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Mark Bay and Laura |
 it is hard to say when our adoption journey really began. Laura thought about it off and on since high school, and we had been discussing it periodically since we were married in 1998. However, since we were either finishing graduate school or moving every year for new jobs, it never seemed the right time to begin a family. In August, 2001, Laura and I were fortunate enough to get good, permanent positions at a small, Christian liberal arts college in rural eastern Kentucky. For the first time since being married, it looked like we would be someplace where we could put down roots. Almost exactly a year later, we decided it was time to start building our family. For several reasons, we decided that adoption was our first choice, so we began the homestudy process right away. By September we were nearly through with our homestudy and had decided to work with CHI to adopt from India. On our application, we indicated that we wanted an infant, preferably a girl. After some thought, we said we would take siblings, since we did not want to break up children. On the first Friday of October, Sharin called us to chat and let us know about the adoption process, and that it typically was 18 months or so for an infant referral. We were prepared for this wait, so this was no suprise. We both figured we would have a year or more to move to a larger home, move in, and prepare it for small children. In addition, we planned on having that time to prepare ourselves and our extended families for the challenges of adoption. Getting our dossier together in this time frame seemed like it would present no problems, since we would be able to do everything through the mail. The following Monday, Sharin called again and asked if we were serious about taking siblings. She had some to refer, and we were the only ones on the waiting list who would consider siblings. After thinking about it for a couple of days, we called Sharin back and said that we would like to adopt the group of two girls, ages 6 and 3. Since they were cleared for adoption, Sharin told us we could get referrals as soon as our homestudy was done. The race was on ! We worked with our homestudy agency to finish up the homestudy in record time. Once Sharin received it, we received referrals for our daughters. We assembled our dossier in what Sharin referred to as a land speed record, even travelling from Kentucky to Washington, DC for document authentication and to submit applications to the Indian embassy in person. By the middle of November, our dossier was submitted to CHI and soon after, made it to India. For the next two months, we checked the CARA web site almost constantly for the NOC clearances for Sapna and Sampa. After what seemed like forever (not aided by the fact the Indian government shuts down for a month between Dec. 15 and Jan. 15 every year ! ), we heard the girls were cleared and we were in the courts. On Valentine’s Day 2003, we found out we could travel, and made plans to arrive in India on March 15. After sleeping for a few hours after arriving, we made contact with the Indian adoption coordinator and met our little girls. They knew who we were instantly, thanks to the photo albums we had sent earlier. Sampa, the youngest, ran to Laura, plopped down on her lap, and announced to all the children that this was HER mommy and guarded her jealously. Her older sister, Sapna, took my digital camera and had it figured out within minutes; she started taking pictures and showing off to her buddies. After a week of doctor visits, waiting for service at the U.S. embassy during the World Cup of Cricket, and finding out we were at war with Iraq, we made it out of India and back to the States. In the past two months, Sapna has already been enrolled in kindergarten, they have both picked up English faster than anyone can believe, and they have discovered the joys of pizza and chicken McNuggets. While it has sometimes not been easy, our daughters are a joy and we thank God every day for the opportunity to parent these beautiful girls. |
