Back from Porthcawl

We've returned from a caravan in Porthcawl, just 40 minutes away. The caravan was organised by LATCH, provided by/in memory of Emyr Owen who passed away in 2009 (you can buy his children's story book online to help support LATCH). Being near home was important in our being able to go 'away' at all at this stage of Pads' illness. It allowed Ally to pop over to check things out (especially the heating!), make the beds, etc. There was less risk with the shorter journey itself and knowing we could 'abort' and return home easily if need be. We curtailed our time away, for various reasons, by traveling up on Easter Monday, coming back yesterday. Pads was reluctant to part with home comforts as we approached the time of departure but the caravan was roomy enough for him to have his own space, which he used almost as much as he would have at home. The caravan and its thin walls made it feel like we were more together.

More photos on Flickr.
Thankfully the week passed without incident. The weather was bright but cold, and colder still in the north-easterly breeze, so we made glad use of the caravan's efficient heating system. We kept things simple, relaxing with a book, game or DVD. Moli's been trying to put in 4 hours a day on GCSE revision too. On Wednesday the siblings shared a hot-tub at Ruth's. Just seconds from the beach, it is easy to imagine the place teeming with families on a warm summer's day. In contrast, following one of the stary nights we took a dawn walk on the sand. Removing my deck shoes to cross an especially wet patch I noticed each step made a sandy impression through a layer of thin ice! We topped off the holiday with a cinema trip on the way home at McArthur Glen, Bridgend. Just mentioning this topic in conversation outside his room was enough to arouse his excitement and he was up and dressed by 9am! To wile away the hours we wheeled him down to the Trecco Bay sea front. This was enjoyable if wearing, and he returned to bed until we left at 3pm.
Pads called for a 'melt' at 6:15 this morning and had another 3 in fairly quick succession. Each melt is enough to ease the pain for a while but this many cause him to become slightly uninhibited, often with comic effect (e.g. starting to whistle Christmas carols).

active until 5 - then splat

Moving towards the end of an active day, Pads has gone splat so I'm home babysitting-out the evening service. He's eaten fairly well today but still nothing like what he'd need to be safe without his night-time tube feed. After the morning service, one of the mums was amazed to see him drift into the crèche and start playing with the toddlers - he put it down to the tube. He's due to get more chemo tomorrow and they'll weigh him again at the end of the week. It will be amazing if he doesnt put some on this time. Last time (before the tube), he'd grown taller but still managed to become lighter!
Please pray for Mr Higham who's not been very well in the last week.
In a moment I'll dial up last Sunday evening's sermon and read a bit, but, for now, here's some holiday snaps...

back from Cromer

We arrive back from holidays in Cromer in better shape than we left. I kept my promise to rest my fingers. Pads gained strength and optimism, has truly accepted the feed tube - the benefits are very obvious. Bo learned to serve at badminton. Ash had to recover from 3 days with a high temperature before he and I made a new personal-best (47) at keepie-up with the beach ball in the pool. Moli enjoyed the food, female company, the telly and the pool. Pads was really quite active - he wandered around the Henry Blogg Museum, the Muckleburgh tank museum, played badminton, did jigsaws and was generally bright all week. They all enjoyed a turn at steering a boat along the Norfolk broads - not everyone enjoyed Bo's grasp of navigation!
One bit of telly that we stumbled upon in the week was the fascinating documentary about the Amish. Ephraim and Jesse Stoltzfus and their wives were 'saved' and their lives shone with love for Christ. Not only that, but when Ephraim's young daughter is diagnosed with leukemia, their reaction is typical of those who know that 'all things work together for good to those who love God' (Romans 8:28). The Telegraph review hardly does it justice. We were amazed at how this film got past the normal anti-Christian editing - rare it is to find an American Christian being portrayed positively on broadcast TV. It is still available on iPlayer but the clock's ticking...
Here's a photo or two of us on one of our walks along the coast (you can click on it to enlarge - I liked the way that the cloud and shoreline diverge):