The quirky little things God has in place for you

When we first arrived in Quebec and I was going through a little…crisis of adjustment, let's say (funny thought, because I hadn't thought I of all people would need to adjust! The children, yes. But not me!)…the dearest, most inspired friend texted me something that comforted me so much. Something like, "Because you didn't find exactly the clear things you hoped you’d love right away, now, you can be a blank slate—able to discover the quirky little things God has put in place for you to discover and love."

Maybe because she said that, I've been looking for them. And I have found them! Of course I'm still a pilgrim and a stranger here. But there are already so many places that feel like my own special discoveries, so many details that feel like dear little secrets—so many funny little things I've grown to love.

I'll show you some!

• This little row of streetlamps along a park. It's away from some of the busier areas and there's a little hidden playground behind with swings and a tiny built-in trampoline. The lamps remind me of Embassy Row with the gas lamps in London. They go on when dusk is falling and make soft little pools of light on the sidewalk. So pretty!

• This long boardwalk going down from the Plains of Abraham (a big park along the hill) to the Château Frontenac (famous hotel here). It is hardly a secret. But somehow most people seem to choose another, more direct route between those two tourist attractions, leaving this boardwalk quiet and peaceful. In the early morning it is deserted. The trees make a tunnel above it, except when they break to allow a few glimpses of the St. Lawrence River below. And then, after you descend several flights of stairs, you come suddenly around the corner to the most extraordinary view of the Château! I love it every time.

• This artistically-worked marble monogram between our two front doors. (I also like that we have two front doors.) I don't know what it is! Some kind of masonic symbol? "IB"? "BI"? B with a Roman numeral 1? Maybe there's an "H" in there somewhere? "HIB"? Whatever it is, it was clearly made with great care for this doorstep, and I love it.

• The way the light comes in through this side of the house at sunset, especially through my bedroom balcony doors. In all the time we've been here, we have only closed these doors once or twice (only during the worst downpours) but they have remained constantly open the rest of the time. I will be so sad when we have to close them for cold weather! I love the light and air coming through.

•. The two little lofts in the house. They've turned out to be the best thing ever! Junie sleeps in hers full time. And Teddy and Ziggy have one they can play in too. When Abe and Seb visited, the little boys gave Seb their bed and moved up to sleep in the loft. It looks so cozy and fun, I almost wish I could sleep there myself!

The lofts have little windows through to each other, and one of them looks through to Sam's and my room too. That means I will be sitting in bed reading sometimes and suddenly look up and see this:

Or this:

I heard so much giggling in Junie's loft one day and climbed up the ladder to see what was going on. The girls were playing with Calico Critters (they bought the "Baby Bunny Family" at the toy store here and you wouldn't believe the fun these teenagers have with them). They had the coziest little spot to play!

Then I looked over into the other loft and there was Teddy looking through!

• The little funny spire at the corner of our street. It's not part of a church or anything, but a lot of houses seem to have some little decorative element like this. I love it. All the kids know it marks our street, and Clementine will always say when she sees it, "Turn here, Daddy!" There's a little rooftop garden behind it and I wish so much I could go up and look at it.

  

• The big front windows with their double panes and shutters. I like the weird way they unlock and the way one pane can swing open to let in the air. The kids love to stand there and look out at the garbage truck or at people walking by. I love walking up our street and being greeted, coming or going, by these happy little faces.

And by these excited little waving hands!

• The two churches we can see from either side of the house. Of course we can see spires everywhere, looking down at the city…I'll write about those sometime too. But these two churches flanking us on Rue Saint-Jean feel like "ours." They're beautiful at every time of day. I can see Saint-Jean-Baptiste up the street from my back balcony.

And Église Saint-Matthew (which is a library now) from the windows on the other side of the house. I love them both.

• I like this kitchen window with the wide windowsill. I like to sit here while I'm waiting for water to boil or for a timer to ring. I like to look out the window onto the deck and feel the breeze coming in through the open pane.

• And the last one for now…Sam's and my garret bedroom. I love it so much. Everything about it. I love the skylight and the beams I can see above me as I lie in bed.

The beams have Roman numerals scratched into them, I assume so the builders knew which ones fit where. They look old.

I love the string lights that hang from the beams and the way they make the room glow at night.

I love the way the daylight comes in from both sides and makes reflections on the shiny wood.

I love the bookshelf full of French books!

And of course, I love watching the sunset from the balcony! Such good things Heavenly Father put here for us to discover!