Our first Christmas tree in our first house....exciting.

We went out with Mark Jolin and his girls (mariah and ada) to pick out our Christmas trees. We went to a place outside of Cambridge, towards Hamilton, where you are taken back to the trees in a wagon pulled by a tractor. You are free to roam their many fields of different types of trees, and when you find the one you want, you cut it down. Then you go back to the wagon, if it is there you get on, if not, you wait until it brings the next group. Then you are taken back to the main area. At the main area, they shake your tree, wrap it with the tree wrapper and you can get a nice hot cup of cider. It was a neat experience, and if you've never done it, you should!

Our new house is coming along, unpacking is going well....but there are some boxes in the basement that need to be unpacked or stored. We are very happy to be out of our apartment. Thank the Lord for this provision!

Only three more weeks........yippie!

That's right peoples......only 21 days left until we are finally united with our very first home. I am so pumped, I can hardly contain myself sometimes, which heather loves I might add...:) The finances for the down payment are all coming together...it's looking really good.

We take possession on the 24th (as you might have guessed with some pretty heavy calculations) which is a friday, and we plan on doing some painting while the place is empty. Then saturday morning, I'm gonna grab the truck I just rented today and do the move with whoever is going to be helping us. Thanks in advance to all the family and friends who are going to help us that weekend.

Only a matter of time now!

Two years already!!!!!!!

Wow, it's kinda hard to believe...it's already been two years since Heather and I tied the knot.
Two years really isn't all that long, I know, but heather said to me just the other day, "can you believe that were married?" So, she hasn't even gotten used to being married yet. I guess that is good, we still have the flame that we had right from the start, which isn't the case in about 1/3 of marriages today...ending in divorce...it's pretty sad.

I am so glad that I am in a loving relationship with my wife. I love you heather, thank-you for your love and friendship...hears to many more years!

All Clear!

I should have written that the financing was all approved. So, as a result, we get possession Nov. 24th.
We are so excited, we can hardly wait!
If anyone out there knows of any good deals on water softeners or water filtration systems, please let us know........thanks!

House inspection complete!!

Nothing major found wrong. Just a couple little things that we should do to make our time in our new house safer.....like GFI outlets. And then, before we sell the place, do the roof on the garage, carpet in the basement, and the basement bathroom reno.

All we need now is the financing to be finalized by wednesday, and the house will be ours on Nov. 24th.

Please keep praying with us.
We are about to undertake a big venture...our first home!

It's not official yet...........

Well, we have a conditional offer on a property. We signed the deal on sunday, and are just waiting for a home inspection, and financing to be finanlized. If all things work out, we will take possession on Nov. 24th.


We'll let ya know when it's official. Please pray for all the details to work out.

Thanks!

Absent from blogger, present with my wife and my life.

I really have not been a very good blogger over the last two months. Probably because my life isn't really too interesting...but that's ok.

I've been working lots, and playing lots of baseball.
One note about my baseball. My church league team hasn't won a game yet, we are 0-12. And my city league team has won only one game since I joined them about 1 and a half months ago (2 total wins) It is really discouraging. I really want to win, and I know that for sure a couple other guys are serious about it, and it shows in their performance each night. But as for the rest of the guys, I don't know if they're really serious about it. We don't have to be too crazy competitive about it, but I would like to see consistent effort from everyone.

Oh, it's only a game, right?

60th and 40th all in one weekend!

This weekend we celebrated a life and a marriage. My father-in-law, Steve May turned 60 back on May 18th. We celebrated his b-day as well as His marriage to Phyllis this weekend.

We threw a surprise party for Steve on Saturday at Grove Park Home in Barrie that his friend, Terry Codling directs.

We had a great time, filled with lots of happy tears. We kids got together and gave them a trip to Newfoundland and Labrador where they lived for a while earlier in their marriage.

We love them, and are happy that they have had such a successful marriage.

Thanks mom and dad for your guidance, wisdom and love.......even for what I have received in the two short years that I have known you.

Thanks Dad

This is a public note to let people know of the nice thing my dad has done for us. We are heading down to Michigan for a friend's wedding...we will be staying at a B&B for three nights making it a bit of a getaway for us too. My dad has paid for the first two nights for us.

Thanks again dad, it will make our time away together even better.

Headin' to Centreville, MI

This weekend my lovely wife and I are heading to her friend's (I guess she would be my friend too) wedding. It is kind of out of town.......so I'm expecting it to be really nice, and in a quiet area.

Heather and I are taking advantage of this time away. We are booked into the Mendon Country Inn where Stephanie and Craig are having their rehearsal dinner. It looks like a really nice place. We are pretty excited about the time away, and the times that we will have, just the 2 of us.

By the way, if anyone reading this has a recommendation on what is the best way to cross over to Michigan...please let me know. I got directions online, and because of the area in MI where we are heading, the Sarnia and Windsor crossing are almost the same distance to drive. So, which one is better for scenery, or road conditions, etc. I know the roads are bad in Detroit, so maybe we won't go that way.

ALGONQUIN...you've gotta try it!

So, here are of the few shots we took on our trip. We had a really great time...and we even kinda got spoiled with some nice weather. I think the May's would even admit it. Heather always tells me that there is a May curse or something...when they go camping it's not usually very good weather. Last year we had a couple of really bad days, and maybe only one good day, and then a couple of not bad days. This year we had three days of great weather.

The weather, I must admit made this trip easier on me than last year...and I guess that we didn't do as much moving as last year.


Although this year we did a
3200m portage...last year our largest was 2345m. The biggest one this year was listed on the Park map as 2800m, but we thought it seemed longer than that...sure enough in a book about a lady who had been traveling the Park for 70 some years said that it was actually 3200m...so we felt better after having read that.






Anyway, it was such a great time...but at the end it was good to get home and start recovering. I am already looking forward to next year. I don't think I'm ready for more than one of those trips per year yet.

Thanks to the rest of the people who were along with us. It was a really great week. Thanks to our Lord for his beautiful creation that we enjoyed first hand for 6 days.......we really do take it for granted I think.

Nice House!!!!!

Well, we just got back, and we didn't take any pictures......but you've got to believe me....we saw a great house tonight. It has been completely re-done inside and out. New siding and roof on the outside, and new everything on the inside, even an addition on the back.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray with us and for us. We really liked it, but if it is not for us it won't be there when we are ready. The guy wants to sell it by the end of the month, and will pay the mortgage for June and July if it sells by the end of may, so then we would start paying in Aug, which would work because we have already paid our last month at our current location, so we would have money to start paying. We are also looking into a no down payment mortgage, which would help us even more to get started. Please just pray with us and for us.

Thanks a lot everyone!

Yippie.........I can go to church Sunday Mornings again.........it's been so long.

Yes, the title is true. I got a posting I applied for at work. I will be going from the perishable department ( 32F - 0C) into the freezer (0F - -18C) and I will have sun-mon off. I am so excited because for the first time in 5 years (except when I was recovering from my arm surgery) I will be able to attend morning church, and Sunday school class.

This will give heather and I a real opportunity to find a good church and get involved in it.

Thank you Lord!

Annie is home

So, the little one has returned home. She is moving around the apartment a little slower than usual.......understandably.

She has been eating a little bit which is good to see, she always had a good appetite. She will be ok, we hope. She has to go back next tuesday to get the 7 stiches removed...poor girl.

Poor Annie

First of all, I just read my friend Andy's blog...you should too. He just wrote a good one on Creation

Secondly, I want to tell you about our little kitty Annie. I just dropped her off at the vet this morning. She is getting spayed. She was so scared...the poor little girl......well, I guess she won't be a "girl" much longer.
Mason seemed to be pretty happy when I got home, could have been for one of two reasons. Annie is gone, because he really doesn't like her. Or, he was alone, and was just happy that he wasn't deserted all together!

Anyway.......I hope annie is ok, and will recover fine after.

Final Four

Who in their right mind would have picked George Mason to make it to the final four......no one right? You would be wrong. This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I had sportsnet on the tube. Jack Armstrong, who used to be a college coach, told the viewers that ESPN had 3 million people join their online NCAA bracket challenge, and only 4 of those 3 million picked the four teams that are now in the final four.........that is amazing. If even one person picked the four remaining teams I would think that was amazing, but 4!!! That is incredible.

Here's to some great ball this weekend! Go George Mason!!

New Shift

I know, I know.......it's been too long. So, here I am.

I just wanted to let you all know that I am already, really loving my new days off. It was so nice to have this past Saturday off. Although, the original goal is to have one nice day all for my wife and I, I ended up going to see her parents. haha.

I love my in-laws (Dad, you know I love you...there should be no doubt in your mind). I went up right after work on Thursday, got there in time for dinner. Then we watched a bit of the leaf game (waste of time) and went and played hockey ourselves (not a waste of time........what a great time it was).

Friday Steve (my father in-law) and I put new canvas on a canoe that he had stripped for someone.
I probably haven't mentioned this before...Steve has a business (pack and paddle adventure company) on the side of his ministry at the sundridge church of Christ. He started out my making bent-shaft paddles, and it has evolved, almost, into more business than he has time for.
Anyway, so then on Saturday morning we stripped the fiberglass off an old, big canoe. That was fun..........if I ever end up working for Steve in the future, if we move up there, I think I could get used to being part of the demo team. I really enjoyed peeling that old crap off of there.......lol!

Here's to more Saturday's off.........hopefully my wife and I can have some great times together.

Brad Paisley

I was really looking forward to doing a blog about the Concert I went to last night, at Copps. BUT, unfortunately, I was not as impressed as I thought I was going to be.

The performers were Brad Paisley, Terri Clark, and Johnny Reid. I would have to say that Terri Clark was probably the best of the three...Johnny Reid wasn't bad either, but he was the opening act and he only sang for about 20-25 mins.

One of the main reasons for my disappointment was that Paisley didn't plan two of my favourite songs from his new album...but I guess they can't please everyone, eh?

It was a good show, and I'm glad I went. A special thanks to my wife, who bought the tickets back in November, as soon as they went on sale (for my Christmas gift) and we were on the floor in row 24...they were great seats. Thanks Heather, I love you!

Why do you have to be like that?

Something happened at work again today that got under my skin. It really isn't that big of a deal, but it didn't have to happen, so it was kind of annoying.

Long story short, they had two guys from perishable department working in the freezer, when two guys from the freezer were working in perishable...because at the beginning of the shift, there was no freezer work. So, when work came down for the freezer, the guys that are posted freezer (applied for that department) should go over in the freezer, right? You would think so, but things don't work that smoothly at your friendly neighbourhood Loblaws. They just started at the bottom of the FT list of order pickers. So, one of the guys that was in the freezer mistakenly asked me if there was a union steward on our shift (he just came from perish. afternoons). I said, "Yes, but he is on vacation. And the grocery union steward just went home. Why, what's up?" So then he told me, and then I told him I would speak to a supervisor about it.

The supervisor that looks after the freezer was filling out a couple of accident reports, so he said that he would look after it when he was done...That was about an hour later (so part of what bugged me was that the guy who, by rights, didn't have to be in the freezer ended up being in there for another hour - - they took the temp. in the back of the freezer a couple of weeks ago and it was -32C...that is pretty cold.....would you want to be in there if you didn't have to be??) So, when he finally made the switch, he made another mistake...he took out one of the perishable guys, but then took out a freezer guy too. So, the other perish. guy drove by me at break and I asked him if he got switched yet......this was when he told me what switch had been made. So, I talked to the supervisor again, and he corrected things the proper way.

I guess my point about this whole thing is that the supervisors aren't stupid (although sometimes we wonder.....I guess it's like when you're kids and you don't think your parents are too swift sometimes...I don't know) so they know how seniority, and postings work...so why can't they put people in the proper places. Then they wonder why guys give them attitude, etc. Maybe it's because of the way you handle your workforce???

Anyway......that was my day.

Blue and White

OK, ya know what.......the Leafs Suck! I can't keep it in anymore. I hated watching them about 1/3 of the way through the season, and haven't watched even one full period since before Christmas...well maybe once at my in-laws..........but you get the picture! They are painful to watch, they don't show motivation ( how can you not be motivated to play a sport for 7 figures?? I would do any job for 6 figures...I would take the NHL min. to just sit on the bench, and hand other guys a water bottle if they needed one......or a towel..........hey, I guess that would make me an equipment manager.......I bet they make good cash) they are professionals.........they should be motivated.

The trade deadline is March 9th, and I really think something needs to be done with this team. But, there's a problem...who do the leafs have, that they can afford to get rid of, that anyone else will want. Some might say Sundin, and I know a lot of people who don't like him. Personally, I like the guy...he has worked hard for this team for about 10 years now, and I would like to see him with a Cup with the Leafs. Another guy I wonder about it "The Eagle". He's really getting up there in age, and hasn't looked too sharp, too often this year. Maybe it is the lack of D in front of him, but your reflexes have to slow down when you're in your 40's and have played the game for so long. I think he should "hang 'em up."

Alas, after having said all this, I wonder if they Ferguson will ever do anything drastic. He has the Board, and the Teachers breathing down his neck. He doesn't have the freedom to do whatever he wants........I don't care what Peddie says..........Ferguson is on a tight leash.

It makes me sick!

Go MLSE Go!

That's it...........it's over!

So, for the Canadian hockey teams, the tournament came to a very disappointing end today. The women made us very proud when they won Gold on Monday. BUT, our men's team...what can I say..........they really stunk the place up! They didn't even score a goal in three of their last four games. What is up with that?

I have to put this question out there? What were Spezza, and Staal doing sitting in the wings, watching. And why wasn't mark savard even on the team? Staal and Savard are 3rd and 6th NHL scoring, and Spezza is 23rd, only because he was injured for a while. And, one last thing...why is Pat Quinn the Head Coach?? Did you see who was wearing the headset on the bench? Hitchcock. Guess who was running most of the practices, so I heard? Hitchcock. I'm a leaf fan, but that doesn't mean I don't think that Quinn is a bad coach. I don't think he should be the coach. I don't think they should have gone with this line-up....who was there to pump these guys up??? Where was their emotion? I don't know...if you can't get up to play for Gold in the Olympic winter games........then what is it going to take?

I just don't get it. But I think I've beaten this to death enough for now....see ya!

Buffalo, Lewiston and two large double doubles...

Last evening I went for a drive. I decided to head for buffalo...it is less than two hours from us, and I have today and tomorrow off. So, off I went. I wanted to drive down some roads that I had never been on...nothing major, just out for a tour. Once I got to the border, I found out that the U.S. customs officials don't really like people to just "go for a drive" and "check it out" (places that I'd never been before). I got to the border at about 10:20pm...at the time I had just bought a coffee, and was listening to the NBA All-Star game on the radio. It was just around half-time and the West was leading the East 70-53. The first officer, at the gate, seemed pretty suspicious and couldn't really figure out why my plan was to cross at Buffalo and then proceed North to cross back over at the Queenston-Lewiston bridge. She took my ID and put it in a brown envelope and gave me a little white slip of paper and told me that she was referring me for a secondary inspection. She asked me to follow an officer off to the right and that I would eventually get taken into the garage for the inspection.

So, they take me into the garage, and basically asked me the same questions as the first lady at the gate. "What is the reason for your trip tonight? What is your destination? Do you have any food, alcohol or tobacco?" I told them I was just out for a drive, wanted to see some road that I hadn't been on before...I had thought about going to a sabres game, wanted to see some of the route (that seemed to soften them a bit...must have been sabres fans.......lol) But they still didn't like the fact that I didn't have a specific destination in the U.S. So, then they asked me to get out and put my keys on the windshield, and sit in a chair at the front of the car. They brought out a dog and he sniffed all around the perimeter of the car, and then got in the front, back and wagon sniffing all around. Didn't seem to find anything to his fancy (which I was happy about) so then he and his officer left. The other officer came back and asked one more question, "We're just curious what you are doing driving through our country, without a destination, at 10:30 pm on a Sunday. So then I explained to him that it was now my weekend (off Monday and Tuesday) and I just wanted to see some sights. Next he asked me to go back out and park at the opposite end of the inspection area and go in Door #1.

Door #1 took me into a lobby. There was a sign on the door to the right that said, "If your identification was taken by one of the officers outside, please have a seat and wait for your name to be called." I thought, "this is crazy...they think I'm a criminal or something. I mean I understand that they are being more careful these days, but they could check my driving record (they have my license) and could see that I have only ever had one ticket. I don't have a criminal record....." anyway, you get the picture...my thoughts were swirling. It was about 10:35/10:40 pm. The time felt like an eternity as it ticked by...also my coffee was getting cold, and I was missing most of the second half of the game.

They finally called my name after about 5 long minutes of sitting there. I went in and talked with another customs officer, and he asked me what my birthplace was, where I lived, what I did for work, what the purpose of my trip was, what my destination was, if I had any food, alcohol or tobacco in my possession and how much money I was traveling with. I had ten bucks (which would have been my entry for my hockey time on tuesday, but I would later end up having to use it for two different tolls and then I would also decide to get another coffee.

So, then he asked me to sit back out in the lobby and he would call me again soon. This time it was only a couple of minutes until he came and poked out of another set of doors. He said, "you don't have a specific U.S. destination, huh?" I didn't, so he then told me that usually they would deny me entry because they get pretty suspicious about situations like that. But, he said he didn't think I was any harm, so he would see if he could let me go. So, he came back with a white card and a stamp. He stamped it with a stamp that said, "ADMITTED" and wrote the date in. He told me I could carry on with my proposed trip, but told me that he was obligated to check and see if I was actually heading staight to Lewiston to cross back over. He said it should only take me about 1/2 hr, but he told me that he wouldn't check for 45 mins to see if I had crossed back over by then. I later wondered how they knew, because at the Canadian Border the lady didn't swipe my license or anything, so they wouldn't know, electronically, if I had crossed back over. He said if I hadn't crossed back over by the time he checked I could potentially face charges...I guess if I don't get a call in the next couple of weeks I will be ok.

Anywho...this is a long blog, so I will wrap it up now. It was an interesting experience, and I understand why they had to do what they did, but it sure didn't make me feel better about our neighbours to the south. HOMELAND SECURITY...lol.

I want to tell the world, if the smile on my face hasn't given me away already.......

Yes, I am happy. I know I haven't talked about my wife on my blog very much, but that is not because I don't love her. So, I am taking this opportunity to let all my readers know how happy I am, and blessed I feel to have her in my life.

Since the day I met her, she has been teaching me things about life. We can be real toward each other, which I think is great...although it has taken some getting used to for me. I know I mentioned before that I have always kept emotions inside which has not been healthy, but heather encourages me to talk about things, which has helped a lot.

I know you will be reading this too heather...I LOVE YOU! Oh ya, by the way, happy b-day on wednesday (the 22nd of Feb). Thanks so much for your love, and the growth that we have had both spiritually and emotionally since we have been together. I love being your husband.

WOW, what an upset!!!!!

Yes, it is true...Are you as shocked as I am right now? The canadian men's hockey team lost to the Swiss team today -- 2-0. I was pretty surprised when it was 1-0 after the first period. I thought that they might get it going as the game progressed, but they just couldn't. The Swiss team is a tough team though, they also beat another powerhouse in the Czechs. They also have great goaltending in David Abeschier, and Martin Gerber (both play in the NHL).

Anyhow, hopefully this will act as a wakeup call for team Canada, because it doesn't get any easier. They face the Fins on Sunday, and the Czechs on Tuesday.

As for the women, they crushed their semi-final opponents (finland) 6-0. And the US lost to the Swedes 3-2 in a shootout. So that means, for the first time ever in the women's tournament, Canada will play someone other than the US in the championship match. Good luck to the women!

The results are in...

When I walked into work today there was a note on the union door (the union office is right by the employee entrance). The note said:

509 - yes
260 - no

The Union stays!!!!!!

After what I was told by the OLRB, I'm relieved, because there was no guarantee of any protection until another union was certified....could have been weeks......months.

Thanks for your interest.

The Vote was today!

I discovered that the dercert. vote was today, at work. I didn't know exactly when it would be, and hadn't heard anything because my days off are mon/tues. So, we will know tomorrow what the result is.

I will post a blog when I hear the result, and will blog about any other significant happenings in regards to this situation. That way, those of you who are interested, can keep updated.

Again, please pray for the Lord's plan in all this. Thanks.


UNION--------------------->

OR


NO UNION------------->


That is the question.

Olympic Hockey

All I have to say is...Go Canada Go! Today the women's national hockey team finished their round-robin play. They played three games, and won all three with a combined score of 36-1. That is awesome!!!!! The only other threat to over take them on goal differential is the USA, and they only had 11 goals for...so they needed to score over 25 to gain the advantage in the pool...but they only won 7-3 today. So, Canada takes first place in the pool. They will play Finland in the semi-finals.

The Men's tournament gets underway tomorrow (wednesday) and they are saying this year's team is better than in 2002 at Salt Lake City. There are many new faces, and some younger players. We will hope for the best, but won't know until it's all over. GO FOR GOLD!!!!!!

UFCW 1000a

Here is another blog about the union situation at my place of employment. I'll make it short and sweet. Some disgruntled employees, who came from another warehouse when they built the new warehouse that I work at, filed for decertification of the UFCW.
I'll tell ya, I don't know what to think about it. One side tells me one thing and the other side tells me other things. So, I hope to make my final decision tomorrow, when I call the Ontario Labour Relations Board and talk to them myself. I have encouraged others to do the same, and hopefully they do so they are not misinformed. Then they can vote with an educated point of view.

Please pray that everything works out, and that we have protection through the whole ordeal. Thanks.

Had the family over...

We had a good time last night. We had our sisters and their families (nan, don, will and jacks & mari alice, mark, mariah and ada) over for supper, and an evening of fun. It was a really good time. Heather came up with some great ideas for the adult dinner and kids dinner too. The adults had chicken tortilla bake and chocolate trifle - they were both awesome. The kids had a creative meal. They had peanut butter, jam and chocolate pudding to paint onto rice cakes. Secondly, they had veggie cars (celery stick with peanut butter or cheez whiz on them, tooth picks through the celery stick and sliced carrots stuck on the ends as wheels.) And to top it off, they had cookie/ice cream sandwiches rolled in sprinkles and chocolate chips. We think they really liked it, and had lots of fun with creating their food too.

After we were done scarfin' the kids played very well together, while the adults played a game of Scene It!"

After it was all said and done, I had a good time...not sure about others involved, but here's hoping they did too.

Just so it's out in the open, I love getting together with family...it so fun!

Bengie Molina

Oh my goodness, JP has done it again. He just got Bengie Molina, a catcher from the Anaheim Angels or Los Angeles of Anaheim..........oh, whatever they want to be called. This is crazy. He is one of the best hitting active catchers and can really call a good game too.

Sportnet is picking the Jays to win the division, and say that they now have one of the best catching tandems in the MLB.

Let's go Bluejays, Let's go!!!

See ya at the ball park!

Antonio Davis

Let me tell you what. I am pumped about the trade that the interim GM of the Raps, Wayne Embry, pulled off this past Friday. He got Antonio Davis from the Knicks for Jalen Rose and cash. This is great for a couple of reasons. Rose is making way too much money and isn't doing enough on the court to be getting paid that much. Secondly, Davis is a free agent at the end of this year so, although he doesn't make much less than Rose, he may be gone after the end of this season. If he does go, then the Raptors get over $10 mill. to spend on other available free agents. If he doesn't go, then we still have his big body on the court to crash the boards for us. This is something the Raps have been lacking for quite some time, I would say for their entire existence.... A big man down low. They have tried to plug the hole in the past with Hakeen Olajuwon or Kevin Willis, but they were old and, in the case of Olajuwon didn't play for most of his contract...but he still collected his $10 mill/yr. Right now we have Chris Bosh who is going to be a great player, I think it is safe to say he will be a superstar. So, I am very glad to have Antonio Davis as a Raptor again. Welcome back Antonio!

IE 7 Beta

Hello again all, it has been a while for me, but I plan to catch up pretty quickly tonight.

I downloaded the most recent version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer to see what's new. I have to say so far I'm not overly extatic, or impressed. First of all, because Microsoft should be the leader in computer's and computer software, yet it seems as though they can't come up with their own ideas. They have copied one very noticeable thing that Mozilla already has in it's browser. Tabbed browsing. This feature allows you to open another tab in the same window on which to view another webpage. I also like how you can download different themes for Mozilla's Firefox...I haven't seen whether you can do this or not with the new IE.

And the other thing is that right away (after having installed) i found that everytime I clicked on a link in Outlook Express it made the OE folder open up. I contacted Microsoft about this and they said it is a known bug, and they basically told me that I had to make IE my default browser if I wanted to solve the problem. How does that help me if I don't want IE to be my default browser, what if I want Netscape for Mozilla?? Anywho........

But, after having said all this, they do have some new things that are pretty cool. One which is that they have included a feature that let's you know if there are RSS feeds available on the website you are viewing, then you can subscribe to the feeds that interest you. Once you have subscribed, you can then check for updates to that feed simply by going to the new Favourites centre and clicking on the feed you want to view.

Go Raps!

I got out to my annual Raps game last night. My bro-in-law, Don, and I took my dad for his b-day, which is on Feb 3.
It was a pretty high scoring game, which toronto actually came out on top of. It went into OT, which we listened to in the car, and they won 124-123. It was also interesting to see the newly acquired Ron Artest, who was traded to the Kings from the Pacers earlier this month. I was wondering if he would do anything stupid again, but he was a pretty good boy...lol
Thanks for the fun evening Dad and Don.
Let's do it again sometime. 

Our first major appliance purchase

So, we bought a new fridge today. It was really that we wanted to, but more like we chose to because of some unfortunate circumstances...and we do hope to be in a house some day, so we will need appliances.

Long story as short as possible. Our fridge died Tuesday. Heather phoned me from work (it's my day off) and she asked me if I had been in the fridge at all yet. I hadn't so I went and checked it out...and I nearly collapsed from the smell. It was a very strong, chemical smell, and it wasn't cold at all. Also, at the time the fridge wasn't even running, so I thought burnt out motor (that's what the smell led me to believe too). But, after having done some running around town, I came home and it was running, but still nothing was cold, so we called the landlord.

It wasn't until yesterday (Friday) that the landlord finally dropped off the fridge that he had for us. It was worse for wear than the one we had. So, after some deliberation, we decided to buy our own fridge.

We got a really nice Fridgidaire, 18 cu/ft. Regular $800, sale for $700 w/ bump and scratch discount $620.

I went to the brick and future shop, and nothing really compared so, we officially made the purchase today.

Here's two quick pics of the new item...we like it so far, hopefully it lasts many years ( or if something is to go wrong it is within the first year....lol!

I wish people would clean off the tops of their vehicles in the winter!

Let me tell you about my afternoon on Monday, Jan 9th. I had just gotten done having lunch with my wife, as it was one of my days off. I then proceeded to go home. I traveled sort of a back way from Waterloo down through Kitchener. I was on Bridge St. in Kitchener when there was a slight curve in the road, and I saw a large truck coming the other way. We both hit the curve at about the same time, and that was when I saw it. A big, oval shaped, slab of ice fly off the back of the tractor trailer. It was heading straight for me, and so I braced for impact.....BOOM! It gave the Saturn a good shake, but it was still driving ok. I pulled over to see if there was any damage, and I saw a hole out of the front driver's side fender, and the headlight was smashed.

Two cars that were behind me had pulled over to see if I was ok, and the one guy was gonna give me his phone number (which I should have taken) but he also said, "you should follow him, he's a big truck, he's probably not too far." So, I hopped back in my car and chased him down. I followed him to where he stopped to make a delivery. On the way I had called the police, and so they showed up soon after I got there.

After it was all said and done, I got the driver's insurance info, and they are paying for it all, so that is good. The officer told me that I couldn't really charge him with anything. I told him that wasn't really why I followed him, it was to get his insurance info. I just didn't want to have to pay for something that I couldn't avoid, and wasn't my fault. BUT, I have to say, I have thought about that a fair bit in the last couple days. I have talked to a good friend who is an officer with the same police force, and another person who works in the insurance business. They both agree with me that there are things I can charge him with. But, I really hope it doesn't go there. All I am asking for (now that his insurance company is paying for the damage) is that his company cover my deductible.

Anyway, I am just glad to still be alive, and able to enjoy for of my new life with my wife. I'm very thankful that the ice didn't hit further up the car and come through the windshield......who knows what would happen then??

mason is a protective big brother

I just downloaded some recent pics off our camera, and I had to blog on this one. Our kittens are so cute. We both just loved this pic since the moment we took it, because of how mason's paws are wrapped around annie. They are really fun, and we are loving them, so I thought I would share a bit of them with you all. Take care, and I hope 2006 has started off well, and will continue to be great for you. 

where is the world headed?

I think I know the answer to the above question...as we all do. I have a heavy heart today, as I do a lot of the time when this hits me as it has today, and I just want to share it this time.
I was working away at work today, and I thought.....everyone, except for a handful of my fellow employees are lost. It gave me a sick feeling, because I know I haven't acted in a Christlike manner a lot of times, and if they aren't going to see Christ in me (and other believers at work) then in whom are they going to see Him?

I really need your prayers...I work in a harsh relational environment. There are a lot of hard heads at my work, and sometimes it makes just going to work pretty tough. Thank-you to those of you who are praying for me.

Oh Lord come quickly!

I am thankful for my job, it is a pretty decent wage, don't get me wrong. Just some days I think too much...and maybe I should try to think less. BUT, i think in the case today God spoke to me. My wife has been good for me to. I appreciate her "real"ness...she is not fake, she is really genuine. I would say that I have been fake a lot of my life, like not talking about things that need to be talked about, etc. Then emotions get kept inside, and in the last year or two I have had some pretty touch days because this boil over. Thanks again to my wife for being there for me, and consoling me, and helping me to make it through those tough times.

I love you Heather, and I thank the Lord for you.