I'd rather he fought fires anyday.........

Lost my soul mate

2009-07-01T16:22:00.002+01:00

My appologies for not updating this page sooner..

This blog was to follow through Jon's treatment and time with his Brain tumour

on Weds 24th June 2009 Jon sadly lost this battle and passed away peacefully at home with myself and the two boys with him.

Im still a bit numb as to know what to say other than Ive lost my soul mate and a part of me is no longer around.

This was Jon on Fathers Day this year with the boys (21.6.09)

Funeral details are as follows:

Church service at St Lawrences Church Hungerford at 2.30pm on Friday 3rd July 2009 and then a service at the cremetoriam in Thatcham Berks at 4.30pm. People are welcome to both or come join the celebration of Jons life (he was too young for it to be called a wake!) at the 3 swans inn Hungerford.

Jon was 39 when he passed over, so close to us both hitting that magic 40 and life beginning again. I plan to celebrate both our birthdays in August this year.

As I have said before its not goodbye Jon its see you sometime in the future
All my love
Lizz xxx

30th March 2009 - Photo Day

2009-03-30T22:29:00.004+01:00

Today the final touches got added to the room... Oh and I should also mention that Chris Richardson Jons best mate built all the furniture for the room with a little help from myself and Jon.

Poppy offered to help but got banished to the kitchen for running off with the instructions.

A ribbon is put across ready for Jon to cut for the local newpaper photo

The finished room... Hope going through the photos you havent fallen asleep... Jon and I really cannot thank the firebrigade and everyone else involved in making life easier for Jon as his mobility is decreasing this is going to be such a fantastic help to us. Its more than we could ever dreamed for... just shows joking that I will put a bed in the garge for Jon really does come true lol!

17.03.09 - Family Box and Massage

2009-03-17T22:18:00.002+01:00

Jon has been working on making a family memory box in his Day Therapy sessions...

We recently started filling it with index cards with diff memories of events... birthdays... things the kids have said n done etc..

Its been great fun to make and Jon and I would recommend every family make something, even if you dont have someone ill to need to make one.. dont lose the memories.. they are something precious that can be passed down generations.

Heres a sample of ours :

Oh and today Jon and I had the second of our lovely aromatherapy massages at Deanwood Golf Course.. have been floating all afternoon, so relaxed...
Then I get to stand and watch football training for a few hours in the freezing cold evening... oh well was lovely while it lasted.

Hope your all keeping well.. keep safe and well xxx

ps.. no news on when the bed or wardrobe arrive.. were so keen to get moved into the new room, Rob is going to be camping in it this weekend on a blow up bed when Jon's mum comes to stay for mothers day weekend.

13.03.09 Red Nose Day & Day 15 - Carpet

2009-03-13T14:58:00.007+01:00

Happy Comic Relief "Red Nose Day"

Just to embarress myself and raise a bit of money for charity I paid to have a digital red nose put on my photo..

Anyway back to the room.... Its pretty much finished now.. "May Flooring" saw our story in the NWN and contacted us. They have fitted a carpet for free.. fantastic guys!Thank you so much.

We thought it would be the puppy who Christened the carpet but alas she was beaten to it by Paul W lol... who didnt realize he had mud on his shoes .. the marks have all gone now Paul!

Now we are just going to order some bedroom furniture from Argos and wait for the bed to arrive then we will be all moved in!

Oh and a awwwww moment... caught the dogs well and truly snuggled up today...

10.03.09 New Room Day 14

2009-03-10T21:32:00.002+01:00

I cant believe that 14 counted days of work... and the room is pretty much finished...

Just a last few finishing touches needed.. and get the bed n stuff and we move in...

Today saw the return of Paul Scarlett the Decorater.... he recoated the walls and did the glossing.

In the Eve Warren and Chris popped in to put a base on the floor gap between the old and new room, and put the radiator back on the wall.

09.03.09 New Room Day 13

2009-03-09T14:26:00.004+01:00

Painting day today... thankfully Jon and I stayed right out of the way...

While we popped Gemma to Swindon to be stripped.... Paul Scarlett,and Tim Cooper a firefighter Jon worked with from AWE came along from Basingstoke with his wife Lynn to paint the room.

We found out that it was Lynn's Birthday today... so we got her a little birthday cake to say Thankyou for coming along and working on her birthday. Lynn was Puppy sitting and cleaned up the room and cleaned the windows... I will be walking into them they sparkle so much!

More painting tomorrow... off to pick up Gemma in a bit... wonder what she looks like?

07.03.09 New Room Day 12

2009-03-07T14:32:00.007+01:00

Well I thought today was just paperwork for Jon and housework... but Paul and Michelle had other plans... They turned up armed with paint brushes and rollers and that lovely white stuff that I work so neatly with (not!)

We had a fun few hours giving the plaster a whitewash...

Michelle got Paul organised and the fun began...

Even Chris got a paintbrush given to him.... (Rob was out working with his Uncle Steve)

Lesson from Dad how to paint and not to watch how Mum does it...

Michelle showing Paul what she thinks of his painting technique..

hard at work..

Now this is my usual way to paint.. making as much mess as possible.. but who let the bird in the room..?

I think they gave me the ceilings to do on purpose... I did have a shower cap on until the threat of a camera was given me... (Paul if u post that pic will be speaking to your mum for some bad pics!)

This eve Graham popped in with his daughter Chloe to make a start on the skirting boards...

Graham then said I hadnt caught his best side.. and that his builders bum wasnt showing..I was a bit quicker on the camera than he expected lol..

Have sensored it to spare Chloe's blushes... we were all laughing so much work stopped for a bit! sorry Graham I couldnt resist.. forgive me!

The room so far...

Thanx everyone

06.03.09 New Room Day 11

2009-03-07T14:22:00.003+01:00

After a short break due to a Barrett family sick bug and the plaster needing to dry.. work continues...

Day 11 saw the two of the key workers of the project Warren and Chris return to do more work on the room, today they installed a borded floor and sealed the edges of the room (with some pink stuff lol)

I was very brave and left them the camera to take some pics... I think they were too busy during the process so youve got some before and after pics.

Thanks you two for yet another eve's hard work.

I think this is Chris doing a bit of modelling... hope his agency dont charge too much!

Warren on a well deserved break... this guy just works and works and works.. and well u get the picture..

03.03.09 New Room Day 10

2009-03-03T23:39:00.007+01:00

Today didnt start so well... Jon has been up most of the night with a yucky tum!... so we had a very quiet day today with Jon napping in the chair and watching TV all night.

Today we had the electrician back all day today working on the lights and a plugsocket in Jons workshop area and some other bits and bobs to make all the electrics work and be safe in the new room. Cant thank Lewis Electrical (Newbury Limited) enough for everything so far.

This eve Aaron and Warren came back to finish off the last of the plastering... lots of laughter and hard graft this eve.

Now take note... Warren and Aaron had a discussion that they should put some of the plaster into a bowl and make out its Chocolate mousse/blamanche.. so if they offer you any.. say no just to be on the safe side...

The hole in the wall now looks a tad like a doorway lol... Thanks guys

Ps a note to both Mrs Scarlett's... The men were here until 10.30pm and not down the pub... have an empty coffee jar to prove it lol. (Thank you for letting them be here to finish off the job its making such a difference) xxx

02.03.09 New Room Day 9

2009-03-03T01:09:00.004+01:00

Todays first visitor was the Electrician...

he put in all the plug sockets and light switches and gorgeous ceiling lights.

We also had to fit in a visit to the vets with Poppy for her second injection... she did so well.

After an afternoon looking at electric beds.. Jon and I finally chose one for the new room and it will be here in a few weeks.. no pressure guys!

This eve Aaron and Warren came to finish off some of the plastering in the Hole in the wall.. or maybe I need to call it a doorway now!

This eve I went off to my first Belly Dancing Class... oh boy was that fun... was so great to be actually dancing again... will ache so much tomorrow... sadly (and gladly) no photos of the dancing!

27th/28.02.09 New Room Day 7/8

2009-03-02T00:00:00.006+01:00

While we were away for the weekend the work on the New room didnt stop!
Poor Nay who was housesitting had plumbers and plasterers to contend with.. you did a great job of keeping them on the straight and narrow!

As far as I can tell.... A plumber (name to be edited) came and worked on putting the pipework in for the new radiator, the walls and ceilings got plastered by our brother in law Aaron.. thanx for that!... and Jason put in the glass on the patio doors.... busy weekend... oh and the rest you will see in the photos...

Im not quite sure what went on which day.. but I left our old camera here with the guys and asked them to take a few photos...

Im not sure I will do that again...anyway here goes.. Day 7/8 photos:

No this isnt a mistake.. I found about 10 photo's of these two posing with their bikes on the camera... boys and their toys!

Ahhh ok you did do some work then... (pretty messy)

Very important job keeping the troops fed n watered was worried who would take on my role.

right.. back to the real work photos...

Oi... isnt that my freezer in the background... you've cut through the wall.. I hope my pc was safe while this happened...

Glad to see Chris kept his head!.... and ummm think Im glad that there is a hole in my kitchen wall...

Well if that's what Warren looked like after cutting through the wall.. am pretty glad I wasnt here to see all the mess... thanx for cleaning up guys... would like to say I never knew u were here.. but as I type there is a breeze coming through the HOLE IN THE WALL...lol

to be continued....

27th/28.02.09 Jools Party/Newcastle weekend

2009-03-01T23:48:00.003+01:00

Jon and I escaped to Newcastle for the weekend and went to our wonderful friend Jool's Birthday/Beat the odds party!

Im a bit upset that I have no photos of this event as my camera card is telling me it has to be formatted and in order to do that I have to lose all the photos :(

Anyway we had a fantastic time at the party and enjoyed meeting members of the "What Now Website"... I spent most of the night as usual dancing away....I had a shocking text message sent to me whilst at the evening.. but explain that more in my next post!

I Will try to collect some photos from others people on facebook to put a few photos on here... I have got one of Jon and I... the theme of the party was PINK.. and you had to wear pink to be invited in!

The bed and breakfast we stayed in at Whitley Bay was very clean and tidy and we slept so well.. not sure if that was the alcohol that helped though.

On the Saturday we spent the morning driving round looking for a shopping centre... when we found it.. it was time to head back to Jool's house for a get together lunch of all the WN peeps.

The meal was a great success and it was great to see everyone again.. even if a few of us had sore heads.

Jon and I then spent the afternoon going back to the shopping centre and I spent my money voucher from work on some snazzy tops!

In the eve.. we met up again with two couples for a chinese meal and a drink in a Tapa's Bar... I had my first taste of Sangria I think it was called... sheesh I had a thick head this morning!

It was a long journey home and it was great to get back to the boys and the dogs.. but ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy was it a fantastic weekend away.... whens the next one?

24.2.09 New Room day 6

2009-02-24T22:03:00.004+01:00

Yet another Busy day on the garage/bedroom project...

Its pretty hard to call it a garage now... its starting to look like a new room.

1st to arrive today was Jason the window fitter... he did a great job with Warrens help to fit the new doors. These are going to let in so much daylight!

The skip arrived today and Jon and I finally managed to clear away the rubble pile that had built up, (I was worried that neighbours would start to complain)... it was tougher than a work out at the gym lol.

This eve Warren, Chris and Paul really cracked on and got the walls plasterboarded and the ceiling...

just waiting for friday now to get some plaster on all the walls.

It's less than a week since these guys started this project and it looks fantastic already.. great work.. thank you.

23.2.09 New Room Day 5

2009-02-23T19:03:00.002+01:00

Today was Electrics!

Had two really hard working chaps from Lewis Electricals work all day today on fixing in a new fuse board and putting the wiring in for the sockets and lights..

Brilliant job guys.

20/21st Feb 09 New Room day 3 & 4

2009-02-21T19:13:00.006+01:00

OOooops after a long day out yesterday in London I didnt get to take any photos of the progress as it was dark when we got home.

Thanks Chris, Mike and Graham for doing more to the inside of the room.

Today we had a quiet morning playing with Gemma and Poppy, Nick Waite arrived this morning to give a helping hand, but is going to come back another day as I didnt realize the work was happening later today... thanx Nick.. In the afternoon Chris and Warren cracked on today and have finished the dividing wall between the bedroom and Jon's workshop, and have made the walls even thicker insulated.

Just waiting now for the building inspector next week to allow the rest of the work to go ahead.

hmmmm couldnt quite read the number on back of the T-shirt lol... if you need a hard grafter for some work check this number out..

Kids thought we had a new door... but alas its the old one just needs cleaning! Job for the kids tommorrow.

20th Feb 09 - London Trip

2009-02-21T19:12:00.001+01:00

Hi will edit this later... with photos of our London trip

19th Feb 09 - New Room Day 2

2009-02-19T19:28:00.009+01:00

(Again I try my best big brother impression .... "Day 2 of the new bedroom build!" )

Paul, Graham and Mike worked on the floor this morning... looking great guys!

We then had more troops arrive for a quick photoshoot...(for the NWN)

Then work started again... Paul, Chris, Mike & Graham got to work moving things around for the next section to started.

Paul being in charge of the job tends to spend a lot of time on the phone sorting stuff out and "not getting his hands dirty".. as the others put it... well I caught him helping out... (u can pay me for this photo later Paul!)

Next Paul Court from Ramsbury Fire Service (Wiltshire) came with his Father to do the chippying part of the job with the help from some of the Hungerford crew.

and of more work was done to the end wall too...

Yet another busy day.... these guys are fantastic!

18th Feb 09 - New Bedroom Day 1

2009-02-18T21:15:00.007+01:00

Well it all started today... the new room finally got underway.... The local firebrigade and other local companies have been fantastic donating time and manpower and discounted products to change our garage into a downstairs room for Jon.

(In a big brother voice: "Day 1 of the Barrett New room project")

Heres the before photos:

Then the electricians arrived:

Then the builder and a few firefighter helpers:

The garage was no longer looking like our old garage... todays progress:

Then the bricklaying started... Jon and Rob got to lay the first bricks.

Then typical workmen style.. one working and 5 looking on lol:

15th February 2009 -

2009-02-16T01:21:00.002+01:00

Firstly Happy Birthday Nay!

Nay is my neice and does a wonderful job of looking after the house and dog whenever we go away... oops that will be dogs now.. (hope your ready for that Nay!)

We took Alan and Margaret for a wonderful meal at the Halfway pub, We couldnt fault it at all.. everyone thoroughly enjoyed their food and the bill was very good too.

So after food shopping all that was left of today was to sit and play with the dogs... and play... and play some more... how time flies when your having fun.

We have to go back to the drawing board on the toileting habits of puppies but as for Gemma and Poppy together its been another fantastic day.

Here they are at the end of a long day of play

Happy Valentines Day !!

2009-02-14T09:55:00.002+01:00

Trying to think outside the box this year... Jon and I decided on a different Valentines gift to each other...

Meet Poppy...

Gemma is already acting like a foster mum/ Play buddy.

We were going with the flower theme for a name... we thought about Rosie (Rose) but our friends dog has that name.... so we went with Poppy instead...

Im still loving her lots even if she did wake me up at 3.30am... am so glad I have now given up work its going to be like having a baby at home again.

heres a few more pics to make u go ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh lol

Snowday 5th Feb 09

2009-02-05T17:26:00.008+01:00

Schools closed for the day... all thats left is fun in the snow!

Liverpool Fan Snowman

A walk over the common

Great fun was had by all!

24th January 09 - Monkey World

2009-01-24T20:21:00.009+01:00

Had a fantastic day out at Monkey world, with Mum and Dad and Uncle Bob and Lee, it was a total surprise for Lee who had no idea we were taking her to Monkey world.. it was great to see such surprise on her face... We all enjoyed the day but I think Lee enjoyed it the best!

The real use for walking sticks... Uncle Bob and Jon show us where we need to go next!

Memorial to Jim.. such a fantastic guy!

Whats the name of the hair product to make my hair spike like that?

Spot the real monkey lol...

Thank you Uncle Bob and Mum & Dad for arranging such a wonderful day... the weather held out perfect!

Oh nearly forgot... Jon adopted an orang-utan called "Dinda" who was born at Monkey World in 2006 to "RoRo".. both were seen lots on the Monkey World TV program.

Anfield Match 19th Jan 2009

2009-01-20T19:50:00.007+01:00

At Christmas I arranged an extra surprise for Jon and the boys... 4 tickets to Anfield to watch a Liverpool v Everton Derby...We had a fantastic trip to Anfield.... Many thanx to Deano and Steve H for sorting the tickets out for us.

Planned on only putting a few pics up... but I actually like so many of them going to bore you again with them all.

Pre Match:

Warm ups.. (the teams not us!)

Match Time...

and after!

The score at the end of the match was 1-1... which was a real shame as Liverpool had needed a win to stay top of the table.. still its a close season so far!

New Rock Band... ok maybe not.. 9.1.2009

2009-01-10T00:43:00.005+01:00

Thank you Chris, Suzie and Chloe for inviting us round for a Jamming session!

Not sure Jon appreciated the singing and music playing.. (well clicking of the instruments) but he certainly had a good laugh at us all.

I must admit Chloe was a much better singer than I was... and Chris R was the best drummer...Suzie and little Chris were good on the guitars... I was just awful at most things I tried but laughed meself silly lol.

heres a handful of pics of our night!

Rob was there but he stayed out of the way when photos were taken and had a bit of a go at drumming.

At the end of the eve he took this photo of us... not a bad photograph too

2009 Happy New Year

2009-01-01T23:26:00.004+01:00

Well finally 2008 is gone and this next year can be a fresh start...

A good friend of ours called Brent(Runnforrest~TAG) wrote this on our forum... I would like to share it..

H appiness depends upon your outlook on life.
A ttitude is just as important as ability.
P assion try to find yours this year!
P ositive thoughts make everything easier.
Y ou are unique, with special gifts, use them.

N ew beginnings with a new year.
E nthusiasm a true secret of success.
W ishes may they turn into goals.

Y ears go by too quickly, enjoy them.
E nergy may you have lots of it.
A ppreciation of life, don't take it for granted.
R elax take the time to relax in this coming year.

Myself, Jon and the kids wish everyone a very Happy New Year,
Thanx for staying with us and visiting the blog, its been a good way to keep in touch with everyone.
Take care for 2009 xxxx

Lapland 2008

2008-12-29T00:49:00.022+01:00

Many thanks are needed from us to all the people who made our trip to Lapland possible... I know the guys at Hungerford firestation organised it but many more from other stations have helped out too.

Jon coped really well with the trip and most of the activities and was sensible when he was tired to go back to the cabin and leave me running around out in the cold with the kids!

Here are a few photos.. well loads of pics hope you dont fall asleep looking through them! lol.

Jons special ticket!

The boys by the hotels Ice sign.

Jon and I rest by the ice sign.

Our Cabin.

Relaxing by the fire. (and smoke!)

A group photo. The Thermal suits and boots were part of the package deal. They certainly helped to keep us warm!

The journey too and from Santa's cabin was by reindeer.

We get to meet Santa.

The schools letter to Santa.

The boys help Mrs Claus make crackers.

The sunsets were beautiful.

A close up of snow on a branch.

Me attempting to not fall of a sledge. (I did many times)

The kids racing and nearly hitting the camera lady (me!)

Chris and I did an hours walk on Christmas day in snow shoes in the woods.

Family game of hockey, the kids won.

The boys make snow angels.

They worked well in the deep snow

Inside the igloo bar.

A view of the igloo from outside.

One of the many ice sculptures.

Making and decorating of the gingerbread house.

We won the competition out of all the families there.

Jon and the boys on the border bridge in Sweden.

We enjoyed the walk into Sweden.

Rob found the deepest snow!

Jons snowmobile ride, he loved it.

Lizz snowmobile ride, (I hated it)

The boys went round on a mini snowmobile track

nearly there not many photos left now ....

We had an extra trip Ice fishing on a pitch black frozen lake.

Sadly no fish were caught!

The boys tried out ice skating and did really well.

Thawing out by the fire next to the ice rink.

The highlight of our trip for me was the husky sled ride.. they were so friendly and loved the fuss and attention afterwards.

The boys were in a sled with deep sides to it driven by one of the staff. (sorry didnt get a photo)

We hope you enjoyed looking at the photos... Jons cancer has certainly changed our families way of thinking... "life is an adventure"... well Lapland sure was !!!!

Thank you everyone who made it possible.

Meal 12th Dec 08

2008-12-13T11:21:00.003+01:00

Thank you for the invite to the meal at the Halfway Sarah.. Jon and I had a fantastic evening... lots of laughter.

Didnt take too many pics as I was too busy laughing and nattering.

5th - 7th Dec = Busy Weekend

2008-12-07T17:14:00.007+01:00

Well weve had a pretty hectic weekend..

Fri Night we were invited to Kerry, Rikki and Abbies Birthday party... Jon stayed for a while... and Chris and I stayed till they packed away the music cause we just wanted to keep on dancing! (got home about 11.30pm)

Sat morning ... Chris went to a bowling birthday party... he had a great time.

Sat afternoon... Rob went on a young firefighters trip to a scouting centre... were they had a go at high ropes and archery.

Then in the evening we went to a wedding reception... congratulations to Gemma and Michael on their wedding day!.. (I used to babysit Gemma when she was a little lass she then ended up being our babysitter in return.. now shes married.. time flys!)

Sunday we spent the day decorating the house and putting up Christmas trees.

3rd Dec 2008 - Jon meets The Stig!

2008-12-05T15:07:00.005+01:00

Jon had a wonderful trip organised by Andy one of his old workmates...

He was taken to the set of Top Gear to watch some filming, he was then taken outside to watch The Stig do a few laps testing cars, he then got to meet and chat to Stig (with his helmet on)... who gave Jon a signed photo with a message on it... he then asked Jon if he would like a few laps in the car with him... from the pictures Jon enjoyed every moment of the surprise!

Here is Jon's 2 seconds of fame on the tv program...if you blinked you missed him!

22nd November 08 - Retirement Party

2008-11-23T02:33:00.006+01:00

Jon will soon be officially medically retired from both his full time and retained fire service jobs.. the crew of Hungerford arranged a farewell meal for Jon and it was brilliant that some members of his full time job crews were able to attend too.

The night was a great success, I know Jon and I both enjoyed ourselves, sorry if we didnt get round to speak to everyone individually, we appreciate you all travelling out for the meal.

I would like to Thank the manager and staff of the Halfway Inn for closing the restaurant to the public for the function. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was brilliant!

Heres a couple of photos from the night..

The beautiful Axe that Jon was presented with:

The guys past and present that served alongside Jon in the fire service

(a few had left before the photo was taken sorry if youve been missed off)

and...

The WaGs.. (Wives and Girlfriends) of the fire fighters who have served with Jon over the years.

The best part of the evening was the speeches, Thank you Paul for making us chuckle at some of the memories from the past, and for managing to get through the speeches under difficult circumstances.

Jon knew there was a surprise in store for him as I had told him the guys had been planning something but I wasnt sure what it was...

We as a family are being sent to a once in a lifetime trip to Lapland in Dec this year, the itinery of the trip is out of this world... we promise to take lots of photos.

Thank you so much everyone who has made this possible!

18th Nov - Family Photos

2008-11-18T21:42:00.001+01:00

We had some photo's taken at a studio just before going on holiday.. We recieved them back today and I think its ok for me to post one on here...

2nd - 16th Nov 08 Cyprus

2008-11-18T21:16:00.014+01:00

Had a wonderful 2 weeks break in Cyprus, I am very greatful for work letting myself and Chris have time off and the JOG for letting Rob have extra holiday time too.

We stayed in Coral Bay near Paphos, the Villa was beautiful and pretty much everything we needed was there or within a 5-10 min walk.

Heres a handful of pics Ive chosen to share...

The Villa Camelia (from VillasPlus) They organised flights and transfers etc everything went really smoothly couldnt fault them at all!

The Private pool that we all enjoyed splashing about in.

We all enjoyed the pool table many a game was played.. yes even I had a try as you can see by Jons laughter I wasnt too good at it!

A trip out to the Paphos Market

Swimming in the Coral Bay Sea

Jon made a friend with a local, it spent most days with us!

We enjoyed a few meals out at the local restaurants

and a few other odd pics along the way...

Thanx to everyone that made this trip possible.. especially Nay and Adam for house sitting and looking after Gemma! xxx

Happy Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T13:32:00.002+01:00

Hi all...

Planning on lots of fun this eve... the Barrett house is a house of halloween mischief this eve...

Lots of treats for those who dare to visit!

Ps - Chris got his idea from the character in Guild Wars!

25th October 08 -Boys Night In !!!

2008-10-26T01:18:00.005+01:00

Thanx's to the guys for organising a night in for Jon, and kicking myself and the kids out of the house!

Nah seriously it was great to see Jon laughing and everyone being relaxed around him and talking over old times, the house was also surprisingly tidy afterwards too.

Took a quick photo before I escaped with Suzie and Chloe to their house with the boys and Gemma.

Back left to right... Adie,Jon & Mark

front left to right... Matt, Chris & Joe

They havent changed much since they used to cause trouble (I mean get together) at the age of 15.

5th October - Happy 10th Birthday

2008-10-06T13:20:00.002+01:00

Happy 10th Birthday Chris

Best wishes from Dad, Mum, Rob and a wag of the tail from Gemma!

Sat 4th October - The Sleepover

2008-10-04T23:54:00.000+01:00

Well hoping Chris is enjoying his birthday weekend, 2 friends to sleepover... party tea with friends and with Aunty Suzie, Uncle Chris and Chloe here too...

All went well, kids stayed really calm throughout the afternoon/evening, they have been so well behaved.

Giggling stopped at about 10.30... total silence by 11.15 wondering what time they will wake up in the morning.. not too early I hope

Not sure who is most excited about the present opening tomorrow.... the kids.. Jon or me!

Take care everyone

Thurs 2nd October 08

2008-10-02T08:06:00.004+01:00

Met Suzie our McMillan Nurse yesterday, She has explained a few things to us and also expressed that Jon and I need to talk about some difficult things which I dont think either of us are ready to do... but then again are u ever ready? It's great to know that the help is out there.

I also joined the Cancerbackup website yesterday they have some very helpful forums and last night I found they have a chat room. It was like a weight had lifted off my shoulders being able to type to other sufferers and carers like myself. I realize now Im not alone.

Friends and family have been fantastic but there are some questions only people who have been through it can answer. There were 8 people in the chat room yesterday, they made me feel very welcome and although I started out the conversation crying at my pc they had me laughing and looking forward to logging on to catch them and other new friends soon.

keep safe everyone

the website I was speaking about can be found at
http://www.whatnow.org.uk/homepage

Rough day - 30th September 2008

2008-09-30T16:18:00.003+01:00

Today our world really has shattered!

Jons been getting symptoms back over the past few weeks, we tried to ignore them but we both knew what was around the corner.

Jons Cancer has returned and we spent this morning at hospital visiting the consultant.

Jon has been told there isnt anymore treatment that can be done as he already has had the maximum dosage of both Chemo and Radiotherapy. At the minute were feeling really numb but Jons coping fantastically.

We have told the boys that he doesnt have to go to hospital anymore and cant be made better. We have left it at that, they dont need to know too much yet.

I know its hard to know what to say to Jon or myself but just knowing family and friends are there and being as normal as possible around us both would help us get through this time.

Sat 6th September - Portraits

2008-09-07T21:28:00.002+01:00

Went to a party on Sat night... a guy there was drawing charactertures... I was his first victim.. Jon had his done a little while later after a lot of nagging from me.. see what u think!...

The guy asked our jobs and hobbies... I didnt get to say anything Jon said "oh she lives on her pc playing guild wars!"... nothing further to add bleh

In return.. I said that Jon's a firefighter and the usual jokes went round the table about hoses etc..

Some of the shading hasnt been picked up by the scanner but I think they are great fun!

Ladies Day and Boyzone

2008-08-17T15:07:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I had a late birthday treat from Jon, a day at Newbury Races in Berkshire, it was Ladies Day and Party in the paddock was Boyzone in concert.

Jon didnt want to be standing around all day, he is getting back to his old self but it would have been too much for him so rather than go alone I talked me mate Suzie into coming along too..

Never again! I spent £34 and came home with £42
Suzie spent £34 and came home with £84 (5 wins in a row!)

Nah joking aside we had a wonderful day and even though neither of us were great Boyzone fans... we did enjoy the concert and are now converted..

Jon and Chris were looking after the kids for the day and took them off to the cinema, when we all met up again at home Suzie and I were serenading them all with Boyzone classics (dont think we did them justice though).

All in all we had a fantastic day!

Pictures to be added soon.

Summer Holiday 2008

2008-08-17T15:00:00.002+01:00

Well this year we went visiting relatives up north with me mum and dad, it was a lovely relaxing break away, shame the weather didnt match the fun of the holiday, the kids did get to spend time on the beach at scarborough one afternoon, they also found the delights of crabbing over the harbour side!

We would like to thank my cousins Sandra and Graham for putting us all up in their Bed and Breakfast, the kids are still trying to convince me to cook them full breakfasts everyday, alas they are back to toast n butter or cereal.. I am so mean !

I also want to thank Steph and Nigel,Pauline and Andy for letting us invade your houses and giving us lovely meals.

I will add some photos to this blog once they are on the pc

Best wishes to Uncle John on his recovery and love to Auntie Rita too.

Happy Anniversary & Happy Birthday

2008-08-12T10:53:00.002+01:00

Well after spending last years anniversary and Lizz's birthday stuck in hospital it was lovely to spend a lazy weekend at home.

on Sun 10th August - Lizz and I celebrated our 17th Wedding Anniversary.

and on Mon 11th August - Lizz had her 39th birthday, oh so close to that big four 0!

so for now Lizz is the eldest of the house and in charge, but thats only for 2 weeks until I catch her up. Its great being a toy boy of a whole year younger!

Race for Life (6th July 2008)

2008-07-19T18:58:00.006+01:00

Well it might have been pouring with rain but Mum, Anne and myself had a great time, we raised £600 between us doing the Race for Life 5k walk, people are still sponsoring us after the event too.

Thought I would share a few photos.. am still waiting for the ones from the newspaper but I got some from Marathon photos this week.

Firstly my race number and my back message...

Doing the warm up with our umbrellas

Me playing shy to the camera and doing the royal wave!

Us running across the finishing line , see I did Run a tiny bit!

We did an interview with our local paper and they caught a brilliant picture of us with our medals, it was printed in the paper.

We will be doing it all again next year... and if the weather is a bit kinder to us we will try the 10k route.

28th May 2008

2008-05-28T16:57:00.003+01:00

Appointment today with consultant re : radiotherapy treatment

Today we met Dr De Silver and Emma from Adelaide Ward

They checked Jon over and have basically said "you are free to get on with rest of your life", they cant actually say Jon's cancer free but as no symptoms are showing, we count that as the cancer gone, with no headaches and the fact he was able to come off the steroids is also a positive.

So fingers crossed that this is the final time we mention Cancer on this blog.

So raise a glass or a cuppa tea to Jon on getting through this a second time... Well done Jon.. we knew you could do it!

28th May 2008 - New Hair

2008-05-28T12:52:00.005+01:00

Mum treated me to a new hairdo today "Thanks Mum !!"

Thought it would be fun to show a before and after pic..... even though I'm embarrassed how bad it had got... hopefully you can see the improvement.

The back

The front

and now the transformation that Hannah did...

The back

The front (pic at shop didn't come out I blinked.. so Rob took this one at home for me)

Hopefully I can keep it looking this good, I love having my hair done at Roberta's I always feel so relaxed when I get home. Roll on next school holidays... maybe I will go reds and golds next time.

9th May 08 - Were Back!

2008-05-09T14:43:00.011+01:00

Hi everyone.. were back... we took a the family for a quick break away to Harcombe House the Firefighters Charity recuperation Center. It was a bit last minute so didnt get to warn too many people..

Anyway we went last Sat (3rd May) and the weather was great for us.. we visited Exeter and Paignton , the kids got to swim (paddle actually as it was freezing) in the sea.

Ive gathered a few photos here hopefully they have come out ok.... I know the TAG guys have wonderful shots with their super technical cameras and special lenses.. alas these are just taken with a Kodak point and click lol but hopefully they are clear enough... my favourite is of the seagull close up.. shows the blue cloudless sky we had that day.

Exeter Cathedral... the detail of the stonework was amazing

Close up

Paignton Sea front.. the reddish copper colour of the sand was beautiful.

A point and click of seagulls in the distance.

My favourite nature pic.... looks very regal!

After one of the country walks at Harcombe... we take a much needed break!

This was quite a distance shot had to zoom lots to get it close enough.. its a tad blurry but was lovely to see the family swimming on the lake.

The sound from this waterfall was so peaceful yet loud.

22nd April 2008

2008-04-22T16:08:00.002+01:00

Ouch!... there must be easier ways to lose weight than by giving a pint of blood away but hopefully it will have worked and I will be a little lighter for diet club this eve.

I gave blood today with Chris watching me, not that he watched much he was more interested in his DS game, he did go yuck when the lady showed him the bag of blood at the end, but was very pleased to get a chocolate biscuit and drink at the end of the session with me. Hes going to think about giving blood when hes older.... hes got a good few years to decide on that one anyhow.

I was told some platelets get taken from my blood today and pooled into a dontation. I have asked about platelets but would need to goto Oxford regularly to give them (8-10 times a year). This is maybe a bit far so I will just continue to give blood whenever I get chance locally.

19th April 2008 - Happy Birthday

2008-04-20T09:51:00.003+01:00

Happy 70th Birthday Dad

Hope you enjoyed the party at Bob's yesterday, we certainly did, the kids are now hooked on the pool game on the wii that they were shown.

I'm really glad you enjoyed the Birthday cake will bring over the paper copy for you sometime soon.
(The cake topper was a design I made and was printed for me onto fondant icing so the whole thing was edible)

7th April 2008

2008-04-07T21:22:00.002+01:00

Survived day one of the school holidays...

Kids went to a football camp from 10am-2pm.... Jon and I went to the hospital for his treatment and then food shopping.... nothing exciting really.. but kinda nice to go into town without kids.

Looking forward to the next few peaceful days while they are out playing football.. will be one down on Thurs due to staying at a friends house (birthday/sleepover).... Prob go swimming on Fri..

Will wait and see what the week throws at me... right back to watching tv!

4th April 2008 - Teenager alert!

2008-04-04T07:08:00.005+01:00

We now have a teenager in the house... it will never be the same again lol....

Happy 13th Birthday Robert... enjoy your HALF day at school

2nd April 2008 - Race for Life

2008-04-02T13:11:00.003+01:00

Finally today I sorted out my application to Race for Life, I have also entered my mum and her friend Anne too.

We aim to raise £100 each doing the Race for Life in Newbury on Sun 6th July (I do only plan to walk though)

I have created an online page for sponsership's or you can contact me by phone and I will put you on a written form.

the page is found at :

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/elizabethbarrett1

or you can use the small donation (wigit) they call it on the right hand side of the blog.

I know money is always being asked for all the time, but I personally want to say Thank you to this charity for helping Jon through his times with Cancer.

27th March 2008 - Day 1

2008-03-28T08:17:00.002+01:00

A quiet Jon left the house for work this morning, I myself too was scared of what was going to be happening today but work kept me busy. One of Jon's workmates too him to the hospital today.

Jon arrived home with a smile on his face which was such a relief to see, he said the treatment had taken about 40 minutes because they took some photos, and it wouldn't take as long tomorrow.

He came home with a tube of cream and has been told he will lose all his hair on his head again this time, was just getting used to him without the skinhead haircuts, he had just allowed it to grow little longer... oh well..

Jon said the process itself had no pain at all, in fact there was no feeling of anything at all just laying there and letting the radiotherapy happen.

In the evening Jon had a headache, and fell asleep many times in the chair, I think this was a combination of the treatment and the lack of sleep from the past few nights.

Roll on day 2 were here to fight Brian the 2nd back out.

20th - 24th March

2008-03-25T19:31:00.002+01:00

Thanx Mum and Dad for giving the kids a lovely break away.... they especially enjoyed the special Easter Sunday at your Darts social club in Yattendon.... well done on the prizes you all won for the easter egg hunt.

I also want to thank Stuart, Marion and the family for looking after the boys on Monday, keeping them entertained playing football and XBox games. Rob also wants to say Thank you very much for the fantastic clothes... he is already parading around in the football shirt. (and Chris has claimed a few of the hats).

18th March 08

2008-03-18T20:15:00.003+01:00

After going to sleep last night wearing my dressing gown and a bobble hat much to Jon's amusement... I went to work today freezing but came home to a warm glow at lunchtime... thanks British Gas for not letting us down again... (but maybe one time it can be fixed on the first visit should it break again for its yearly breakdown)

No other real news so wont bore you.... kids are looking forward to easter and the easter eggs... Im dreading having that much chocolate in the house when my diet is going downhill...

Oh well have to make sure the kids hide their eggs from me!

17th March 08 - Oh so cold

2008-03-17T16:46:00.002+01:00

Grrrrr woke up this morning to a cold house... I never want to get out of bed when its too cold... but I eventually braved it... crashed about blaming Jon for turning down the heating last night... hes always so hot... am always so cold... eventually after enough crashing and banging of stuff Jon got up...

He hadn't turned the heating down... the boiler has decided to stop... so had to appologize... humbly..

British Gas arrived this morning... as usual didn't have the right part... will be back tomorrow morning (means another day off work for someone)

So sitting under blankets watching tv, with two covers on each of the beds... and a Calor gas heater in one room to heat the whole house... I hope it doesn't get too cold tonight!

13th March 2008

2008-03-13T14:46:00.004+01:00

Today Jon had his mask made to protect his face from the radiotherapy I was allowed to sit in and watch while they molded the plastic to his face.

They also use the mask to mark the areas they need to do the treatment so Jon doesn't have to have permanent marker on his head all the time.

Its looks a pretty strange contraption, its pinned down onto the bench to stop Jon from moving during treatment, he's used to wearing breathing apparatus masks and even though it isn't exactly the same its a similar experience ( I myself would freak at being trapped... am such a wimp )

Jons treatment schedule at the moment starts on the 27th March and he is going to have 4 weeks of daily radiotherapy. So far we have the times for the first week.

(see treatment schedule)

We have been warned that Jon will be very tired after these sessions so it maybe worth phoning the house first (or my mobile )if you want to come visit Jon to check he isn't asleep.

12th March 08

2008-03-13T08:25:00.002+01:00

Happy Birthday Mum Ward

Hope you had a wonderful birthday mum,(haven't mentioned the age, see am a nice daughter) I certainly enjoyed the meal at the tutti pole.. was nice to see Dad and you meeting old friends from Hungerford.

Big hugs to Auntie Rita and Uncle John who are visiting from Yorkshire at the minute and staying at mum and dads, its been far too long since we've seen you, Jon and I will come up to Yorkshire hopefully in the summertime to visit Whitby and Scarborough.

Bob... Thank you for the meal... I wanted to pay some towards mums meal but your so sneaky !!!

Nerves are starting to set in for tomorrows Hospital appointment, but we will let everyone know whats going on asap.

9th March 08

2008-03-09T10:48:00.002+01:00

Eeekk... will have to ring Suzie... I cant move my arms much today... I know they said the Wii is good exercise but My arms feel like lead weights.. maybe we did too much olympic sports...

hmmm off swimming now... hope I can move my arms enough to swim... still taking Jon with me and the kids... he will rescue me Im sure!

8th March 08

2008-03-09T10:41:00.003+01:00

Busy day today... apart from the usual weekend flurry of housework... we survived the sleepover....I must add that all the boys were excellently behaved, no arguments and no noise... (maybe we should have other children over more often!)

When the friends left at lunchtime, Rob went to our local football team playing with his Grandad Alan (Hungerford won 3-0), We took the car to Newbury to the Firestation Charity Car wash...our car actually got washed by Hungerford Firefighters who were also helping out for the day. Hopefully they raised lots of money.. there certainly seemed to be a steady flow of cars going through.

In the Evening Chris,Suzie and Chloe popped round... we had the usual Boys vs Girls on the Wii.... I do think the boys won slightly more games than the girls but to be honest we were all laughing too much to really notice the scores.. thanx for coming over guys and making us cry with laughter.

7th March 08

2008-03-07T17:58:00.002+01:00

Bit of food shopping this morning ready for this afternoons fun and games...

Both the boys have a friend each for tea and a sleep over... we felt it best to do this while Jon isn't so tired as we had promised the boys friends over for a weekend once my chest infection cleared up.

At the moment its working out well... all is quiet... ish... 2 are playing inside and 2 playing on the trampoline... then they swap over... after tea will be a competition on the Wii... then dvd's with popcorn in there rooms.

Am off to finish cooking the roast dinner now... keep safe everyone!

6th March 08

2008-03-06T22:24:00.002+01:00

Quiet day today.. a visit to the local doctor to inform things are happening again, this afternoon while I had popped into work Jon had a call from the hospital asking him to go in on Thurs 13th March for a consultation for planning of his treatment, and to have a mask fitted that protects his face throughout the treatment stages.

The boys have been told.. the youngest has cried and opened up asked questions.. the eldest has gone very quiet.. hes spending time with Jon but not asking any questions at all, going to have to keep an eye on him.

Jon himself is pretty quiet too, asked if he had anything to say on here and he just wanted me to add "thanks for all the support from everyone so far".

It's not the easiest thing to know what to reply to or say when being told about Jon's condition, we understand this, just knowing your there is enough for us.

4th March 2008 -Give us Strength

2008-03-04T19:15:00.003+01:00

Yikes was New Years really the last time I posted....

Things haven't been easy at home recently, Jon has been showing some of the original symptoms of having the tumor. We both noticed it but had hoped it was just tiredness or anything.. We called Adelaide Ward yesterday evening and they suggested popping to the hospital today to get checked over...

I think we both knew the outcome before being told ... but had hoped and prayed it wasn't so!

After a CT scan we were called to a meeting with the consultant who gave us the news that the tumor has in fact returned.

Whats the plan now... at the min to be honest we are home again with steroids and awaiting another appointment to be given a plan re: Radiotherapy.

Will keep you posted how we get on and dates etc. I think the play at the moment will be an outpatient program of Radiotherapy over a period of weeks. So Jon will be home much more than the last session. Jon's pretty tired at the min but please keep in contact... If he starts getting over tired from treatment I will post on the Blog best times to visit.

Happy New Year

2008-01-04T09:20:00.000+01:00

Bit late I know... but Happy New Year Everyone!

The kids stayed up this year to see the New Year in with us.

27th November 2007 - All clear

2007-11-27T16:55:00.001+01:00

Today Jon had his 3 month checkup with the hospital...

He has been given the all clear still... the blood tests he has had have come back clear and his general health is doing fine, the doctor wasnt too concerned with Jon's lack of energy and tiredness, this will improve over the next 6 - 12 months.

He has another appointment to review things again in 10 weeks (Feb 08)

24th November 2007 - Goodbye Peter

2007-11-27T16:53:00.001+01:00

Today Peter Tredray (my stepfather) passed away, I would like to pass on condolences from myself, Lizz and the boys to my mum Margaret.

He suffered from many illnesses over the past few years including lung disease and heart problems, and now his suffering has ended and he is at peace.

Our thoughts are with you mum.

Halloween @ home

2007-10-31T21:50:00.001+01:00

Grandad Pops grew pumpkins for the boys, I expected 2 small pumpkins.... but instead we got 2 big ones... took us over an hour to empty them and cut out the faces for the lanterns.

The end result...

We dont go out to trick or treat... have too many visitors wanting sweets so the boys help me out..

Not sure if Gemma was trying to join in with the dressing up... or hiding under her blanket (she spends most of the day dragging this around behind her)..

20th - 26th October 2007

2007-10-27T11:39:00.000+01:00

This week we were given a cottage on the grounds at Harcombe House in Devon.

The fire service run these centers for past and present firefighters to have Therapy,rest & recuperation.

Within a few minutes of arriving at the cottage, the boys had spotted a football goal, after an initial scramble of running for bedrooms deciding who had which (Jon won running to the main bedroom shouting it was HIS).

We spent some of the time visiting the local seasides, lovely to look at but much too cold to dip our toes in. The boys spent all the rest of their stay on the five a side football pitch (am so glad we packed a football!).

On the tuesday morning we got up early and met at the bootwash at 10am for a guided walk through some of the trails available to use. We were taught all about the local wildlife and scenery. Chris called it a 20 mile walk it was more like a 3 mile walk but we all enjoyed it.

In the evening on Tuesday the bar held a Halloween party for everyone, it was amazing to see how many children there actually were on the site. During the daytime we had only seen a couple of other children there must have been nearly 30 children in the hall. The kids played games including apple bobbing, hit the witch pinata (Chris managed to whack a lollipop out of it) and wrap the mummy (sorry no photo forgot to take the camera) they wrapped me up with 4 bandages, the fastest and tidiest mummy won, we didn't win but a lot of laughter took place. The boys had another go back at the cottage on each other.

Most of the holiday the boys spent playing football, the site also had a lovely private indoor pool, some days we even went swimming twice. The kids really enjoyed playing about with Jon and I, we played Tag and water polo and generally splashed about. In the evenings we tended to stay in the cottage playing family games on the playstation (even got Jon joining in a karaoke evening on it.) and sports on the Wii.

All too soon it was Friday and time to pack and come home, even Butterly the cat popped in to say goodbye to us.

We thoroughly enjoyed our weeks break and found out that the fire service have 3 of these centers around the country, they not only use them for rest & recuperation and therapy for fire fighters, serving and X-serving firefighters can also hire the cottages at a small fee to help fund the center, Jon and I both would recommend giving this a go. You can stay full board, half board, or like us self catering, the cottages have everything you need for a comfortable stay. (photo me in the kitchen, Jon did do some of the cooking too!)

We would like to thank the Fire Service Benevolent Fund for giving us this opportunity to spend a whole week together. We can now see were part of the donations given to the charity get well spent.

16th October 2007

2007-10-16T22:00:00.000+01:00

Laughed and Cried this evening...

Finally after many many weeks of trying I have finally lost a stone of weight... only three stone left to lose... (sorry dont use kg).

But tonight I thought I was going to miss my clap/cheer from all the other people at my slimming club, they had a curry night tonight, and as I cannot even stand the smell let alone trying to taste curry, so I went in early for my weigh in and didn't stay to class.. felt really strange not staying.

But while catching up on Hollyoaks on the TV this evening the phone rang and I was told my mum wanted a quick word, but it wasn't my mum on the phone (it was her phone though!) it was Suzanne from slimming world.. she said she had something for me... the next minute I heard a big cheer and clapping... I hadn't missed my cheer for losing a stone after all... it made me laugh and cry... daft lot... but THANK YOU... its taken so long to get to this point... I hope to lose at least another half a stone before Christmas to hopefully go down a dress size.

13th October 2007- Party

2007-10-15T20:23:00.000+01:00

Today we had a celebration party to say THANK YOU to all our family and friends who supported us throughout Jon's treatment.

It was just drinks and nibbles nothing special really, we hired a local leisure center for the event. The Herongate in Hungerford, it was perfect, relaxing comfy chairs and sofa's a lovely bar with great bar staff.

It wasn't just adults, kids were welcome too... they were a bit lively at the start but we had taken a TV/Video machine down with Mr Bean... with a bit of bribery of calm down and you can have a refill of sweets did the trick.

We didn't have entertainment, but we did watch England win their semi final rugby game on a big screen, some people played pool, but everyone I have spoken to enjoyed the evening and catching up with old friends and having a chat.

Another reason for the event was to raise some money for the nursing staff at the Adelaide Ward, a donation pot was left on the Bar, we were very pleased with the result but donation's are still being given to us at the moment,(so no total yet) also the local fire brigade were Jon works have asked to do a Car wash and donate some of the proceeds to the fund for the nurses too.

There still were people who were unable to attend, it was a bit short notice, so maybe we can catch those people and take them for a drink another time.

Thank you to everyone who did manage to come have a drink with us... all thats left to say is THANK YOU.

7th October - Littlecote Dog Walk

2007-10-07T18:45:00.001+01:00

After a quiet morning, still recovering from the kids party .... we went on a 30 mile hike with Dean, Tina & Holly with Oscar...

Gemma and Oscar tried many times to chase rabbits and pheasants but thankfully neither managed to catch anything..

OK maybe 30 miles was an exageration but it felt like it at the time!.. the weather stayed nice and the dogs and kids had a really good run...

Back home now both kids and Gemma are worn out... looking forward to the peaceful evening ahead.

Bit of a blur as they never actually stayed still long enough to photo them.

Finally they stay still but a tangle of heads n tails shows how thirsty they both got.

5th October 2007

2007-10-06T00:29:00.000+01:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS

Today Chris is 9 years old... our little lad is growing up fast...

Never fun to have your birthday on a school day, but Chris had a good day and enjoyed sharing gingerbread men with all his class at the end of the day (meant to be a healthy snack or biscuit, and no sweets to pass to classmates not easy deciding what to take in.)

After School Chris had a couple of friends round for the afternoon then a sleepover, the whole evening has been based on Doctor Who.... everyone here today likes Doctor Who so made life easy...

They made Doctor Who masks... and played toys from the tv series... finally I found a small program on the BBC website that got the children to be the doctors assistant and help him on a mission lasts about 10 mins but they really enjoyed it. Its on the Doctor Who section of BBC website called attack of the Graske... I hope they make some more of them it was good fun watching them solve the puzzles.

After a final viewing of an episode of Doctor Who with bowls of popcorn, they finally went to bed... an hour later... eventually going to sleep...

All in all its been a fun day, I'm sure there will be some tired kids tomorrow from all the giggling that went on.

Hope they dont wake up too early tomorrow.... (fingers crossed)

9th September - BBQ

2007-09-10T23:24:00.000+01:00

After a celebration drink last night at our place with Dean and Tina and Holly the buck was passed to Deano and Tina, who put on one of their totally manic but great fun BBQ's, We took Gemma along too this time, she and Oscar are great together they just chased and chased, I know Gemma slept most of Monday to recover.

After the food, the boys played football, (at some points running around and rugby tackling each other), but a lot of laughter was had by all,

Us girls were much more civilized and just all went on the trampoline at the same time, again to the tune of a great deal of laughter.

It was fantastic to be having a fun day out as a family without any worries, without thinking Jon should be indoors, he shouldn't be playing football, he shouldn't be this or that... to see him and the boys chasing about together again is a dream come true.

Thanx Dean Tina for putting on a great spread of food, also thanx Scott and Holly for helping entertain the boys. Chris is already trying to work out the somersaults you tried to teach him.

Dean sent me about 40 photo's of the day, had I know a camera was about I would have done me hair :p

a few pics...

Gemma kept running off with the football

The boys posing for end of game photo

Gemma and Oscar proving they can sit still!

4th September - A day to remember

2007-09-04T16:48:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone... today is a day that Jon and I will remember for years...

We found out today that Jon is in Remission... his cancer and tumor have both totally gone and the last scan showed no abnormal cells at all..

This journey for now has come to an end.. I don't think we have stopped grinning and crying all day.

I would like to really really thank everyone involved in Jon's treatment and all the people who have supported Jon and myself throughout this journey, we could not have made it through on our own.

I'm pretty sure he had been put on over 20 prayer circles and lots and lots of people have prayed for his good health. (it worked ! )

We will be arranging at some point a BBQ/Party for people to come along and celebrate his good news. For now he needs to take it easy for at least the next 3 months and build his strength back up.

I will keep the website open, I have also made a paper copy of the blog to keep as a memento of our journey and the support you all gave us. I might even write on it again about future family events and days out.

Jon now just needs a blood test each month for two months and another blood test and consultation in November.

So if you have a glass (or cup of tea handy) raise a toast to say THANK YOU to all the staff at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, and to Jon himself on being so positive throughout his treatment... well done !!!!!

29th August - Happy Birthday Jon

2007-08-29T23:07:00.001+01:00

Happy Birthday Jon... your finally the same age as me again !!!!

I think I can write on behalf of Jon to say today has been fantastic, Jon's brother Steve arranged for us to visit "The KOP"..... Liverpool Football Stadium. We had a personal tour guide and shown around many locations of the stadium. We have many pictures taken and I will be making up a photo album at home to remember the day but I will post a few photos here for now.

Thank you so much Steve for driving us all the way to Anfield , and for arranging the whole day. It's certainly one we will all remember for years.

I would also like to thank the staff at Liverpool Football Club for making us feel so welcome and for the memorable day you gave our family.

27th August - My blood

2007-08-27T18:50:00.000+01:00

Have decided not to necessarily blog daily as sometimes not too much is happening... today though I felt pain....

But a good type of pain, with Jon receiving peoples blood via transfusions in hospital, the local blood collection was happening today in our town so I went along and donated, had forgotten how painful it is, (I mean the initial needle, am hopeless with needles) not that it lasts long, and I kept thinking to myself Jon has gone through 100% more and never once complained... I hope to give blood 3 times a year to help others in all sorts of situations as well as cancer sufferers like Jon.

25th August

2007-08-25T23:03:00.000+01:00

Were home... to a mess...

Well after a great holiday away at the caravan... the weather wasn't brilliant, but it did stay dry most of the time, just a bit cloudy, we had fun swimming and spending time with the kids, we also spent some days with Jon's mum, who lived close by, we played football and I taught the kids how to play Cludo.. used to enjoy that myself as a kid, not sure they fully understood the rules but we had a giggle. The weather started turning nice on the day we came home, so we took the kids to the beach.. I have gone my usual RED all over my back! but Jon and the boys have come out pretty unscathed! with the odd tiny red patch.

After a relaxing break it was very hard to come home to find a mess...

Am actually pretty choked up about it... the front of our house has been vandalized while we have been away...

Our front garden was a slate and rock garden.... didn't really get round to putting any plants in yet...

Most of the slate had been picked up and thrown into our porch... (my mum cleared this up on wednesday.. we didnt actually see this, she thought that was all that had happened and didnt want us to come home to find it.) So thank you mum, we are very greatful.

On closer inspection after arriving home... we found a plant pot on our porch roof... they had climbed up breaking off some of the wood of the porch in the process of climbing...

Our sensor light has been totally smashed and the wires pulled out...

Our side wall where we would normally park our car.. the wall has been knocked down but in a solid lump.. they have attempted to put the wall back but we can no longer park in our driveway incase the concrete wall falls onto our car... the contrete caps on the corner pillars has been hidden under the big pile of rocks they have moved into one pile.

The sky cable had been cut... so from Tues PM all sky programs on record have failed!

The caps on our side wall have been knocked off and smashed...

It feels so pointless to have to come home to such needless vandalism. I only wish we had a clue why or who... I will be asking around if anyone saw anything... the police have been informed.

17th August - Taking a break

2007-08-17T23:31:00.001+01:00

Hi all...

Been a busy day today packing and getting sorted for our short break, while away dad and his mate Mike will be working on our playroom roof to help stop the leaks, thankfully we talked one of our friends into house sitting while were away.

Had a nice surprise when we went to collect the key to the caravan from Chris's mum, he and Suzie arrived to pick up their dogs after camping for a week, was great to see you guys and tell you off for the gifts you had sent through the post to us !!!

I finally got to open all my gifts today, so a big thank you to everyone for all the lovely things you gave me for my birthday. Sorry the thank you is so late.... better late than never, the kids had made me lovely cards which I will treasure.

Well thats pretty much us signing off now... Jon's got a quick trip into the hospital with his dad tomorrow morning while I take the dog to the Kennels....

Back in a few days... take care everyone.

16th August

2007-08-17T00:21:00.000+01:00

Today seemed such an ordinary day but...

HE'S HOME... !!!!!!!!!

Yup he has finally come home, its been such a long stint in hospital this time, it seemed never ending.

He still has to return to the hospital on Saturday for some more platelets and a blood test, but thats fine, shouldn't delay our trip away too much, a short break down near the coast is planned.

14th & 15th August

2007-08-15T23:28:00.000+01:00

Nothing much new to report for both days other than Jon's bloods have slowed down again, so today (Wed) they decided to give him more blood transfusions to help speed it up again, we really really need him home by the weekend so we can get away for a break, I think we all as a family need it. Fingers crossed the transfusion does the trick!

13th August

2007-08-13T20:35:00.000+01:00

Yayyyyyyyyyyyy Jons bloods are finally on the move... slowly but moving, he has been given some platelets today and he was down to have 1 unit of blood too but that hadnt arrived before I left the hospital the first or second time... yup took 2 attempts to get rid of me today had to call out the RAC for the car.

Thankfully a very VERY nice RAC man came to the rescue, I was locked out of my car as the keyfob no longer worked. He checked the battery and signal of the key and it was fine, so he ended up opening the car manually, and setting the alarm off which is why I hadn't tried just using the key. For some strange reason my car key had recoded itself and decided it didnt want to work with my car, he temporarily has fixed the problem but suggests I pop back to the garage to get it reset properly and maybe look into getting a spare key.

Anyway enough about problems, fantastic to see Jon eating a proper meal this eve, his first in over a week, the mouth ulcers are on the way out and are far less painful which is a great sign of recovery overall. Few days and fingers crossed he maybe home!

12th August

2007-08-12T22:43:00.000+01:00

Well another weekend flown by... time for me is going fast... Im sure its not so for Jon, I cant imagine really how it is to be confined to the one room for weeks, your doing fantastic.. keep going! soon be over.

Jon had his dad visit this morning, and I went in for the afternoon, the boys spent the afternoon watching football then going off with grandad pops for a game of football.

No change with Jon today, temp is pretty much back to normal, I didnt actually see a nurse today so unsure what his bloods have done overnight, hopefully I will catch the doctor tomorrow and find out, it must be on the way up as one of his mouth ulcers is alot less painful.

Ah yes.. 12th August.. special day for 2 people .. Happy Anniversary Dean and Tina...lucky weekend for weddings *grin*

11th August - Lizz Birthday

2007-08-11T09:51:00.000+01:00

Officially its my birthday today,(21 again for the 17th time) so thank you everyone who has sent cards and gifts, I am though putting my birthday on hold until Jon is home from hospital, so I will be unable to thank you for things until I open them.

Steve and Toni are popping in to see Jon this morning, and Im doing a bit of shopping with me mum, Alan is on duty with the kids, they are very excited about a day at the Marsh and an afternoon watching the local team play thier first football match for the season.

10th August - Anniversary

2007-08-10T11:39:00.001+01:00

We had hoped to celebrate this at home, but who cares as long as we still love each other and are together today will be special enough.

9th August

2007-08-09T22:16:00.000+01:00

Another quiet day today apart from Jon stirring up the nurses with a poster on his door,cant really say much more than that... its been a giggle today seeing thier reactions.

Jons bloodcount is starting to move but very very slowly so it is unlikely that he will be allowed out of his room tomorrow, we had hoped to escape out to a drive through burger king or mcdonalds as a romantic meal out... this isnt to be... such a shame...

We will celebrate our anniversary and my birthday next week once hes home!

8th August

2007-08-08T22:12:00.000+01:00

Brighter Jon today, his dad popped in this morning and I was around for the afternoon, he finally got his line taken out this afternoon and got another nagging from the nurse about trying to hide temperatures... am getting them all on my side! Bloods havent dropped anymore so maybe now they can start going up again.

Also mum's been a star and finally found a kennels that sound nice to take Gemma for our weeks break soon. We will go visit them next week to check them out.

7th August

2007-08-07T20:40:00.000+01:00

So close to the end... they talked about taking his line out soon as its not needed, and he goes and gets an infection in the line, see our nagging him because of the temperature was for good reason, They did plan to remove the line today but it needs a specialist nurse to do it and she wasn't available. So the plan is to remove it tomorrow.

He has already had a line inserted on his arm to take the anti biotic, and with paracetamol taken regularly the temperatures should be controlled, its been a bit of a blow as we had hoped to be bringing Jon home this end of the week, but everything has now been delayed, still hes in the best place and be good to get him back to full strength before coming home.

Again today he picked at his lunch so we ganged up on him again and got him to drink a strawberry build up drink (which I think he does actually like as its like milkshake). Hes been told to order double soup and soft puddings if thats all he can manage.

Had a worrying phone message this eve before leaving the hospital, most of the houses in our road haven't had electric today, I was a bit worried about the tropical fish tank as they are very sensitive to heat changes, but thankfully our house was one of the lucky ones that kept electric... fingers crossed it stays on.

6th August

2007-08-06T23:08:00.000+01:00

3 Visitors today...

This morning Jon's dad went in to visit and this afternoon I went in to visit, but just after 3pm Jon had another visitor John Ayres one of his station officers popped in, its great when John visits cause hes been a brilliant help to Jon and myself, hes been there every step of the way when we've needed help and support, Its very hard to imagine John as an officer to me hes just John(sorry), but I know my Jon has a lot of respect for him. Will try to remember the hello Sir next time hehehehee.

Now back to my Jon, hopefully that didn't confuse you too much, not much change in his blood levels and his hemoglobin is very low, so he will need a couple of blood transfusions again. Jon needs a good clip round the ear,he tried hiding a temperature from us, but team work from myself and the nurses worked it out and hes been started on some anti biotics and bloods taken for cultures to find out whats causing it. Jon there is no escape, we are watching YOU!!

5th August

2007-08-05T21:46:00.001+01:00

Busy day today for visitors, this morning Jon had his sister Sarah visit, then at lunchtime his other sister Kim came to visit with Karl.

Just to totally finish Jon off I turned up with mum and dad and the boys, we had gone out for lunch then all went up to the hospital for an hour, then mum and dad took the boys home for a few hours to give me some time with Jon.

Boys a message from Daddy : I loved the new poster you made me Chris the animals on it look fantastic, and Rob thank you for the football poster It looks great on the wall.

4th August

2007-08-04T21:28:00.001+01:00

What a beautiful day today, so nice to wake up to sunshine!

Jon had his dad visit this morning, and I went in for the afternoon, we spent a little time reading the paper and discussing Big Brother, then we had a try at a pc game we had a while ago Sherlock Holmes mystery.. but we got stuck and I had left the walkthrough at home so couldnt cheat. So we spent the afternoon watching Sat TV which isnt alot of good.

Jon has mouth ulcers again at the moment, so hes finding eating difficult, I took him in some straws, and Liquorice but I think he will save it until they clear up. His blood count had been rising but had dipped a little bit down again today, hopefully it will go back to rising again, I need him home by Friday, positive thinking is needed!

Picked up two tired boys from my parents, they have been swimming and playing football all afternoon, maybe they will sleep well tonight? or at least sleep in tomorrow morning it is afterall THE HOLIDAYS but they still rise at the crack of dawn.

3rd August -

2007-08-03T19:51:00.000+01:00

I took the boys in to see Jon today, he also asked for me to take in the Monopoly board game, I had a hunch that it would end in tears... well not tears but tantrums..

Its the Star Wars version of the game, and we taught the boys the rules we play by, playing the game slowly and helping them, things were going well until Jon decided to buy cities (hotels in the old game)... I was first to land on him and Rob thought it was hilarious that I had to sell settlements (houses) and give over most of my money, but I built it back up again, next he landed on Jons twice, by this point Chris was already out of money and spending most of his goes in Jail...Rob then lost all his money, houses and the plot... he got very cross.. the smugness of when I had handed over money was gone and the "not playing anymore" attitude arrived .. got to love kids and games!

Afterwards Arthur one of Jon's nurses came in and asked if either of the boys could be his helper, Rob said no thanks, but Chris offered to help, he got Chris to pinch the skin up on Jon's stomache so that Arthur could give an injection... apparently (cause I was looking away like Rob) Arthur said Chris watched the whole process with awe... he wanted to be an engineer when he grows up.. wonder if that will change to a doctor?

2nd August

2007-08-02T22:16:00.000+01:00

Alan had the boys for me today, and they told me they had a great time, he took them swimming in the whirly pool ( a local stream ) and then he took them out to lunch, I think they also managed to squeeze in some football.

Jon is full of mischief at the min, and tried to play a few Jokes on me moving a chair in the same direction I was trying to walk etc, hes so going to get a slap once hes better cant hit a poorly person!

We sat and watched the film "Click" I really enjoyed it, it had some very sad moments but there was also a lot of laughter too, we enjoy watching a good comedy together when at home, so its great to watch the DVD's on the laptop.

Time goes really quickly in the hospital for me anyway, after helping Jon with his model a bit, and a visit from the doctors who are really pleased with Jons progress and feel he can have a CT scan booked soon to see the progress of the treatment. It might not get done while were in Reading we may have to return another day for that, were just all looking forward to getting Jon home again soon.

The injections they are giving him to help his blood count go up is again giving him a pain in his upper back/neck area, but at the moment painkillers are dealing with it and Jon's doing really well.

August 1st

2007-08-01T22:45:00.000+01:00

Well finally a hot sunny day... maybe Chris was right summer was waiting for August... not sure though!

I haven't been in to hospital today, I had my hair done this morning, its now shorter and 4 lovely colours... Red, Purple, Blonde with a base brown colour. Sounds freaky but looks really cool.. Thanx Lorna for the great hair cut.

This afternoon I had my old college pal Liz Warner visit, was great to catch up its been far too many years since we sat giggling with a cup of tea. We have promised to not leave it years before getting in contact again, Thank you for driving up from Cheltenham Liz, Love to David and the girls.

Anyhows back to Jon, as far as I know from speaking to him today on the phone, he's had a good day, his dad popped in to see him this morning and he spent some time on his model this afternoon. He had another injection today so hopefully this means his counts can soon come back up.

Look forward to the promised hug tomorrow Jon (:p)

31st July

2007-07-31T22:46:00.000+01:00

Jon had his Sister and her daughter Ellie visit him this morning, as I had promised to help the holiday school club on a barge trip along our local canal, I wasn't sure if I would get in to see Jon today, but as he had left his all important "Sims2" disc in his pc at home and wanted it in hospital how could I refuse! lol

I took the boys up with me this afternoon to visit Jon, where we spent the afternoon watching sky sports news on all the football transfers (Why did I not pack my Harry Potter Book!)The boys think its great that my birthday is the day of Liverpool's first match of the season.. Robert even suggested would I like a football birthday party, with a football theme of us all dressing up in football kits and football balloons and watching the match on TV and ... well you get the picture, surprisingly my answer was NO THANX! nice thought though.. bless him.

The kids and I ate at the restaurant in the hospital this eve, Jon is unable to leave his room to join us but we went back up to his room to spend a bit more time with him before travelling home. Oh before I forget ,The kids and I went to the new sweet shop in town and they took the sweets into hospital to help keep them amused,We had such a giggle with the boys trying a sweet that we both ate as a child.. I think it was called moondust then... its still in a small pack and its called popping candy... they both were in fits of laughter as the tiny shards of sweet popped and crackled on their tongue, this new sweet shop in our town is certainly taking us on a trip down memory lane, alas they can no longer get Liquorice Pipes I don't think they make them anymore.

Cya Thursday Jon, am off to have my hair done tomorrow as a birthday pressie from my mum and my old college pal Liz is visiting for the afternoon. will call you tomorrow.

30th July

2007-07-30T23:25:00.000+01:00

Jon woke up today and he looked different took a couple of min's to work out... but his eyes had all puffed up in the night, they had been sore yesterday but didn't hurt this morning but just looked like he had been in a boxing ring but without bruises.

Took Jon back in the RBH today and the doctor said his eyes were still due to the fluid retention and to sit upright today and maybe sleep in a more upright position this eve. Today though Jon had a lumber puncture and chemo,and is meant to lay on his front or back for an hour afterwards, Jon for the last few min's led on his side, he now has one puffy eye and one not... (but its not as puffy as this morning very much reduced).

Hopefully after tonight his eyes should be back to normal, I think I had secretly hoped that Jon would be allowed back home today until his blood level had dropped but from the bloods taken this morning Jon is already neutropenic so he cant leave his room until his blood count had gone low enough then built back up. So now is the time if you visit to really make sure your free of any colds, sick bugs or been in contact with things such as Chicken pox etc.

29th July

2007-07-29T23:04:00.000+01:00

Quiet Sunday at home, nothing much to say really other than Jon didnt sleep at all last night so trying to type really quietly so I dont wake him now forgot to write earlier... sleep well everyone cya tomorrow.. downside tomorrow is back to RBH.

July 28th - Day 5

2007-07-29T00:20:00.000+01:00

Hi.... wonderful day today, Jon's bloods finally clear of the chemo so he was allowed home, Steve and Toni had popped into the hospital on their way to the airport, so we managed a quick chat with them before we all got told that Jon could come home, I hadn't told the boys in case it didn't happen so they were really shocked when they got back from playing Tennis with grandad to find daddy sat having a cuppa.

Its great to see Jon so relaxed again, so different from in hospital this eve he's got the minx in him, he crept behind a door and scared me after I walked through... he might be ill but he was very close to a clip round the ear!

Planning on a quiet day tomorrow as he has to go back in on Monday for another Lumber puncture and prob to stay in for a 2 week period.

27th July - Day 4

2007-07-27T22:58:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone, Jon had to put up with just me today, the boys have been staying with Bob & Em and the gang today, and thankfully have behaved really well, got to see Tom's new car that hes saved up for himself, see working hard has its benefits, hope Bob got the new stereo in and working!

Jon was a little happier today, but still really bloated, but they are very confident that when the fluids stop being pumped in the fluid retention will stop, its happened in the past, but I guess we tend to forget what it was like. I know Jon's looking forward to a night without being woken up by the pumps making noises to say fluid bags need changing (myself I reminded him how many years I have had to put up with his fire brigade alerter waking me up, but we did chuckle that its maybe not quite the same!)

We sat and watched a movie together this afternoon, time passed really quickly, all to soon it was time for me to go, I guess we were both hoping that they would say he could come home today as in the past he got to come home for the weekend straight after Chemo but this time they started the chemo a day late so fingers crossed that his bloods results come back ok and he gets to come home tomorrow eve.

Yay.. Charley is out of the Big Brother house... we both had been voting, the text messages were flying between us this eve. (Jon and I, not with Charley). Simple things keep us amused in the evenings. What did people do before mobiles and texting?

26th July - Day 3

2007-07-27T00:04:00.000+01:00

This morning Jon's dad popped in to see Jon early leaving me some time to sort a few bits out at the house, at some point I need to get Chris started on his holiday homework (THE ROMANS), maybe next week!

I dropped the boys off to spend today and tomorrow at Bob & Em's house, I must say its been really strange having the house all to myself, Ive spent a lot of time here when the boys are in bed, but its strange the complete silence of being alone, am very glad of Gemma's company even if it us just the noise of her going in and out of the cat flap to get attention now I'm upstairs. The boys took their Wii with them ,will have to find out who won at the bowling on the Wii, not sure anyone can beat Chris!

Jon wasn't Jon today (sorry I know you read this but trying to keep this blog acurate) but he didn't have his mojo, we both agreed it had gone today. Problem is he is very very bloated from all the fluids they have pumped into him to remove the chemo from his blood, but its making Jon uncomfortable and sleepy. They have increased some tablets to try to flush the fluids through, am really hoping they start working, was really hard to be there and feel so unable to actually help or do anything.

We did sneak off the ward to get Jon a chocolate bar that he fancied having, I don't think the doctor noticed we had been gone longer than a few mins (we had permission for a short walk). It's nice to escape sometimes even if you are dragging along 3 pumps on a trolly thingy that wants to go in a different direction than your walking.

I went to Aqua fit this evening, the guy worked us hard again, will ache lots tomorrow, was late leaving the pool as I did a few lengths before getting out so I missed the start of Big Brother (TV program) Jon and I enjoy sending texts while both watching the program about whats happening, can almost believe were sat watching it together at home that way.

Ooops an essay and its late was playing catch up on all the programs Ive taped from the past week.

25th July - Day 2

2007-07-25T20:51:00.000+01:00

Jon was visited this morning by Sarah and Ellie, thanks for popping in to see him, I know he enjoys other people visiting, gets a bit bored with me I think.

I did though visit him today and I took the boys, they managed 2 hours which I think is a record for them without squabbling. They were very keen to see thier dad, they each had made a get well poster for him, (I blue tacked it to the door in his room so as not to harm the paintwork on the walls). The boys and Jon played a few board games that I took in to keep them all busy. They also enjoyed the sweets and chocolates too.

Best of all though the boys loved the ride on Jon's NEW bed, today they took away his very old hospital bed and replaced it with a new electric bed, they are replacing all the beds in the hospital. Breaking all rules the boys led on the bed (shoes off though) and Jon spent 10 mins lifting up thier heads and feet at one point almost doubling them up, it was great fun to see them messing about.. just hope the nurses didnt look in as there was alot of laughter.Not sure who had the most fun Jon pressing all the different buttons on the remote or the kids whizzing about on the bed!

Have heard the rain tomorrow is going to be pretty bad, am hoping to still get in to see Jon so if anyone knows any ways to get the sun to shine over Berkshire please shout.

24th July - Day 1

2007-07-24T22:16:00.000+01:00

The doctor popped in to see Jon this morning, asked if he had any questions, we said no and he replied well it is your 3rd session you prob know more about it than me now .... the staff are great at putting you at ease, they are so positive its hard to be anything but positive yourself.

Jon started his steroids and first set of Chemotherapy drugs today, we had a quiet morning with me reading my new Harry Potter book (got to chapter 10) and Jon playing on his laptop, we chatted and joked but sometimes just being in the same room is enough without words. All too soon it was time for me to leave, the nurses asked me on my way out if Jon had been wandering into other rooms today!! they haven't seen the label I made for the door saying "Jon's Room". His dad popped in for a few hours this afternoon while I did the wonderful task of food shopping.

I went to pick up the kids from mums but they refused to come home as Grandad Pops had promised them a game of Tennis... as he was babysitting tonight anyway with diet club, mum and dad just kept the kids till it was time for us to come home.

The diet went well this week, again wish it was a bit quicker but am heading in the right direction to be in a smaller dress size for Christmas. I lost 1.5 lbs again this week.. bringing my total for 5 weeks to 8.5lb. Haven't really noticed a difference in clothes fitting differently yet.

Jon is very tired, its the early starts and the fact that the fluids go through the night and disturb him, but we know its only for a few days.