Hello! 6 months ago our family was blessed with an amazing gift…we adopted a beautiful baby boy and added 1 more child to love in our home! Our adoption journey was one filled with hopes, dreams, and prayers and because of our son’s birth mom all of our prayers were answered! It is difficult to put into words the amount of gratitude and respect that we have for her and for the selfless decision that she made. Our family has truly been blessed because she loved our son so much!
Adoption has been such a blessing to our family! When my husband and I began the process it was because we knew in our hearts that raising a family was the most important and meaningful part of our lives! It brings tears to my eyes to think of the joy and pride that our children give us each and every day. Our dream was to add to our amazing family and bring even more love in to our home. We began our journey filled with hope that we would be chosen by a birth mom that saw in us the love and commitment that we had to raising children. We dreamt of a baby coming into our lives that would complete our family and share in our future. Adoption has answered our prayers and exceeded our hopes and dreams. I remind myself everyday how blessed our family is that this beautiful baby came into our lives.
It is difficult to put in to words the amount of love, gratitude, and respect that we have for our son’s birth mom. I cannot imagine the pain that she went through as she made her decision for him…the decision to allow our family the privilege of raising him. I am certain that it had to be one of the most difficult decisions that she has ever made and I have unending respect for her selfless choice. Her love for her baby was what mattered most and she set her own feelings aside to do what she thought was best for him. We are so very grateful that our family has been blessed by her strength and courage. Our lives have been changed forever in the most beautiful way because of her bravery and strength.
Our journey would not have been possible without the wonderful support that we received from Adoption Choices of Colorado. From the very beginning the staff at Adoption Choices was there for us to offer emotional support, answer questions, and guide us through this process with their knowledge and experience! We worked closely with Christy, who was a fantastic source of information and support and always patient with us as we asked many, many questions! She took the time to get to know our other children and made them feel like part of the process! I feel blessed we had Adoption Choices helping us build our family! We never felt lost or alone in this process because of Christy and her staff…they always had time for us and were compassionate and caring about our feelings and our family!
Adoption is one of the most beautiful experiences that I have ever been a part of. Our lives and our hearts have been forever changed because of this beautiful baby and the strength of the woman who gave him life.
Stephanie joined the Adoption Choices family in 2014 as the Child Placement Supervisor. Her love for adoption began in first grade when she made friends with twins adopted from Vietnam. Her heart grew strong over the years for adopted children and ultimately led her to graduate school where she continued her focus to her dream of working in the adoption field. Stephanie earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2001. Over the past 15 years, Stephanie has worked as a pregnancy counselor and as an adoptive parent counselor for foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption, writing hundreds of home studies for families, and helping build their forever families. Stephanie is married and has three boys ages 12, 9, and 5. Together with her family she enjoys riding bike, playing games, watching her three sons compete in their various sporting and musical activities and go on vacations.
Christy Ikeler, is our Executive Director and Birth Parent Director. Christy has been with Adoption Choices Team for 18 years, since opening the doors in 2002! Christy has a true passion for what she does and her true love is working with and helping each birth parent. Whether she is up all night on the phone talking with them, taking them to doctors appointments, out for their favorite treat, providing counseling or at the hospital during labor and delivery, Christy is very involved every step of the way. She has a contagious laugh and a spunky personality that our birth moms all can bond with and relate to. As an adoptive parent herself, adoption holds a very special place in her heart and she can relate on every level with both birth parents and adoptive parents. In her free time Christy loves spending time with her daughter, gardening, baking and taking vacations with her family. Christy is an excellent leader for our team at Adoption Choices and is truly one of a kind!! As Executive Director, Christy spends time with the staff, birth parents and adoptive families in order to ensure that the agency is running smoothly. She has placed a huge emphasis on community outreach and programs for birth parents. Christy loves the opportunity to lead the agency into a brighter future.
Ms. Mackenzie has built a successful counseling career over the past 20 years, supporting mothers and families, people of all ages and genders, students, community professionals and fellow clinicians. Liv values a diverse professional focus, including the entrepreneurial life of a sole proprietor, the evaluative process of certifying foster/adoptive homes, the insightful and mindful one-on-one one work with enthusiastic clients, and serving as an advocate for underserved populations. Liv is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a BA in Pre-Law and Economics from American University, an MA in Counseling from Adams University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University. Away from work you will find Liv spending time in nature, biking to the farmer’s market and adventuring with her family.
Catherine A. Madsen, joined the Adoption Choices family as legal counsel in 2013. Catherine is responsible for providing legal guidance to the Agency, training and updating staff on developments in adoption law and legislation, and program development. Catherine
Virginia Frank is an adoption attorney accredited since 1991 with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Ms. Frank is a leader in the field of private adoption and has completed over 4,000 adoptions in her career. Ms. Frank has a law degree from Oklahoma City University and a BA in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Oklahoma.
Cassidie has been with Adoption Choices since 2015, she has her bachelors in Interdisciplinary Affairs with concentrations in both Sociology and Business Management. Cassidie has additional training in Victim Advocacy, foster care and has been working in women’s services for over 10 years. Cassidie has always had a heart for adoption and it was her career dream to work in adoption. She started off doing volunteer work for advocacy programs, adoption organizations and worked in High Risk Maternal Fetal Medicine through the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Cassidie is also blessed to have personally experienced an adoption of her own in 2012, completing her family of five! Cassidie loves what she does as a case worker from initial phone calls, meetings, doctor appointments, interaction with the adoptive families to delivery and counseling. Cassidie has a passion for those in need and strives to help make a difference in the lives of the people she meets. She is a firm believer in being kind, compassionate and open minded in all situations. “Unless you’ve walked in their shoes, there’s no place for judgment. A kind word or compliment can go a long way!” The bittersweet moments in adoption reminds Cassidie each and every time, why she loves what she does!