Chris and Tim's Graduation Continued: part 2

...Our second-born, Timmy, on the other hand, arrived after we had already learned a thing or two.  He weighed exactly 8 pounds, 8 ounces, the very same as Christopher.  The similarity stopped abruptly there.  While Chris was a pudgy baby who weighed 12 pounds at his 6-week check-up, Tim had to struggle and fight for every ounce he gained.

Doctors warned us that Timmy would never reach his full potential in height due to the severe malnutrition and failure to thrive he suffered as an infant.  (He weighed less than ten pounds when he was admitted to the hospital at age seven months for a then-experimental procedure to close his esophagus enabling food to finally stay down.)  He proved them wrong, and he has been wary of "experts" ever since.

Tim remains a fighter and a crusader to this day.  One side of Tim desires to be the peace-loving middle child, but when a conflict occurs, Tim wants it settled quickly and with justice.

The last time he took Chris's advice was on his first birthday, when his big two-and-a-half-year-old big brother convinced him to swallow a bottle of blue food coloring.  Just as the guests were arriving in good Guatemalan (slightly late) fashion to celebrate the miracle of Tim's life, he began to scream in agony as the poison hit his tiny stomach.  Several blue diapers later, he was back to normal.

Tim's achievements fall in different categories than Chris's  By third grade, he had caught up to his brother in academics, and they continued side by side until now, when they both graduate together, two days past Tim's 17th birthday.

From a young age, Tim was a natural actor, clown, and puppeteer.  He excelled in natural science, studying lizards, snakes, and spiders for the sheer delight of learning.  He loved biology and did well in chemistry, too.  We jokingly call him our "mountain man."    (Note:  he later went to Prairie Bible and joined their "Explore" program to get a certificate in "mountaineering" or some such thing.)

One of Tim's aspirations in life was to camp out on every major mountain peak around our town in southern Mexico.  He studied survival skills and first aid just for fun.  (Note: Tim is the son who is an EMT and firefighter today.)

Tim is a hard worker, as any of our short-term teams can attest.  He is definitely happiest when outdoors.  Although he is an A student, he only did what was necessary in order to go outside and be a kid.  Up until the time we came to the states last year on furlough, the main thing you would say about Tim is that he is full of life.

Generally, Tim prefers to be in the center of activity, a leader among his peers.  Nothing would make him happier than if he could build a raft and sail down the Mississippi River with a few close buddies.  That's our Tim.

(Part 3 will wrap it up with a slide show and more descriptions and stories from the boys' childhood.)