Two years ago

This is the letter that I sent to our adoption agency two years ago today. Reading the part about Maia being perfect in God's eyes brought me to tears this morning. He chose her to be our child, knowing that everything that has happened over the past month would be part of our journey. I am also reminded that even though I want to know all the details so that I can anticipate every possibility, it is better that God only shows us a small peice of the picture at a time. If we saw it in it's entirety, can you imagine how overwhelmed we would feel?

June 9, 2010

Victoria, Amanda, and Carla

We are writing this email to formally communicate our desire to commit to Anastasia, GEE170807 who is one of the waiting children on the About A Child website. We will be completing our home study with Summit Adoption Home Studies in St. Paul, MN.

We appreciate that Anastasia will have some special needs related to spina bifida and strabismus. We also understand that because of the orphanage environment, there may be other delays or conditions that are currently unknown. Although she may not be “perfect” by the world’s standards, Anastasia is perfect in God’s eyes and we believe that He has chosen her as the “perfect” child for our family. Melanie has worked as a nurse for 16 years and just completed training to be a nurse practitioner so we believe that we have the capability to support any medical needs that Anastasia may have. Additionally, Melanie works at Mayo Clinic Rochester – so Anastasia will have comprehensive medical insurance as well as access to a well-respected spina bifida clinic.

While her medical needs are important, we also feel that we will be able to offer Anastasia a loving home surrounded by family and friends who are supportive of our adoption plans. She is a beautiful little girl who has touched our hearts and we can’t wait to bring her home.

Also, just to “put in writing” even though it is also in the service agreement, we do understand that there are circumstances out of AAC’s control which could result in our inability to adopt Anastasia. While we hope that that does not happen, we do recognize that this is a possibility.

Thank you for consideration of our request to formally commit to adopting Anastasia. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you and getting the process started!!

Mark and Melanie Hansen