I have had an excellent day in excellent company. My life is lovely and I'm surrounded by lovely people.

My hospital appointment for treatment was first thing this morning and Tom and Lewis accompanied me, which made it all the more bearable.

I had to have some extra blood tests taken as my proteins are high and my calcium levels hadn't been checked.

Lewis and I had decided to go to work with Tom and go with him to Worcestershire to collect our spa. Lewis loved it, sitting up the front of the van and chatted endlessly until he fell asleep on my lap.

Sometimes when I look at my boys I could burst with the depth of love I feel for them.

During the journey Lewis said if he could reach the stars he would give them all to me. It is actually a line from one of the songs on my Cher CD but I didn't let on that I knew that. It still felt just as beautiful to me, as if it had been an original line anyway.

It was gone ten by the time we got home. Tom looked shattered and I suspect may have had a bit of a headache after all our singing. We had so much fun making up songs and laughing and messing about.

I have no idea how the spa is ever going to fit but it has been such a lovely day I don't really care and I have every faith in my more than capable husband.

We collected Jacob, who had been at my dad's, and both boys helped to get the spa off the van.

I had the rather more elegant task of flouncing up and down waving my arms in front of the security light to keep it on.

I'm still worried about not really knowing what is happening about my work situation.

For the time being, I am officially off sick and our human resources department is trying to determine how much we will have to live off when I am retired on the grounds of ill-health.

My concerns are not so much for myself but for my family after I die and the fact that they will lose out on the death in service grant if I am retired and that really doesn't seem fair.

Jacob enjoyed a day's climbing at Harrison's rocks today while Lewis and I cycled into Hove to meet my friend Emily.

Lewis's bike played up continuously there and back and at one point a man along the seafront offered assistance. He was in Brighton visiting his brother, who has cancer. I shared my story and thought how strange it must seem to anyone that so much is going on inside my body and mind but I appear to be functioning so normally.

Tom worked all the next day to get our spa operative - I am like a child with a new toy.

Jacob cycled back to Henfield for the night with his grandma and David and Tom, Lewis and I watched a film while we waited desperately for the spa to heat up. It made it a late night but it felt very special.

If it hadn't been for our situation I think we would have considered a spa as too big a luxury but then again, life's too short. I would never want to get to the point of not appreciating all I have.

Monday was a hectic day with preparations for our camping trip. Jacob and his friends were booked on a morning's kayaking so I dropped them off and caught up with some of my colleagues.

I know it is ridiculous but I can't help feeling I'm letting down everyone at work by simply not resigning. But for the sake of my family I feel I need to hold out for as long as possible.

We are pretty dependent on the death in service grant, which is a horrible situation to be in.

At home it was really hectic with me trying to get organised.

Our spa broke down with all the children in it and flooded the garden, so that didn't help my stress levels. I pulled out the fuse and fortunately Tom was able to repair it when he arrived home.

We were very late arriving in the New Forest, having got lost a few times en route. But for me that's all part of the adventure. I bring the children camping every year and every year I manage to get lost - it has become something of a family tradition.

I love camping and have so many happy memories of our family holidays. When I talk to my brother and sisters about our strongest childhood memories we all agree it is of our family camping holidays and I am confident that these are the types of memories my children will cherish.

I really thought last summer would be the last time I would ever camp and here I find myself. I feel so privileged.

I wonder if my friends Vanessa and Natalie realise just how much it matters to me that they have made the effort to be here with their children to help build this special memory for mine.

I never forget that I have cancer and how seriously ill I am but I do on occasion choose to dismiss the fact. Today was one of those occasions.

I awoke early to noisy campers and rain and decided I might as well get up. We walked into Brockenhurst to pick up our hired bikes and cycled to Beaulieu, where we stopped at a picturesque lake where a number of ponies had come down for water. The children swam in the lake and we all had ice creams.

Jacob and his friend Oliver rode a tandem and they looked really good on it.

Just before heading back I felt about ready to collapse. Vanessa noticed I was looking somewhat weary and I knew I needed to lie down so I took my friends up on their offer to walk the children and luggage back and wandered on ahead.

It has been a really lovely day, even though my body seems to be rebelling.

By the time I awoke everyone else was ready to go to bed but kindly sat up with me for a while.

Jacob accompanied me to the shower block and I'm so pleased he did because he saw his first ever shooting star - I hope he remembered to make a wish.

  • Sandra will be on holiday for the next two weeks.