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!
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| Drew and Isaiah had fun on the bouncy castle at IJM's Christmas party. |
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| 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!
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| Opening up the AMAZING suitcase we received for Christmas from friends back home!!! |
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| Love my two babies! |
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. |
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| Loves his Jenny Dog! |
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| Isaiah enjoying one of his favorite things - a boda boda ride! |
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| Silly boy in his sister's walker. |
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| All of the "loot" Isaiah received from our dear friends who sent over a huge suitcase full of Christmas presents. |
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| Trying one of daddy's wasabi almonds. He didn't like it so much! |
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| ZaiLOVES his helicopter that came in a wonderful suitcase from Mimi and Grandpa. |
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| He always wants to be just like his daddy. What a great person to model after! |
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| 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 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!
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| She LOVES it when her big brother pushes her around in her new walker. |
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| The kiddos watching Old Yeller with my sisters, Janae and Adelynn. |
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| 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!!
