Final Update

We finally met with the neurosurgeon this week and he was not at all concerned with the fluid in Gideon’s head.  He said no one would ever consider surgery for that small amount of fluid.

YAY!  God is good regardless of the outcome, but we are thankful Gideon is doing so great.

The doctor did go on and on about what a cute kid Gideon is.   I think that makes it official since a doctor said it.  He may have even put it in his chart somewhere.

Then as we were leaving, we got on the elevator with a young man.  He was staring at Gideon and finally asked where he was from.  I told him Ethiopia and he very excitedly told me HE was from Ethiopia.  He said he was looking at him and thinking he had “Ethiopia color”.  It’s funny how many strangers have looked at him and asked me if he’s from Ethiopia.  They just know.

We’re all very pleased with the official word from the doctor.  You can see above that Gideon is, as well.

Oh, and he’s dressed in his white Ethiopian outfit because we celebrated Christmas yesterday since Ethiopia celebrates on January 7th.  I tried my hand at some Ethiopian cooking and it turned out pretty good.  We had Doro Wat and Injera.

I love my cookbook that Tony bought me for my birthday last year.  It’s called The Soul of a New Cuisine by Marcus Samuelsson.  It has some wonderful looking recipes in it (the ones we tried last night were great), but it also has beautiful pictures and stories of his travels in Africa.  I just sit and read it.  He was born in Ethiopia and adopted and raised by a family from Sweden.  As an adult and a chef, he wanted to learn about Ethiopia’s culture.  He shares his story in the Preface of the book and it’s just beautiful.  He ends up finding out that his biological father is still alive when he was 35 years old and gets to go meet him and his 8 half brothers and sisters.  {tears}  I think I love this book so much because it’s not just a cookbook.  It’s a story of a man’s journey that touches my heart.  With every recipe I try, I will be thinking of so much more than some ingredients off the shelf at the store.  I will be thinking of the lifestyle of the people who make these recipes and use these ingredients that are so exotic to me everyday.  If you get this book, please don’t skip over the Preface.