Northumbria

Well before the summer finally disappears, I have one more long overdue milestone to share and that is we actually had a holiday, the first in over four years!   We stayed in a cottage at Beadnell Bay but on the way  broke our journey in Hexham:

 

We had tea in Mrs Minnigans coffee house followed by a short walk to the Abbey, there we followed an excellent children's trail, Pip wrote a prayer for her daddy and I admired some beautiful tapestries, made by this textile artist  We had time for a quick ice-cream treat before completing the last leg of our journey. 

 

 

 

 



After a good night's sleep and a yummy breakfast, the kids and I made our way to the beach, which was quite literally a two minute walk from the house:

We examined rock pools, built sandcastles, found a water snail and left a beach mandala as a gift to the sea.  After lunch a Sunday nap was the order of the day, followed by outdoor play on the front lawn and a tea on the picnic bench.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Monday we visited Alnwick Gardens:

 

Benedict and Pip had a great time charging around the green space and paddling in the various mini rock pools.  The rose garden smelt divine and the serpent maze was a welcome oasis of shade from the blistering heat.  We saved the splash park until last and it was well worth the wait!  Once the kids had dried off we made our way to the café for a pot of tea and some gluten free cakes.  Despite having been on the go all day, B and P still managed to find the energy to run around the lawn just before bed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday we made a trip to Lindisfarne  it was not our best day, which was a real shame since it was the only place I had really set my heart on visiting; never mind it's an excuse for me to return before too long!

 

 





Our summer scrapbook was  very useful for documenting our days.  The Lindisfarne centre was a hit with the kids; Benedict enjoyed pretending to be a Viking and Pip made a friendship with a retired teacher!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last visit before returning home was a trip to Bamburgh Castle:

 

This place was great value for money and had loads for us to see and do.  A children's quiz sheet had been thoughtfully constructed and for anyone with a disability, there was a DVD of those rooms which were inaccessible.  After lunch we made our way to the smaller museum housing various  inventions courtesy of Lord Armstrong, followed by a mini dig in the children's archaeological pit!  From our seated position we could observe various archaeology students working on a full scale excavation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Memories!



Achievements

With all the chaos of these past few weeks, I failed to document some important milestones within the family, but working on the premise "better late than never", a worthy achievement was reached and duly recognised on Friday July 12th this year.

Sara was awarded First Prize and The Milburn Cup in recognition as an outstanding student.  We thought the prize was in relation to the horticulture department, but in fact it was against all the other graduating students in her year, across all the departments!  Without a doubt it was well deserved as she gained distinction grades in all her assignments and modules throughout the two year course, her final mark was a triple distinction star, which amounts to three grade A* at A'level.  These marks have assured her a place at Sheffield University to study Landscape Architecture.

This was her official photograph as posted on the college website.

 

 

This past week both Sara and I have been planning a student budget, hunting out the best places to shop and road testing student grub!  All delicious I might add and definitely within a budget, our favourite economy gastronomy site that is non student based, but a true inspiration is this place.



Hyning Monastery

We visited here this morning.  We had hoped to attend our local church over the hill, but a combination of health issues and the clock ticking meant otherwise.  The sisters at Hyning who follow the Rule of St Benedict, were very welcoming since  all guests are to be greeted as if Christ himself were awaiting at the door.  I for one was in great need of some peace and quiet as the events of this past year have taken its toll and my spirit has been laid low for some time.

  The kids were very quiet in the chapel, we spent twenty minutes in silence, Benedict read some of the prayer book and Pip gazed at the icons dotted around an otherwise sparsely converted barn.  At twelve o'clock we joined the community for the noon time office of prayers.  Upon leaving we were handed a bagful of delicious tomatoes, our own crop having failed due to inadequate watering, they made tasty sandwiches for lunch!

After lunch Pip and I decorated two large church candles, which were originally intended as part of an Easter project, but a grand-baby's arrival put paid to all sorts of planned activities!  We left them to dry on the outside table and spent the rest of the afternoon building jigsaws and playing board games.  Dave made a yummy chilli for lunch and Benedict played with Lego.

Psalm 147 v 3 "He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds"  This quote from scripture has been running around and around in my head today and at the days end, I can look back and see His healing hand in my present circumstances.  His love is faithful and never ending.

River Fun and The Fig Tree

This afternoon Sara, Benedict, Pip and I met with Debs and her boys.  We visited our favourite fair trade town but this time we headed for the river with towels, nets and high spirits:

This cheeky face is usually a pretty good indicator that a hypo is in full swing!  Needless to say at least two of the kids ended up in the river clothing and all ... they shall remain nameless ... hmm, cannot for the life of me think who they might be!!

 

Once dried off we headed to the information centre and recently opened Fig Tree Café:

 

 

Chocolate for Benedict.

 

 

 



Strawberry for Pip.

 

 

 

Fairtrade information display at the bottom end of the seating area.

 

 

Words of Wisdom.

 

 

Beautiful Blooms.

 

 

We'll no doubt be back here before too long!

 

















Sports Reach

Benedict took part in a soccer camp this week organised by these folks.  He attended Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 6 pm until 9 pm.  We shared the driving and diabetes supervision with our dear friend Peter John.  He has agreed to be an honorary uncle to the kids and in particular a mentor and friend to Benedict. As Benedict is growing up I can see that he needs other male influences outside of the home environment and PJ fits the bill.

Today Benedict took part in the soccer warm ups in the morning and the world cup matches this afternoon:

Listening Hard.

 

 

Blocking a goal.

 

 

Pip watching with Peter John.

 

 

"Pip this is football not rugby!!"

 

 

 

Pip overjoyed to see Jan one of the preschool leaders, it was huge hugs and smiles all round!

 

 

Barbecue Buns.  These were most welcomed, especially by Benedict since he was having his fifth hypo of the afternoon and by this point was feeling thoroughly ghastly!

 

 

Glorious Grub on A Fab Fun Day.



Bolton Abbey

It was a rare occasion that just me, Dave and Pip ventured forth on a journey and our destination was this place.  I had wanted to visit here for some time and we were not disappointed:

 

Eating an all important ice lolly at the start of our journey ~ it was a baking hot day!

 

 

Beautiful Scenery.

 

 

Stopping for a rest.

 

 

This place looks interesting ...

 

 

... a deer and a ...

 

 

... a dog and ...

 

 

... a rustic looking bird house.

 

 

The wood carving business is known as Flying Shavings and it was lovely to see the site nestled discreetly in the scenery.  Once we reached the end of the track we found a shady place to stop and have our picnic:

 

 

 

 

Pip collected a Pip sized fallen branch that made an ideal walking stick. We remembered the story told to us by our dear friend Peter John and the woodcutter in the Welsh forest who carved walking sticks for those in need.  Once we arrived back at the visitor centre Pip had her much promised bounce on the bouncy castle and I took in the magnificent views:

 

 

A happy day was had by one and all!











We're All Going On A Great British Summer Holiday

It was Pip's end of year show for preschool and the theme was the title listed above, so we had, getting ready for the journey with:

Then there was a quick scrabble to collect all the belongings and board the preschool bus, to the backing track of:

 

 



 

 

When they arrived at their destination, they each had to find a tent!

 

 



 

 

They then went surfing with The Beach Boys before dashing for their umbrellas and singing in the rain with Gene Kelly!  Seeing the staff and kids having so much was a joy to behold.

 

 

We were then treated to a PowerPoint presentation of their achievements this past year and it was truly wonderful to see the kids in action, during a typical preschool day.  I know from the weekly newsletters that such a lot was accomplished each week but to see it in pictures really hit home how hard the staff worked, in creating a fun learning environment for the children.  The children each received a lovely named PE bag and a graduation certificate as a remembrance of their time at preschool.

 

 

 



 

 



 

 

 



Gratitude Sunday :: An Unforgetable Week

Once again I'm joining in with Taryn and friends and I have a lot to be thankful for this week:

On Tuesday it was Benedict's tenth birthday ... double digits, where did the time go?  It only seems like yesterday, that I was calling the labour unit to contact my midwife.

On that very same day, my mum made a call which I thought was to wish a Happy Birthday, but very quickly I realised this was not the case and Dave had the onerous job of telling me that my Dad had been airlifted to Blackpool Coronary Care Unit, following a massive heart attack.  He was playing bowls at the time and apparently went drip white and keeled over.  I am so grateful that an opposing team player knew how to administer CPR, he saved my dad's life and kept him going until the paramedics arrived.

Immediately after my mum's call I jumped into the car and made the three hour round trip to collect her and bring her back to our house, whilst we waited for my brother to pick her up and take her to his house in Lytham, which is twenty minutes from the hospital.  Despite my having been in chronic pain earlier that day, the adrenaline kicked in and I was able to step up to the challenge as needed.

Wednesday saw me driving on the motorway again, so that we could all visit my Dad on the CCU.  Benedict and Pip coped really well with the situation and it was good to see my Dad managing to share a joke with them.

On Friday I was Gracie minding all day as Kathryn collapsed with some sort of flu like virus, I kept her entertained and nappy changed and took her to mummy when she needed feeding.  Despite all the chaos around us that precious wee babe is a balm for any weary soul and her smiles, chatterings and giggles brighten the darkest days, I am so grateful to be her grandma.

On Saturday Benedict's pump failed again, arggh!!  The motor packed in just as I was instigating a set change, so we were on auto pilot ringing medtronic in America to arrange a replacement via courier as well as sorting a back up system with the insulin pens.  Poor Benedict had to miss his planned birthday treat to the megazone, but we hastily arranged an afternoon with our friends and all was well.

So grateful for my lovely friend Debs, organising a birthday cake for Benedict on that Saturday afternoon, complete with candles and a Sparkler letter B, which was impossible to blow out!  With a bit of luck I'll eventually post a video of him and the cake as well as the few random pictures from his rather eventful birth day.

We've been up and down the motorway again today to visit Dad.  He's had varous tests and is awaiting heart by-pass surgery; he sees the surgeon tomorrow.  He's in good spirits but I know we'll all be glad once he's sorted.

I have more driving ahead of me this next week.  Benedict has a trip to Leeds for a diabetic appointment and Kath, Gracie and I will hopefully be in Cumbria on Wednesday, packing up her belongings as the two of them are coming home to roost!!  God knew what he was doing when that conservatory went in as the downstairs front room as from next week will be their room.  If I remember, I'll do a before and after shot.  Just think we get to have snuggles with this little miss cutie pie on a daily basis:

Yay for Ergo's, she was on my back when this shot was taken, courtesy of Kath's i-phone.  I mean , look at that adorable face, how can any of us be down with her around?!!

 

Gracie Boo we love you to the moon and back.

Ten Today

Benedict hit double digits today.  Ollie and Bela came for tea and the kids cooked on Benedict's birthday present from us, a fire bowl from Myriad.  It will be a birthday we will never forget as my Dad had a massive heart attack, whilst playing in a bowls match and nearly died.  Thanks to CPR administered by another team member and the skill of the paramedics and nursing staff he pulled through:

 

Opening the present.

 

 

"Exactly what does this do?!"

 

 

"Now that's looking more promising!"

 

 

Eating fire pit cooked corn on the cob, nachos dips, garlic bread and salad.

 

 

Happy Birthday Benedict.



First Communion

Benedict finally made a right of passage today and received Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.  It was a quiet family affair during a mid week mass and afterwards Father Jim gave him a certificate to remember his special day: