Gideon and Dad Watching the Husker Game

Gideon's Play Time

Dad and Son Getting Ready for the Nebraska Bowl Game

9 minutes until kickoff! Go Big Red!!!!

Who would have guessed that Gideon picked this outfit this morning to wear?

Gideon with the Terwilleger Cousins

These are the first pictures of potentially many of Gideon's time up in Dubuque, for the Terwilleger family Christmas. Here he is with the cousins. What was AWESOME was that this was the first time he was able to run around and work on "keeping up" with the cousins. They were incredible with him. Patient, caring, encouraging, and really loving. It was great!


If you'll look at Gideon's position here, you'll see what happens when one desires to be extra wiggly while with the cousins. Thanks Noah, you are great!

David's Place Ethiopian and Eritrean Food

Today, amidst the snowstorm where we lost count of the cars, trucks, and semis in the ditch, we, along with our friends the Jones family, headed to Iowa City, Iowa, to an Ethiopian restaraunt. Iowa City is about an hour from here (it took us about an hour and a half to get there). This is a place we've gone to many times before. Now that I'm on vacation this week, I wanted to make the trek to David's Place for some good Ethiopian food.


Downtown Iowa City, by the Old Capital building. I'd have no idea this place even exists other than the fact that my brother's family lives in Iowa City and took us there a while back (pre-Gideon). The Ethiopian food that the Mexican lady made for us today was AWESOME!!!

Note: the lamb tibs are gone, the beef tibs are gone, the potatos are 1/2 gone, have some salad left, but the chick peas are pretty much still untouched and uneaten (which is also the way they left our table, too).

Interestingly, when we were in Ethiopia, we saw no Ethiopian kids sucking down milk from a sippy cup.

This is the third or fourth time we've been to eat at David's and I don't think I've seen anyone other than us there, ever! However, we love the food! However, it was great taking Adam, Maharah, Anavah, and Asher there for some culture and food. And it was the first time Gideon's eaten Ethiopian food since the flight back from Ethiopia on Ethiopian Airlines (when the steward put some of his supper in Gideon's mouth as Kathee was walking up and down the aisle while I was sick sleeping across all three seats).

After trying a bite of food, Gideon was "all done" eating Ethiopian food. Give the kid Cream of Wheat, his dad's yogurt or unsweetened iced tea, and he's off to the races. He turns his nose up at injera, lamb tibs, beef tibs, and other great stuff.

I do have to say that I was a bit bummed they didn't have Tajj (honey beer) which I had in Ethiopia. The waitress said that due to Iowa law prohibiting out-of-state purchasing of alcohol, they are unable to get any Ethiopian drinks. I was a bit bummed, but since I VERY RARELY have anything with alcohol in it, it was a bit of a let down. However, it took us back to our time in Ethiopia, and was great to share with the Jones family our experience, even with Ethiopian coffee (Ethiopian style). What a great time!

South Park Fun Area

As I've been on vacation, Kathee and I have been intentional about getting out and doing some pretty cool things. I know, I know, a trip to the mall solely for letting Gideon play in the fun area may not seem "fun," but it really was.

It has been a joy to sit and watch him in new environments to see his forming personality surface. When another kid won't move out an area, Gideon is patient, waits things out, and then goes through or moves to another area. When he gets stuck on something, he is quick to ask for help from Mom or Dad. When he succeeds at something "big" he is quick to look at us with pride, and sometimes ran over to us to hug and celebrate. When another kid pushed him down, Gideon just moved on (no crying or whining) to another area. We are really excited to help him develop God-honoring strengths as he grows. And it's neat to see some of thost traits already "there."

Here are some pictures from our time at the mall. Enjoy.

Christmas Meal