Our Adoption of Kala

We received our referral of Kala (then named Reshma) in August, 1997, after beginning the "adoption process" in January 1997. Our dossier was completed and sent to India in the middle of September 1997.

Our first court date in India proceeded on December 9, 1997. This hearing went well and there was a follow-up hearing on December 19, 1997.

While we were informed on February 3, 1998 that the Indian courts had "slowed down" over the holidays, and that it would be some time before Reshma came home, we learned that the "pronouncement" actually was entered January 11, 1998. After a few weeks of anxious waiting, we found out that we were guardians of Reshma according to the Indian Court!

Once we received the pronouncement, which we understand is the Indian Court's approval of us as adoptive parents, the next step was for the "guardianship order," which usually follows the pronouncement by a few weeks to a month. This Order came through on February 23, 1998.

We then waited for the cable from the INS to the Consulate in Madras, India and, then, Terry left for India on March 29, 1998!  Terry and Kala Madison Reshma (her new name) then returned to Chicago on April 6, 1998!

Our Adoption of Christopher

We knew that we would want to adopt again during our adoption of Kala. That Kala has turned into such a great kid has only reinforced this idea!.

We began the adoption process this time in January 2000, although we spent several months deliberating whether to go through the same program we went through to get Kala. Also, we had a tough time deciding whether to try to adopt another baby like Kala was when we adopted her, or to try to adopt an older child. After a few months of considering the issue, we decided to go through the same program run by Children's Home Society of Minnesota (see link below) and the same orphange in Kerala, India.

Once we decided what we wanted to do, we put together our dossier materials and forwarded them in May, 2000. This was followed by an E-mail we received in the middle of July 2000 reporting that Christoppher Thomas Sudheesh had received "CARA approval" (approval by the central government adoption authority in India) and was awaiting his final court date. We then learned on October 9, 2000 that the final court order was entered and that we were guardians of Christopher.

News!We learned that Christopher obtained final approval from the INS to travel in mid-November and traveled to India to bring him home on December 8, 2000. Christopher is an extremely happy boy, loves his sister and is just a joy to have in our family! :)

ICHILD Home Page -- This page is the first stop that should be made. Run by Beth "PK," this page is the focal point of the "Ichild" group - where you will find the Ichild mailing list (an invaluable group of 300-plus families involved in Indian adoption), regional Ichild groups, stories and photos of Ichild members and invaluable links to adoption resources -- "a must see" (involvement in this group actually led us to our Kala!)

adopting.com - Internet Adoption Resources -- This should be your second stop. This is a huge, very comprehensive site that provides access to just about everything available on the Net regarding adoption.

Children's Home Society of Minnesota -- This is the international adoption agency we used to process our adoption of Kala and who we are working with to bring Sudheesh home. We are very happy with our treatment and recommend anyone contact them .

Rainbow Kids -- Another great site concerning adoption.

AdoptionAgencies.org -- And, yet, another great site concerning adoption.

AdoptionTravel.com -- Interesting stories regarding travelling for international adoption, links to resources on international travel and other interesting information. Particularly helpful are the links to the U.S. State Department and the Government of India's Travel Bureau.

Online Photolistings -- This site is a search engine of photos of "waiting children" throughout the world. Go here -- but beware, you will fall in love!