'Interesting' times for us. Firstly, great encouragement from the Doctors during a recent hospital check up for Jude.  They are very happy with his progress, and although we still need to be careful about infections, they are confident that he can develop normally. That leaves us slightly confused about our future - Phil is looking for work and we are trying hard to use this time together productively.  

The following is a copy of our Christmas newsletter:

Dear friends and family

It has been quite a year for us, with our plans and fears rarely keeping up with events. Our verse for the year is probably Proverbs 16.9: 'In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps'. Here are a few of our steps from the last year...

We came back to the UK in June, and Jude arrived five weeks early on 18^th July 2008. We were so grateful for the excellent NHS care and for so many people from around the world praying for us. This picture shows Evie meeting her little brother and realising that life will never be quite the same again!

What a change four months make – Jude is now three times the size and just starting on solid food. He has a problem with his bladder that prevented us from going back to Nepal, but he is otherwise developing brilliantly. He will continue to have regular scans to keep an eye on the condition.

Evie is growing into a fantastic daughter and a loving big sister, learning new things every day. One of our favourite Evie sayings is 'I am the best me in the world'!

We have really enjoyed this summer, settling back into life in the UK and spending time with family and friends while continuing to support INF. Jude had his first foreign holiday in September, when we drove over to the Netherlands for a family wedding.

Phil went back to Nepal in early November to hand over work and sort out our house. The picture on the left is the sign that greets visitors toKathmandu airport. It was a hectic couple of weeks and saying goodbye to friends was hard, but reinforced our decision to stay in the UK.

The chickens we were keeping in Nepal had been eaten by time Phil went back. Apparently they were ekdum meeto (very tasty) so at least the 4.00am alarm calls the rooster used to give us weren't in vain!!

Nepal is an incredibly beautiful country: this view of the Annapurna Himalayas towering over Pokhara and INF's Greenpastures hospital will always stay with us. We have a lot of friends there and would love to return.

Our future is still uncertain – Phil is looking for work and job applications have so far been mailed to Glasgow, Sydney and many places in between – but we are so grateful for what we have: family, friends and the knowledge that God has a plan for us!

Thank you so much for coming on this journey with us. Your prayers and support continue to mean a huge amount and the last two years have been a real blessing for us.

We hope that you have a peaceful Christmas and an exciting new year.

Love from us

peej

We are experiencing our first proper UK winter in three years (and Evie's first ever...!), and I am convinced that we are losing not just daylight. It seems that there are just not enough hours in the day any more, or maybe we are missing the slightly slower pace of life in Nepal. 

So, not much text, but here are few a pics we have taken recently...

We are all well. Phil is job hunting and still doing some INF work

Jude is developing brilliantly - he has even slept thought the night a couple of times recently. We go back to the hospital in a couple of weeks for more scans, but right now all is well - PTL! 

This is Evie's staged 'angry face'. They do get on really... 

As well mastering the potty, Evie's great leap forward has been the ability to lie down in the bath, making hairwashing much less of a battle!

The Morris' family plans have gone through a rapid re-think over the past month, and the header at the top of this blog will have to be changed... 

We are all well and Jude seems to be developing brilliantly, but he has a bladder condition that the doctors want to keep a close eye on, so for the moment we are UK residents once again. This has come as a shock and a disappointment to us, but we are confident that He has a plan fo us, and are now looking forward to settling down for a while.

Here are some recent pics...

Jude is the star of every show - very laid back and contented most of the time. Now able to hold his head up, look around and enjoy spending time with his big sister.

 

  

We have been having some fantastic weather, and have really enjoyed being close to the sea.

This was a walk along the beechfront last week - some bright sunshine and probably the last swim of the year... 

Evie is great fun as always, although often testing our parenting skills. Her comment today: 'you're not a real daddy, you're a monster'....  

Monsters in Petwork park...

...and a picnic near Arundel.

A day of celebration and thanksgiving in the Morris household today as Jude reached his O'st birthday - the day he was supposed to arrive! He is now 4 1/2 weeks old and doing brilliantly, putting on weight and staring to take note of what is going on around him.

Evie is also on good form: now speaking in long and complicated sentences, and very keen to help look after her little brother. We also managed to get her first bike at a car boot sale. To date, she is mostly a passenger, but bunnyhops and wheelies are not far off!

His health seems excellent - we go back to see a specialist next month to get his kidneys checked, but all seems to be well.

Here are few recent pics.













































We don't have a TV, bu Evie has discovered DVD's and Bob the Builder!













Jude with Grandad and Great Granny




















Evie helping to feed her brother

It has been a rollercoaster week, but with a great ending. Our little man was released from hospital last Friday and the Morris family are now coming to terms with being a foursome.

His name is Jude and he doing brilliantly: feeding, and most importantly peeing, regularly.

He will need regular check ups to make sure his kidneys are working, but the worries raised by previous scans have not materialised - a real answer to prayer.

Many thanks to all who prayed and have been in touch.

These are some pics from the last week:


















Elle, Evie and Jude at Southampton Hospital where we went for some tests.
















Evie checking up on her little brother while he gets a sun tan...













We were able to go for a picnic on the downs with both sets of Grandparents, plus uncle, aunt and cousin.
















































































Back home!

What a week!

As it says in Proverbs 16.9, In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Or as someone else put it, if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans!

After planning the next month in some detail, there was no keeping the little chap in and he arrived 5 weeks early after Elle had a c-section this morning. She and he are both doing really well, with early tests suggesting he is much healthier than feared.

We are so grateful to God and to so many around the world who prayed for us.


















































More details to follow...

It was a shock to see that just a month had passed since we last updated this page - it seems like a lot longer!!

There are some complications with Elle's pregnancy. We left Pokhara slightly early after scans showed a potential blockage in Bod's waterworks. We are very grateful for people praying all around the world and, ahead of further scans later this week, are quite relaxed, confident that He has a plan.

We are now back in the UK, staying with family and just loving being at 'home'. Although we have missed friends in Nepal, we are not missing the monsoon, and are getting very used to cool weather, blue skies, cars, the sea and cheese made not made from yaks milk!

Here are a few photos of what we have been up to.




















Evie is keen to learn to drive















Seagulls and sunsets

















Watermelon is available in England, but has probably travelled a bit further than the ones in Nepal


















Elle and Evie near Tintagel in Cornwall
















Family meal out in Port Isaac, Cornwall





















Evie and Esther


















A family portrait taken just before we left

















Gwynver beach in Cornwall