'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