Hello there! We would like to first introduce ourselves. We are John and Jodel . We have been blessed to complete our family through adoption, TWICE! Adoption is a roller coaster ride but the best one you will ever experience. Hopefully our story can help you with your journey.
When we made the decision to adopt it was one of the most exciting and scary feelings we have experienced. Where do we begin? How will we pay for it? Where do we get the correct information? It can start off completely overwhelming. Thankfully we came across Adoption Choices of Colorado and everything started to fall into place. One of Our most emotional moments, believe it or not, was filling out the application. It makes you start to process those extremely important questions, What kind of adoption do we want? Open? Semi-open? Closed? Do we have a specific gender? Domestic or international? Special needs? Extremely important questions to answer and agree on together before proceeding with adoption. After completing the application the real fun begins 😉
Adoption Choices of Colorado walks you through what to expect with the home study, education and Birth mom. It can all seem so scary getting your finger prints done and having someone evaluate every part of your life, but at the end of it you end up building an adoption support family through Adoption Choices of Colorado. Christy completed our home studies and post placements for both of our adoptions and we both can agree that she has become a part of our family. Once we met her we knew the process wouldn’t be as stressful as we thought. She was very friendly and easy to talk to. Once the home study and required education was complete we began the dreaded wait. Wait for a birth mom to make one of the hardest decisions of her life. During this time we kept busy. Getting the nursery ready and doing adoption fundraisers. We would jump with every call hoping it would be “the one”. We found ourselves over analyzing our profile. Should we change it? Get professional photos done? Brenda was helpful reminding us that the birth mom will love us for who we are inside and out and changing our profile is not going to speed things along. It was hard to grasp that our baby could be out there growing strong and our birth mom was still making her decision but we had to stay hopeful.
Then the wait was over. We received a call that a birth mom had requested to meet with us. We couldn’t believe it! Could this be really happening? All though our hearts jumped out of our chest we still had to keep our guard up. Proceed with caution. This was on a Monday and we made plans to meet Saturday. On Wednesday morning we received a call that our birth mom had delivery a beautiful baby boy! One month early. This is where we needed our Adoption Choices family the most. Brenda immediately started working on some paperwork for us and Christy dropped everything to go to the hospital and arrange for our meeting with the birth mom. Christy prepped us before our meeting. Reminding us on decisions we have made to have a semi open adoption and to be ourselves. She was also our birth moms keys support person. Since this happened so fast tons of paperwork had to be filled out from the birth mom. Talk about overwhelming. Having given birth early, making a decision on a family and filling our tons of paperwork. Thankful Christy was there to walk her through all the steps once she made the decision to proceed.
After the meeting we felt completely drained. On our way home Christy called and said our birth mom had officially chosen us! We would finally meet our sweet baby boy tomorrow. The next few days were filled with ups and downs. Having our son in the NICU and dealing with health problems and wondering if the birth mom would change her mind in the allowed days. During those days our birth mom was able to contact Christy day or night if needed for support. Paperwork was filed and our sons was finally well enough to go home.
We did our post placement check ups with Christy as well. It was amazing to see all of everyone’s hard work pay off and have a precious baby with his forever family. Finalization day was another emotional day. The last six months you know this baby is part of your family but making the commitment in front of your family and friends and having the judge sentence you for a lifetime with your baby is a day that will never be forgotten.
Our son is currently 15 months old and thriving in life. We are currently in our second adoption post placement check ups for our new baby girl. We don’t know what we would have done with out adoption choices of Colorado. They are amazing at their job and provided above and beyond their job expectations. They provided never ending information, counseling and hugs. We are truly grateful for them and look forward to their yearly picnics to catch up with other adoption families.
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!