Gideon and His Puppy Sah-Sah

Gideon loves his dog Solomon (he pronounces it Sah-Sah as that's Kathee's nickname for Solomon and because Gideon can't pronounce Solomon). Tonight while Kathee and I got caught up in kicking the ball back and forth to each other, Gideon headed for the door and wanted to go inside. Solomon (our black lab who hates being outside, hates playing fetch, is afraid of water, and is allergic to grass) was also waiting at the back door to be let back inside.
When I turned to look at Gideon, he had his arm resting across Solomon's shoulders and was just standing at the back door with Solomon just watching Kathee and I play together. It was pretty awesome, actually!

Gideon's New Sports Equipment

Gideon absolutely loves being outside now that it's nicer weather. However, he doesn't have any outside toys. So I took Gideon to the store today to procure a soccer ball and a four square ball. Here he is helping by carrying the four square ball in to the house. Recently he has begun taking great pride in helping carry things to the house or out to the car. Here's the progression.
The threshhold from the garage to the sidewalk is an ENORMOUS undertaking for the boy. But he will not be stopped from completing the task at hand. Notice that he doesn't hold on to the bag in case he takes a digger, he has both hands to catch himself.
This pose is literally, do I obey Papa's command to go in to the yard, or do I make a run for it to the alley? This time he chose the yard.
No ladies, although he does look like he's on the catwalk, he's busy working.
Still moving towards the house!

Body By Bud

Kathee walked to Vintage Baby (a consignment store) for an Easter outfit for Gideon. I sure hope the pictures below are not what he is wearing this Sunday for Easter. Although this week's high is supposed to be 80, I don't see this as the best choice. Plus, modesty here, folks, modesty!Not sure if he is flippin the wax here, going all P-Diddy on us in his urban swimwear or what. Either way, he's hot!
Although Momma does P90X, this physique is all-natural!
His new dance is to hold his shirt under his chin, and dance around while slapping his stomach. If we ask him, he'll do the "tongue dance" where he spins around flipping his tongue in and out of his mouth. Not sure if he can do the tongue dance and the belly slap dance simultaneously yet, we'll work on that.

My Two Favorite People in the World

Kathee and Gideon took some self-shots today in front of the mirror. What a famous-looking duo. I have it well, friends, I have it well.

The House Was Abuzz

We had the Pothoven family over for supper. So Dave, Vicki, and their three kids came over for supper and play. Kathee watches Nathan each Thursday so Vicki can attend Bible Study Fellowship, so Gideon and Nathan get along pretty famously. It's fun to do life together with others in the body of Christ.
Quazi-together play
Obvious parallel play

Gideon's Lofty Position

A few days ago Kathee went to search for Gideon, who appeared to be too quiet for his own good. So she krept in to the kitchen to find that he had taken the step stool, moved it quietly to where he wanted it, opened it up, and was up on the top platform grabbing stuff off the frige.
He loves dinking around in the sink, as that's where Momma does the dishes. So we watch as he messes around, collects all the dirty dishes, and moves them to the drying area. It's obvious that he watches his mother (who does dishes a lot less since we got a dishwasher over Christmas).
Whenever Kathee and I are in the kitchen preparing a meal (okay, so most of the time it's Kathee alone), Gideon has to be on the step stool watching and "helping."

The Little Reader

We find that Gideon is spending more and more time finding a book, grabbing it, and retreating to a nice, comfortable chair for some "reading" time. Sometimes it's quietly,sometimes it's out loud. But it seems that all the time he enjoys it.

Gideon and Prayer

Just a few minutes ago Gideon got up from his nap. In a few minutes from now, we are having the Pothoven family over for supper and fellowship (they are in our couples Bible study). After family assignments were given (I'll start the grill shortly while Kathee spruces up the house a bit), I went to the 3-seasons porch to read some more of John Piper's Spectacular Sins book. In short order, Gideon came out to visit, closing both doors behind him.
As soon as our niceities were complete, Gideon wanted to return to the main part of the house. However, the last door had latched and he was unable to open the door. So he sat looking in at Momma vaccuuming inside the house and started whining and doing his best to hold back tears. I had quietly set my book down and was waiting for him to turn and say, "Help, please." But he never did. He just stood there messing around with the door, looking in at Kathee, and wanting to be inside, but he never asked for help.
Then it donned on me. That's me with prayer. How often do I get myself in to something (sometimes on accident, sometimes intentionally) that I am unable to get myself out of in life? And so I work and work, and ultimately end up in exhaustion and despair and giving up, because I'm stuck. And the entire time, my good heavenly Father is literally right beside me, ready to help and fix and remedy, and yet I never ask. Either from pride, forgetfulness, or any other reason, I miss out because I don't ask.
And I'll tell you something, all I wanted Gideon to do was ask. I was ready to jump into action and help him out. I just wanted him to turn to me for help. And yet he didn't.
So after the door was opened by Kathee I called Gideon back to myself, told him about the situation he was just in, that he'd get in to many more of these situations throughout his life, and that he can turn to his mother and me for help (if we are available). And that God is always available to help him... if he'll just ask.

My Birthday

Last Friday the three of us headed to Galesburg, IL. Our real reason for heading down there was because a lady in our church (who went through my youth ministry) had a couple pieces of her art in a gallery in Galesburg. She had entered these pieces as part of a prestigous art competition, where getting one piece in is supposed to be really important, and having two is almost unheard of. So we decided that we wanted to head down, see Anna's artwork, do lunch, and then head back home. So here are the pictures of our escapade.

Kathee and Gideon in front of one of Anna's pictures at the art gallery.
Gideon and me at The Packinghouse for lunch.
We found out that Gideon isn't really all the interested in trains. Or maybe it is that he's not interested when Papa grabs him, runs up towards the train, only to have the train blow its whistle and scare him a good deal. Or maybe Gideon doesn't like the thought of the government getting involved in the private sector regarding health care and sees that the same thing will happen with the health care system like it has with Amtrak.
Kathee and Gideon in front of the steam engine in front of the railroad museum. The museum is closed until April, so Gideon will have to wait awhile before he can speak intelligently with Grandpa Smith about steam engines.

Gideon's Zubaz

John is so tall I couldn't get his head in the picture... and yes, at one time he wore the pants Gideon has on. Incredible, isn't it? When I came to the church, son was going in to 7th Grade, I believe and I started out taller than him. How things change!



For those of you who don't remember, Zubaz pants were some of the coolest pants you could have back in the 80s and 90s. I had a pair or two. Well, a young man who went through Catalyst (is now a junior in college) had a pair when he was a little boy. And his mother, who does a great job of clothing our son for us with some of John's old clothes and clothes from garage sales, gave us a pair of John's Zubaz. As John is home on Spring Break, and we were to their home last Saturday (so John's dad and I could put a new door handle on our car), Gideon wore the Zubaz.

The Terwilleger Gift

Gideon is one of the slowest eaters of all time. Why, you ask? Because he talks ALL THE TIME!!! He sings, he jacks around, he plays games, and just jibber-jabbers. And tonight was basically no different. However, after Kathee and I had finished our meals, and had sat and talked with each other for 10-20 minutes, I decided that it was time for finish supper (we had told Gideon to get eating 10-15 minutes before). So I told Gideon, "I'm going to start cleaning the table, and when I get finished cleaning the table, you are done eating. So if you are going to eat more, you better get to it." Literally, Gideon has the entire pancake in his mouth by the second round of cleaning the table (the pancake was not an IHOP-sized pancake, but about a quarter of that size). And he was grinning from ear to ear (which caused a bit of said pancake to protrude out a bit. Further proof the Gideon understands WAY more than he lets on about. And oh yeah, the Terwilleger gift is talking all the time, not being able to put an entire ripped up pancake in one's mouth at once.

Dualing Teeth Feelers

While we were in Mississippi, we tooled around in a vehicle that fit Will and Gideon in their car seats, and me (not in a car seat, thank you very much) in the backseat very comfortably. In the front seat sat Jamie, Sharon, and Kathee. It was a Delta 88.
This little video is just after the boys clammed up. They were pointing at each other saying, "no," to each other back and forth. Once we roll video, they turn in to hygienists or something.

Beach Walking with Moma in Destin

I know, I know...ENOUGH of Destin, right? We just have a TON of pictures and videos, and I've been working a lot (and keep forgetting the camera at work). So these will have to suffice!

Newsworthy Article About Ethiopia

The f0llowing article is one I read from The Drudge Report. I basically read this article in book form last year (actually on the plane to Ethiopia to pick up Gideon) called: Surrender or Starve: Travels in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea. The book was essentially about the issue below. Obviously this isn't a warm-and-bubbly story, but pertains to Ethiopia. I remember as a little boy seeing the pictures of Ethiopians starving. It was a bit discouraging to read 25 years later in book form what was really going on.

Live Aid donations 'were diverted to arm Ethiopian rebels'

(Jeremy Nicholl/The Times)

Millions of people were saved by the Western aid that poured into Ethiopia after Live Aid

Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent

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Fresh controversy over aid to Ethiopia erupted today after an investigation concluded that millions intended for victims of the 1984 famine was diverted to anti-government rebel leaders – including the current Ethiopian Prime Minister.

The allegations, made by former rebel compatriots of Meles Zenawi, are the first to detail how millions raised by Bob Geldof’s Live Aid were siphoned off to arm the rebels against the army of Mengistu Haile Mariam.

Although millions of people were saved by the Western aid that poured into Ethiopia after Live Aid, the evidence from the BBC investigation suggests that not all of it went to the most needy.

With much of Ethiopia in rebel hands, aid agencies had to bring in food and funds for those areas from Sudan, accompanied by rebel fighters.

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Aregawi Berhe, the former military commander of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), claimed that of the $100 million that went through the rebels’ hands, 95 per cent was diverted to buy weapons or recruit Ethiopians to their cause. He said the rebels put on a "drama" to get their hands on the relief money. "The aid workers were fooled," he said.

Another former associate of Mr Meles described how rebel commanders posed as merchants in meetings with Western charity workers to get access to the aid money.

One aid worker, Max Peberdy, said he had carried nearly $500,000 in Ethiopian currency across the border to give to the rebel’s own relief organisation, Rest, for the purchase of grain to take place under his supervision.

Twenty-five years later, he maintains that the money could not have been diverted, insisting there was a separation of power between the rebels’ military wing and its relief efforts.

But Gebremedhin Araya, a former senior rebel leader, told the BBC that he had tricked the money out of Mr Peberdy by posing as a merchant and handing over bags of sand instead of grain to the rebel relief officials.

"I was given clothes to make me look like a Muslim merchant,” he said. “This was a trick for the NGOs." He said that the money he received was handed over to TPLF leaders, including Mr Meles.

The findings are backed by CIA reports which alleged that rebel groups were using their own relief organisations as a front to divert money to their military wings.

“Some funds that insurgent organisations are raising for relief operations, as a result of increased world publicity, are almost certainly being diverted for military purposes,” a confidential CIA report concluded in 1985.

Organisations such as Charity Navigator and the makers of the 2000 documentary The Hunger Business had previously claimed that Mr Mengistu’s armouries were equipped by diverted Western aid.

Mr Meles became Ethiopia’s President, and later Prime Minister, in 1991 following Mengistu’s defeat by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, an umbrella front that included the TPLF.

Mr Meles remains a controversial recipient of Western aid today, praised for his success in lifting rural Ethiopians out of poverty but disliked for his perceived interference on where aid goes and questionable human rights practices, including the withholding of foreign food aid in the separatist Ogaden region.

Mr Meles's office declined to comment on the allegations. The two men interviewed by the BBC fell out with the leadership years ago and have fled the country.

Mr Peberdy still believes that none of the aid was diverted. "It's 25 years since this happened and it's the first time anybody has claimed such a thing."