Timothy The Scholar

Came home from work last week, and found Timothy in the "school room".

He decided to pull out an ESV Study Bible, summit his sister's stool at her counter-height desk, and begin quietly reading.

OK . . . so he was just looking at the color maps, but the sight was priceless.

Our Recent Trip To Philly

A week ago, we returned from a round of appointments in Philadelphia. Being at the end of the summer, we decided to make the journey a family affair by taking the entire family.

Apart from a visit to the Philadelphia Zoo, which happens to be the oldest (and on that particular day, the hottest) zoo in America, our visit was primarily filled with medical assessments centering on three areas:

Spine
Timothy loves his neurosurgeon (as do we), and the entire way to Philadelphia, Timothy was a broken record: "Go see Dr. Danni. Go see Dr. Danni."

As Dr. Samdani entered the room with his team of residents, Timothy shouted, "Look! Dr. Danni has friends!" All those years of medical school, only to be labeled a "friend"!

Upon looking at Timothy's x-rays, Dr. Samdani concluded Timothy's spinal fusion had healed perfeclty to the point of not needing any more back braces or protective devices. FREEDOM! In essence, Timothy was given the "all clear" . . . at least for the short term.

Timothy does still have a scoliosis and lordosis in his upper spine,. Should these curves increase significantly, surgery will be required, as such an increase could significantly compromise his heart and lung function. That being said, his upper spine has shown no signs of curvature increases over the past 6 months, and there is even the potential the curves may actually reduce on their own.

Either way, Timothy will require another surgery at some point (minimum 2 years) to simply remove some of the hardware in his spine. If he can get to age eight (when the human lungs fully develop) without any major spine changes, he will be able to further postpone any additional surgeries.

What we took away was simply this: Timothy is free to run, jump, tackle, and climb free of devices . . . and simply be a boy!

Hands
Timothy's hand surgeon happened to be in the clinic, and he graciously came by to give Timothy the once over. He thought Timothy's hands looked remarkable, with no need for additional surgery. He did, however, fit him for a thumb splint to get his left thumb sticking out further when he makes a fist. Although he has the physical ability to put his thumb in its correct position, he prefers to tuck his thumb inside his fist. His splint (called a "Joe Cool") will encourage him to give folks a hearty "thumbs up"!

Lower Extremities
Of his three appointments, this one represented the largest unknown. Timothy's lower extremities have never been fully examined, as conventional wisdom has led to us postponing such exams until his spine was more stable. Unfortunately, since Timothy's spine surgeries, we have noticed his feet turning in more and more, so we were a bit concerned as to what the doctors might find.

Were his hips out of alignment? Were his leg bones twisted? Were his knees rotated inward? Were his ankles contracted? All of these questions were on the table and in our minds.

After conducting his x-ray examinations, the doctor prefaced our conversation with this statement: "When it comes to walking, Timothy will probably lose a point or two for style, but that's OK!" We agreed, as we are very confident any style deductions will be more than made up for in personality!

He continued: "After examining Timothy's lower extremities, his hips, knees, legs, and ankles look to be very healthy given his syndrome. Everything is aligned properly, and there is no evidence of fixed contractures. So at this point, there is no need for any surgical correction."

Whew.

The doctor went on to tell us, by and large, what has happened is this: In order to compensate for his spinal curve over the years (which threw his center of gravity off significantly), Timothy has learned to propel himself very effectively with his "little toe muscles" rather than his big toe. Talk about resilient.

Try it sometime. You'll find your feet turning inward . . . and if you do it long enough, it will curve your feet as well! A la Timothy.

In essence, Timothy's muscles have grown and stretched in abnormal ways, thus we will need to correct everything with splinting. Beleive me, we'll take a splint over surgery any day!

Timothy was fit with a new pair of splints (which will fit completely inside his shoes), and we will return to Philly in a month's time to pick up his splints and to have them properly adjusted.

Once they are in place, we have been encouraged to get Timothy active in as many physical activities as we can. Of course, Timothy needs little encouragement from us in this area. It seems to be his specialty.

So, to recap:

- No surgeries
- Two splints
- Six hours of DC traffic
- One great visit to Philadelphia!

We'll take it.

The Moment I Long Dreaded Happened Today

Shortly after Timothy was born, my mind began racing toward his middle school years. I dreaded the thought of him being publicly picked on or made fun of by others.

Well, it seems I was off in my estimation by about 10 years. It happened today . . .

The scene: Chic-Fil-A playroom. On duty: Big sister.

Two older kids began picking on Timothy as he was playing in front of the slide.

Anna Ritchie gallantly stepped in. "That's my brother."

In response, one of the kids pushed Timothy.

Timothy paid them no mind and simply climbed up the stairs, making a quick getaway. Anna Ritchie, seeing little brother was safe, stepped out of the playroom and phoned me at work from Teressa's cell phone.

"Dad, I'm here at Chic-Fil-A, and there were two big kids picking on Timothy. One of them even pushed Timothy."

Pausing to take a deep breath, she said slowly, "Dad, I am very concerned about these two kids."

Her words, combined with her tone, was so precious to me.

She spoke protectively of her brother. She had turned both cheeks, and with no more cheeks to turn, I could tell she was actively restraining herself from throwing off the gloves and rumbling! No one is picking on her brother (except for, of course, her)!

Yet . . .

She spoke compassionately of others. She said more than once in our conversation, "Daddy, I tried to talk to them, but they just wouldn't listen." She was truly bothered for these kids, wanting them to know there is a better way to life.

Out time on the phone was one of those great character forming moments. A moment I will forever cherish.

Timothy, you have a great big sister.

Oh, and by the way, Mom stepped into the playroom . . . and well . . . let's just say things got resolved.

A New School Year . . . A New School

After nearly six months of actively seeking God's wisdom for our family, Teressa and I have decided to take a leap of faith -- perhaps one of the largest leaps of faith in our lives to date. In less than two weeks, we begin homeschooling.

We have absolutely loved the school community which we have been a part of with Anna Ritchie these past three years. In fact, we will be saddened not to be interacting with the teachers, parents, and students on a daily basis (although we look forward to maintaining many of the relationships). That being said, we have sensed God shifting our hearts in a slightly different direction.

During the last year, our family has been physically "separated" for a total of over five weeks due to medical procedures with Timothy in Philadelphia. Certainly this is not much time in the grand scheme of things, but it has been enough time to cause Teressa and I to rethink the unique opportunities and circumstances we have with our children.

During this process of re-examination, on a plain 'ole Spring evening, we sat down and read Psalm 78 together. We found Scripture giving voice to some deep desires we were both sensing. We both had a growing desire to see "the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, His power, and the wonders He has done" to be told to our children . . . with the hope that "they in turn would tell their children" (Psalm 78:4-6). Combined with a desire to expose our children to a broader scope academically and to simply spend more quality, intentional time with our children . . . homeschooling seemed to be offering us, in a season of life, a tailored opportunity to have these desires more fully lived into.

And so . . . by faith, we crossed the line and resolved, "We will homeschool next year." Of course, this was followed up with the big anxious-ridden question of, "HOW?"!

Along the way, we have done much research on homeschooling, much talking with a number of wonderful homeschooling friends, and much dialoguing as a family . . . and we stand excited about what lies ahead.

Are Teressa and I scared? Absolutely! But we are more so at rest with the fact God has led us to this decision, God will supply His strength to us throughout the journey . . . and He will grow our family deeper and closer in the process.

To ensure a sense of "fun" and "school spirit" . . . we are calling our school Green Valley Academy. Home to the Green Valley Terriers (ferocious sounding, I know). The neighborhood we live in is called Green Valley . . . and yes, our dog (a Boston Terrier) was thrown into the mix, serving as our school mascot.

We are excited about the curriculum we have chosen from among the sea of options:

• History, Literature and Composition: Tapestry of Grace
• Mathematics: Saxon Math
• Grammar: Easy Grammar
• Spelling: Spelling Power
• Handwriting: A Reason For Handwriting
• Science: Apologia (Astronomy)

Of course, these are simply tools to be used in growing, educating, and enjoying our daughter (and son).

We are committed to (as one friend puts it) the "each year, each child" approach. We will examine all of the schooling options available each year for each child, and determine what is best for that particular season. For this year and for our family, we are resolved to and thrilled about which God will do in and through us . . . at Green Valley Academy.

(By the way, thanks to our friend Rebecca who helped us with the the logo!)

My Wife Turns Seventeen

Although she at times may wish the above statement was true in physical terms . . . it is very much true in spiritual terms. Seventeen years ago today, Timothy's mom received Christ as her Savior and as her Life.

In light of 2 Corinthians 5:17 . . .

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

. . . the NEW TERESSA turns 17 today.

The outworking of His life in my wife over the years has been remarkable. Equally remarkable has been the way God has used Teressa in my life to grow me as His follower. To Him . . . and for her . . . I am grateful.

I was reflecting on Proverbs 18:22 today . . .

"He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD."

. . . and realized yet again, I am blessed.

And in the measure I have recieved favor from the Lord, I hope I recieve forgiveness from my wife for posting a picture of her without her prior approval!

Guatemala

Timothy's big sister and I went to Guatemala for a week-long mission trip. Tonight, I spent some time putting together a very short video for her to remember her journey and the people whom she served. Thought I would post it on Timothy's blog, as God has used Timothy in his big sister's life to work in her a strong sense of compassion and grace.