A few benefits of being a Missionary Baby

 Nathan may not always realize how blessed he is to grow up as a "Missionary Kid Baby" in Ontario but there are certainly some benefits. Here are a few I noticed this week:

1) The many, many people that love him even if they hardly know him. A Grandma of one of the March Break campers (who we haven't seen since last year) made this Humpty Dumpty. Last year at camp I was 6 months pregnant and shared in the girl's chapel time about the story of our baby and how God has made each one of us fearfully and wonderfully. We were so happy to have this girl join us again for camp but what a surprise that her grandma (her guardian) would put all the time and effort into making something for our baby that she hadn't even met! Wow!

One 9 year old girl that we tutor weekly LOVES Nathan so much! "Nathan is SO adorable" she says at least 5 times every time she sees him. "Even if I say Nathan is adorable a million times, it will still be true", she says. I guess he can soak it up while it lasts and he doesn't know he's cute (or that girls are icky until he's 25).

 2) Enjoying some of Daddy's fun "work supplies"
 Today Nathan got to have his very own ball pit. The office is next to our entry and he's discovered that he can crawl in there (even in his snowsuit) and try to catch all the cool things that haven't been put away yet.

 3) Living where there's SNOW and lots of it!
Like many places we've had a winter that just won't stop, but Nathan doesn't mind. In fact he is so fascinated whenever it snows that he'll stop and stare out the window. Just think, free entertainment, that's what all this snow is.

4) Living in a country that uses hockey to advertise diapers.

This diaper advertisement just made me laugh.

Canadian at last!!!

Yesterday I had my Canadian Citizenship exam and interview. I was so surprised at how nervous I was beforehand. Since it's been a 5 1/2 year process to get to this point, it felt like a big thing. It took me 1 year to get my Permanent Residency, then you have to be in the country for at least 2 years before you can apply for citizenship and then it took over 1 year from applying before I was summoned. It doesn't seem like a big deal now, but in those moments of trying to figure out paperwork, waiting, waiting and waiting it seems like FOREVER! However, today I had to give up my Permanent Resident card in exchange for Canadian Citizenship!

 I had to go to Sudbury (3 hours away) so we also had the chance to see some of David's cousins and aunt and uncle. The exam was 20 questions and I had studied lots for it so I got 20 out of 20, which was a relief. The swearing in ceremony was held today in Sudbury, which was nice to just make one trip. It was quite a neat thing to be a part of as there were 98 of us sworn in! I sat next to a guy from Columbia and lady from Pakistan! The guy is working in Fort Albany (by Hudson Bay) so he had to take several planes just to be there! There were people that have been in Canada for 7 years all the way to 43 years before getting their citizenship today.

 Nathan was all ready to raise his right hand and reaffirm his allegiance to the Queen:

"I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen."

I will admit that as an American it is extremely strange to be swearing allegiance to a monarchy!

 This was most of the new Canadians getting ready for the ceremony.

 Me, my citizenship paper and the Queen.

Celebrating my new citizenship with the judge, MP (Member of Parliament) and College Boreal Dean

So now I'm all ready to run for President of the U.S. and Prime Minster of Canada at the same time! The thing that I'm probably the most excited about is a Cultural Access Pass granted for 1 year to new Canadian citizens that will allow me to go to museums and places across Canada for free! (Bonus that I didn't know about until today!) I'm super excited to take advantage of that! Getting a Canadian Passport will also be pretty sweet and never getting kicked out of the country or paying to extend my stay. And I can now cross off "Become a dual citizen" off my childhood bucket list that I never thought would actually happen!

Some things I learned about Canada

I received my Canadian Citizenship Exam notification about a month ago and so have been studying the 50 page booklet and doing online practice tests. I'm quite a nerd and wanted to do as well on the test as I possible and thought of it as a great chance to learn about my new homeland. These are some of things that I learned along the way... How much do you know about your country? (I did do a practice test for the U.S. citizenship test in the midst of this and would have passed, thankfully. I found it interesting how much you do learn about the country you grow up in without necessarily realizing...but also how little you know sometimes!) What are the provinces of Central Canada and their capital cities? a. Manitoba (Winnipeg) and Ontario (Toronto). b. Quebec (Quebec City) and Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown). c. Ontario (Toronto) and Quebec (Quebec City). d. Saskatchewan (Regina) and Manitoba Winnipeg).

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What did the Canadian Pacific Railway symbolize? a. Easy access to the West Coast. b. What can be achieved by working together. c. Unity. d. Ribbons of steel.

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What is the name of the Royal Anthem of Canada? a. O Canada. b. God Save the Queen (or King). c. Bud the Spud. d. The Star-Spangled Banner.

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Which three are Members of Ontario's Legislative Assembly? a. Brian Kilrea, Marlene Catterall, Tom Green b. Howard Hampton, Maurice Richard, Daniel Poliquin c. Daniel Lanois, Rosario Marchese, Diane Dufresne d. Madeleine Meilleur, Peter Tabuns, Yasir Naqvi

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Who was the first leader of a responsible government in the Canadas in 1849? a. Sir John A. Macdonald. b. Robert Baldwin. c. Louis Riel. d. Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine.

Fatima is a new immigrant in Canada. What law allows her to take up job at par with a man? a. Equality of women and men b. Equality of all races. c. Equal pay for equal work. d. Equal rights.

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What are the three main types of industry in Canada? a. Natural resources, tourism and service industries.. b. Tourism, services and manufacturing. c. Natural resources, tourism and manufacturing. d. Natural resources, manufacturing and services.

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12) Who recommended that the Upper and Lower Canada be merged and given a responsible government? 
 A. Sir George‐Étienne Cartier.
 B. Sir Guy Carleton.
 C. Lord Durham.
 D. Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine.

What is a responsible government?  
 A. The government must resign if it loses a confidence vote in the assembly.

What are the three main groups of Aboriginal peoples?  
 A. Métis, First Nations and Inuit.

Who discovered insulin?  
 A. Matthew Evans and Henry Woodward.
 B. Dr. Wilder Penfield.
 C. Dr. John A. Hopps.
 D. Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best.

Which province is Canada's largest producer of hydroelectricity?  
 A. Ontario.
 B. British Columbia.
 C. Manitoba.
 D. Quebec.

Who is Sir Arthur Currie?  
 A. The greatest scientist of Canada.
 B. An French explorer to easten Canada.
 C. Canada's greatest soldier in the First World War.
 D. A person who started the 'marathon of hope'.

Which region covers more than one-third of Canada?  
 A. Southern Ontario.
 B. Central Canada.
 C. Northern Canada.
 D. Atlantic Canada.

How can you contact your Member of Parliament? 
 A. Write a letter to the Premier of your province.
 B. Write a letter to the Prime Minister.
 C. Call the office of the party in power.
 D. Write a letter to the House of Commons.

19) What principle was Canada's constitution founded on?  
 A. Liberty, equality and fraternity.
 B. Independence and freedom.
 C. Peace, Order and Good Government.
 D. Liberty and pursue of freedom.

Where do the majority of Métis live in Canada?  
 A. West Coast.
 B. Central Canada.
 C. Northern territories.
 D. Prairie Provinces.

How many electoral districts are there in Canada? a. 20. b. 308. c. 178. d. 59.

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What are the three parts of Parliament? a. The Sovereign, Governor General and Prime Minister. b. The House of Commons, the Legislative Assembly and the Senate. c. The Queen, the Legislative Assembly and the Senate. d. The Queen, the House of Commons and the Senate.

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What is the difference between the role of the Sovereign and that of the Prime Minister? a. The Sovereign is Head of State, the Prime Minister oversees provincial policies. b. The Sovereign is the guardian of Constitutional freedoms, the Prime Minister selects the Cabinet ministers and is responsible for operations and policy of government. c. The Sovereign links Canada to 52 other nations and the Prime Minister is the guardian of Constitutional freedoms. d. The Sovereign is the symbol of Canadian sovereignty and the Prime Minister is her aide.

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What is the government of all of Canada called? a. National assembly. b. Legislature. c. Federal. d. Council.

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Which Act granted, for the first time in Canada, legislative assemblies elected by the people? a. The Constitutional Act of 1867. b. The Constitutional Act of 1791. c. The Constitutional Act of 1982. d. The Constitutional Act of 2010.

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Who was Sir Sam Steele? a. A great frontier hero, Mounted Policeman and soldier of the Queen. b. A military leader of the Métis in the 19th century. c. The first Prime Minister of Canada. d. The Father of Manitoba.