Hi there… I'm afraid I still have not got around to taking any photos of our new home - this last week has not been easy, but I want you to know before I go any further that we are all OK!

However... we took Daniel to A&E yesterday because since Tuesday he had seemed to be protecting his left arm – wincing when we put his arm through clothing, crying occasionally when we touched it and not using it as much when playing… he has generally been quite unsettled this week as well…

Yesterday morning we noticed that he seemed not to have very much strength in his left grasp – he needed to use his right arm to help him pick up toys – so we decided to take him to the emergency clinic at our pediatricians… they did x-rays and then sent us to A&E for a second opinion since there was a shadow on his left radius (forearm bone) which might indicate a fracture… having got to the pediatric clinic at 10am, we did not leave A&E until 6pm - so it was a LONG day - and the outcome is that Daniel DOES have a very small fracture in one of the bones in his left forearm – apparently the fracture only goes part of the way across the bone, so it is not very serious – but he has come home with his arm splinted and in a cast…

He is amazing. All day at the hospital he was smiling and laughing – charming all the nurses and being completely wonderful. Even this week, although he has cried more than usual, he has still been totally lovely for a lot of the time – and he’s been coping with the pain of a broken arm… I just can’t believe what a lovely character he has! MUCH nicer than me!

We have absolutely NO idea how he managed to fracture his arm – he slipped in the bath the other day and I had to grab him to stop him banging his head… but he didn’t cry and it didn’t seem a big thing… he also fell the other day when he slipped sideways when he was standing at the sofa – but again, no tears and we didn’t think anything of it… we are both totally stumped to explain it… but it has happened…

We’re seeing the specialist pediatric orthopedist on Monday and he’ll tell us what’s what in terms of recovery – but it might be that he is in a cast for 6 weeks… we’ll see.

We are continuing to preach to ourselves that this is all part of God’s good plan for our little boy – but I am struggling to hang on to that truth if I’m honest – it just feels as though he’s already been through SO much in his little life – I don’t understand why something ELSE had to happen… and looking after a baby with a hot, uncomfortable and heavy cast on his arm, which we must not get wet, is going to be challenging – I am feeling a bit sorry for myself having to cope with this in a new place where I don’t know anyone…

God IS good… He IS. Please do pray for us all – and especially for that precious little boy as he copes with the uncomfortable and confusing reality of having his arm in a bulky cast… although actually, he seems absolutely FINE this morning - I think he's loving the attention - it's his parents that are struggling with it!

One thing that has made me smile is that whenever anyone sees Daniel & Ed together, they all say that Daniel is the spitting image of his Father. I have been slightly stumped to know what genetic material I have contributed to the mix... well, as many of you will know, I broke MY left arm THREE times before I hit my teens. It seems that Daniel has inherited his Father’s good looks and chilled personality but the ONLY thing I can see that he’s inherited from ME so far is WEAK BONES in his LEFT arm!!! At this rate, he’ll beat my left-arm-breakage total before he hits school!

Daniel is down for his nap right now, but when he wakes up, I'll take a photo of the wounded soldier for you and upload it... you never know, I might just take those photos of our new home too! Watch this space!