with mom and dad and then we brought some KFC for lunch to Jenn's gramma and uncle in Mossley. Eventually we made it to Jenn's parent's house were we spent the rest of the day visiting with family from Jenn's dad's side. Sunday morning we had a yummy breakfast with our friends Beth and Dave and then spent the rest of the day with Jenn's family. It was actually a much more relaxing weekend than it sounds!

Tonight we had a wicked storm line blow through most of southern Ontario....as I write it's probably rolling over Jenn's store in Richmond Hill. I snapped a bunch of photos of that as well but I may have to post a couple later.

The basement is more or less finished...the plumber is coming by tomorrow to hook up the bathroom, but other than that, I am thankfully done and we are now enjoying it, especially in this heat wave. The basement stays pretty cool. Anyway, can't think of too much else right now...hope all is well with our few faithful readers! 8)

2006-07-16T21:38:00.000-04:00

Al and I know we need to post a little more often then we have been. But honestly some times it just doesn't seem like there is anything new to share. Right now its pretty hot in Barrie, even for me, (Al likes to tease me because I like to wear my flannel pj's even in the summer - I'm always cold).

If you are reading our blog still, you know by now we are expecting. No one thinks I am showing yet, but I have traded in a lot of my clothes for mat wear now, I do have a little belly, even though you can't see it yet. I'm 4 months now, and we go for our second ultra sound on the 28th of this month. We've decided we want to know if its a boy or a girl. I hate waiting for surprises.

I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and wash my car. Someone hit it last night while it was parked on the road. Oh well, it is just a car, and its nothing major, just cosmetic. Its actually been a crazy month for my little Ford Focus. First I had to take it in for routine work, and it ended back in the shop just a few days later, they had forgotten to tighten some nuts. While it was there they tried to change my rear brake late, that took 3 technicians and an hour and a half just to change the bulb. Recently I noticed a golf ball stuck in my grill, and for those who know me, - I don't golf! I figured it must of bounced in to my grill on my drive home from work. There are 3 golf courses I drive by just as I approach our house. The golf ball is still there as I am not really sure how to get it out! Then I noticed a dent and a scratch this morning on the bumper. I'm just glad the car still runs!

Well its too hot to sit here much longer, but thought I better write a little something. We will keep you posted as things progress. Much love to all who still visit our blog!

J.

Is there really an excuse that anyone will buy???

2006-06-29T19:54:00.000-04:00

Yeah, been a long time....I know...would it help if I said we've been really busy? Hehe, yeah, probably not, eh. Well, for the last 2-3 months, I've been slaving away in the basement, ripping out some of the existing drywall and framing and wiring the unfinished part, drywalling, mudding, taping, and, after Jenn painted, we most recently installed laminate flooring. It's been quite a learning experience but it's nice to be able to say I figured most of it out and it actually looks presentable! 8) At least this summer we can enjoy the deck and backyard that I slaved over last year! 8)

As for pictures, here's a good one of Quito for all those readers who have been spellbound by his doggy charm... 8)

Work for both of us has been going well...Jenn's store continues to be one of the best run in the region and I've been spending some shifts lately as a Sergeant, filling in for holidays.

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention....Jenn and I will be having a baby...due Christmas Eve. Seems kind of appropriate for a Claus, eh? All is going well with the pregnancy and Jenn has only experienced a small amount of sickness. Needless to say, we're really excited!

I know it's a little short but I hope it satisfies anyone who still pokes their heads in here every so often! Let us know if you're reading! And, especially you Sudbury folk, if you're through town, give us a shout!

Wow its been awhile

2005-10-16T18:50:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, I didn't realize that it has been almost two months since Al and I last put something up. Sorry about that. We have been pretty busy. Al put up a fence around our yard and a nice deck! My Dad came up to help Al put the finishing touches on the deck, and I even got to get out there and swing the hammer a few times.

For me Christmas is here. Thats right my store has made the transition over to Christmas. The theme this year is Fiesta Carnival, everything is in neon colours. Its kind of crazy but pretty all at the same time. Speaking of neon colours, I dropped a big sign holder on my foot the other day and now the whole think is a lovely shade of purple and green. I'm just glad its not broken!

Thanksgiving weekend has past we had my whole family up, even though Al had to work all weekend. We took the kids glowin the dark mini putt, and the guys went golfing Sunday morning and then came back to a big turkey dinner. Our friends Nik and Melissa even dropped in for a visit.

Tonight we are starting our small group here at the house. We are studying the Alpha program with some of Al's co-workers. I've cooked them a lasagna and I'm really excited that people have responded to Al's invitation.

I'll get Al to post some pictures soon.

Later, j.

2005-08-19T17:12:00.000-04:00

Al and Jenn at Banff

Computer Meltdown

2005-08-19T16:40:00.000-04:00

Well on Wednesday our computer finally had enough. It started beeping loudly, and would not restart for us! Moments of panic set in as we are trying to put our extra funds aside for our deck and fence, but one day with out access to email, banking etc was too much for Jenn. We now have a new sleek silver model, but now no email addresses! If you are reading this and want to hear from Jenn - email me PLEASE!! (incase you don't have it jennclaus@rogers.com)

We are currently hiding out in the basement as there is a tornado warning for our address. It sounds like it is worse in Richmond Hill, I am wondering if I will have a store to go to tomorrow!
Its great to have it in the basement because we can watch tv on it at the same time as we are writing on our blog, or listen to the radio on it!! Too much fun.

Thats all for now. j.

Better late than never....but that's a matter of opinion...

2005-08-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

Yes it's been another long long wait since our last blog...but quite frankly, not a whole lot is going on here in Barrie. Everyone is just trying to stay cool in this crazy heat and I'm making half-hearted attempts to keep my grass alive. After it was so nice and green this spring, our lawn, along with most people on the street is a lovely shade of beige, with little green tufts here and there. We're looking forward to starting a deck and fence in the backyard later this month. The deck will, of course, cover the greenest patch of grass I have! 8) It'll be my first solo attempt at a a deck so wish me luck!

Jenn celebrated her birthday a couple weeks ago and we went out for an evening on the town, enjoying a fantastic dinner and meeting up with some friends afterwards. Jenn is doing really great as the new manager in Richmond Hill. She was store manager of the month for her region for July, out of about 15 stores! I'm sure that'll happen again!

Work for me is going good....after doing my 2 month rotation on the front desk I'm back out on the road. It was a nice break working the desk and gave me a chance to catch up on some of my paperwork, but it's nice to be back out where all the excitement is. In the past month we've seen a couple of shootings, a plane crash, and some horrific accidents, like the head on on the 400 the other day where an old man drove the wrong way on the freeway. One day last week I was on my way to a call through downtown when several people started waving me down screaming about a guy on a bike that got hit by a transport. I swung the cruiser around and found this guy lying kinda twisted on top of his bike right behind the stopped car carrier transport. I figured he had been run right over. After a few minutes we figured out that he had no brakes on his bike and had run into the back of the trailer. What a goof! He was fine after getting checked out at the hospital and I gave him a ticket for having no brakes. Anyways, we're all kinda looking forward to the fall when we expect to get some new recruits and when everyone is generally back from holidays. At the same time we get more officers on the road, our call volume begins to go down, so it's a bit more relaxed, if I can even use that word to describe it! 8) Our move to Barrie was the best thing we could do!

Another thing we're looking forward to is the move into our new church building. It's down in the south end of Barrie so it'll be closer for us and it's a beautiful building and lot. It's set in the middle of a pine forest and the building has a lot of glass to allow sunshine in. It's going to be a big change but it's going to be exciting as well!

Not too much else to report...Treen and Jax, we're thinking of you guys as you transition to where ever God is leading you!

Hot and Hazy in Barrie

2005-06-30T16:45:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody,

I've been working some overtime lately and I now have a couple of quiet days to catch up, before the big Live 8 concert here on Saturday. I'll be there for about 13 hours on Saturday, patrolling one of the parking lots before the concert and then a beer tent with 5000 people during the show. It should be a pretty awesome thing to be a part of!

As many of you probably know, there was a horrible tragedy in London earlier this week. It involved the murder of a mom and 2 of her 3 kids. The 3rd little girl managed to escape and notify police. As it turned out, it was One Section working that night, my old shift and a lot of those directly involved were my old shiftmates. I've been able to learn more about what happened that night from some of them and quite frankly it's nothing that the folks on the outside would really want to know. A lot of it they just wouldn't understand, either. There's a married couple I worked with and the wife actually went to police college with me. This morning I read an emotional account of her experience in this...her rushing to the scene, knowing officers had been shot and knowing her husband could be one of them...and then her experience with the youngest child a 5 year old boy, who died from stab wounds. I'd just ask that you would remember the family of those murdered and the officers who will have to relive this experience for years to come.

Onto happier things, our Alberta trip was a wonderful time. We spent the first four days with Jenn's mom and dad, 2 days in Edmonton and 2 days in Athabasca. If you get a chance to look through all our pics, you'll see a Grand Am covered in mud. We took a trip up to Slave Lake and I suggested we take a more scenic route (it was on the map!!!). Anyways, thanks to Jenn's dad's driving ability (at times it was more like skiing through mud) we made it without having to call CAA. The grad was really well done and had nice touches like breakfast for everyone, personal anecdotes for every grad, and then a lunch buffet for everyone as well. For such a small university they put on a nice spread!

After Athabasca, we returned to Edmonton where Jenn and I picked up our own car (a very stylish Ford Taurus stationwagon) and we went our separate way, on to Jasper. We stayed in a cool little cabin tucked in the mountains and squeezed in a visit with my cousin Erin and her boyfriend who are working in Jasper. Up until our last day it was a little cloudy in the mountains but still very scenic! Our trip from Jasper to Banff took a bit longer than I expected and Jenn was more than a little nervous about me trying to pet the bears but it made for some great photos! We stopped at the Columbia Ice Fields and took the big bus up. We got caught in a bit of a snowsquall at first but it cleared up. I can't say I've ever experienced snow in June! We made the obligatory stop at Lake Louise (which is always very pretty and packed with tourists!) and then finished the day in Banff. We had plenty of time the next day to tour around Banff and took the gondola to the top of Sulpur Mountain. Thankfully it cleared right up that morning so we had some terrific views! We then made our way to Calgary for our last night. I managed to pull the government employee discount and we stayed in a nice hotel downtown. Right outside our window was the Calgary tower (whatever it's called) and we could see the mountains in the distance. We flew back to London the next day and got to enjoy the Westjet satellite TV and leather seats all the way home! On the way out we had to stop in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and then Edmonton and we weren't on the right model plane for the TV and seats. Thanks to Aunt Joan and Uncle Ron for dropping us off and picking us up at the London airport!

Oddly, while out west we didn't experience any of the flooding that has been plaguing them. Plus, our first night in Alberta we flicked on the news and saw downtown Barrie under water!!! Our last night out there, we watched news about tornados touching down around Barrie! Thankfully no one was hurt! Anyways, that's our trip in a nutshell...there are 240 pics up on Imagestation....link is on the right!

Lastly, I have to say congratulations to my beautiful wife on her graduation and as some of you know already, on her promotion to store manager of the Richmond Hill Pier 1. She's gone south to her sister's this weeked while I stay to work the concert and I miss her already!

Well, until next time....

Alberta Bound

2005-06-07T08:01:00.000-04:00

Well tonight we head out for Woodstock and then on to Alberta tomorrow afternoon for Jenn's graduation from Athabasca University. It's been a long haul for her but it's finally all done! We're looking forward to the getaway...this will be our first time out of province together. After a few days in Edmonton and Athabasca with Jenn's parents, we'll be driving to Jasper, Banff, and then into Calgary before flying home. It's been a few years since I've been out west and can't wait to see the mountains again....too bad we can't do a little snowboarding while we're there! Oh, well, maybe next time. Hopefully we'll have lots of good pics from the trip to upload when we return...I've put a few more pics up on Imagestation (see the link at the right--->>>)...a few pics from Oma and Opa's, and the weekend that we had my parents and Jen and Wim and their girls up. It was great to have us all together for a couple days! Anyways, we hope you all are well and hope to have a blog up shortly after we return!

More Pics

2005-04-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody....I know I recently mentioned how I was going to try and post more regularly so forgive me for taking so long. With spring arriving, I've been busy with my grass and other little jobs around the house, and as I'm sure many will agree, grass maintenance can be a pretty near full-time job....even for the little bit that we have!

Jenn has been the busiest though, completing her final University course. She wrote her final exam last Saturday and she feels it went pretty good. This week she's been catching up with a few assignments left to submit. We're looking forward to our trip to Alberta in June for her graduation! We plan to spend a couple days in Edmonton (Jenn and her mom want to explore the West Edmonton Mall), 2 days in Athabasca for the grad, then we'll drive to Jasper for a night at the Pocohontas mountain cabins, then down to Banff for a night and then into Calgary for another night and our flight home. It's hard to believe that I was in those cities 19 years ago! Boy does that make me feel a little old or what! I'm sure we'll come back with many photos! Speaking of which, I've uploaded some of our latest photos, mostly of Easter with our families and a couple of the new wheels. My silver Nissan rocket has been replaced with a silver Chevy grocery-getting 4-wheeler, but I'm not bitter! 8) Actually we're enjoying the new Eeeek (also known as an Equinox) and especially look forward to going camping with it this summer! There's also a few pics of the Barrie waterfront from when we took a stroll down there on one of the first really nice days this spring. It defintely is nicer in the summer, but there's never a lack of people out playing down there!

Anyways, we're really happy to hear that Jax, Treen, and Nate are all back home in Canada safe and sound and look forward to seeing them sometime soon! We hope you're all doing well!

Pics

2005-03-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone...just a quick blog to let you know that we now have some pictures online (a la treenandjax) on Imagestation, now that we finally made the jump to a digital camera. We only have a 6GB harddrive so we're gonna run outta space locally real fast! I've posted a link at the right with our login and password so that anyone who actually reads our blog can access the pics. There aren't too many yet, just a bunch of our kids, Quito and Griffen, one of our house (it's the one on the left), a couple from the auto show, and some of my sis and her family and my folks at our new neice's baptism. It's a bit more of an insight into our life here in Barrie. You can leave comments on Imagestation as well. Hopefully we'll have lots more pics to upload soon...we just upgraded to a 512MB memory card. Hope all is well with everyone!

A little sadness

2005-03-04T20:19:00.000-05:00

I have to admit I'm feeling a little low today, due to the tragedy that has unfolded in Alberta. It's hard to put into words how the death, and particularly the murder, of another officer makes me feel and the worst part is that it's multiplied to reflect the murders of all four that happened yesterday morning. God rest the souls of Brock Myrol, Lionide Johnston, Peter Scheimann, and Anthony Gordon. Please pray for their families and their brothers and sisters in the RCMP. Sometimes you need to vent a little so I just may do that a bit. So often we feel like we're the only ones on our side. Of course we get the love and support of our families but it feels like our government continues to stack the odds against us. The evil man that killed these four officers had previously been convicted of assault with a weapon, sexual assault, pointing a firearm, forcible confinement, and mischief, and likely many other criminal offences. And yet, our justice system felt that he should walk the streets a free man, no matter how many people he had hurt and terrorized in the past, he deserved another chance. It seems like no matter how much time and effort we put into an investigation, the courts just send these criminals back into the streets to do more damage. I made the choice to do this job and I will never regret that. I have to focus on the good we manage to do, despite the odds. But please pray for and support your local police. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God."

My turn

2005-02-19T20:51:00.000-05:00

I guess it's my turn to write, a little distraction from a 12 page paper for my Human Resources -Organizational Behaviour class never hurt. AHHH school is almost over but the pressure has never been this bad, maybe its the 40 hr plus week of work, the 12 hours of commuting through snow sleet and freezing rain, trying to balance a second job (self employed retail merchandising consultant) and a great attempt to finish two courses in 12 weeks so I can finally graduate. So if you have been reading you know now why its only Al who has time to write and if you haven't heard from me in ages, forgive me my nose is stuck in a text book. I'm sorry I missed your birthday Beth. We'll get together and celebrate soon shrimp at Rosa's sound good? My final marks have to be in by May 6th, after that I will have so much free time (I should be back in the Barrie store by then too) that I'll be up to giving tours of Barrie and the beautiful bay if any of you feel like staying with us for a visit. Well I can't ignore this paper for long as I told my prof I would submit it last weekend (oops)!

New arrival in the family

2005-01-29T10:41:00.000-05:00

We're very happy to announce that my sister has safely given birth to her 3rd little girl, Seleah, this past Wednesday! Seleah was born at home with the help of a midwife and they now have 3 little girls under 4....I forsee lots of sleepless nights for Wim and Jenn in about 14 years....8)

Anyhow, we've been in a deep freeze here in Barrie for the last week and a half....it's finally starting to warm up now (now that I'm done my night shifts, of course)....it was pretty bitter out there, although I think back to some nights in Sudbury when the windchill was in the -60C range...makes -39C not sound so bad!

Jenn is writing her 3 last exam this morning...she's been studying like crazy for it for several weeks now! Two courses and 2 exams left before she's all done! I can't imagine what she's going to do with all the free time! Maybe some more baking....8)...like my waistline needs that!

That's all for now....looking forward to a warming trend and till next time,

Al (& Jenn)

Springtime in Barrie

2005-01-14T11:01:00.000-05:00

What wacky weather we have had in the last couple of days! Yesterday apparently was up to 15C and today it's back down to -6C. So almost all the snow melted, revealing Quito's all-natural lawn treatment (now bagged and for sale). It was nice though...I took the bike down off the lift and put the battery back in. It fired up with no trouble and sounded just like it ought to....like a Sherman tank with no muffler! 8) Luckily my neighbour is very nice and he's been doing renovations over the last couple of days ( at least I hope it's just renovations), so we've been equally noisy. So needless to say, I can't wait until April when I can roll the bike out for a real season of riding, unlike last year when I had to leave it down in London. My only ride was from London to Barrie at the end of October, two days before the insurance ran out. Jenn and I are looking forward to cruising down by the lakeshore this summer!

Jenn kicked her flu in about 24 hours...turns out my dad and uncle, who we had seen a couple of days before came down with the same thing. Thankfully, I dodged it. Following the holidays, things seem to be back to normal now. Jenn is buckling down to finish her last two courses for her BA so that we can go out to Alberta for her grad in June. Not much else going on. I'm on my days off and puttering around the house, so I figured I need to update the blog...gotta keep all those fascinated people out there in the loop! 8) I'm glad there's a couple of ya still reading. Anyhow, God bless you all and till next time!

Week off....

2005-01-04T13:05:00.000-05:00

So I'm on holidays and trying to stay busy...Jenn had a few things for me to do around the house which I've been working on...last night, Jenn was very sick, right through the night...unbeknownst to be she actually curled up outside the bathroom on the floor in a blanket at one point. It seems the vomitting is over, hopefully...I got her some chicken broth and I haven't heard the toilet flushing upstairs, so I hope it's staying down and that she's getting some sleep. She had to call in to work this morning to let them know she couldn't make it.

I go back to work on Saturday, after being off for the last set, over New Years. We went down to Woodstock and visited with both sides of the family, celebrating Christmas with everyone, just a few days late. It was nice to do it over 3 days...not so rushed.

We were with Jenn's family on New Year's Eve...we were all in bed and asleep by 11:30...do I feel like I'm getting old? Uh, yeah...

Like everyone else, we've been following the news on the Tsunami...we were greatly relieved to hear from Jax and Treen who were in Thailand at the time, and to learn that they were ok. What a tragedy, though!

It's been a lot milder over the past several days...most of the snow we got on the 23rd has melted...it's a little cooler today, but they're calling for a high of 10 on Sunday. At this rate, people around here will be golfing by the end of the month.

Anyhow, I should go check on Jenn. If there is anyone still reading, we'd love to know!

Merry Christmas

2004-12-25T13:03:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Just a quick Christmas greeting to any and all that come by our blog! We pray that all of you would be blessed during this celebration of Christ's birth!

Al and Jenn

'Bout time, eh?

2004-12-22T17:05:00.000-05:00

I know....it's been so long, nobody probably even checks this blog anymore, but hopefully there's still a few of you out there.

It's 3 day till Christmas and it sure does look like it in the little town of Barrie. People are out ice fishing and we have a good layer of snow on the ground, with more to come tonight, according to the weather network. I'll be working day tomorrow and Friday, so I have Christmas Eve evening off and Christmas day until 7pm, which is as good as it could be while working. Somehow I managed to get holidays over New Year's so Jenn and I will be heading to Woodstock to celebrate Christmas with our families. It will actually be the first New Years Jenn and I get to spend together.

We have both settled into life here wonderfully! Jenn is currently working at the pier 1 in Richmond Hill, hopefully only for a few months. After that she will hopefully be working closer to home. She is working diligently to finish her BA through correspondence and we hope to travel to Alberta in June for her graduation.

Through the summer we were busy but managed to get away for a few days at Killbear, pulling into a deserted park, right after the Labour Day crowds left. Despite nearly getting blown off of our campsite the first night, it was a wonderfully relaxing getaway. We didn't really get in any motorcycle time this year, as I wasn't able to bring it home from London until the end of October (after some emergency repairs), but we're looking forward to cruising along the Lakeshore next summer!

This fall was also busy. I was working a lot of overtime and Jenn began working part-time at the Christian bookstore here in Barrie, and it's sister store in Newmarket, doing some visual merchandising. All that on top of her full-time work at Pier 1 and her studies! My beautiful wife never ceases to amaze me!

Anyhow, we hope and pray that all of our family and friends, near and far, are blessed this Christmas and into the new year! And I promise to try and post a little more often! 8)

Al (&Jenn, Quito and Griffen)

I'm Finally Home

2004-07-04T09:46:00.000-04:00

Al suggested the other day, that maybe it was time for me to sit and write on the blog. I can't believe I actually have time to sit! It has been so good to finally be home, London never felt like that, but only being here for a week, I feel like I am home.
I returned to work on Friday, my manager kindly gave me last week off so I could settle in here at the house. I was able to do some painting, and organizing around the house. We also managed to have our first "flood" in the basement, and I also managed to break the handle on the toilet. Sorry Al! But those little things just remind us what a blessing this is to finally have our own little place to call home. Returning to Pier 1 in Barrie has been great, I had kept in touch with the store while I was in London for two years so it was pretty easy to walk back in, and there are only a few new faces there. The staff welcomed me with open arms litterly. Its probably not common to receive so many hugs on your first day of work! Now that I am only working one job, I will need to hit the books. I am almost near the end of my degree, and I am looking forward to flying to Alberta next June to graduate! Well now I am just on my way to church, returning to places I haven't been in awhile, kind of leaves me with that nervous yet excited feeling like the first day of school. -jenn-

Home sweet home

2004-06-22T12:16:00.000-04:00

Well, the move went very smoothly on Saturday, thanks to the much needed help of our family! Mom and Dad Claus, Mom and Dad Holmes, and Trish and Shawn came to help us empty the house and load up the moving van. Mom and Dad Holmes and Trish and Shawn then came with us up to Barrie to do the unload. We made really good time, loading the van in just over 2 hours. I think we're still a little shocked that we got everything in one load, except for the motorbike. Once in Barrie, I think we had the van and 3 cars unloaded by about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Dad Holmes and Shawn then helped by wiring an electrical outlet in the basement. Most things have found a place in our house, now, so it is starting to feel like home. The key ingredient missing right now, sadly, is Jenn, but she will be up for good this coming weekend. She has to finish a few more days of work in London and Woodstock. I was in Pier 1 here in Barrie yesterday and they seem pretty excited to be getting Jenn back! She starts there on Monday.

Yesterday I got to cut my own grass for the first time....that was more fun than I thought it would be....it's pretty cool to want to take pride in your own property. The neighbour's house is sold and I think the tenants there have just decided not to cut the grass, since they have to move...it looks pretty nasty, but it does make my lawn look like a fairway at Glen Abbey.

Now, we're just waiting anxiously for Treen and Jax to become parents...checking their blog every few hours! We pray everything will go very smoothly for them!

Feel free to leave a message in our message book! We'd love to hear how everyone is doing!

Nearly there...

2004-06-17T18:54:00.000-04:00

Well, it's Thursday...we'll be doing the big move on Saturday with the help of our family. We seem to like stacking really stressful situations on ourselves. Two years ago it was planning our wedding, both starting new jobs and both moving, all in a matter of a couple of months. Now it's the move and both new jobs....maybe we're just gluttons for punishment. 8) We both know that this a going to be a great move for us both, though, so it's more than worth all the hard work and tough time spent apart!

Last night I spent about 7 hours at an accident scene. A young guy on a motorcycle was stopped at a light when a moron in a trans am hit him from behind at over 80km/hr. He flew about 50 feet through the air...I was helping EMS with him...he was conscious but that poor guy was hurting...both legs mangled. Last I heard his condition had worsened and they air lifted him to Sunnybrook....that's a guy who could use some prayers! On that note, the guy who hit him probably needs some too...he at least was taking full responsibility for it. After they took the victim away and I took a couple statements, I sat at a traffic point all night. We have specialists come in to measure the entire scene, like where all the debris lands (and there was a lot of debris...like a bomb went off!). It's funny and terribly aggravating at the same time...we can set up 200 flares and 83 pylons across 40 feet of pavement and there will still be the boneheads who try to drive around them while we are sitting there blocking the road with our cruisers, all emergency lights on. Sometimes you just want to feed someone a burning road flare...oops...did I type that out loud?

So, anyways, we got a few busy days ahead...I managed to take tonight and next Tuesday off to give us a little extra time on both ends of the move...still seems like lots of packing around here though! I think Quito is getting more and more confused....Boxes are piling up and I seem to come and go every few days...the old boy is going to have his own backyard soon, though, so things will be looking up for him! Better get cracking on the packing! Later!

Changes

2004-06-11T11:24:00.000-04:00

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!