From Tea and Slushies to a Diamond Ring

"Tea please" I ordered. It was our first date and we had decided to go low key with drinks near the train station. I waited for my tea while he paid for it and his juice, then we picked a table and sat down.

The conversation flowed and I found myself enjoying it. He told me all about his time playing American football and I overshared with that time that I broke my finger and had to have pins put in from PE class football (later he told me that he really wished I didn't tell him that story... but you know me... I am so smooth).

After a couple hours, I realised I better get going and as he walked me back to the station, I had a strong urge to hug the boy. This was an odd, weird sensation. I rarely am overcome with such an urge and so I was confused. When it was time to say goodbye, I announced that I was going in for a hug (what? Maybe he was like me and needed warnings. Also... did I mention how smooth I was?) and then I hugged him and that was it!

I left the date feeling giddy. Happy. It was weird. I had never had a date in which I thought that things went well and that I'd want to see him again.

We talked all week. Small text messages asking about our days and he shared some songs with me. I felt pretty optimistic but still wasn't expecting this to become a serious romance. I was intrigued and knew we got along and that I felt happy, but I felt content just seeing what would happen.

The next weekend came along and he asked me to go bowling with him. I had lived in the UK for a year and missed bowling with my friends in Canada, so I was pretty stoked.

We met up and walked over to the alley. He bought us a couple games and he tried to convince me that I must be confused as my feet couldn't possibly be the same size as his (me being a girl and him a male). Well finally, me and my gigantic feet and him and his adorable smile were soon bowling and laughing, talking and hugging when one of us made a good shot. We ended up getting another game and then playing some air hockey (he certainly knew the way to this Canadian girl's heart!). We both won and lost some games and it was just a lot of fun.

I offered to buy him a drink and, fully expecting him to get a pint as that would have been pretty normal, he turned to me and said, "I kinda want a blue slushie." I smiled and had to admit that my eye had been on the slushie machine as well. He grinned and looked delighted at the thought of blue slushie... and well... I'll confess... I knew at that moment that I liked him. The boy who liked blue slushies stole my heart then. I wasn't expecting a great romance but he had surprised me.

We continued the date with dinner and continued our relationship with more dinners, trips, movies, hours of conversation and cuddles.

Now... two years later, the boy who surprised me is now the man who I love and am engaged to.

A couple days after speaking to my parents, David took me to Bayfront Park in my hometown, and dragged me across a terrifying field full of geese. My mind distracted by the birds (see Foul Fowl), David took me to a gazebo overlooking the lake with the sun low, moments before setting. He pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him. It was beautiful and totally worth braving the geese for!

I am a lucky girl to have met him and I am so glad that my broken finger story, on our first date, didn't scare him off. Looking forward, I'm excited to see what God has in store for us, and to move forward together as a married couple.

-E :)

Baby Ben and Beautiful Canada

After much delay and excitement, I'm pleased to announce the birth of my nephew, Benoit Daniel Luc. He was born last Tuesday (July 30th) around 1am. Mom and baby are well and I will tell you that he is perhaps the cutest little baby that I've ever had the pleasure of holding!

Benny and I!

Now, I've been back in Canada for over a week now and am reminded of the many things that I love about this nation. Since being here we have: been to a CFL game in Toronto, went to the Muskokas and enjoyed a local band concert in the park (think less rock and more military marches and jazz music with the average audience age of 90... my mom plays trombone in it so we were there to support her and it ended up being a fun time).

Canada is a funny place. If you ask anyone in Southern Ontario, it is overcrowded, loud and too busy. However, when you compare it to London, it is pretty spacious and quiet. I think because we have so much space in our country, that the big cities do seem far too crowded compared to the massive forests and empty plots of land that are seen elsewhere.

Going up to cottage country is a great Canadian tradition. It's such a common thing to go camping or to a cottage, but for good reason. Canada has lots of lakes. Lakes that are clear, clean and surrounded by giant rocks and trees. When you pull off the main road to my family's place, you can probably drive to at least 5 lakes within 10 minutes. This makes it an ideal area to spend time in the summer. You can swim, kayak, canoe, drive a motor boat, fish, or simply float and enjoy the sun. The air is clean and fresh, less humid than in Southern Ontario, and the nights are clear with the sky full of stars that make you feel like a speck in the universe.

When we were up north, we spent a lot of time out on the lake and even made a trip into Bracebridge to go on the Lake Muskoka cruise. The boat went around and showed us all the "cottages" that cost millions of dollars and are really bigger than a lot of people's houses. Many famous people own places there so it is fun to see how the other half live.

Lake Muskoka

That night was beautiful, so I got to build a fire. My boyfriend learned how to toast marshmallows over a fire and even made some s'mores (graham crackers, chocolate and toasted marshmallows)! It was a fun, and typical, Canadian evening.

Just call me the Fire Queen!

As I'm here, I really am reminded of what a great nation Canada is and I feel very blessed to have been born and raised here and to be able to come back and enjoy the gorgeous nature and friendly people. If you are Canadian, be proud and grateful for what we have here and if you are not Canadian, I'd encourage you to come here and enjoy what this country has to offer!