Our Story
Our romantic relationship grew out of a strong friendship. We feel fortunate to have found each other in this way and James feels lucky for not getting stuck in the friend-zone.
The beginnings... Taylor University College
Where we met
We first met at Taylor University College. We both attended the school from 2002 through 2006. Chelsea earned a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Psychology with a minor in Religion & Theology while James took a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Religion & Theology with a minor in Psychology. However, we were merely acquaintances during this time. James was a rowdy boy from the Benke Hall dormitory while Chelsea had chosen the more sophisticated life style of Muller Hall where she enjoyed her own bathroom. Chelsea only knew James as that strange boy who sleeps in the library sometimes. Did you know that Muller Hall was named after James's Grandpa's cousin?
Camp Caroline
Where the friendship began
It was after finishing our degrees at Taylor that our relationship truly began. During the summer of 2006 we worked at Camp Caroline together serving as the Counselling Team Supervisors. James struggled to keep up with Chelsea's efficient work ethic while Chelsea learned that James' focus on personal relationships and good times could perhaps prove more valuable than completing a given task. In any case, we really enjoyed leading the counselling team together. Our personalities and education complimented one another nicely. Working closely with one another developed an amazing friendship that provided the foundation for our current love.
The Friendship
From Summer 2006 to December 2008
When parting ways after the summer of 2006 we knew we wanted to stay in touch and continue the friendship we started at camp. We also knew how easy it was for us to get back to regular life and lose touch with people. Knowing this, we said we would both try to put in the effort, and put in the effort we did!
Our friendship was enhanced and supported by many mutual friends that we had made at Camp Caroline and Taylor University. We spent a lot of time in large group contexts as well as one-on-one hang out times. We both enjoyed theological discussions and talking about our future aspirations for graduate studies.
Chelsea worked full-time for DeVry while working towards a Master of Arts in Public Administration with a concentration in the non-profit sector. James went back to Taylor to upgrade his minor in psychology to a major while working at Future Shop. Chelsea bugged James by attributing his desire to study psychology to an effort to be more like her.
We both enjoyed hanging out with friends and watching movies or TV. James finally realized he was smitten when he started going over to Chelsea's house to watch shows like So You Think You Can Dance. It was very frustrating for James when he didn't get to sit beside Chelsea (his sole purpose in enduring such terrible broadcasting). Finally, James couldn't bottle up his feelings any longer and confessed to Chelsea's best friend and roommate Stephanie that he had grown romantic inclinations. Fortunately, Stephanie (and Chelsea's other friends) were thrilled by the prospect of the two of us together and nurtured such a union with positive commentary whenever the opportunity arose.
Dating
From December 14th 2008 to November 6th 2009
Though we had been friends for a few years, it took us until December 2008 to realize it could be more. James was the first one to make the move... his first strategy was to invite Chelsea to the Taylor Christmas Banquet and he showed up at Chelsea's house with a dozen roses. That was her first clue that something was up. After spending the next week hanging out much more, they eventually began dating on December 14th, 2008. Since we were able to begin dating out of such a strong friendship it was serious right from the start.
After two weeks of dating we were spending Christmas together and getting introduced to all of each others extended family. Typical conversations started, "So, how long have you been dating?" "Two weeks." "Oh!" This was a great experience for the both of us in getting to know one another better and solidified our decision to be together.
Most of our friends were convinced that we should be together even before we were, so people were very excited to here the news!! We are blessed with such a supportive and close group of mutual friends, which really made the change to a dating relationship much more smooth.
Since we started dating, our relationship has obviously progressed, and it didn't take long for us to be thinking of marriage. We knew that because of both of our desires to continue on with Graduate school, we would probably be taking that next step together.
Our dating relationship has been characterized by lots of laughter, spending time with the important people in our lives, and being able to experience new things together (ie: James teaching Chelsea how to snowboard...).
Dating helped us realize that we are a perfect match and that we were ready to soon start our married future together!
Engaged!
November 6th 2009 to Present
This story is still being worked on ...
The Future
Married and Studying
After we get married we are planning to live in Spruce Grove with Chelsea's current room mates Lindsay and Andi. Then we are both hoping to go back to school for graduate in psychology. Currently, we are looking at Trinity Western in Langley, BC and Fuller in Pasadena, CA. We don't know where our future will lead us, but we know we will be together and thats good enough for us.
