We are Mary and Thom Francis. In a few days we will be meeting our daughter Maggie for the first time at an orphanage in Orissa to bring her home and become part of our family. This is our story:
We started the adoption process three years ago. We picked the best adoption agency (in our opinion) -- Wide Horizons for Children from Waltham, Massachusetts. Then spent the next year completing our dossier for the India adoption program. The paperwork was extensive and through -- thanks to all our family and friends who helped. We couldn't have done it without you. We submitted our completed dossier in August 2008. Then waited -- the typical time for a referral of a child from India is between 2 to 3 years after the dossier is submitted to the Indian authorities. But we must be extraordinary applicants? : Someone in the Indian system must have liked our qualifications or thought that raising a child in Mississippi is good or the stars must have lined up that day on our behalf.
On Mary's birthday --February 3 2009 we received the call from our adoption agency that this little beautiful child in Bhubaneswar Orissa was going to be our daughter.
What an amazing birthday present!!!
For those following this blog who are also going through the adoption process, this is our timeline:
Dossier sent to India in September 2008.
Referral -- February 3, 2009.
NOC received -- April 7, 2009.
I-800 approved -- April 13, 2009
Article 5 received -- April 29, 2009 then waited for the guardianship.
Orissa courts closed for summer holidays in June and
additional week of closure for the heat wave.
In October, Mary's India visa expired and applied for a renewal.
After unexplainable delays and obvious frustrating moments with questions of continuing the process --
we received the guardianship notice on November 11th!!
The orphanage applied for the Indian passport on 23rd.
We will be leaving Mississippi for New Delhi on December 9th!!!
......Mary and Thom Francis
We started the adoption process three years ago. We picked the best adoption agency (in our opinion) -- Wide Horizons for Children from Waltham, Massachusetts. Then spent the next year completing our dossier for the India adoption program. The paperwork was extensive and through -- thanks to all our family and friends who helped. We couldn't have done it without you. We submitted our completed dossier in August 2008. Then waited -- the typical time for a referral of a child from India is between 2 to 3 years after the dossier is submitted to the Indian authorities. But we must be extraordinary applicants? : Someone in the Indian system must have liked our qualifications or thought that raising a child in Mississippi is good or the stars must have lined up that day on our behalf.
On Mary's birthday --February 3 2009 we received the call from our adoption agency that this little beautiful child in Bhubaneswar Orissa was going to be our daughter.
What an amazing birthday present!!!
For those following this blog who are also going through the adoption process, this is our timeline:
Dossier sent to India in September 2008.
Referral -- February 3, 2009.
NOC received -- April 7, 2009.
I-800 approved -- April 13, 2009
Article 5 received -- April 29, 2009 then waited for the guardianship.
Orissa courts closed for summer holidays in June and
additional week of closure for the heat wave.
In October, Mary's India visa expired and applied for a renewal.
After unexplainable delays and obvious frustrating moments with questions of continuing the process --
we received the guardianship notice on November 11th!!
The orphanage applied for the Indian passport on 23rd.
We will be leaving Mississippi for New Delhi on December 9th!!!
......Mary and Thom Francis
