May 1, 2017
Hello.
Mother’s Day this year is celebrated on Sunday, May 14th. To me this a very important day, but then again, to be honest, as an adoptive mother, every day is Mother’s Day to me. As I have mentioned in my blog several times, adopting my daughter was the best decision I ever made and I am so thankful to have my sweet 12-year-old daughter in my life. The last 9 years of my life have been the best and the most important years of my life. In this blog, I want to touch upon the many different emotions and ways that both adoptive families and birth parents celebrate Mother’s Day.
Perhaps many of you are not aware that there is a special day that is celebrated just for birth mothers that have chosen adoption. National Birth Mother’s Day was established in 1990 by Mary Jean Wolch-Marsh to show support for birth mothers like herself who chose to move forward with the brave, selfless and loving act, called adoption.
National Birth Mother’s Day is observed the Saturday before Mother’s Day. This day has been set aside as a day for birth mothers to acknowledge and support one another. It is a day to recognize the biological mothers of adopted children and the sacrifices they have made for their children.
While the day originated as a day of solidarity, education, and compassion, it has evolved and is now thankfully viewed as a celebration of the life a birth mother has brought into the world and has chosen to share with another family.
There is so much more to Mother’s Day for me because my journey to motherhood included adoption. Therefore, my Mother’s Day is also a day of thanksgiving. My journey may have been different from most but I am so appreciative of Birth Mothers because they are so selfless and courageous. They have made life affecting and heart wrenching choices in order for their biological child to have a stable life with another family. Even though they made this choice willingly, I know it was not done lightly.
Therefore, this Mother’s Day, as I have done in years past, I am sending so much love and gratitude to the entire amazing woman that have chosen adoption and have blessed families. Adoption is a true miracle.
Happy Mother’s Day to all our Birth Mother’s and all of our Adoptive Mother’s!
Christy Ikeler, Executive Director & Birth Parent Case Worker, Adoption Choices of Colorado
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!