THE KINGSLEY-SMITHS

Update on Phoebe

2009-12-20T04:39:00.002-08:00

Phoebe has now been in Musgrove Hospital in Taunton for 3 nights; She has Bronchiolitis, which is described here. She is in a stable condition and is simply in hospital to recover; They are hopeful that she will be home with us by Christmas Eve - she is in an oxygen box which is helping her with her breathing and she is taking most of her feeds by nasal gastric tube. They are keen to make her recover as easy as possible, hence all the support.

Meanwhile, Gracie is over the worst of Tonsilitis and is herself again which is great. We're holding up well, and look forward to all being back together for Christmas. Some photos...

Back where it all began...

2009-12-18T02:14:00.003-08:00

Sorry we've been out of contact for a long time. As you know we've been living down in Devon, and we didn't have an internet connection. Fortunately we had electricity for the last few weeks of our stay there, and I understand that they're hoping to go to colour down there any day now (everything is currently in black and white).

I will write a full update on what's been going on in the near future, but for now I wanted to bring you up to speed with where Phoebe is at; Phoebe has been quite sick this week with a very bad chesty cough, and has ben struggling with her breathing - we took her to see the GP on Tuesday and he sent her away saying that unless she was blue and floppy there was nothing that could be done.

We called NHS Direct last night as she seemed to be going downhill yesterday; she had been pretty unresponsive for most of the day and had no colour in her. They sent an ambulance for her immediately and she was taken to Musgrove Hospital in Taunton. She was kept overnight, and she is likely to be there for another night.

They believe she has bronchilitis which isn't too serious, but she's in an oxygen box, has a feeding tube up her nose again as she's not been keeping any food down. Laura is with her, and was up for most of the night while the doctors and nurses where in and out - I was at the hospital until gone 3am.

Meenwhile, I am now back at home with Gracie who also has the flu - she's not left the sofa now for 2 days (other than going to bed) and is sleeping LOTS! She's not eating and isn't in good spirits at all, but fortunately she is loving her new Peppa Pig DVD that she got for her birthday.

So bear us in your thoughts and prayers as it seems the year is ending in a similar manner to how it started. We're in good spirits, but this is the 2nd christmas on the trot that is being hijacked by ill health!

I'll keep you up to date via the blog, facebook and twitter.

Paul

Phoebe on Oxygen after arriving in the ambulance.

Where are you now?

2009-09-26T04:52:00.006-07:00

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

2009-08-16T11:27:00.008-07:00

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

2009-07-27T10:18:00.002-07:00

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!

2009-07-27T10:15:00.003-07:00

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

Our holiday in Shuswap Lake

2009-07-18T17:08:00.006-07:00

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...

2009-07-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-18T16:27:00.005-07:00

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

2009-07-18T16:12:00.003-07:00

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!

2009-07-12T19:41:00.003-07:00

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...

2009-06-20T09:24:00.003-07:00

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

2009-06-20T09:18:00.003-07:00

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

2009-05-29T08:25:00.005-07:00

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...

2009-05-22T15:20:00.002-07:00

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!

2009-05-18T17:22:00.007-07:00

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?

2009-05-09T21:06:00.004-07:00

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!

2009-04-18T13:57:00.005-07:00

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...

2009-04-07T19:13:00.004-07:00

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...

2009-03-31T20:19:00.004-07:00

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!

2009-03-30T08:20:00.002-07:00

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!

2009-03-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

Together at last

2009-03-28T21:34:00.005-07:00

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...

2009-03-28T21:32:00.001-07:00

One last time...

2009-03-28T21:20:00.003-07:00

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!

2009-03-26T12:42:00.004-07:00

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!

2009-03-24T22:12:00.004-07:00

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

2009-03-20T14:04:00.007-07:00

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

2009-03-20T14:02:00.002-07:00

Day trip to Vancouver

2009-03-19T19:08:00.002-07:00

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!

2009-03-18T22:46:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-03-18T22:31:00.003-07:00

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

Gracie loves the new house!

2009-03-18T22:17:00.006-07:00

So we've almost been in the house a week now and Gracie is having such a fun time with all her toys. One morning this week she decided to put all her dressing up on so she spent the day walking around the house in her sunglasses, upsy daisy outfit, and her fairy costume! She's also loving having steps in the kitchen so she can help Laura with the cooking and cleaning!

Gracie doing some washing up

Gracie emerging from her bedroom dressed as everything!

We're home!

2009-03-14T22:32:00.007-07:00

Well there is so much news really, and very little time to write! The real big news is that we moved into our house yesterday; 53 packages were unloaded into our house following a 10 month journey from New Zealand (via Bridgwater, Somerset). Having not had any of our possessions for almost a year, it was wonderful to finally unpack, and for the first time be 'home' since May 10th 2008. Photos and video to follow in the usual style!

Phoebe is doing incredibly still! She is taking more and more feeds from the bottle, and is also starting to breast feed. She took an entire feed from Laura this afternoon which was incredible. They are now increasing the number of feeds that she takes from the bottle as she is gaining strength and the stamina to be able to cope with it. So she's now weighing 2309g (5lbs 1oz) which is awesome; We're blown away by the progress she has made - she feels (and looks) so much like a real baby now. She had her second eye test yesterday and we are awaiting the results from that, so we'll let you know how she goes; They are wanting to see her again in a week, but that is all we know.

Gracie is on wonderful form; She is loving being in her own house and has played so beautifully the last 2 days - I think she is so happy to have all her toys back with her after such a long absence! It's so great to see her really thrive. Tomorrow Laura will walk to church for the first time (as we're now 5 minutes away) and I will lead worship at the 10:45 congregation for the first time - it's going to be a great day. As ever, here are some photos.

Gracie watching some TV while waiting for the furniture to arrive!

We're moving in!

2009-03-10T20:32:00.008-07:00

Today Paul went into Vancouver to clear our shipping through customs...it went through without a hitch and our stuff is getting delivered on Friday afternoon! We are feeling very excited that we will finally be in our own home (although living with John and Allyson since we've arrived here has been amazing). It's been almost a year since we have lived in our own home as a family and we feel ready to do so again! Thank you everyone for your prayers.

Both of our gorgeous girls are doing well. Gracie is just adorable at the moment and makes us laugh so much. She has recently started roll-playing with her toys and it is hysterical to listen in to see how she views the world; my favorite is when one of her animals falls on the floor and she says 'oh sweetheart' and gives them a big hug!

Gracie and I went into the hospital this morning and Gracie got to cuddle Phoebe for the first time which was lovely-it lasted for about 45 seconds-but it was still very sweet! The hospital have a free babysitting service for siblings of children in hospital, this is run by volunteers each weekday morning which we have been using. This has been amazing as one of my biggest problems is finding time to see Phoebe but not wanting to be away from Gracie for a long time, I can now go into see Phoebe and take Gracie with me which makes life a little bit easier!

Phoebe is still growing! She now weighs 4lb 10oz. Her weight gain has been so good that the dietitian came to see her and they have cut back on the HMF additive they give tiny babies...this is good news as it just brings us a small step closer to bringer her home! Her second eye exam is going to happen in the next few days. Phoebe will go on a little day trip back to Vancouver by ambulance for this as they don't have all the equipment at Abbortsord hospital.

We'll keep you posted with the results of the eye test in the next couple of days, and we'll get some photos of the new house once we've unpacked over the weekend. God is so faithful to us!

Gracie and I having a picnic at the hospital

Gracie has her first cuddle with Phoebe

What Church Looks Like!

2009-03-05T22:08:00.007-08:00

As I said earlier in the week I spoke at Church on Sunday morning; As I started the talk I took a photo of the church for you all to see - I'm sure you're keen to know what we've come to. It looks a little different as of today as we took all the pews out and put chairs in! The talk is available online now so take a listen if you want by following this link.

Have we sold out to Amazon?

2009-03-05T09:00:00.003-08:00

So you may be wondering if we've sold out to Amazon? In short, yes we have!

If you ever shop at amazon.co.uk, you can now shop through our blog! If you use the search box at the top right of our page, and then make a purchase in that visit, we will make a small referral fee. You pay no more, and we receive a percentage of Amazon's huge profit! If you spend over five pounds (can't find the symbol on my Canadian keyboard) you'll get free delivery, and your new book, DVD, or hedge trimmer (or pretty much anything) will be with you within a couple of days! You can't go wrong... Just click on a link!

Prayer point #1 answered!

2009-03-04T20:15:00.008-08:00

We want to thank everyone for their prayers over the past 24 hours. God is awesome and we weren't expecting Him to answer so quickly, but we called the hospital this afternoon and the nurse told us that Phoebe is out of the incubator and has graduated into a cot. We are so excited about this as it's another step towards being ready to coming home. She's still putting on weight which is fantastic. She put on another 53g today so is now weighing 1948g (4lbs 4oz).

Phoebe in her new Cot

Day 51 : Great Progress

2009-03-03T22:37:00.003-08:00

Well it's day 51 and Phoebe continues to make progress; Laura has just come back from visiting with Alyson and the reports are good. She is now weighing 1891g (4lbs 3oz) and is continuing to gain weight steadily.

It really does feel like we're on the home stretch, although we've got a number of hurdles to cross first. There are a number of things that Phoebe needs to achieve before she will be allowed to go home.

1) She has to graduate to a cot (she's still in an incubator); At the moment the incubator is set to a temperature to keep her warm so they are gradually reducing it until it is actually the room temperature; When she is comfortable at that level and still gaining weight etc they will put her into a cot and bundle her nicely in blankets like you would any old baby!

2) She has to go five days without any desats, braddies, or apnia; which means that she needs to be able to breathe completely and do it consistently without any dips; Obviously this is as much for our benefit as Phoebe's as we don't want to spend our life reminding her to breathe! She's still desaturating quite a bit at the moment, so pray that she'll get stronger (which she will with size).

3) She needs to be able to take all of her feeds by bottle or breast for a period of 48 hours. She is currently receiving almost all of her milk (precision pumped by Laura!) via the feeding tube in her nose. Laura is starting to breastfeed her now although it's really just getting phoebe used to the taste and sensation of latching on - it doesn't offer any nutritional benefit at this stage, but is really important for Phoebe to start to develop the swallowing/sucking/breathing reflexes, and is fantastic bonding.

So that's where we're at; Please pray that Phoebe continues to develop in the coming weeks. We also need prayer for our shipping as it's taking an eternity to arrive! I received an email to say that it won't arrive into Vancouver until the 9th, and we can't process any paperwork until after it arrives, so we could be looking at a week after that at least which is frustrating as by then we will have paid for a months rent and not even spent one night there (although I did take a wee there last week!). As ever here are a couple of photos for you.

Phoebe in a deep sleep

Me getting a cuddle with my baby girl

So much good news!

2009-03-01T13:59:00.004-08:00

This week we've been blown away by God's goodness! The new hospital is simply amazing and the staff are wonderful; The last 2 nights Phoebe has been looked after by a member of our congregation who is a nurse at the NICU there, and we met another lovely Christian nurse; Her husband had actually read about Phoebe on a prayer chain email that has obviously done the rounds at some point which was really encouraging, and very humbling.

We met Jen(the nurse) at church this morning and she gave us great news; Phoebe is now breathing completely on her own with no tubes or support at all; This is once again huge progress - they took her nasal prongs off yesterday afternoon and she has been coping pretty well. She is also now just 3 grams short of 4lbs which is incredible too - she has doubled her birth weight :-)

All in all, Phoebe is doing amazingly, and we are so thankful to God that he is in control of this situation.

This morning I spoke at church, and shared testimony and story from the past few months - I guess I'm biased, but I would recommend taking a listen here... The MP3 will be online I'm sure in the next couple of days. Below is the video that I played at the end of the service and of course some pictures!

Phoebe all cosy under her bunny

The characteristic 'Kingsley-Smith' double chin in great development!

Laura bathing Phoebe for the first time!

Pheobe's moved!!!

2009-02-24T23:56:00.004-08:00

Once again prayers have been answered! Phoebe was transfered this evening to Abbotsford Regional Hospital which is about 25 minutes away from us here in Langley (even closer once we move into our new house). Although we asked you to pray that she would be moved to Surrey, we had originally requested that she be moved to Abbotsford but were told that she wouldn't be well enough to transfer there.

So this is really fantastic that A. she got into our original choice, and B. that she is well enough to be accepted there. She is thriving, and seeing her this evening off her CPAP was so encouraging. She is really chuffing up and will be weighing 4lbs very soon hopefully.

The hospital is brand new (opened in August 08) so everything is state of the art and the facilities are phenomenal; We're so happy that Phoebe will spend the next 6-8 weeks here as it's such a lovely place to visit. The NICU is far more intimate with a maximum of 10 babies (as apposed to the 40+ so at BC Women's). We'll miss our friendly nurse Alyshia though from BC Women's - she was so great with Phoebe.

This afternoon there was the most stunning rainbow over Langley that reminded us once again of the Hope we have in God; When we first found out that Laura was pregnant with Phoebe I felt God speaking to me about Hope, and that our unborn child would be a sign of God's hope for us (at the time we were really in a tough place - homeless & unemployed). We always knew that if we had a baby girl her middle name would be hope.

Today has been significant for us; God reminding us of his promise, and the covenant I felt he made with me back in the summer in the UK that he would bring us hope.

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind...Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." Genesis 9: 12-16

The rainbow behind our house this evening...

Update on Phoebe - Six weeks old today...

2009-02-23T19:26:00.003-08:00

Good news once again; Phoebe is back off her CPAP! She was taken off her CPAP today after the nurses noticed that the prongs were aggravating her nose just a little too much - I agree with them, and the cap is giving her an awful conehead!

She is tolerating being off the CPAP brilliantly and has only had 1 minor desaturation which is good - she was able to get back to normal all by herself which is great too. Her increase in weight is certainly a key factor in her ongoing success - at yesterdays 'weigh in' she was pulling a mean 1645g (3lbs 9oz ish) gaining 40g on the day before; IT feels a little like we're on the 'anti' biggest loser, with huge celebration every time we hear she's gained (I'm guessing there won't be a $1,000,000 prize either if she wins!)

Over the last 2 weeks Phoebe has had some loose stools which the doctors are really wracking their brains over; They don't really know what is causing them, so they are eliminating the additives to her milk one by one - we'll keep you posted, although today her stool was a little more 'substantial' which is definitely something to get excited about!

Tomorrow she will be having an eye exam and we should know the results straight away; We're feeling confident as she does seem to be able to look at us and is interested in us even if she can't necessarily focus on us. I'm guessing she'll only be able to read the top line of the chart though!!!

We're still waiting on news of a transfer - we'd love for them to send her to Surrey Memorial hospital, but they are always full for some reason so it's just a case of waiting. We'd really appreciate your prayers on this.

There is also the chance that if things go well this week she will graduate from the isolette into a crib (cot) which would be such great progress. There are a number of factors that determine this, but essentially it is dependent on Phoebe being able to regulate her body heat. We're excited about this, as it feels like one step closer to normality.

In all, we've got SO much to be thankful for. Although we take each day as it comes on this rollercoaster, we praise God for all that he is doing in our life and in the life of Phoebe. I've been finding great encouragement in Psalm 139 and know that Phoebe is in the hands of our amazingly faithful and loving father.

Phoebe in an adorable little outfit sent by Esther

Laura taking Phoebe to the scales for the first time

Changing Phoebe's 'diaper'

Fun Weekend With Friends

2009-02-23T18:57:00.005-08:00

This weekend we enjoyed visits from far away friends. The weekend started with Laura meeting up with Hannah Douglas (Her best friend Esther's sister) and ended with spending a night and day with our good friend Rachel Harrison (from New Zealand). We took her up Mount Seymour for some beautiful sunshine, snow, fantastic views, and some hilarious sledding antics! If that wasn't fun enough, on Thursday I (Paul) went curling for the first time ever - I'll be a Canadian yet!

Rachel, Gracie & Laura

Laura, Rachel & Phoebe

Curling superstar!

Hannah meeting Phoebe for the first time

Phoebe's Clothes

2009-02-23T18:45:00.004-08:00

I think we said in a previous blog that Phoebe is now wearing clothes which is just adorable, especially as we can put her in some of the smaller outfits that have been given to us. So many people have said to us that Phoebe looks so big and they can't get any perspective on how small she actually is, so here is a photo of two outfits we've been given to give you all an idea of how small she actually is. The pink outfit on the left is sized for a newborn baby, the vest on the right is the size Phoebe is currently fitting into, although she is gaining weight so fast now, she'll be in the newborn size before we know it!

Phoebe back onto CPAP!

2009-02-18T21:58:00.004-08:00

So we expected that Phoebe would end up on CPAP again at somepoint, and on Sunday morning we received a call from the hospital to let us know that they were going to put her back on it that morning. While we were a little disapointed at first, it's been such a positive step for her as she has really been piling on the weight since! For the past 4-5 days she's consistently been putting on about 50g a day (2oz) so she is now weighing 1535g (3lbs 6oz). We're hopeful that this growth progress will continue as she is really starting to look more and more like a 'normal' baby.

Gracie went in again with Laura, and Bev (Our wonderful Children & Families Ministry Director) on Monday and they had a fun time together with Phoebe, as well as visiting a British restaurant for lunch - I was working so I missed the fun. I'm really enjoying work, and am getting stuck into meetings, vision and clusters! LEFC is a really awesome church, and I'm so happy (and privileged) to be a part of the team here - I'm preaching next Sunday, which hopefully will go well - apparently my English accent hugely stands in my favor!

It feels like Spring is on the way, although you can never be too sure but the clocks do change in 3 weeks so we'll be ever closer to summer! Here are some photos from Monday.

Phoebe, 5 weeks old!

Gracie and Phoebe

Bev & Phoebe

The weekend...

2009-02-15T20:36:00.007-08:00

We have had a lovely weekend together, playing football and basketball on the drive, going for walks and playing in the park. We also picked up the keys to our new home which is very exciting! We're hoping our shipping will arrive soon!

I (Laura) went to the hospital last night and had one of the best visits yet. I haven't held Phoebe in over a week because the doctors believed she had an infection and my visits were always timed badly (they don't like her to be handled that much). So when I arrived last night to be asked by the nurse if I would like a cuddle a jumped at the chance.

Phoebe has now wearing clothes as they are starting to adjust her incubator to room temperature which is another brilliant milestone. She has grown so much but is still too small to wear premature clothing and is in micro-premmie clothes, but I don't think she'll be in them for long as she now weighs 1395 grams and appears to be gaining a good amount every day. Because she is now wearing clothes I didn't hold her kangaroo style (skin to skin) as I have so far, but held like a 'normal' baby which felt wonderful and far more natural. This was also the first time I've held her without CPAP, so i was able to gaze lovingly at her for over an hour! She even opened her eyes and had a good look at me for a while as well. Here are a few photos from the weekend...

Gracie looking cute in her new top!

Phoebe with her eyes open

Holding Phoebe like a 'normal' baby

Friday...

2009-02-13T22:43:00.004-08:00

This morning we visited Phoebe together as a family; Friday is our only real opportunity to go together as a family as it's both time consuming traveling to and from the hospital, and Gracie doesn't last long looking into a plastic box!

We were fortunate to make it into the hospital in time for rounds (where the doctors, nurses and respiratory nurses talk about Phoebes progress). Phoebe seems to be doing really well (although she was being a little pickle for our visit (lots of alarms going off).

Anyhow, the doctors are now seriously considering a transfer to a more local hospital for us (well, within 30 minutes or so). She won't be able to transfer to Langley Memorial Hospital until 34 weeks at the earliest (Please pray that she is ready to transfer to Langley at 34 weeks - that would be amazing).

So she is currently at 31 weeks (had her 1 month birthday on Thursday) and is now weighing at 1325g which is very close to 3lbs. We're hoping that she'll be transfered within the coming week to either Royal Columbian Hospital (where Laura spent her week on bedrest), Surrey Memorial Hospital, or Abbotsford Regional Hospital; It will be dependent on who has a bed available for her.

In other news... We get the keys to our rented house tomorrow, although we can't move in until our furniture arrives :-( Our container is due to arrive in Montreal on the 26th Feb; From there it will come on a train to Vancouver (Which takes a week!) and will be transfered to our shipping company warehouse - then I have to clear customs with it. So please pray that this doesn't go on too long as we're paying rent on a house that we wont be living in. We're excited about moving in also, so want our stuff to arrive soon.

Gracie remains to be gorgeous... She is full of life and currently is very into playing football, watching Ice Hockey, and riding on her scooter! Thanks for all your prayers - keep them coming.

News update...

2009-02-11T10:57:00.002-08:00

Just a quick update....

Last night we got a phone call from the guy who's house we want to rent to say he is happy with our references and we can move in on Saturday! We now need prayer that our shipping arrives quickly (we expect it at the end of Feb) so that we can move in and make home!

I've also just called the hospital to find out how Phoebe is doing-they got the results of her blood cultures back and she is clear of infection-Praise the Lord!

On another great blessing...I may have a taker for the rest of my frozen milk!!!!

God is so good. Thank you all for your continued prayer.

Anyone for milk?!

2009-02-10T20:13:00.004-08:00

Since having Phoebe, I have needed to use a pump to express milk every three hours so to trick my body into thinking I'm feeding my baby and to produce enough milk to give for Phoebe's feeds. Apparently most mothers of premature baby's have trouble with producing milk as they are not with their babies and don't have the physical contact needed to stimulate hormones (or something like that!) Anyway... I am 'lucky'?! enough to have the opposite problem and have an enormous milk supply that I've been carefully labeling and freezing at the hospital and home. My storage allocation at the hospital ran out within two weeks and I have now filled the huge deep freeze at Alyson and John's!

The hospital encourages mothers with spare breastmilk to donate, so today I inquire about this but am told that I can't donate because I am British and may have mad cow disease! This is the most amusing thing i've heard in a while but I feel gutted I now have to chuck all the milk I pump day and night down the sink as well as a lot of the frozen milk. I could only bring myself to throw 7 of the 16 bags of frozen milk so if anyone is in need of breastmilk and isn't worried about me having mad cow disease, I'm giving it away!

Saying goodbye to 7 bags of milk!

CPAP is finally off!

2009-02-09T20:12:00.005-08:00

Well, it's taken a few more days than expected but I (Laura) went into the hospital yesterday morning to find Phoebe is finally off the CPAP! This is such a huge milestone for her and we can finally see our beautiful girl. On the downside her gorgeous strawberry blonde hair has been shaved in two different places as they needed to give her an IV as she has an infection and is back on antibiotics. They tried to get the IV into her scalp but failed twice and ended up putting it into her hand. They are not sure what the infection is but she has had loose stalls for a few days now so they wondering if the two problems are related.

I managed to be in for the doctors rounds this morning and they are happy with her progress and are restarting her feeds and finishing her antibiotics tonight which is great news. Phoebe has also moved rooms and is now in the intermediate nursery which is good progress; The room is far quieter which is great and there is far less of the bingbonging!

Paul is fully into work now and is sinking his teeth into his job there. We're hopeful that we've found a house (we're waiting on references) which is about 500 yards away from the church so Paul will be able to walk with no excuse or need for the car! It's also right by the city park, so location is ideal! Please pray that we'd get this house and that our shipping would come by the 28th as planned! As usual here are some photos...

Phoebe's strawberry blonde hair (and very dry back!)

Phoebe without the CPAP

CPAP Almost Off...

2009-02-03T21:50:00.003-08:00

We've just spoken to the nurse at the NICU and she surprised us by saying that they're hoping Phoebe will come off CPAP tomorrow; She has been on room air (the ordinary air we breathe which contains 21% oxygen) now for a couple of days (unbeknown to us) and they think she is capable of going alone as she is hardly having any support from the CPAP.

This is actually a really big deal... CPAP is totally invasive and it's really traumatic to see her on it even though we know it's a good thing. She has 2 prongs that go into her nostrils (stretching and pulling them as they do). The tube is held in place by the weird hat that she's wearing that is so tight that it leaves her face bruised and puffy when it comes off(We haven't blogged a picture of her looking like that as it isn't pleasant). Any movement she makes (which is quite a lot as she is very active) causes her pain as her movement is completely restricted by the CPAP cap.

We've watched them putting on the CPAP and taking it off and Phoebe really doesn't like it. You will notice in the last video a small section of Phoebe crying when they are arranging it for her. Suffice to say we'll be pleased to see it go from this perspective as well as from a developmental perspective.

We're really considering this to be huge breakthrough for Phoebe; When we spoke with the neonatologist on Friday, she didn't sound hopeful that Phoebe would make it off CPAP for quite a while yet, however the prayers look like they may have been answered (and why wouldn't they be). We need to continue praying that her breathing will continue to improve and that her lungs will continue to strengthen as she may be transfered to a closer hospital if she's doing well.

She is still having apnea episodes, but she just needs a little stimulation (a little rub of the back) and she starts breathing again. While this is totally common in premature babies, we still want to pray that she doesn't have these episodes, as it would be wonderful to keep defying what the doctors class as normal - she is after all our little living miracle.

Gracie has had a sick bug today and has been throwing up everywhere, so we're managing to maintain our 'one person sick' rule! Please pray that it's just a 24 hour bug and that Laura and I don't get it too.

As ever here is a little photo of our little Phoebe; Yesterday she wore her first pair of booties, knitted by Esther Grant... Thanks Esther, they are adorable (and TINY).

Phoebe's new booties!

Our little girl...

2009-02-01T20:06:00.005-08:00

One of the tough things about the situation with Phoebe is that we don't get to go see her everyday because it's quite a slow journey from Langley into Vancouver and very dependent on missing rush-hour. When we do go, we normally get to spend an hour or so with her so that time is very precious. Last night we had a lovely time with Phoebe, and Laura got to have a long hold with her again.

Phoebe has made a little bit of progress over the last couple of days. Her breathing is getting stronger which indicates she is responding to the caffeine and she has been having fewer apnia episodes. We had a rare moment yesterday when she had her CPAP off and her feeding tube out, and she almost looked like a normal term baby (but about quarter of the size!). She was looking far less distressed and bruised than the other night which is good.

Phoebe enjoying another cuddle with mummy

A brief moment without any tubes coming in or out

My big girls!

2009-02-01T16:41:00.004-08:00

So that the blog isn't completely Phoebetastic, here are a couple of shots of Gracie at the park yesterday. Gracie is on Fantastic form which is so wonderful; She seems to be thriving on Candian life and has even started to develop a little Canadian accent which is pretty cute! She is making some friends here which is really great, and she especially loves Taylor & Matthew who are the pastors children (she sings about them on a regular basis!)

The words to the song...

2009-02-01T09:04:00.002-08:00

Just to clear up any confusion. The words to the song sung in this video are as follows:

I love you,

You love me,

We're a happy family.

With a great big hug,

And a kiss from me to you;

Won't you say you love me too.

Gracie meets Phoebe for the first time!

2009-01-31T13:40:00.001-08:00

Phoebe... Day 18!

2009-01-30T22:19:00.004-08:00

This week has been a big week for the Kingsley-Smith Family... Julia (Paul's sister) got engaged to James last weekend, which we are HUGELY excited about. I (Paul) started work at LEFC on Tuesday, Phoebe had her first MRI scan (brain) on Wednesday, I played squash on Thursday (and my buttocks are killing as a result!) and today, Gracie met Phoebe for the first time.

Phoebe isn't doing as well as we'd expected this week; While she's putting on weight like an American at McDonalds (she now weighs 1135g (2lbs 8oz)) she is still really struggling with her breathing. She is still being supported by her C-PAP, and she is having Apnia episodes quite regularly which isn't good.

They don't feel she is in a position to come off C-PAP which is a real shame. They have her on a maximum caffeine dose which usually sorts this problem out, but in Phoebe's case it isn't, so they are all a bit confused about it although they think she may have some minor lung disease.

We really need prayer that she can get the strength in her lungs to fully breathe on her own... at present she wouldn't survive without the C-PAP even though she showed such promising signs over the last couple of weeks.

We are waiting to speak with the doctor in charge of the brain injury study, but his initial write up of Phoebe's scan indicates that there are no brain injuries although there are a couple of minor hemorrhages; Apparently there is nothing to be concerned about which is good news though.

We're exhausted by driving to and from Vancouver but slowly feel like we are developing a routine that might work for us. We're really praying that she will become more stable (and be able to breathe without C-PAP) so that she could be transfered to a more local hospital (30 Minutes away) so please pray with us. As ever, here are some photos.

Gracie and Laura washing up ready for Gracie to see Phoebe for the first time

'Rounds'; This is where the doctors and nurses discuss Phoebe's progress each morning

Our first family photo

This Weekend... Phoebe, Vancouver, New Friends!

2009-01-25T18:42:00.006-08:00

This weekend we headed into Vancouver on Friday night to stay with our new friends Jonny, Esther & Ruby... Strangely we've never met them before, even though we have a ton of friends in common from both New Zealand and the UK (Jonny used to work with Laura's brother Tom at St Mary's). It was lovely to join the dots and chat about our common lives in the UK and NZ!

The initial idea was that we'd hang out with them and use them as a base so we could spend more time with Phoebe over the weekend... The weekend didn't quite work as planned as Laura spent most of Saturday in bed sick (24 hour bug) at their house. This did however give me a chance to do a little bit of sightseeing with Laura's mum, Gracie and my trusty GPS!

We headed into Vancouver and cruised through Stanley Park, we headed up to Grouse Mountain where we took a cable car to the top, had a sleigh ride in the snow, and had a very (over priced) lunch in the lodge! We then came down the mountain and went to a beautiful little place called Deep Cove, which felt remarkably like the South Island of New Zealand.

I did manage to see Phoebe, and she is doing well. She has had a little blip this week with her body temperature dropping quite considerably on Friday; They aren't quite sure why it dropped, but she has managed to regulate herself again since; She is now wrapped up like a little bean! This temperature drop has affected her breathing and heart rate again so we'd love more prayer that this will completely normalize.

By midnight tonight she will be on her full feed which is fantastic news... She is still gaining weight and is now almost 1100g. They are adding HMF (Human Milk Fortifier) to her feeds to meet protein and mineral requirements for growth and they hope to take her IV out by tomorrow as she'll hopefully be finishing her antibiotics and her TPN (Total Perernteral Nutrition).

The Vancouver skyline from Stanley Park

Grandma and Gracie in Stanley Park

In the cable car on the way up Grouse

Gracie and a grizzly!

A stunning view of downtown Vancouver from our eatery!

Grandma and Gracie in the snow!

Daddy and Gracie on our sleigh ride!

The view up Grouse

Phoebe... 12 days old!

Our new friends, Esther, Jonny & Ruby

Kangaroo Care (in video)

2009-01-22T23:57:00.002-08:00

Here is a bit of video from our trip to the hospital this evening...(This is a shorter but higher quality version of the video we posted yesterday. The full version is still available on Youtube)

Growing Up...

2009-01-22T23:49:00.005-08:00

While we have a little 10 day old premmie who seems a long way off maturity, we also have an adorable 2 year old who gets older by the minute! Today we took her for her first haircut in a hairdresser and in honesty it felt a bit surreal. It doesn't seem like 2 minutes ago that we were willing her hair to grow, and now suddenly we are asking the hairdresser to take a couple of inches off... How time flies!

Before...

During...

After...

Kangaroo Care with Daddy

2009-01-22T23:22:00.005-08:00

Today was my first opportunity to hold Phoebe, and Laura was armed and ready with the camera to take some photos. I spent about an hour holding Phoebe against my chest in what they call 'Kangaroo Care'; It is supposedly very beneficial for premature baby's to receive this kind of contact with it's parents although I've not actually read up on why! I'll just have to take the doctors word for it at this stage. Phoebe appeared to be really relaxed throughout the entire hold, with her breathing, O2 saturations & heart rate remaining stable the whole time.

Phoebe really does seem to be doing well; We're still taking each day as it comes but she's obviously a fighter as so many have said... Hope to give you some more medical blurb soon!

Phoebe wrapped up before her Kangaroo Care

Some 'QT' with daddy!

3/4 of the family... Laura holding Phoebe's evening meal!

Our girls...

2009-01-21T21:20:00.003-08:00

After two of the longest and hardest weeks of our lives, things seem to be a bit brighter today! Last night Laura went to the hospital and held Phoebe for the first time; She had about 40 minutes of skin to skin contact with her which she absolutely loved. Although I wasn't there, Laura was amazed at just how small little Phoebe is when she's in your arms. I'll be having some time with her tomorrow, so I'll post from my perspective.

From a medical point of view, Phoebe appears to be doing really well. She is breathing on her own again (with the support of C-PAP) which is really good news, and she continues to gain weight, now sitting at 1064g. They are increasing the quantity and regularity of feeds every 12 hours, and she is loving Laura's 'Gold Top' milk!

Gracie is on brilliant form also... She's been very unsettled the past couple of weeks, but the last day or so has returned to her old self with lots of singing, laughter and some fantastic one liners!

It feels like even though we have a long road ahead of us, things are getting a little easier. We hope and pray this continues and that both of our gorgeous girls begin to thrive as we attempt to settle into life here in Canada.

Phoebe back on the C-PAP Hat, and thriving!

Gracie catching up with her favorite blogs

In other news...

2009-01-19T22:55:00.006-08:00

Between trips to the hospital we're starting to have a little bit of a life! Laura's mum is with us at the moment, and today we went out to do something fun for the first time in about 2 weeks! We went out to a little place called Fort Langley which is a pretty little town on the river, just north of Langley. Thought a few photos wouldn't go a miss!

The wonderful house that we're staying in...

Phoebe's into her second week!

2009-01-19T22:41:00.004-08:00

Phoebe continues to do really well and is now into her second week. Today she had the lines removed from her belly button which is great news; They discovered that she does have an infection in her blood, so along with a course of antibiotics this should help to clear it. She now has an IV in her hand, her respiratory tube in her mouth, and a feeding tube in her nose! Saying it like that makes it sound like a lot, but it feels SO much less than yesterday even! She had some more blood today which is also good I guess, although not sure what purpose it serves! You can never have too much blood though right?

She has gained some weight which is really good news - she's now weighing in at 1008g which isn't bad at all. We had a lovely visit with her this evening and were able to change her nappy, wash her eyes and mouth, and take her temperature; It's slowly feeling like Phoebe is actually our baby! I spent some lovely time sitting with her holding her hand and chatting to her - she opened her eyes in response which was very cute! She doesn't say much yet though. The 'tintle tintle' videos are a long way off yet!

Laura and I went to the doctors today too which was good - I've got antibiotics for bronchitis, and Laura still has the rattle in her chest... I've told her to stop eating Phoebe's toys. On a serious note, we could really use some prayer for our health as a family... It would be great to get rid of these minor ailments and return to full health.

Here are some photos from tonight; Phoebe's first ever 'tummy time'

Almost a week old...

2009-01-18T19:50:00.005-08:00

Phoebe will celebrate being alive for a week in little under 12 hours; SO much has happened in the last week, so I'll try to fill in some of the gaps that you have missed. Firstly it's important to say that a LOT can happen in a day in the NICU... one moment your tiny baby appears to be fighting with everything it has, and the next it is stable again and looking very content. As you can imagine this is a huge roller coaster for us emotionally, so please bear with me if I get details wrong, or miss them out completely!

Following Phoebe's blood loss, she has received a number of blood transfusions to keep her blood count up... We expect this to continue throughout her stay at the hospital so forgive me if we don't document it every time.

Within a couple of days in the NICU, Phoebe established her breathing brilliantly and was able to have her breathing tubes taken out and put on a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) which looks rather like a fighter pilot mask; This essentially gives a little pressure to the lungs, enabling Phoebe to initiate the breathing work herself.

This has been a fantastic step forward, although today she had her breathing lines put back in as they think that she had probably exhausted herself; It seems she was forgetting to breath so we're happy that they're giving her some assistance with it even though it feels a little like a step back. With that said, we expect that she'll have to make one step back to be able to take 2 steps forward; Once she builds up some energy again they'll return to the CPAP and she'll look like Maverick again!

Her blood pressure continues to sit at a normal level which is fantastic; They are confident that this should remain at a good level despite having a few moments where it has dipped - they are able to explain why it has gone down which is really good.

Following another ultrasound of her heart this morning, they are still confirming that the Ductus Arteriosis remains closed which is fantastic news; It is still quite possible that it will open again, but for the moment it doesn't look like it's an issue.

Phoebe's Platelet levels are still low, but they have noted a rise in these and they hope that they will continue to rise over the next couple of days.

Laura has been pumping milk every 3 hours for the past week, and will continue to do so until Phoebe actually comes home to us, and the great news is that within the last 24 hours she has started taking some milk through the feeding tube in her nose. They are giving her 1cc every 4 hours, which is like getting a tablespoon a day! She's not got a great appetite yet, but she's a K-S so I'm sure that will come.

The lines that go into her belly button will be removed in the next day or so, and they will replace those lines with a soft IV that will be able to stay in her arm or leg for a longer amount of time. Currently she receives a wonderful cocktail of drugs, fat, protein and goodness knows what else through these lines, so we're keen that she keeps this up in a different form.

Laura and I have had some really good times with her over the last week... Laura assisted with the change of a nappy on Friday, and took her temperature today. It's obviously hard coming to terms with not actually getting to hold our baby and not getting to take her home, but they think that Laura will be able to do some Kangaroo Care (Skin to Skin) within the week if things go well.

She really is a gorgeous little girl and we are SO proud that she is ours. She is a little fighter, and is already showing us that she's got something special about her. We are taking each day as it comes, and trying our best to remain positive about Phoebe whilst at the same time trying to settle into life in Langley, and look after Gracie. We're feeling very supported here which is fantastic and the church are being wonderful with us.

While this is a really tough time for us amid uncertainty, confusion and frustration we have really felt God looking after us over the last 2 weeks. Pheobe faces an uphill struggle as any 26 week old premmie does, but we're confident that God is on our side and will sustain her in this fight. We know that God has his massive hands surrounding her tiny body, and we know that his love is sufficient for all our pain and hurts when things haven't gone to our plan.

We're SO grateful for the HUGE support that we've received from our friends all around the world, and have felt so at peace knowing that people having been praying for us on every continent (bar antartica, but lets face it there's not really anyone there anyway!). We'd love your conitnued prayers as this is going to continue to be a huge strain emotionally and physically for all of us.

Phoebe is about 1hour away from us, so getting to see her is a mission in itself; We're already feeling the pressure of having to divide our time between 2 adorable girls, and we don't see this getting any easier in the future. Gracie is surviving, but not thriving... She is really missing her routine with Laura, and this is giving us all a lot of heatache and sleepless nights.

Thanks SO much for all your prayers, messages and emails... we hope to reply to them all in time, but please bear with us while we do! Lots of people have been asking for an address to send cards etc so if you fancy popping one in the post, you could send it to us at this address.

LEFC, 20719 - 48 Avenue, Langley, BC, Canada

From here on in, I will keep updates regular and to-the-point and will keep photos coming regularly as we get new ones. So here's some photos for you... I know that's probably all you wanted!!!

Laura with Phoebe just hours after delivery

And me...

The overwhelming amount of support needed to sustain little Phoebe

Phoebe on day 2 - looking much perkier!

In her new permanent home... Bay 17 of the BC Womens NICU!

Phoebe and her CPAP and designer eye-wear!

Her name board... Still needs some artistic flare!

Phoebe receiving a cardiac ultrasound this morning

Phoebe in Timelapse

2009-01-18T19:43:00.003-08:00

Phoebe will probably spend much of the next three months in an isolette (incubator/clever plastic box) so I thought it might be fun to do a little timelapse video so you can see what goes on in there. This was about 30minutes in real time, and the nurses were doing some blood work on her; You'll see them prep her, take the blood, put some back, and then you'll see Laura's hand go in and calm her down once it's done... It's actually quite amazing to watch in real time, but fun to watch it in 2 minutes too.

The Arrival of Phoebe Hope Kingsley-Smith

2009-01-13T15:36:00.007-08:00

Phoebe Hope Kingsley-Smith was born on Monday 12th January at 4:40am weighing 894 grams (2lbs); She spent approximately 26 weeks and 2 days in Laura's womb which isn't enough, so was rushed (as expected) straight into the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).

They soon discovered that she had a very low blood count following a blood loss during delivery and they weren't too sure if this was a loss back to Laura (via the placenta) or to the brain or another internal bleed. She was put straight onto a respirator, antibiotics, and they put lines into her bellybutton to deliver various different drugs.

The doctors were very concerned about Phoebe in her first 24 hours as she had very low blood pressure, which was a huge concern as it could mean her vital organs being starved of oxygen... the long term effects of this could be very serious. Fortunately she responded well to durgs (Dopamine) and they were able to bring her blood pressure to a level that they are happy with.

Within the first 24 hours they also did an ultrasound of her brain to see if there was any bleeding there (which they didn't see any evidence of) and her heart; The ultrasound of her heart showed that she had Patent ductus arteriosus which is aparently very common in prem babies, and they advised us that this would either sort itself out, or would sort with a dose of Aspirin, OR surgery!

All in all, the doctors initial impression of Phoebe was that she was pretty poorly, although they were impressed at her size (she's definately got Laura's genes) and they think she's got some fight in her! There will be a video and some more updates coming very soon...

Phoebe minutes old, and in a plastic bag to keep warm

Phoebe's first respiratory tube

Phoebe on the weighing scales (less than a bag of flour)

A couple hours old... Getting comfortable in her new surroundings, and holding mummy's hand for the first time!

Although her legs are scrunched up, she's still only about 3 times the size of my blackberry!

A week long labour!

2009-01-10T17:05:00.002-08:00

On Sunday 4th January Laura was taken to Langley Hospital as it was suspected that she was in premature labour at 25 weeks. Following a couple of tests and exams, they confirmed that Laura was in labour, that she had started dilating, and that her membranes had ruptured.

They were able to give her some drugs to slow the labour down so that they could transfer her by ambulance to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, and they were able to give her the first of 2 'crucial' steroid injections to aid with the lung development of the little baby.

Following a pretty terrifying wait at hospital and many prayers, Laura's labour did stop, and she was admitted to hospital for long term bed rest. While in hospital, Laura sampled many different rooms, we had pizza delivered to the room, toured the NICU, and Laura was diagnosed with Pneumonia from a chest XRay.

On the Tuesday Laura had an ultrasound which showed that the baby was of healthy size, and we discovered that we were expecting a little baby girl which was great news for us. Laura spent a very relaxed week in Royal Columbia before being discharged the following Saturday afternoon (Which was amazing!).

The first of what would turn out to be 2 ambulance rides!

Ross, our friendly paramedic

Family time at Royal Columbian!

Yummy hospital food!

Laura's lovely private room!

And delicious take out pizza!

Laura and John leaving to go home

Gracie's first snow!

2009-01-04T16:43:00.000-08:00

Arriving in Canada

2009-01-04T16:28:00.002-08:00

We arrived in Canada in the cold and snow which was somewhat magical! Having not seen snow in any form for the last 3 years in New Zealand, it was very refreshing to arrive to piles of it everywhere. Gracie was very unsure at first, but she's taken to it now and has enjoyed her first snowman, sledding, snowballs and snow angels!

We on the other hand were in a poor state for our first few days, and I hardly remember opening my eyes to be honest with you... We're staying though in a fantastic house, and our hosts John & Alyson have been absolutely amazing; We had a great fun new years eve with them on our 2nd day, although we were in bed by 8:30!

Our arrival in Calgary (we ended up spending hours here delayed!)

Our first morning in Langley, and out in the snow!

The road we are staying on following fresh overnight snow

Gracie's first sledding

Gracie and Matthew (our pastors 2nd boy)

Leaving the UK

2008-12-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas came and went, and very soon we were turning our attention to our last days in the UK, and getting ready for our flights to Canada on the 29th. Laura's parents took us to the airport at a crazy hour of the morning and we set off on our adventure for a new life in Langley BC.

As you can imagine, traveling with a 2 year old is pretty exhausting and this journey was no exception... we were greeted at the airport in a state of near unconsciousness which lasted the best part of a week!!!

The car packed and ready to leave Alexandra Road

One last meal with the in-laws at Heathrow

Gracie providing a little light entertainment

Not even on the plane and we're changing clothes!

Laura & Gracie and their pull alongs!

Settled on the plane!

Christmas 2008!

2008-12-29T14:30:00.001-08:00

Christmas was a little bit of a haze this year... We started Christmas off on the the 23rd December by getting all of our shipping out of storage and into transit to travel to Canada; It was very straight forward which was nice!

This year, we spent Christmas in Devon with my (Paul) family and had a really fun time, although It was marred by an overnight stay in hospital for Laura, the flu for Gracie, and Pneumonia for Laura also... Not full health in our house. Regardless though, we had a great Christmas and loved some quality time with family.

The removal men taking everything we own for it's 2 month journey to Langley

Harry, Gracie & Matilda putting out milk for Santa
Uncle, inlaw, cousins, sister, nephew!

Christmas dinner... easily the best meal of the year

Uncle Paul and Annabel

Out and about at Christmas...

2008-12-22T22:48:00.004-08:00

It's been a busy December for us this year; We've been dashing around the country saying goodbyes, packing up for our move, finishing work, and getting ready for Christmas. We probably wont choose to move 4 days after Christmas again!!! Here are some snapshots of the past few weeks...

Gracie's new game... Bum cream on the face!Catching up with baby Annabel in Cheltenham

Spending some lovely QT with my gorgeous sister Rosie

Tilda & Bobo showing Gracie how to jump off the sofa in style!

Laura and her gorgeous sister Steffi in London

Gracie at her Christmas party

Gracie is 2!

2008-12-10T22:59:00.000-08:00

On the 10th December Gracie turned 2 years old; It seems a little weird saying that we have a 2 year old, but we're getting used to it! She got some lovely cards and presents which she is loving playing with. Here are a couple of photos from the day.

Gracie in her new Upsy Daisy costume!

Gracie in her new chef's hat and new dress!

A low impact 2nd birthday tea with Lucy, Al, Daniel, Kate & Drew...

So where exactly are we going?

2008-12-08T08:05:00.004-08:00

View Larger Map

Baby 'Mumble'

2008-12-07T12:02:00.004-08:00

Laura is now 21 weeks pregnant, and we've affectionately nicknamed the incoming 'Baby Mumble' as it spends most of it's time dancing in the womb like Mumble from Happy Feet (Gracie's favorite film). This is the photo from Laura's 20 week scan - all is healthy which is great! We're working hard to produce a baby on every continent - this one will be a Canadian!

We're moving to Canada...

2008-12-07T11:36:00.002-08:00

We've tried as hard as we can to keep this under wraps, but with only 3 weeks until we fly we thought we should make our news 'official'. Following our week long visit to Langley, I (Paul) was offered the job of Associate Pastor at Langley Evangelical Free Church which is an awesome church in Langley, British Columbia. We're excited to finally know where God wants us to be after a long summer, and appreciate the prayers of all those who have taken the time to do so!

The church feels very similar to what we have been used to and we really felt at home there. Darren, who leads the church is a fantastic leader and I'm really looking forward to working alongside him and the rest of the staff team!

So in three weeks time, the Kingsley-Smith family will be moving to Canada for another adventure, and what is sure to be a fantastic journey; I officially start work mid January so we'll get a couple of weeks to settle in and enjoy the local area, including hopefully making use of the local mountains!

As ever, we appreciate your prayers as this is a huge move for us, and as always we'll keep you updated on the blog!

Our Trip to Canada...

2008-12-07T11:22:00.005-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Laura and I made a visit to Langley BC, which is a small city about 45 minutes outside of downtown Vancouver (Canada). We left Gracie at home for the week with Grandma and Grandpa, and went off on a fact finding mission and for me (Paul) to interview for a job at LEFC; a really fantastic church in downtown Langley. We had a great fun week making friends, seeing a little of the local sights, playing settlers (lots!) and having a brilliant time getting to know some of the guys at the church. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Two of our new friends Katie & Darla, outside Laura's new favorite donut and tea stop!

Laura and Katie in 'The Ice Cream Factory', where they sell over 200 flavors of ice cream!

Absolutely vile! Believe me I tried!

The river at Fort Langley

Laura sporting a new Canadian hair do!

Matt & Katie our fantastic hosts, and new friends!

The boats at Whiterock (about 15 minutes from Langley)

Matt and Paul keeping warm in Stanley Park in a gale!!!

Dinner out in Vancouver with Matt & Katie, and Darren & Wendy

November Update...

2008-11-24T12:39:00.005-08:00

The last month has been as busy as any other this year; We've had a couple of great weekends at the Cottage, Bridgwater Carnival, and a week in Canada (Which we'll blog about soon) and I've been busy at work! Here are a few photos from our trips to Devon...

What's funnier than one person on a moped? 2 people on a moped!

Bridgwater Carnival...

2008-11-24T12:29:00.005-08:00

One of the highlights of the Bridgwater calendar, is the infamous annual Carnival; For those of you who have had the pleasure of driving into Bridgwater, you'll note that on the signs it reads "Welcome to Bridgwater, home of Carnival".

With that being said, expectations are high each year for a spectacular display of engineering, illuminations, and truck loads (literally) of overweight (definitely) and completely talentless (without doubt) Bridgy girls and boys dancing on what can only be described at Bridgwater's response to global warming!

It's a great fun night though, and I have said to Laura that despite my relative lack of enthusiasm about it, I do believe that everyone should try to see one (and only one) Bridgwater Carnival in their life. Here are some photos and a video!

More Singing...

2008-10-16T09:11:00.001-07:00

An Update...

2008-10-16T08:01:00.008-07:00

Well once again we've left far too long between blog posts; We've had plenty to blog about but not the time to actually blog!!! We've been busy in the past month. We had a trip to Bristol Zoo for our nephew Daniels birthday, we took Gracie to Weston Super Mere where she had her first donkey ride. Gracie also experienced her first ever Fair, which she loved. Laura and I attended a 1920's them murder mystery party with Tom & Esther, at which I won a prize for the best dressed male!!! I've also started a new job, working as a LSA in a PRU with children that have been excluded from school.

And Laura's pregnant! Due in April...

Here are a few photos from the last month.

The family at Bristol Zoo

Grandpa being eaten at Weston

Gracie playing in the sand (mud) at Weston

Gracie's first Donkey ride

More fun in the bath!

Gracie's first fairground ride

Aunty Bug and Gracie at Emily's memorial tea

Gracie getting stuck into Marks Gospel

Lord & Lady Sheraton

Lord & Lady Ritz

Out for a walk in the woods

The Tour Comes to Town...

2008-09-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

I think I've been accused of saying that nothing ever happens in Bridgwater... Well today it turns out I'm wrong; Today the Tour of Britain hurtled past the pub at the end of our road for Stage 3 of the 8 day race.

We stood out to cheer them along, and to try and get a glimpse of our Olympic heroes Wiggins and Thomas - of course they were cycling too fast to spot, and quite frankly they all look the same to the untrained eye! We had a lot of fun though anticipating when they might arrive, and even got a bit of video of the Pelaton flying past!

Police blocked all the roads to ensure a clear path

The leaders coming past 10 minutes ahead of the Pelaton

The Second group

The 185km Stage 3 map

The Tour in Bridgwater (Video)

2008-09-09T09:37:00.001-07:00

Another weekend away...

2008-09-09T08:51:00.004-07:00

Another weekend, another trip away! This time back up to Paul's parents for the baptism of some friends children - we had a lovely time with family and friends, and took the opportunity to visit Whipsnade Zoo which was fantastic; Gracie loved the animals, in particular the Giraffes and Lions!

Granny, Gracie & Annabel

Gracie, Daddy & A Lima (Gracie was desperate to pull his tale!)

A bundle of Limas getting ready for winter!

A European brown bear - very cuddly!

Lovelace?

A very big Giraffe!

August

2008-09-04T08:04:00.009-07:00

Well August has been a fun month... So much has happened, and suddenly we find ourselves in September! We were excited to find the Christmas decorations on display in Debenhams this morning; A sign that the festive season is just around the corner (well it's 3 months away!)

We've had more great time with family and friends - a lovely weekend with the Amess clan, a weekend in Croxley Green with Paul's parents, plenty of fun in Bridgwater with uncle Tom, and Paul spent a couple of days with Chris in Dorset! Here are a few photos for you.

Uncle Paul with Matilda, Harry, 'Anbels' & Gracie

Gracie and 'Anbels'

Gracie the wizard!

Harry, Gracie & Matilda

Gracie among the flowers

Tree Hugger

Chris and Harry's Rocks

Bournemouth Beach

The Windsurfers in Bournemouth

Bournemouth Beach - Could almost be New Zealand!

A Bit of Singing

2008-09-04T07:32:00.000-07:00