Praise the Lord!!

The final grades are not in yet for Biology, but Danielle is confident that she aced the Biology exam. Her grades came in for Geometry so she knows she passed it. I am so appreciative of those teachers who really showed grace and mercy to Danielle. The Geometry teacher had every "legal" right to fail her and make her repeat the course, but consulted with the principle and counselors and decided to let Danielle have a "do-over" on the final. She studied extra hard and made a "76." Praise God!

I hope that Danielle can learn some valuable lessons from this. 1) Hard work pays off. She still may need some adjustment on medication, but even the way she is now, I think with extra hard work and maybe some adjustment on how she is given tests (504 Cecil), she can make it. 2) I hope that she can see the value of grace through this experience. As I said, that teacher did not have to give her a do-over.

There may be more that we can learn from this, but suffice it to say that tonight, there is a lot of relief in our home.

I just want to say again that your encouragement through this blog has been tremendous. Thank you all!

Prayer For Danielle Part II

(This is a picture of Danielle putting the angel on the tree--a family tradition. Each of our four children take turns each year doing this.)

Thanks for all your concern and your thoughts. How encouraging you all are!

I went to the school counselor today and also the Biology teacher to discuss Danielle's situation. They were, as I expected, very helpful. We think that one of her problems is the ability to process information. For example, she may completely understand the definition of a word, but have a hard time processing the definition into a concept. They gave me some tips to teaching her how to answer questions that I hope will help. (For Cecil, they also have the 504 plan that they are going to adjust. They think that if Danielle can mark on her tests and make little notes to help her process that it will help her. They will put that in her 504 plan.)

Here is the good news. The teacher refigured Danielle's scores and concluded that Danielle could still pass Biology if she made at least a 74 on her final. More good news--the final is the same identical test that she just finished taking only the questions will be shuffled. They had a review today where the teacher gave the whole class enough time to review the entire test, copy all the right answers, and even copy the questions. That is their study guide for the final exam. You can't get more help than that.

So here is where you guys come into play. We need prayers that Danielle will be able to make that 74 at least. I told her that we were shooting for an "A." We will see.

Just a side note: As I was leaving the school, I passed through the office, looked up and saw Coach Mike Shula of the University of Alabama standing there. He was there for the verbal "signing" of our star kicker, Lee Tiffin. You Alabama fans will remember his dad, Van Tiffin who once kicked a game winning field goal against Auburn in the last seconds! This kid actually kicked a kick off this year that went through the uprights. That's 75 yards. He also kicked a 48 yard field goal. Just like his dad!

As a left the building, I could not help but think, "Here's a kid signing a full ride scholarship to a Division 1 school and my daughter is just wanting to pass Biology." I am proud for Lee and don't mean to sound like I'm not, I just thought it was a weird antithesis.

Prayer Request For Today

Most of you have heard me blog about Danielle. She is our daughter who has Absance Seizures. Today, I have a prayer request concerning her.

At noon today she enters into biology for her nine week's test. She has never, until this semester of school, made a grade less than a "C." Most of the rest of her life she has been on the honor roll. For some reason she has had a semester that has been tough for her. We are hoping that she has had a bad time simply because of the subjects (Geometry and Biology). However, one of our fears has been that the medication she is on would someday adversely affect her school work. She is taking Topamax, a drug that has the potential to slow the thinking processes down.

Here is the prayer request. In order to pass Biology, Danielle must make at least a "C" on her nine week's test today and her final exam the end of this week. We have studied so hard that I feel confident that I could go in and pass this test. (Just a note that Biology was one of my worst subjects in school). She knows the study material front to back. Just pray that she have a "happy recollection" of the things which she has studied. You "C of C" guys will know that prayer by heart!

Thanks for all of you encouraging me as you do!