What in the World are the Hutchesons up to?!?

Wow! We can't believe another year has come to a close! The saying is true; time flies when you're having fun!

In just this past year we moved our family to Uganda, celebrated 3 years of marriage, Isaiah turned 2, and we added a beautiful baby girl to our family. It has been quite the year!

Here's a little update on what we're all up to:

Drew - International Justice Mission keeps Drew busy, that's for sure! He puts in many long days and works many weekends too. His job as IJM's Church and Community Relations Fellow involves a lot of field work so he's happy he doesn't have to sit behind a desk every day. Drew has seen firsthand the difficulty in helping ensure a public justice systems works for the poor. Through several field projects and working with different entities in IJM's project area, Drew's department was able to surpass the goals they had regarding the amount of people educated about the law, clients served, and partnerships formed. All the hard work his department puts in is worth it when lives and even the future of whole communities are on the line.

When he's not working he's at home being a husband and father. His love for his children is obvious in everything he does and he's a great dad! He's also a great husband and I am blessed to call him mine!

Drew and Isaiah had fun on the bouncy castle at IJM's Christmas party.

Enjoying one of his Christmas gifts. We had our "family" Christmas earlier this week before we headed to Jinja to spend Christmas with my family.

Amber - I am keeping busy with two kids at home! Love being a mom!! Through the avenue of wife and mother I have been able to make many great connections. Last month I was taking a walk with the kids when we met a little boy named Elijah and his nanny, Juliet. Isaiah and Elijah became fast friends and we have since spent much time with them! I am also involved with two Bible studies and have been able to connect with some great women this way.

Many of you will remember the woman, Amelia, who I wrote a blog post about in September. She stayed with us for two weeks, during which time her baby, (also Elijah) was born. We have kept in great contact since the time she left our house in early September. Baby Elijah is doing great. Almost as big as our Baby Girl and 3 months younger! Just last week she finally was able to go home to visit her family and introduce them to her son. Amelia has become a great friend and I feel privileged to be able to help and encourage her the way I have.

Keeping in touch with supporters, doing the mounds of paperwork and leg work for Baby Girl's adoption, taking care of two kids, and supporting my husband all make for a full time job and I love it!



Opening up the AMAZING suitcase we received for Christmas from friends back home!!!

Love my two babies!

Isaiah - Zai is growing like a weed and is now over 3 feet tall. If we go by the formula of doubling a toddler’s height at age 2 to determine adult height, it looks like we’re going to have an over 6 foot teenager in our house someday! He’s still wearing lots of 18 month clothes though because of how skinny he is! Thankfully we don’t wear pants here much (too hot) because I’m sure he would need 2T pants for length but they would be falling down around his waist!

Isaiah is such a happy boy and brings so much joy into our lives. He says and does the funniest things and keeps us laughing all day long. He is so affectionate and will grab our faces and kiss us all over before finally planting one on our lips. He can’t yet figure out how to say, “I love you” but when we tell him we love him he gets a huge, shy smile on his face, looks towards the floor and says, “yeah.” =)

He loves all things cars, is obsessed with the moon,  always has to be wearing shoes, and enjoys boda boda (motorcycle) rides. His best friend is his Jenny Dog and he never goes very far without her. Another one of Isaiah's friends is Elijah. He is almost the exact same age as Zai and they are great friends!

Isaiah playing with his friend Elijah.

Loves his Jenny Dog!

Isaiah enjoying one of his favorite things - a boda boda ride!

Silly boy in his sister's walker.

All of the "loot" Isaiah received from our dear friends who sent over a huge suitcase full of Christmas presents.

Trying one of daddy's wasabi almonds. He didn't like it so much!

ZaiLOVES his helicopter that came in a wonderful suitcase from Mimi and Grandpa.

He always wants to be just like his daddy. What a great person to model after!

Excited about two of his Christmas presents- a helmet for his boda rides and a moon!

Baby Girl - Baby Girl is 7 months old and has been in our family for 2 1/2 months now. She is such a joy! She is a very content baby, a little shy and reserved with strangers, yet super smiley with people she knows. She has turned into quite the great sleeper! She takes two 1 1/2 hour naps a day and sleeps an average of 12 hours straight through the night! A far cry from the very scared baby who woke up every 20-40 minutes when we first brought her home!

She just got her first tooth and the second one is popping through as I speak! She is a much better "teether" than Isaiah was. We didn't even know one was coming through until I felt it with my finger one day!

No bottles for this baby. She is 100% breastfed (Yes, by me! If anyone would like information on inducing lactation to nurse an adopted baby please feel free to e-mail me. It has been one of the best decisions we've ever made in regards to our adoption!). We are starting to introduce baby food (homemade! Not many options for baby food here) but she's not eating too much yet. At the orphanage she was being fed cow's milk with sugar alongside little bits of cake and cookies so she's had a big change in diet these past two months! She's adjusted like a champ, though!

She is attaching extremely well and we couldn't be happier. She clings to us, is comforted by us, and turns to us when she is in new situations. She is showing all the signs of secure attachment! In many ways it feels like she has been a part of our family since the day she was born.

We are hoping to have our court date some time in March or April. This is when we will be able to obtain legal guardianship of Baby Girl and will be able to share pictures and names with you! We are SO looking forward to this!



She LOVES it when her big brother pushes her around in her new walker.

The kiddos watching Old Yeller with my sisters, Janae and Adelynn.

Baby girl with all of the stuff she received in the suitcase. She was mostly interested in her puffs but mommy loves all the clothes. =)

Now it's your turn! We'd love to hear what YOU are up to! Drop us a line at drewamhutch@gmail.com!

Blessings to you this Christmas and in 2013!!

A Boy's Best Friend

When Drew was little he had a stuffed dog named "Jenny Dog" that he absolutely loved. Shortly after Isaiah was born, Drew's mom gave him his very own Jenny Dog! Jenny Dog has been in Isaiah's crib/bed for nearly two years now and he's never really paid much attention to her. Sometimes he would rest he head on her like a pillow but other than that never cared much if she was nearby or not.

In just the last two weeks things have drastically changed! Isaiah suddenly became very attached to Jenny Dog, possibly because of the addition of his baby sister to the family. Just as I feed, dress, bathe, kiss, hug and play with his sister, Isaiah has started feeding, dressing, bathing (that didn't turn out so well) , kissing, hugging, and playing with Jenny Dog. It's been SO sweet to watch him role play with her. Melts my heart every time!

Thought I would post a few pictures of Isaiah with his doggie. =)

Hugs for Jenny Dog.

Kisses for Jenny Dog.

He got upset because she fell over. =)

Jenny Dog makes for a great pillow....especially when Isaiah falls asleep on the hard, tile floor!

A boy and his dog! (And his Dino.)

Jenny Dog has to wear jammies now!

And she has to sleep with a "boo" (blankie) just like Isaiah.

She's even potty trained!

Zai had to get his shoes on to go to the doctor. Jenny Dog had to get hers on too. =)

Jenny Dog even sits at the table when baby sister is already in bed by dinner time!

I guess it's true what they say... A dog is a man's best friend!

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite!!

A few days ago I noticed several red bumps on Isaiah's back. My first thought was chicken pox but they weren't spreading and they weren't in the "warm" areas of his body. They were covering mainly just his back with a few on his arms. We figured they must be some kind of spider bite and put cortisone on them.

Friday night, after Zai's bath, I noticed that several of the "bites" had white heads forming on them and I thought they must have puss inside them. However, when I squeezed one open it wasn't puss that came out....it was a WORM! Yup. A mango worm.

The mango worm goes by many names. It is technically a fly larva and it also goes by the names mango fly, putzi fly and tumbu fly depending on where you are. It is found throughout tropical areas of sub-Saharan Africa, but is more common in certain regions (Central Africa, for example).

The worm works like this:
1. Adult female worm lays a few hundred eggs into the soil OR onto some damp clothing that is hanging out to dry.
2. The larvae hatch and look for a host. Dogs work well. Unfortunately, so do humans (although, they are not commonly found as hosts compared to other animals).
3. The larvae penetrate the skin of the host and take up residence under the skin.
4. Then they grow and fatten up.
5. After 8-12 days, a boil will have formed.
6. It will itch and then get increasingly painful before it…
7. actually opens up so the worm can come out to play.
8. The worm then falls to the ground where it buries itself in order to go into its final stage of growth before turning into a fly.

Sounds gross, right? Just imagine popping these things out of your son's back!!

After the first one came out (and I screamed for help and my mom, dad, and Drew all came running!) we decided to try and get the rest out. The best method of removing a mango worm is by suffocating them. You put vaseline and a band aid over the wound and the worm can't breathe so it comes up to the surface for air. So, we covered Isaiah's back with vaseline and band aids and waited.

A patient boy waiting while we applied the vaseline.

You can't see them all but he had 8!

After about an hour we came back to pop all the worms out. They were definitely near the surface and most popped out pretty easily. We counted 8 worms. Most on his back, one on his arm, and one on his forehead!

The worm on it's way out after we had squeezed it!

And...it's finally out.

Happy boy who thought it was so cool he had bugs living inside him.

Isaiah is a brave little man. He hardly cried and didn't complain (even though we've heard the itching while the worm is making it's way to the surface for air is almost unbearable). Actually he thought it was kind of cool that there were "bugs" on his back. What a boy.

Our house girl irons all of our clothes for the specific reason of killing mango worms but somehow a piece of clothing got missed or Isaiah picked it up some other way. Either way we are hoping we are not going to find any new bumps and that his fun experience with mango worms is over for now. =)

Some Photos from the Field

 I hope this post finds you doing well! Below are a collection of photos from my daily work here in Uganda with International Justice Mission. Hopefully they will help give you a glimpse of the scenary here and what it may be like to live and work in Uganda.

 Several of these photos have already been posted on Twitter where I try to regularly update what I may be doing in the field on any given day, as well as try to post a photo or two from that day. To view those updates from time to time, you can do so by clicking here: https://twitter.com/drewhutcheson

Another day headed to the field, while headed through a field to our destination!

To get these guys to get out of the way, we simply told them to do so in their language: "MOOOOOOOOVE!!"

Most of our partners are bi-vocational. This particular partner has several crops he owns and harvests for selling; this one here of coffee beans. We were visiting him on this day to discuss some upcoming functions we want him to be involved in. As a community leader, he is quite strategic to have involved in our work. While visiting him, he wanted to show us his crops.

This is another one of his crops, of green peppers.

Afternoon traffic in downtown Kampala. Glad I wasn't in this at the time, though I am often enough.

Passion Conference came to Kampala this year and it was amazing! Never would I have thought that I would have had to move to Africa to attend my first Passion.

Rainy days as such can make for long days when several appointments may be outside or in a village in Mukono (our project area). Many of my days pertain to meeting with strategic partners of ours and bringing structure to projects we have scheduled.

This construction was being done on a small, obscure road which happened to be our only path to where our meeting was this day. A tad random it was, but we were nevertheless thankful to at least see road work being conducted! And we did make it to where we were going, after about 30 minutes!

One of our partner churches we work with.

 

Ten Tiny Toes - Adoption Update!

Little Miss Hutcheson Has Arrived!

The Lord has blessed us by adding ten tiny toes to our family! It's a girl!

Yesterday we welcomed home our new daughter! We are on cloud 9! We are feeling so blessed and so grateful for what the Lord has given us and we have enjoyed every minute with her thus far.

We hope to be able to share more details and pictures with you soon. Right now we only have foster care of our baby girl but our lawyer is working to get us a court date so that we can obtain legal guardianship. Closer to that time we will share more with you! For now, we'll just tell you that she's the most gorgeous, precious, adorable, cute, good natured, sweet, beautiful baby girl we have EVER seen! =)

Please pray for us as we make the transition to parents of two babies, as Isaiah adjusts to being a big brother, and as our sweet baby learns to trust and love her new family.

We look forward to sharing more with you soon!

 

"For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him"

1 Samuel 1:27

Peace

When many things seem to be going wrong, TRUST ME.

When your life feels increasingly out of control, THANK ME.

 

These are supernatural responses, and they can lift you above your circumstances.

If you do what comes naturally in the face of difficulties, you may fall prey to negativism. Even a few complaints can set you on a path that is a downward spiral, by darkening your perspective and mind-set. With this attitude controlling you, complaints flow more and more readily from your mouth, each one moves you steadily down the slippery spiral.

The lower you go, the faster you slide;

                     but it is still

                                             possible to apply brakes.

 

Cry out to Me in My Name!

Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel.

Thank Me for everything, though this seems unnatural- even irrational.

ground.
lost
your
recovering
ascend,
to
begin
will
you
Gradually

When you are back on ground level, you can face your circumstances from a humble perspective.

 

If you choose supernatural responses this time- trusting and thanking Me- you will experience

My Unfathomable Peace.

 

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Happy Birthday Isaiah!

Our baby boy is two years old today! My, how times flies!

The Bible says that children are a blessing from the Lord, and that's exactly what Isaiah has been in our lives. Sure, some days are better than others. Some days we feel like we live in a zoo. Some days we wonder how someone so small could make such big messes. Some days we feel like selling Isaiah to the zoo (JUST KIDDING). But MOST days are fun days filled with baby soft kisses, lots of laughing, an ever increasing vocabulary of cute baby words, and more adorableness than we can handle.



Riding his "rody." He loves bouncing this thing all over the house!



Rody can also be used as a step stool to allow a toddler to reach desired items (aka computers).

Isaiah is a busy little boy. He enjoys running trucks and cars up and down mommy's leg, watching Stuart Little, playing with bugs, jumping up and down on couch cushions, playing with daddy's calculator, and making huge messes.

He loves his dump truck!

This boy loves to laugh.

He has an obsession with shoes. It doesn't matter if they're his shoes, our house help's shoes, daddy's shoes, or mommy's shoes...he must be wearing shoes at all times (he is in bed right now and, yes, he is wearing shoes). Mommy and daddy have to be wearing shoes at all times too; it is very stressful for Isaiah if we are not wearing any! =)

Playing with Daddy's shoes.

Zai loves to read and be read to. Often times we'll find him in his room surrounded by a pile of books trying to read one (sometimes upside down). We have story time before every nap and bedtime and it's one of his favorite times of the day.


Enjoying a book before night night time.

His vocabulary is expanding every day although sometimes only mommy and daddy can decipher his language. One of our friends here told us, "It's so funny because Isaiah was born in America but he speaks Chinese!". Hehe, yes it often does sound like Chinese. But it seems like every day he learns a new word and it's so fun to see him become more verbal. This boy talks all day long and when his talking becomes more "understandable" I'm sure we are going to be in for some funny conversations.

Isaiah loves his daddy and wants to do everything that he does. They spend lots of time together working out, playing games, and watching movies.


Isaiah likes to help daddy build bigger muscles by adding extra weight to his push ups.

"Look daddy, I can do them too!"

Daddy helping Isaiah do pull ups.

Isaiah helping daddy do pull ups.

Going for a little jog. Down the hill is the easy part.

Up the hill is a little harder!

Isaiah's favorite thing about Uganda are "boda bodas." These are motorcycle-taxis that are all over the place here. You flag one down and take a ride to your destination (great for getting somewhere quick as you can zip in and out of Kampala traffic). Isaiah loves anything to do with "bodas" and our trips out of the house are filled with "Mama, boda" "Dada, boda" every time he sees one (which is often). He especially loves riding them but we try to keep that to a minimum as they aren't always the safest things to ride!


Riding a toy boda at a friend's house. We got him one of these for his birthday and he's going to be in heaven when he receives it!

Zai is still on the small side of average. He's wearing 18 month size clothes although more and more 24 month stuff is fitting (especially since he has a cloth diapered bottom now!). His favorite food is eggplant parmesan with bananas as a close second. He is sweet natured and well mannered and loves to help around the house. He loves to sweep, mop, and dust and is good about cleaning up his own messes.

Shaving with daddy.

We are so glad that the Lord blessed us with Isaiah and can't wait for the future children he blesses us with. We love you Isaiah Mark! Happy Birthday Little Man!!!