Our Family & Our Life

Dear Diary, The arrival of Isla Jennifer Black took place this Lord's Day 17th Feb 2008 at 10.20am. She weighed in at a mere 5lbs 4ozs, but mother always told me good goods arrive in small bulk. That's all for now......... The Black Family..

Dear Diary, As I mentioned yesterday, we went for a drive and walk around the coast at Ballygalley. It was a lovely afternoon, warm at 11 degrees but more importantly, no rain. Here are a few photos.... The above photo is of Stephen McIlwain and his two sons who we met on the beach. Stephen's family also attend our church and as you can see youngest son Ben is a bit of John Deere fan. Everything about him is John Deere right down to the baseball cap!!!! Too cute. There is a retriever in the above photo and the last time we checked he was half way to Scotland. This silly dog kept going and going and going, much like the Engerizer Bunny! Who said there were no polar bears in Northern Ireland?!?? I was contemplating life or was I watching the dog swim by? Hopefully the last photo of just the two of us!!! Yes, I wear Colin's oversized sweaters since not much else fits! 'Til next time, Heather and Colin

Dear Diary, Are we there yet? That's what I am starting to ask myself everyday but so far the answer is a resounding NO. Oh well, I waddle my way on through the day. I've been home on maternity leave now for two weeks and surprisingly, I'm not that bored yet. Alot of sitting around in order to get the blood pressure down, which has worked by the way, but the days are going remarkedly quickly. I make sure I go somewhere everyday and do a few things around the house just to ensure I don't feel too lazy and I'm still earning my keep! Colin had Friday off work and we did a bit of shopping for a chest of drawers for the baby and a few other things around the house like lights to replace the hanging light bulbs (thankfully there are no Schoons here as that could've proved dangerous to their heads). It's been put together and the nursery/office/guest room is becoming more baby friendly every day. By the end of this week, even if she came a bit early, we would even

Dear Diary, I found this poem on the internet and thought it must capture what every expectant mother feels and thinks.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Gift -Bujayjay- I wonder if you ever dreamed… About me and the world unrevealed I wonder if you ever smiled… Whenever I talk to you from the outside I feel butterflies within… Is that you that I am feeling? I feel happy when you do that… Now let’s see, what else do you have? Every night I want to dream of you… Hold your face and kiss you Feel your soft skin and smell it… Give you a hug and tickle your feet That is real enough for me… To see you in my dreams and hold you tenderly However, I still can’t wait to see… My precious little gift… my baby. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I can't believe I am counting down the days already! It seems only like yesterday that I had an idea that I could be pregnant and here we are, 35 days to go! We are both excited and anticipation is growing daily especially now that I am home on maternity leave.

Dear Diary, By now 2008 has entered with a bang, quite literally around the world, in fact the City of London spent a cool £1 million on fireworks alone which is ridiculous if you ask me but that is another story. Colin and I have both returned to work today after the holidays and it's a good thing traffic was really light or else I would've been late. Colin thought he was going to Londonderry to start a new installation but the plans changed and he was told to go to Galway instead. Since he didn't expect to go and we were already half way to Belfast when he got the call to go, he didn't have an overnight bag to take with him. Being a man, all he needed was a new pair of knickers and socks and hey, why not wear the same clothes for a second day!! I can't imagine it but whatever, it doesn't bother him. I have 12 working days left before I start maternity leave on 21st January. I had a little freak out a couple of nights ago about this and Colin just smiled and tu

Dear Diary, Merry Christmas! We wish our family and friends, wherever they may be, God's abundant blessings in 2008!

Dear Diary, I had a request from Marg to get some pictures of Heather. As the 'bump' has been growing, the folks back home in Canada wanted to see how Heather looks. So we got the camera out, applied the makeup and these are the results.. Heather by herself.......... and with me.......... Things are good, Heather still feels tired, but that's easily sorted by some extra naps..We hope you're all well and wish you God's richest blessing for Christmas and 2008... Love, Colin, Heather and baby...

Dear Diary, It's been a while since my last post. I guess I was waiting for something exciting to happen and nothing did. Take that as a good thing. We've keeping up busy working and just doing ordinary stuff. The pregnancy has been progressing well. I'm still plagued with fatigue but that's normal for me. This past week I went for my 28 week check up and received the Anti-D jab in my arm because my blood type is O Rh negative and Colin is A Rh+. I have added a link for more information because I really can't explain it very well. The baby was scanned and she looks great, her little heart is beating a mile a minute but right now she is lying transverse albeit loads of time to move into the right position. I know she is already a good little girl and will do as she has been told 'cause her mommy really doesn't want surgery!!! Colin's word of advice "Don't worry, it'll be fiine". I think I heard that before but I have to get back on my g