Our Family & Our Life

Dear Diary, Well, people have been asking about an update to Colin's trip to Denver. He was very pleased and the possibility of us moving to the US is looking more and more likely but still nothing has been confirmed. While at the trade show, amongst other interested taxi companys (even some in Canada) there was an interested firm of taxi's in Manhattan wanting approx. 620 dataheads to be integrated with their current software. Also, one of the largest taxi firms in Denver (approx. 500 cars) is interested in Autocab and want to come to Manchester to try and seal a deal. Emails have gone out and phone calls have been made to the US but we are still waiting to hear if and when the Americans are coming. God is testing my patience but we are still optimistic! As for the pregnancy, all is well. In the last post I mentioned that I had to have a heart ultrasound, well, I went and there is nothing to be concerned about for which we are relieved. As for the blood situation, Col...

Dear Diary, A week ago Colin and I attended at the hospital for my 20-week ultrasound scan. It's still amazing to see and we're very pleased to report that the baby is growing and developing well. Both of us could've looked at her forever! In addition, I wanted to know the gender of the baby and we think we're having a girl but obviously not 100% sure until the day arrives. The first scan is her side profile and she has her knees pulled up and the second scan is her looking right at us! She was sucking her thumb (just like her daddy did!) and she even took a drink for us to watch. She was moving really well and quickly but I haven't felt her yet as the placenta is lying in the front of me - I assume I'll have to wait a few more weeks until she gets a bit bigger and stronger. As for me, I'm OK but still tired which has become a completely normal way of life for me. I have a heart murmur and my OB is sending me for an EKG on Thursday to make sure it's n...

Dear Diary, Mom and Dad safely arrived in Belfast on the morning of 14th September for a two-week visit with us in Northern Ireland. After a days recovery from jet lag, we ladies did a bit of shopping in Larne town centre and the boys were sent away to Lisburn to watch Larne get beat by Lisburn Distillery. On Sunday, it was church and a quick vist with Colin's mom to say hello. We left for County Donegall on a very windy Monday morning and we made a few stops before reaching Mallin Head, the most northerly point in Ireland. The waves were huge in Castlerock Lunch break stop and photo session We eventually made it up to Mallin Head and if we thought it was windy back home, we weren't prepared for Mallin Head! The terrain is very rocky along the coast The hotel where we stayed for the night A roofless chapel in a valley We returned home late Tuesday afternoon, had dinner and Colin took Mom to the church hall to play bowls with the church team. According to the master...

Dear Diary, It's hard to believe but Colin and I have been married a year on 28th August and we had a couple of lovely days to celebrate. Monday was a Bank Holiday here in the UK and since we both didn't have to work we decided to drive down to Crawfordsburn and stayed the night at The Old Inn. It's a lovely old hotel, built in 1614! The following morning, after a full Irish breakfast we went home, got showered and changed and made our way up the north coast to the Giants Causeway , which is probably one of N. Ireland's most visited tourist attractions. The Causeway is divided up into sections and this particular section is called "The Organ" which is exactly what it looks like. This illustrates just how tall The Organ actually is! Me Colin Pretty cool, eh? An aerial shot of the Middle Causeway To get back to our car, we had to climb up what seemed a few thousand feet, which left me absolutely knackered, as they say over here - hind sight tells me ...

Dear Diary, Last week Heather had her 12 week scan and I (Colin), was there to give some support. I must admit that it was quite an amazing experience to see the first images of your child. I will refer to the baby as her for the blog but we DO NOT know the gender yet. Seeing her move her tiny hands and feet even at this early stage gives us a great sense of awe. The picture is not the greatest but you can see the baby's head and body quite clearly. Her little hands are also visible near her nose and left shoulder. We are looking forward to the next scan so we can see even more of her. As for names, well, Heather keeps firing them at me and I usually throw a possible nick name back at her. So we're still thinking about that. Ultimately though, this little person already has a name, we just have to wait for it to be revealed to us from above.......Until next time............. Love from Colin, Heather and little one.....

Dear Diary, Colin and I went for a long weekend to Prague on 13 July 2007, a place we both wanted to visit for quite some time (click on the links for more information) I'll explain the trip through photos except sadly, I can't include some of the best photos as our memory card got corrupted and we as a result can't get them off the camera. If anyone has an idea how we can download them, please let us know!!!! Our hotel was a metro stop or two from the city centre so we took the metro system to get around and albeit really efficient I had a problem with the escaltors down to the train... it was so steep. The first time going down I thought I was going to go head first, it was scary!! From then on when we went down, Colin stood in front of me and when we up, he stood in behind me. The picture doesn't look so scarry, but they are, trust me: Prague architecture in the Old Square: There was also a statue of John Huss, the reformer, however it was under repairs and we coul...

Dear Diary, I just wanted to add a short entry today to let everyone know how the three of us are getting on. We arrived back from Prague on Monday but I'll put up another post about that trip a little later on this week. We had a great time and Prague comes highly recommended for future travels. Babs (or Bambino) is doing fine and not causing me too much grief. I'm tired 24/7 and don't have the motivation to do whole lot. The same goes for eating, I eat to survive but most foods I would pass on, even coffee and chocolate. Ah yuck, the thought of coffee turns my stomach! The other week I boiled a kettle of water for a cuppa and I couldn't do it, the smell of boiled water made me sick. HELP! I need some caffine! With a few gentle reminders, Colin is helping me out too. He has taken responsibility of cleaning out the cat litter box and if he thinks about it, feeding the two of them as well. I felt bad for him in Prague though, I was so tired by the end of the day,...

Dear Diary, Just a short entry to share our good news - we are going to have a baby in February! At seven weeks all is going well, just the odd wave of nausea now and again and 24/7 fatigue has set it as well. Food is a big turn off too but hopefully that won't be case in the next few months. My main concern right now is the trip to Prague, Czech Republic we have planned for this coming Friday. The last thing I want right now is to be sick and tired on our holiday! 'Til next time, Colin and Heather and junior Arsenal fan...

Dear Diary, We went to a Garden Show at Hillsborough Castle this past weekend. The world's largest rhododendrum plant is located at Hillsborough Castle (this isn't it). Colin, my navigator... There is not much new news although today we were in Manchester and to discuss the possibility of taking GPC to North America. Well, as it is now, Colin and I have been assigned to determine the scope of the market, if any. Before any commitments are made we are required to get at least 6 customers, or at least very interested customers, which would make the North American taxi market profitable. There is one in Chicago so we have five more to find before the end of next weekend. Hopefully, we won't have a problem but we'll start making more calls in earnest, tomorrow. As always, we'll keep you all informed. Hope all is well. With Christian greetings, Heather and Colin

Dear Diary, We enjoyed a lovely day off on Monday and these are the photos to prove it... Newcastle, County Down - about one hour south of Larne: We travelled along to a National Trust Site called Bloody Bridge: After we did a bit of hill walking at Bloody Bridge, we continued our coastal journey through a town called Annalong which had another spectacular view of the Mourne Mountains: As we drove we came across a site called the Silent Valley which were created to provide Belfast with water. As you can see, there was a massive slope just begging me to roll down, so I did but by the time I got to the bottom, the world wouldn't stop spinning... I recovered enough to watch the ducks and a ferret that was teasing them... Colin and I like to think we saved the ducklings from the ferret.. We had a great day together and it was nice break... If only we had another week... Til next time.. Enjoy the weather wherever you are... Heather