Where are you now?

Yes we know, it's been an inexcusable amount of time since we've blogged but we've been kind of busy! We left Langley on the 7th September to embark on a road trip across the Rockies to Calgary where we would be flying on the 11th back home to the UK. We spent the first 2 nights of our trip at the Cabin that we visited earlier in the summer with our wonderful friends Jaben & Sarah; While it was lovely to visit again it just wasn't the same without our great friends and of course the home made Sauna!

We drive onwards towards Calgary and spent our first night 'on the road' at Lake Louise; Sadly the bigwigs at BMW had booked out the entire Chateau on the lakefront which meant we had to stay in the village which was lovely, although the rumblings (read racket) of freight trains tumbling past every 30 minutes in the night was a little discomforting as we were about 40 yards from the track! Never the less, we enjoyed Lake Louise, and Moraine Lake the following day and were simply blown away by the natural beauty that we saw - I even said (forgive me kiwis) that it could almost beat Milford Sound (only just though) for awe - wasn't a patch on Hamilton though!

We spent our next night in a youth hostel in Banff which was pretty good fun; we did all the tourist things such as the Gondola ride to the top of the mountain, the hot pools, shopping and plenty of gawping at mountains. Banff was a great fun town, and a great place to spend our final night in Canada.

So now we're back in the UK and back on the jobhunt; Our plan is to move to Worcester when I can get a decent job there, but in the meantime we are living down at the Cottage in Devon which is wonderful; We're adjusting to the VERY slow pace of life and enjoying daily walks to Bantham Beach, outings to Salcombe (my alltime favourite place in the world) and having some wonderful time with Paul, Nitca and May (who has been doing some wonderful baking for us!). We don't have internet at the cottage so don't expect to hear more from us in the too near future, but be assured that if anything big happens you'll hear it here first!

Hear are some photos in their rawest form - I haven't had the chance to go through the yet and our computer is in a box somewhere between here and Canada so it'll be a while!

We're returning to the UK

This letter was read to LEFC this morning.

Dear LEFC

I am sorry that I am unable to be with you in person today; I am currently in the United Kingdom for my sister’s wedding.

As many of you know, Laura, Gracie and I moved to Langley at the end of December so that I could take up the position of Associate Pastor at LEFC. Upon arriving in Langley we were met by the unexpected and very premature birth of our daughter Phoebe, and subsequently spent our first 3 months in Canada with a critically ill baby, settling into life in a new country, job, and church.

The toll that this has taken on us a family has been costly on a number of levels. The support that we have had from the church has been overwhelming and at best we have felt a strong connection to the LEFC family. Sadly though we have found it extremely difficult to settle fully into the church and into life in a new country and have found ourselves exhausted by the experience both emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Along with our own deep personal struggle, I have also found it very difficult ministering in a new culture and have found it very hard to ‘fit’ into my ministry role of Associate Pastor at LEFC. This is less of a reflection on the church but on the journey that I have been on in the past half a year life, and the completely unexpected demands on our family life. I have simply been too burnt out to tackle the demands of a new role.

We have a deep respect and love for Darren and his family, the elders and the staff team, and truly believe in the mission of the church.

As a result of these challenging life circumstances we have reluctantly decided that we should to return to England. We feel it is important to be in close proximity to our extended families as we attempt to make sense of the past year. It is with sadness that I am announcing my resignation from the position of Associate Pastor at LEFC. I will be working until the end of August, and will then return to the UK in September.

Once back in the UK we will take some time to discern wisely the next step in our life. We believe rest from ministry will be an important part of the healing process as we try to process the events of the last year.

We are deeply sorry that we will be leaving the church and the relationships that we have started to build here in Langley, but ultimately we have a deep peace that we have made the right decision. I would ask that you would consider us in prayer as we undergo another life change.

Paul, Laura, Gracie & Phoebe

Camping at Harrison

We were feeling very adventurous a few weeks ago so our friends Cal, Darla and their two little girls decided to take us camping for the weekend! We were complete beginners at this and had no equipment or idea at how to survive with children in a campground. We were slightly horrified to learn that camping sites here are not like the ones we have experienced in England as the only facilities were a tap and a long-drop! Thankfully our wonderful friends provided everything we needed and cooked the most amazing food for us and even got hold of a air-bed as Paul informed them that's the only way he would go! The weather was beautiful and Gracie loved being outside all day long. We spent our time by the lake, going for walks and roasting marsh mellows and other delights on the fire. Thank you to the Boese's for this unique experience!

piggy back rides for tired little girls!

Gracie and Phoebe chill in the hammock

One of the beautiful Lakes

Phoebe finds a comfy chair!

Darla cooks up a storm!

The girls enjoy dinner

Glamourous girls ready to camp!

weather forecast!

Just to make our readers who are enjoying the English summer very envious!!!!

Our holiday in Shuswap Lake

Last week we headed north east with our good friends Jaben & Sarah to Sarah's family cabin on the shore of Shuswap lake... For Tom's comedy account of the week click here. We had a wonderful relaxing time including some fishing, swimming, golfing, BBQ's, fires, hand built beach sauna, and our first experience of Smores (a canadian fireside institution). We had the most amazing time with our friends and discovered a new favorite place! Thankyou Jaben and Sarah and the Meraw family for showing us such a good time.

Beach fires!

A walk in the woods!

Gracie out in the Canoe

Night sky over the Shuswap

Dinner overlooking the lake - stunning views

Jaben & Tom fishing off the pontoon

Tom's catch...

Fishing from the boat

Speed boat trip...

Fun at Cultus Waterslides...

Summer is well and truly here and we've been doing all manner of things to keep cool; A couple of weeks ago we took uncle Tom to Cultus Waterslides which is about an hour east of Langley - Gracie had an absolute blast on the waterslides, and us grown-ups had a little bit of fun too!

A weekend in Whistler

While my parents were here we took the opportunity to go and visit Whistler which is one of North America's most popular ski resorts (and we could see why). Although it was the summer season, there was lots of stuff to do including a ride on the Peak 2 Peak gondola which spans the summits of the 2 resort mountains; It opened this year and is very very impressive indeed! On our trip we saw 4 bears, the olympic bobsleigh track and the ski jump site for the 2010 Olympics! What a fun weekend! We had such a fun time with my parents and we were sad to say goodbye to them at the airport afterwards.

The very impressive Shannon Falls

Mum & Dad heading up Whistler Mountain

Gracie infront of the Olympic Emblem on top of Whistler Mountain

Our first bear sighting

On top of Blackcomb Mountain

Ice cream in the village

Night swim in the hotel pool

A panorama from the top of Blackcomb

A musical interlude

Laura thought it would be appropriate to celebrate the arrival of Tom (her brother) with a trip to watch Coldplay playing in Vancouver; Tom & I and a few good friends from church had a great night out singing along with some Coldplay classics... Good times!

Wes, Katie, Tom, Janice & Jaben & I on our way

Tom Waiting for Coldplay

Fueling the engine...

Having a good sing-along!

Coldplay... Fantastic!

Busy, busy busy!

We're sorry that our blog has been a bit quiet recently but we have been busy enjoying the start of a lovely summer: beautiful weather, visits from Paul's parents and my brother, Tom. We've been having lots of fun discovering a few of the delights of British Columbia. We will post about some of the fun things we've been up too over the next few days...but firstly a little update on our gorgeous girls:

Today Phoebe is six months old- we can't believe that she is already half way to one! She is doing amazingly and we really don't think of her as a preemie any more. She is incredibly healthy and is a delight to have around; smiling lots and making cute little noises. She is catching up with her actual age (six months) in size and is plodding along nicely in development at her corrected age (12 weeks). She is very relaxed and reminds us more of Paul's personality where as Gracie is far more like me.

Gracie is loving life and is so much fun to be around. She makes us laugh a lot! Her current interests are photography and singing (nothing new there!), however, to Paul's delight she is currently into Coldplay and sings 'viva la vida' and 'fix you' at least once a day! Gracie is growing up so fast and in September she will start pre-school. I'm slightly freaked out about all the things I have to get organised for this huge event in our lives....snack box, bag, labels etc. But more worryingly I will need to get myself and Gracie up and dressed (Phoebe can get away with p.j.'s!), all fed and out the door by 8:45am two mornings a week! I know most people do this every day but we are often in our p.j.'s until 10am...oh the start of our schooling career! Anyway, enough of my ramblings, here our some photos!

Two pictures from Gracie's photo-shoot this afternoon...(there we A LOT more photos, but sofas, the floor and the toilet might not interest you so much!)

(funny faces are a must!)

And Phoebe at six months old...

Summer, Birthdays & family fun...

It's been a busy week in the K-S household; Last weekend it was Laura's 29th birthday which was great fun. We threw a little surprise party for her which we all enjoyed very much. On Monday, my parents arrived from the UK for their 2 week holiday in Canada.

On Tuesday I had to take my driving test for my BC license - it was fairly intimidating doing a road test after accumulating 11 years of bad driving habits! I did pass fortunately and we headed off afterwards to Harrison Hot Springs which is a beautiful lake and and hot springs surrounded by beautiful mountains... We had a wonderful afternoon there with mum and dad.

We waved goodbye to my parents on Wednesday for their trip to Vancouver Island, and yesterday welcomed Laura's brother Tom to stay with us for a little while. We're pretty tired but we've got plenty to look forward to... Tom and I are off to watch Coldplay in Vancouver on Sunday night, and Laura and I (and the girls) are heading up to Whistler on Thursday night with mum & dad... All in all, life is good!

Phoebe's favorite past time!

New plat... not sure she's happy about it

Presents on the bed for the birthday girl

Darla and Phoebe with Laura at her party

Darren & Wendy

Grandpops meets Phoebe for the first time

Granny & Grandpops out for lunch in Harrison

"I will use the paper" when I run out of arm

A weekend away in Sun Peaks

A couple of weekends ago I went away with the Elders from LEFC - we had a weekend in Sun Peaks which is about 3 hours away and up into the mountains; We had a fun time talking about church, quad biking, and playing settlers (In no particular order!). Below is a little video of some of the fun we had.

The week in pictures

It's Friday again which means that it's time for a day off; This week has been a very busy week and we're all pretty tired. Laura, Gracie & Phoebe are on fine form; Phoebe now weighs 10lbs 9oz which is fantastic and she is starting to go much longer at night which is brilliant. One night this week she slept for 7 hours straight and followed it with another 6 hours - we're hoping that sleeping through the night will come soon! The weather here is absolutely glorious so we're enjoying getting out to our local parks and today we're off to the beach! We're just 2 weeks away from Laura's 29th birthday also which we're very excited about at this end; Gracie loves singing happy birthday! Photos....

Gracie basking in the hot sun in our Garden...

Cup of tea?

Phoebe lost her head going down the slide!

A pre game BBQ before watching the church softball team...

No words needed...

Gracie on her trike...

Our little 'kiwi'

Girls in spots...

One of our favorite outfits when Gracie was a baby was a beautiful red dress that Brent & Anna gave us - it's finally warm enough for Phoebe to wear it so below is a photo of Phoebe wearing it, and a picture of Gracie wearing it back in 2007!

The spotty girls!

Phoebe - 22/5/09

Gracie 13/01/07

Lazy Holiday Weekend!

This weekend we had a visit from Mike (our old vicar in Auckland) as he was passing through Vancouver on his way back from London; We had a great time catching up on the news from St Paul's, reminiscing about our time there, and Mike and I had an interesting car journey with 2 ladies we met in a hotel which led us a very nice lake here in Langley (longish story!)

While I was collecting Mike from Vancouver, Laura took Gracie and Phoebe to the water park which is just a couple of minutes walk from our house... Gracie had great fun there until she collided with an 11 year old boy, sending her flying up into the air and landing flat on her face in the water. She tore her nose apart and cut her lip... Apparently there was a lot of blood spurting out and when we returned from Vancouver it really looked like she'd had been given a facial by Edward Scissor Hands - she wasn't put off though and we returned to the park yesterday for more fun in the sun.

Today has been a public holiday so we went to Fort Langley for their annual Victoria Day Parade which was a total blast; It was everything you could hope for from a North American parade including a motorcycle display, marching bands galore, square dancers and the obligatory person dressed up in an animal costume! We went with our friends Cal & Darla and their 2 girls - it was a great morning.

Mike and I on our mystery tour!

Having fun at the water park

Gracie's war wounds... they looked a lot worse the day before!

Fun on the swings

Phoebe sleeping through all the fun!

A picnic with Cal & Darla and co

Gracie watching the parade... she had such a great time

Cal and Denaya

Not sure who this guy was meant to be... William Wallace?

What's been going on?

Yeah, it's been a long time since we've blogged; Life has been pretty busy as you can imagine with a toddler and a newborn baby in the house. Phoebe will be 4 months old on Monday although her corrected age is almost 3 weeks...

She is doing so well. She had her final MRI scan last Friday and the results came back completely clear which is amazing, and the nurse commented on how rare it is to come across a baby born as young as Phoebe with no side effects of prematurity - she really is such a miracle. She weighed in last Friday at 9lbs, although we think she's had a growth spurt this week so goodness knows how big she is now!

We're all doing well considering the sleep depravation and looking forward to the holiday we were going to have when Laura went into labour (we had planned to go to Whistler for a week when we first arrived). We don't have any time booked off yet, and no idea where to go but we'll hope to go somewhere soon.

Here are a few photos of the girls.

Comb over!

Gracie at the Vancouver Aquarium

Happy 'Birthday' Phoebe!

Believe it or not, today (18th April) is Phoebe's actual due-date! It seems a little surreal to think that she has actually been with us for over 3 months now (click here for the beginning of the story). She's continuing to do amazingly and yesterday was finally given the all-clear from the eye doctor, saying that her eyes are in perfect order. We're thoroughly grateful for this as I'm sure she will be when she's old enough to appreciate them! She's still not poo-ing enough so please keep praying that her bowels would loosen big time!

This week has been a busy and fun week; It started last Saturday night with the arrival of Granny (Paul's mum) from the UK. Gracie had the time of her life on Easter morning with eggs galore laid outside the house by our landlord Marcel - she spent the morning gathering and eating, and we spent the rest of the day dealing with a girl who only wanted to eat chocolate!

We've had a great fun week seeing some of the sights, relaxing at home and having interesting chats with interesting people... The first chat was with the Google Street View driver who was photographing our street (we proceeded to follow him once he was done to ensure our google fame). Our second interesting chat was with Gordon the Cowboy Poet this morning...

'Oooooooh'

Granny arriving into Vancouver

Grannies first cuddle with Phoebe

Gracie's Easter egg hunt

'If only I was just a little bit smaller'

'Why is she in my carseat?'

Mum chatting with the Google man!

Bath time!

Cuter and Cuter...

We have survived our first week back at home with Phoebe although we're pretty tired. Phoebe has had a busy social calendar; She's had plenty of people dropping by to meet her; She attended her first cluster on Saturday, and her first stations of the cross last night!

We've no idea what she weighs anymore, but she'll be going to the doctor tomorrow to get weighed so we'll be able to give you a little more info then. Her bowel movements are better than they were, but she is still straining and her belly button has a hernia as a result.

Gracie is a lot of fun at the moment - she's keeping us entertained everyday with her little anecdotal comments that she has obviously picked up from us. Laura is shattered, as every newborn mother is and I'm plodding along (also tired, but don't dare say it in public for fear of being hit by women).

On Saturday my mum will arrive for 9 days which we are looking forward to hugely; Gracie is already very excited about going to the airport to pick her up. Here are a few photos from the last week.

Spring has sprung!

Soooooo tiny!

Finding her thumb

Gracie and her Canadian friends Denaya & Alyshia getting ready for a sleep over

A new rhythm...

We've had 3 nights at home with Phoebe now, and although we're progressively getting more tired, Phoebe is becoming more settled and is adjusting to the quiet life. She has made some progress in the bowel dept which is good news, although she still needs to do an almighty poop to really clear her tummy. The community nurse popped in yesterday and weighed her and she is continuing to put on weight which is excellent - yesterday morning she was weighing 6lbs 5oz so we can hazard a guess that she'll be 6.6 or 6.7 today. Gracie continues to dote on her and tonight they had their first bath together. Here are a few more photos to add to the collection!

Phoebe having her first bath at home in the kitchen sink!

Lovely cuddles with daddy

Gracie getting creative

Sleeping like a baby... Literally

More Lord...

Gracie and Phoebe bathing together

Our two smiling girls...

Update from Home!

It's so nice to be at home for our second morning without having to worry about a visit to the hospital; Gracie has adjusted so nicely to having Phoebe at home, and is being such a wonderful big sister... We even found her lying in her cot yesterday morning with her (well actually on top of her, and it was VERY lucky that I found her!).

Laura and I are enjoying the freedom that having a child at home brings (in comparison to having one in hospital). I took Gracie to church yesterday morning and Laura spent the morning at home with Phoebe which she absolutely loved.

Phoebe is in a lot of discomfort and would love some more prayer... She's not done a poo since coming home which is obviously very painful for her as she is blocked up... If this doesn't sort itself naturally, I'll be having to hold a laxative pill up her bottom until it does(which believe me I don't want to do). This has been an ongoing problem for quite a while now, but we've not really had to experience the reality and see just how uncomfortable she is pretty much all day long.

She also has some reflux which is causing her some pain... It's mild which is good, but you can see that she's not happy about it. Like I said it would be great to pray for these as she has already been through so much.

Home sweet home!

Together at last

We've been praying, hoping, waiting, longing, dreaming, talking, blogging about this day and it has finally come. This morning Phoebe came home to us from Abbotsford hospital weighing 6lbs 2oz (2 days earlier than we had expected) . She is our living miracle, evidence of God's rich blessing on us, a testimony to his faithfulness, and we are so thankful that we finally start this chapter of our journey together as a family.

God has been remarkable throughout this hard season, and we've been so blessed by the people that have surrounded us to support and encourage us, pray for us, love us, feed us, house us, move us and just be all round great friends and family. We also owe a huge debt of thanks to all of the medical staff who have supported Phoebe over the past 11 weeks - you have all been incredible.

Just to show that God is interested in the details as well as the big stuff, Phoebe was released us on the same day our 1 month parking permit expired, saving us the extortionate parking fees for Sunday and Monday (Exactly the same thing happened when she left Vancouver)!!!

We're loving having Phoebe at home with us, and it feels like we can finally start life here in Canada together. We've got a long way to go with our little Phoebe, but at this stage we're just happy to be together.

Phoebe in her carseat

Home at last

Gracie and Phoebe watching TV together!

Big Phoebe Size Farts...

One last time...

Yesterday we did one last family visit to see Phoebe in Hospital; When we arrived, they had taken all monitors off, the tube out of her nose, and she was our 'normal' baby for the first time. We had a great time feeding & bathing, and Gracie simply adores her which is so nice to see. Here are a few photos...

Great News!

Today I went to the church 'moms' group for the first time in ages and took a break from dragging Gracie over to the hospital. We both had a great time; Gracie-playing with all the toys and children, and me; listening to a great woman talking about slowing our lives down. When I got home I had a message from the hospital so I called them back straight away and they gave me the amazing news that Phoebe is going to be discharged on Monday morning!

We are so excited by this news and are truly amazed at how Phoebe has pulled through the odds and will be coming home exactly 11 weeks after she was born...3 weeks before she was even due to arrive in this world! God is so faithful.

Another great thing to mention is that Phoebe had her hearing test and passed! She has normal hearing and they don't need to see her again.

The mad rush to do all the jobs I need to do before Monday is on!

6lb Sister!

It's official; Phoebe has now tripled her birthweight weighing in at 2724g (6lbs). She is just doing remarkably! On Friday she will 37 weeks gestation which is considered 'term' for a baby being born - she's is SO close to coming home. We just need prayer that she will continue to get her strength and energy up so that she can take all her feeds orally and that she has no desats.

Gracie had a great time with her this morning, and absolutely just absolutely adored her - this is so nice to see as they've had so little time together. This morning was the first time Gracie has had an unaided cuddle with her and they both loved it.

This evening we've had a great fun time playing settlers, eating chocolate and watching the Canucks (hockey team) win again with good friends Matt and Katie. Gracie made pizzas with daddy for us all...Adorable!

Gracie and Phoebe

The Chef working up her special 'saucy'

A family morning in Abbotsford

We like to go and see Phoebe as a family on a Friday morning; We are able to have some time together as a family which is just great. We try to round off our trip with a visit to 'Triple O's' which is a burger place! This morning we visited Phoebe and had a great time with her - Gracie really enjoyed her time with her and enjoyed having cuddles with her. Phoebe is now 5lbs 8oz so is well on her way to being 6lbs.

Cute Phoebe video

Day trip to Vancouver

Today I went with Phoebe to Vancouver for another eye appointment. We went by ambulance and Phoebe was allowed to travel in a car seat for the first time! I watched the exam (against the advice from staff) and it was terrible...it was worse than watching Jack Bauer on 24 interrogate a suspect! I won't go into to detail as it was just horrible..but the good news is that her damaged retinas (from the early exposure to oxygen) seem to be healing and they confirmed that she isn't blind and was very unlikely to become blind. She will need to go back for another appointment in two weeks time, and eventually will need annual check ups. They did say that there was a more likely chance she will need glasses but we are still praying for God's continuing and complete healing to her whole body. Paul is at the hospital this evening whilst I am enjoying a quiet night in alone...bliss!

Ready and waiting for our transport

Getting strapped in...Phoebe is there behind the paramedics hand!

Phoebe is known by the staff for her pose...hands out flat and in the air!

All set to go on the stretcher

Thanks for using Amazon!

We just wanted to say thanks to those of you who have started buying products from Amazon through the blog. We hope you're finding what you want!

Phoebe's Update...

Phoebe is continuing to do well; She now weighs 2466g (5lbs 7oz) which is huge in comparison to her 894g birth weight - It is almost like we have a different child. She is continuing to progress with her feeding and her breathing, and the doctors indicated on Monday that she could be home as early as 2 weeks time (from Monday gone) which isn't far away at all.

She is off for her 3rd eye test tomorrow; They found some moderate retina damage last week, so they will be keeping a close eye on her (pardon the pun) to see what sort of long term damage she will have. We're praying that they would completely heal - everything else has gone so well, so we should be able to see (another cheap pun) another miracle! Laura is going with Phoebe in the ambulance back to Vancouver for the day so she'll give a full update with the results.

Phoebe having a cuddle with Alyson