Bed Push…Grand Total!
Well the people of my local town really shone on Saturday, with their outstanding generosity to the appeal.
With many thanks to my very enthusiastic, and hard-working team of helpers (a few of whom who were not caught on camera), and a huge vote of appreciation to all who passed through the town, and gave so generously….we raised a fantastic £3,927…(which was then made up to £3,936!)
As if that wasn’t good enough…two individuals, separately, and unknown to each other, wanted us to reach the £4,000 mark! Resulting in a Grand Total of £4,075!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the manager of Tesco’s, Ballymoney, who gave permission to collect there, and our baby-sitters who looked after Jed and Kezia so well !
Looks like I’ll have to stretch my original target of £4,000! Fantastic!
Slieveanorra, Glendun and Glenshesk in the Snow
On Friday 1st Feb, in the middle of the night, we had a good fall of snow, so when we woke to prepare for our training walk that Saturday, we were greeted by a crisp, white blanket.
Many times I have thought that it would be beautiful, to walk the hills in the snow, and now was our chance! It was also a chance to try some snow-scene photography. The photographers among you will know that it can be tricky metering for a snow scene, and I certainly didn’t find it straightforward, but I enjoyed it all the same.
Hope you enjoy them, and feel free to comment (or criticize!) Please click on the thumbnails to view them larger, and click the Back button to return to here. 
The Morning of the Bed Push is Here!
Well, after feeling not a little nervousness, for the last few days….the day is here! This is my first major event, and I really want it to go well.
I got some encouragement from God this morning, when I read today’s daily reading, from a little calendar in our living room. I felt I should share it with you.
Isaiah ch 45 v 2&3
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
I will keep you posted!
Bed Push around Ballymoney!
This Saturday (23rd Feb) is the date arranged for my Bed Push around the streets of Ballymoney! Hopefully the weather will be fine for it, and the cause of the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice will be raised before the people of the Borough once more.
As I have said before, the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice is an extraordinary place, totally funded by public donation. It really does a wonderful work, not just for the patients, but for whole families. The way they took our other two children under their wing, entertaining and helping them, was fantastic…it really was a “Home from Home”. Lofty, the resident rabbit, is still remembered fondly!
If we can help raise public awareness, about the Hospice, while raising some money for them at the same time, we will have a successful day.
If any of you (the readers) are in the vicinity, please give us a wave, or honk your horn, to cheer us on! 
Keren’s week in SCBU
As we mentioned in the last post about Keren, she really seemed to be stabilizing quite well, early on in this week. Her feeds were increasing slowly, and she was able to breath better, with the oxygen being reduced to just a trickle. She was still in the incubator, but we were still able to take her out, and hold her for short times.
Jed and Kezia were still being looked after brilliantly, and we were still being supported, prayerfully, and practically, by our friends and family. It was wee Jed’s third birthday that Monday (he is nearly five now), and it was very difficult not being with him to celebrate it, but thankfully he was young enough not to miss us, at a wee party his Aunts had for him.
This memory is just coming to me now, but I remember having a routine, when I got into the car to drive to Antrim…I had to wire up my hands free headset, to my phone. I used this time to call family and friends, to keep them informed, and just to talk to someone who cared, I couldn’t have driven that thirty miles, with just my thoughts…it was so good to talk just then. I also knew it was good use of valuable time.
Mr Park, our minister, called again with Norman, one of the elders in our church, and we went to the hospital canteen for lunch, with them. This was a good time, and encouraging. We bowed our heads, and Norman prayed with us, and it was good to be reminded that we were very much in the prayers of God’s people around the country. God was still lovingly giving us a deep conviction that He was in control, and that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8 v 28
Six Days Old
On the Thursday of that week, with Keren being six days old, she was transferred to the Causeway Trust Hospital, as she was sufficiently stabilized to be out of the intensive care of the SCBU. This was brilliant news for us, as it meant we were so much closer to Jed and Kezia. Geraldine travelled down with me in the car, as Keren went down, by ambulance, accompanied by a doctor and nurse.
We were allocated two rooms, in the Children’s Ward. A side room for Keren, which had a bed in it, which we could use; and also a family room, where family and friends could visit, and we could have some privacy. We had use of kitchen facilities, which were great when we didn’t want to be too far away from Keren.
Keren seemed to have taken the journey in her stride, and all the staff thought she was so beautiful. They really made us feel at home, from the minute we arrived.
Previous…Our Wee Fighter
Next…Knocklayd, with a slight difference!
Flights Booked! Kilimanjaro here we come!
We have finally got the flights to Kilimanjaro booked!
Thanks to the tireless efforts of team member Stephen Fletcher, trying (and managing) to please everybody, and Lorna Henry, Travel Counsellor, from Ballymoney,we are now booked to fly out on the 1st November 2008, at 6:15am!
We fly from Belfast to Amsterdam, for a connecting flight with KLM direct to Kilimanjaro airport, arriving there at 20:55hrs.
This is some of the terrain that will greet us!