When we were asked to write a testimonial about Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives, we did not know where to start. There are so many great things that we can say about the work that Jude and Joanne do at the agency.
We want to be clear about one thing. The process that Jude and Joanne employ simply works! On all levels and without exception.
We say this after having waited for over 2 years for our beautiful Natalie to find us. There is no doubt in our minds that Natalie was meant for us. She has Kathy’s blue eyes, reddish hair and ivory complexion. She has Brian’s sense of humor and gregarious nature. It is the most miraculous thing you will likely ever experience.
It was a long and difficult wait. We had doubts, fears and questions about why it was taking so long for us to be placed. We were the last ones in our group to get a baby. Jude reassured us that it was just because our baby had not found us yet. This was hard for us to understand, but we trusted Jude and Joanne and believed that the right baby would find us. Prayers, faith, friends and family helped to sustain our hope during this time.
The other 5 couples in our group have become some of our closest friends. It took a year before the first baby found our group. It gave us time to bond, develop lifelong friendships, prepare for our lives as parents, and have a little fun along the way. We are amazed at how 12 people can develop such strong friendships in 3 short weeks. In fact we formed those friendships after the first 2 days of training! We were able to share our adoption fears, infertility stories, and frustrations with each other. As each couple became a family, we were invited to be a part of their joy. It provided us with hope for the day when we would get the call that our baby had arrived.
Many potlucks, group outings and dinners later we are one big family (12 adults and 6 beautiful babies). We share late night stories, clothes, tips and toys. The adoption process has ended, but our friendships will continue on for a lifetime.
Kathy and Brian
The infertility heartache and the adoption process gave me so much. I never imagined such pain and anxiety could teach me so many things. I am truly a better mother to my son because of the pain of infertility and the stress of the adoption process. I truly believe now that God gave me the exact path I was meant to travel to learn lessons of casting off worry, living in the moment with joy and peace regardless of the circumstances, planning for the future without trying to control it and trusting in my faith to support me in every moment. So, as Robert Frost wrote: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.
Beverly
Beloveds,
This is a testimonial of a love story. We searched in our hearts for how to call our baby to us. We visited many agencies and when we walked into Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives we fell in love. We immediately felt we were home. The warmth, the compassion and the heart felt love with Jude and Joanne overwhelmed us and we chose them to be the vehicle of our baby journey.
We loved the intimate, healing and supportive training that we received through the agency and truly felt through the entire process of the adoption that the training prepared us for the emotional, love story of our adoption.
We met our birth mother and fell in love with her as well. Our hearts were filled with awe of how she could attempt to go through such an endeavor of responsibility. She was at such a young age and made such a mature, selfless decision for the well being of her baby.
The moment we set our eyes on Kaia (our daughter) we were in love and knew that we had just stepped over the line in life of becoming a parent. Our hearts filled with gratitude and appreciation for this amazing agency and our beloved birth mother. We have never felt so much love in our lives since we had our daughter. We have never forgotten Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives and our birth mother for whom we are forever grateful.
Mira and Stephen
The end result of our adoption experience is a beautiful little girl whom we adore. The beginning of our adoption experience took us on a beautiful journey of love, excitement and life long friendships through Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives. This was our second adoption – the first adoption of our wonderful son being completed in Arizona.
When we came to Colorado and knew we wanted to grow our family, we called around and talked to several agencies. When we called A.A. & A., we were welcomed with open arms and a warmth we’ll never forget. The training meant a lot to us and we learned so much. We got to know the other adoptive parents and formed friendships with them. It was helpful to have others going through the same thing. We got together often and rejoiced in each others adoptions. Then it was our turn! A beautiful baby girl, a daughter, a sister. We met with the birth family several times and were at the hospital very early on the day she was born. Everyone was so excited. We were treated like part of the family. In the hospital, on the day we were to take her home, we had a small ceremony with the birth family as a way to commemorate the day. The birth mother has since married and had another baby girl, but we send pictures and letters a couple times a year to keep in touch. She’s a wonderful girl and we cherish her for who she is and what she has brought to our lives. Through all of the excitement and anticipation and worry and rejoicing, etc. etc., Jude and Joanne were always there to talk to and reassure us that everything would work out. They were right!
Bill and Karen
Our adoption journey began in December 2005 when we made the decision that we wanted to adopt. Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives was recommended to us by a friend who was going through the adoption process herself.
This agency offers a more personal touch than the other agencies we interviewed. The training program was very informative and got us thinking about things that we wouldn’t have thought about on our own. They truly have the well-being of the child in mind when they put you through training. It helped us to have a clearer understanding of why open adoption is important to the child. The training also helped prepare us to deal with issues our child might have with adoption down the road.
Besides the caring environment that this agency provides, they work hard to connect you with fellow adoptive parents so that you have a strong support system in place once the babies arrive. This has been a pleasant surprise for us that we have met so many nice people, and we socialize with them regularly.
Stuart & Rhonda
When my husband Michael and I decided to take the journey of open adoption we were nervous, and anxious to see where this new chapter in our lives would lead. After three years of dealing with our infertility, and the heartache this would bring, we never could imagine becoming adoptive parents. However, once we joined Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives and met Jude Simmons and Joanne Gallagher our experience was very positive.
The whole open adoption process from the agency was a blessing for us. It was never negative, but one of hope and joy. We left the agency healed from our infertility, and we are now advocates of open adoptions. In our adoption classes we were given a candle to represent the connection to our adopted child and the birth parents. We would light the candle and talk to our child and let them know events that were happening in our lives.
We met Diane, our birth mother, for the first time on July 8th, 2003. There was no birth father in the picture. Both of us connected with her. A week later Diane choose us to be the adoptive parents for her child. On July 19th, 2003, our son, Kenneth was born. When we held him we felt joy, happiness and love that you never thought we had in us.
Since we were given our son, parenthood has been a wonderful learning experience. Kenneth was a wonderful and healthy baby boy. He has grown into a typical toddler boy. When we least suspect, Kenneth does something that only a typical boy would do and we wonder what our life was like before we became parents. He is such a positive and happy little toddler, people are simply drawn to him for this great attitude.
We look forward to our future together..
Patricia and Michael
We came to this agency in hopes of fulfilling our dream of becoming parents. Jude Simmons and Joanne Gallagher’s kindness and compassion for our story are what kept us at this agency. They are interested in getting to know you; counseling you through the process, and helping you build a support network with other couples who are also going through the adoptive process. Jude was key in putting our training group together. We have made lifelong friends and feel so grateful to this agency for connecting us with other adoptive couples. The training /counseling they offered helped us open our hearts to these amazing birthmothers and babies that would soon touch our lives. We love that this agency not only paid special attention to the adoptive parents but was very compassionate and attentive to the birthparents as well. We can not say enough about Joanne who is an invaluable and phenomenal asset when it comes to counseling birthparents. This is not an easy journey. It is lengthy and very emotional. Together, Jude and Joanne have been our incredible guides through this process.
We are now the proud parents of an eight-month-old son whom we were fortunate enough to bring home straight from the hospital. We also continue to maintain a relationship with the birthmother. Our son is truly a gift and this agency has helped us become a Forever Family.
David, Kim and baby Ryan
October 2006
Every adoption experience is unique. When we made the decision to adopt, we knew very little about the preparation required of us. With skill and compassion, Joanne Gallagher and Jude Simmons prepared us for every aspect of our adoption journey. Our most valuable lesson was the role of trust in the process. With their guidance we opened our minds and our hearts to new relationships with an expanded definition of family. Our son is the primary beneficiary of our experience with Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives. He is a happy, confident 6 year old who knows he can find answers to his questions. We are so grateful to Joanne and Jude for showing us how to create this bond with our son
Richard and Denise
We do know that we have been absolutely blessed with...
- an incredible, incredible, love story! Carson arrived with such certainity and a 9-digit zip code!!!
- an open adoption story that can only be seen as the melding of two families,
- a firm belief that what we experienced with Adoptions: Advocacy and Alternatives was nothing short of a wonderful and blessed event,
- and a journey that allowed us to heal the spiritual void brought on by infertility, a healing that made the arrival of Carson "icing on the cake" and the wait for his arrival a time of confident anticipation.
Lawrence and Frieda
Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives showered us with the dignity that Infertility took away and embraced us with the sincerity of loving kindness that ensured us God was leading the way.
From the very beginning when we placed an inquiry call to Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives, we found our spirits nurtured as we enjoyed the time talking about everything and anything, never a hint of a cold business-like process. Our adoption preparation entailed a series of weekends spent bonding with our soul mates, learning about our inner self and enabling our social worker to assist birthmothers through their journey. Birthparents and parents-to-be are empowered with insight to personalities, beliefs and hopes and, most of all, the endless love of a little one to-be.
Watching our two sons being born, cry their first cry and to be the first ones to hold them is an overwhelming experience that brings endless tears of joy to our eyes. Being beside them as they experience life or the simplicity of watching their reaction to their glimpse of the real "Thomas the Train" is the most precious gift from God that we could imagine.
We are truly blessed with our precious sons and our blessing began when Jude and Joanne came into our lives
Devin and Sue
We are truly blessed to have Cole and Carmen in our lives and to have experienced two very different adoption love stories for each of them; stories in which Joanne and Jude have been our guides and spiritual advisors. For this we are deeply thankful. We consider the two of you as much our adoption family as our children (or “Trilden” as Cole used to say), our birth families and our extended “adoptive parent” families.
Our journey began after making the adoption decision not fully recognizing what was in store for us. All we knew is that we wanted to be parents and thought we had something to offer our potential children. Through their tutorage we came to understand how to open our hearts to infinite possibilities, to be full of compassion and understanding of our birth families and of their grief; and to utilize this understanding to open our hearts and completely trust that our story will unfold as only it should for our family.
Though we have had our share of disappointments, we have trusted that what is meant to be will be. And now as we enjoy the unfolding of our story on a daily basis we are awed by how perfectly it seems that it is unfolding exactly as it is meant to. Cole and Carmen are the lights of our world and we can hardly wait to see how our story together will continue to unfold.
We are truly blessed and enriched not only by our children but also by our adoption journey and Jude and Joanne's love, support and guidance.
Brian, Erin, Coley and Carm.
On March 3, 2005 we first contacted Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives to discuss their adoption philosophy. Amazingly, exactly one year later on March 3, 2006 we welcomed our beautiful daughter into this world. Although she was carried and nurtured by her Birthmother for 9 months, we believe with all of my heart that this child was created to be our daughter. Adoptions: Advocacy & Alternatives helped to facilitate this connection with our Birthmother and our daughter and for that we will be forever grateful!
We cannot begin to describe what an amazing experience adoption is, and how it feels to have someone give you the gift of a life. When our Birthmother invited us into the delivery room to cut our daughter’s umbilical cord the symbolism in that act was completely overwhelming and a moment that forever changed our lives. Regardless of how you may feel about open adoption when you contact an agency (I know that it can be very frightening and unknown); when a young woman chooses you to parent her child and gives you the gift of a family, you cannot help but to feel such love and admiration for her for the rest of your life.
Jackie and Dustin
