It's our anniversary and once again our dear friend had a special gift for us.  You can read about about copper anniversary here.

So, can you guess which anniversary we just celebrated?

The bow was this colour:

There were several little parcels to open, but this one came first:

It is a fisherman's cottage and has my husband's name over the front door.  See the scripture?  Here's what came next:

"Look what I caught!"

There were lots of other goodies.....

My husband is originally from Yorkshire and those biscuits look fabulous!

Oh, this is definitely a good one.  I love chocolate.

So here is a photo of all the goodies (well, almost - I think the mints have already been opened).

Oh, yes there was a £10 note in the £10 tin.

So, have you guessed?  I look forward to your answers in my comments!

Yesterday Dad went back to the University/hospital for his new implant to be switched on. 

Praise the Lord, he can hear again!   I didn't like to ask how many implants have failed before they are switched on.  There is such a thing as too much knowledge!

He says I sound like Minnie Mouse at the moment, but the system will be extensively tweaked over the next 6 weeks or so, until he and they are happy with what he is hearing. 

I don't know how much further they are with their research, but last time on asking how his brain was adapting to hearing through an implant the professor said that they have no idea!  The Lord made our brains in an amazing way.

Today Mum had got her results back from her biopsy.  She got the all clear.   The consultant gave her all her notes to read, complete with photos etc., so she is sure she has been told the whole truth.  The consultant further said that there was not even a hint of malignancy and that it is extremely unlikely that the problem will recur.  I think that deserves a 'Praise the Lord!'

Interestingly as a by-product of all this my mum's back has been much better.  She has had a great deal of pain in her back and has been on very strong painkillers with no hope of improvement.  Since this episode started about 7 weeks ago she's hardly had to take a painkiller!  When her back deteriorated she was asked if she had any gynae problems but of course said no as at that stage she didn't, so we're thinking there was some correlation.  Many of us will know the back ache that comes with monthly cycles....  She had had some kind of injection in her spine some 6 weeks before this episode, so that may have also eventually 'kicked in'.  Anyway, whatever has happened, the Lord has done a great thing for her back too.

In the meantime she has been to the eye clinic where they have confirmed that she has a cataract - a very pretty one, apparently (!) - and that they will operate on it fairly soon.  Again there is a small risk associated with the op. but usually there are huge benefits to having it done.  So now we move on to the next round of hospital visits!!

Thank you so much for praying!

Thank you again for all those who are praying.

It's an interesting thing to see how life changes when there are those among you who are ill.  I guess it helps us to remember what is really important.

Dad is still in the 'healing up' stage, though it looks to me as though his wound is all but better now.  He is due to go for 'switch on' next week sometime.  It is more obvious now that he is deaf as he is unable to control his tone and volume.  On the plus side, it seems to me that he is better able to lip read than I remember him being last time!

Mum has had her biopsy done and had a couple of polyps removed.  The surgeon told her that there was nothing 'ominous', though we are still waiting for the full biopsy report. 

In the midst of all this, I also had some tests done.  Bit long and complicated... but the upshot is that the doctor looked at me in total disbelief and told me I am disgustingly healthy!!  Sadly, I don't feel 'disgustingly healthy'!  What he actually meant was that all the tests he had done had come back good or very good.  It was the first time I'd had my cholesterol done and it came in at only 3.3.  His mouth actually dropped open on that score (below 5 is considered excellent) and asked twice if I was sure I wasn't on medication to get such a result, especially as I don't do enough exercise.  No!  (He had my medical history on the screen in front of him.)  And, yes, I do eat butter and red meat and probably a load of other things I'm not 'supposed' to eat, but I also crave fruit and veg and eat a LOT of it every day.  Oh, and I get to go back to the doctor in 6 weeks time to see 'how I'm getting on'.

Anyway, it made me think about our perception of things.  How much of illness is down to stress or what goes on in my head?  I have always considered myself to be fat.  I cannot remember a time when that wasn't true.  Even when I lost a ridiculous amount of weight in Africa after months of sickness and then being caught up in a civil war (so, not because I was dieting), and to my family looked painfully thin, I still had a 'tummy' and thought I could lose more weight without looking too bad.  Perception - funny thing.  I was NOT fat then, or during the majority of my childhood.  I did have a slight mobility problem, like LJ has and I now think that was where my wrong thinking came from.

Now, I am actually officially 'overweight'.  My BMI (body mass index) is too high and I need to do something about it.  I want to do something, but though the spirit is willing, the flesh is (very) weak!  I think I would improve my overall health if I got a bit of weight off and maybe I'd then feel 'disgustingly healthy'!!

How important it is to see ourselves as we ought.  I could have saved myself years of stress about my weight if only I could have seen myself properly.  I remember that song from some years back that went something along the lines of, 'Whose report will you believe?  We shall believe the report of the Lord!'  The Bible teaches us to think on these things - the true, the pure, the lovely, the honest, the things that are excellent or praiseworthy  (Phil 4:4-9)  Does this change my perspective?  Oh yes!

Thank you to those praying.  And I hope my American friends are enjoying Independence Day!

Dad has had his operation and is home.  As I thought, the research people were quite excited at the prospect of getting their hands on an implant that had been in use for several years and had now failed.  The technology is still new enough for them to be learning a great deal from things like this!  I'm not sure what they will be able to learn though as the surgeon had to yank some of it out, it being so embedded in scar tissue (his words).  Maybe that was what the problem was - too much scar tissue?  The surgeon said that the Professor who did Dad's surgery originally had done 'something different' and 'it threw me!'  Dad was delighted with the honesty of that remark.  Ah, and there's a surgeon who has not been able to let his handwriting deteriorate as it is the only way he can communicate with his many deaf patients!

They took an x-ray to check the implant is in the right place and have sent him home to recover and heal.  His wound this time is really small - maybe 3 or 4 inches.  Last time it was massive - cutting maybe 12 inches (or more and 22 stitches in his ear) and then peeling the whole section back onto his cheek to access the inner ear.  Now, they almost do 'keyhole surgery' through a small incision about where your glasses sit.

It will be anything up to 6 weeks before they turn it on, depending on how it heals.  Dad is a bit grotty after the aneasthetic, but otherwise is good.  He's talking well, which fools you into thinking he can hear. 

Deafness.  It's not something I'd like to experience. 

Appreciate your continued prayers - thanks!

Since we got back from Canada, life has not been easy.  Three of the five people closest to me are ill or needing surgery, or both!

My mum has a gynae problem which has suddenly appeared and is in the process of having tests.  Of course, the fear is that it is cancer and we have already walked that path with Mum before, she being a breast cancer survivor of 18 years.  The not knowing is very hard.  She goes into hospital for a biopsy (under general aneasthetic) a week Thursday.

Dh is not well and is struggling to get through it.

My Dad is profoundly deaf.  We don't know why, but some years ago his hearing began to fail, quite dramatically. At the time he was overseeing a the building and running of a hospital in a very remote part of Congo.  The doctor there, a wonderful, Godly man firmly believed that God would do a miracle and that his hearing would be restored in his left ear, which was the worst.  In 1996, I think, my folks came back to the UK to see if anything could be done and eventually through a series of amazing events it was agreed that he could have pioneering surgery and have a cochlear implant.  The dear doctor in Congo had no idea such a thing was even remotely possible, but the literature about it was headlined, "The miracle cure"!  The specialists then told my dad that they would operate on the worst ear, just in case it didn't work, as then he'd still have the 'good' ear.

The surgery was very succesful and we greatly rejoiced.  It seemed that he'd had almost the best result they'd ever had from the surgery!  Now, it is a much more common thing and even has NHS funding, but then it was very new.  Unfortunately over the last few months his implant has slowly started to 'die' and his hearing has once again deteriorated badly.  Happily they have agreed to give him a new implant and this time there is no problem with funding.  He goes tomorrow for the surgery and should be home Friday all being well.  He will be completely deaf for 2 weeks and then they will switch the new implant on and we will see the results.  He is quite excited as the technology has moved on in leaps and bounds and now he should be able to hear music again!

Please will you pray for us all?  It would be greatly appreciated!  So much could go wrong, yet I believe we serve a God who still heals today and I am doing my best to trust Him, whatever outcome He gives us.