Will there be another trip to Sevastopol?

My blogging time while here in Ukraine has been much less than our last trip here. Something to do with a busy three year old, I’m sure – lol! I really haven’t had the opportunity to share my heart, but I’m just going to take the time and see how far I get…


Many people have asked if I’ve met any other children at the orphanage that I can’t live without. Good question. Most of the children that we met last time we were here are gone. We know that at least one has been adopted (by the Allen family who we were blessed to meet before they headed back to the States with their precious Annie), the others – we don’t know. It is my prayer that they are now with their forever families and not transferred to other institutions. There are two children still in the groupa that we first met in December. One of them is a little girl who I loved even then. IF there was any chance of bringing her home, Mark might have a fight on his hands. But, she and the little boy are both “family children” – meaning that they have family who visit them regularly and are not available for adoption. There is a younger girl with very obvious fetal alcohol syndrome who is just adorable as well, so many sweet faces who are in need of forever families. Precious souls that are aching for the love of parents. It is heartbreaking.

Those of you who have followed our blog for a while may remember when I first mentioned Matthew. It was December 4, 2010 and I commented about a “special needs” little boy. There were other children who would probably catch a person’s eye much more than he would. I actually posted about that very topic on December 18. But, looks don’t matter to a mama’s heart. And each day we visited Maia, I loved that sweet boy a little more. When we picked Maia up on Christmas Day, I left a piece of my heart at the detsky dom with Matthew. He was always in my prayers, never far from my mind - even though I’m sure Mark hoped that I would be able to “let it go.” But, instead God chose us to be Matthew’s parents! And it all began when he gave me a heart for a child that wasn’t what the world would consider perfect.

So… have I met another child that I can’t live without? Is there a longing in my heart for more of the children that we have met during Matthew’s adoption? Well, I would love to pack up ALL of the children, bring them back to the US and find homes for them! But, no one has captured a place like our son did. And that is even more confirmation that my heart knew back in December what Mark and I didn’t know at the time. That we would be returning to Ukraine just a short time after leaving to bring home a son named Matthew Dmitriy Hansen.

For now anyway, my wonderful husband can rest assured that I feel our family is complete with Matthew and Maia. If God chooses to show us something different, we will cross that bridge when we get to it. :-)