Adoption Self Help Manual
Testimonials
I care deeply about children, their birth parents and those who wish to adopt a child. I have always tried to provide sensitive, caring, professional advice based on the needs of everyone involved. That advice does not stop when the child is adopted. No matter how many years go by you can always feel free to pick up the phone and give me a call.
These testimonials were provided voluntarily by adopting persons who have worked with me and who have followed my advice and guidance.
The testimonials included here are just a sampling of those provided to me over the years.
Vincent F. Berger, Ph.D.
Just a Few
After 10 years of marriage and 8 years of trying to get pregnant, we finally had our baby...
We can recommend Adoption Services with 100% approval. Only 10 months after our first contact with them we had a beautiful little boy.
There is no way to describe the feelings you have when Dr. Berger calls to tell you your child has been born. The days between the phone call and the day you finally see your baby seem to last forever.
When the nurses put our baby in my arms, it was the most wonderful feeling in the world. After 10 years of marriage and 8 years of trying to get pregnant, we finally had our baby.
Willa & Richard
After all the delays and form letters we were accustomed to receiving from adoption agencies, imagine how amazed we were to receive a call from you just days after our first contact.
How can we ever summarize in a few words our admiration for you? We marvel every day at the inspired and sensitive way you brought Elizabeth into our lives.
From the beginning, we knew you were someone special. After all the delays and form letters we were accustomed to receiving from adoption agencies, imagine how amazed we were to receive a call from you just days after our first contact with Adoption Services. We quickly learned that personal attention was your trademark, as you guided us with sensitivity and professionalism through each step of what could have been a terrifying process.
We are also secure in the knowledge that, despite your deep interest in us, your first concerns were the baby and her birth mother and that, in some sense, we were chosen because we answered their needs. We recognize that all the time and attention you gave us represented a relatively minor aspect of your real mission, which was to help Elizabeth's birth mother through what must have been one of the most difficult experiences of her life. For us, part of loving Elizabeth as much as we do is caring very deeply for the young woman who gave birth to her. It gives us great comfort to know that she was counseled by you and made her decision in the context of your wise and sensitive support. We will always be grateful to you for that.
There is so much more. No one can believe how quickly we were able to adopt Elizabeth. That, of course, is attributable to your dedication and professionalism. Whatever the apparent obstacles - legal, practical, etc.- you persisted, and at those most delicate times when both the birth mother and us were most vulnerable, you managed somehow to serve everyone's interests. You managed skillfully to maintain confidentiality in the adoption, yet have given us a sense of continuity with Elizabeth's birth mother, forwarding information and photos so that she can follow Elizabeth's development.
Last, but not least, no one could ask for a more beautiful, intelligent or healthy child than Elizabeth. She is the miracle of our lives and we thank you for bringing about this miracle.
John & Ann
You made the adoption process absolutely nothing like the horror stories we have heard about in trying to adopt.
It is hard to believe so much time has flown by since your agency helped my wife and I fulfill our dreams of having a child. Benjamin has been such a joy and pleasure in our lives, it is hard to imagine our life without him. He is such a good, cheerful, friendly, and intelligent child. Everyone who meets him is amazed at how smart and outgoing his is. People everywhere we go admire him.
How can we thank you and your staff for bringing us such joy? From my very first phone call to your agency to look into adopting, we were treated with such courtesy and helpfulness. You made the adoption process absolutely nothing like the horror stories we had heard about in trying to adopt. We know we were very fortunate to have taken only 5 months from registration to actual adoption and know another adoption would most probably take much longer. However, if we do decide to adopt again, we shall certainly consider using your agency once again.
t is hard to believe so much time has flown by since your agency helped my wife and I fulfill our dreams of having a child. Benjamin has been such a joy and pleasure in our lives, it is hard to imagine our life without him. He is such a good, cheerful, friendly, and intelligent child. Everyone who meets him is amazed at how smart and outgoing his is. People everywhere we go admire him.
How can we thank you and your staff for bringing us such joy? From my very first phone call to your agency to look into adopting, we were treated with such courtesy and helpfulness. You made the adoption process absolutely nothing like the horror stories we had heard about in trying to adopt. We know we were very fortunate to have taken only 5 months from registration to actual adoption and know another adoption would most probably take much longer. However, if we do decide to adopt again, we shall certainly consider using your agency once again.
Harvey & Iris
As a single woman in my late forties, I didn't think that I could find an adoption agency willing to help me pursue my dream.
It has been two weeks since Katilin's adoption was made final. It is hard to imagine my life without her. I again want to thank all of you, especially Dr. Berger and Elaine, for my precious little daughter.
As a single woman in my late forties, I didn't think that I could find and adoption agency willing to help me pursue my dream of becoming a parent. From the initial contact through the finalization, I found Adoption Services to be very caring and professional.
The path to Katilin's adoption was not without problem.She is the sweetest little baby, and was well worth the wait. Every day she greets me with a big grin, and I think of how lucky I am to have the opportunity to be her mom and cherish her.
Gretchin
We had heard such horror stories involving adoption in the media: birth parents wanting their children back.We also heard it took years before a child would be available.and my husband and I are 40 years old.
I was advised not to become pregnant due to some medical complication. So when the time came to give serious thought as to have children, we saw two options available to us; no children or adoption.
We knew that we would have no problem whatsoever of bringing a child into our home and loving him/her as our very own, it was the adoption process that worried us, especially my husband, Terry. We had heard such horror stories involving adoption in the media: birth parents wanting their children back several years after the adoption was finalized and granted their request. It was just so heartbreaking to think of those children who felt loved and secure beaching taken out of their home and given to perfect "strangers." We also heard it took years before a child would be available. My husband and I are 40 years old and 35 years old, respectively. We would be old enough to be grandparents when a child would be available, let alone the age restrictions of adoptive parents. Then there was all the paperwork and red tape to go through. By this time, we felt pretty much defeated, but in our heart of hearts we knew we still wanted a child.
Needless to say, we teetered back and forth for quite a while deciding what we wanted to do. In the interim, we were visiting with friends and they suggested Adoption Services to us. They had adopted a little boy through the agency and had such high praise for the agency. This was truly the first time we had heard such as success story. It was must to our ears, but Terry was still somewhat apprehensive.
The following day I contacted Adoption Services. We decided to go for it.
Time went on and it was now February; seven months after we had begun our process. Adoption Services contacted me at work and told me that they had a birth mother who was expecting in the middle of March; would we be interested? After hearing the profile on the mother and baby, I just knew this baby was meant to be ours. After consulting with Terry, five minutes later I was back on the telephone with the agency and told them -YES!- we were very interested in this baby. The birth mother had some premature labor so to be on the safe side, Adoption Services wanted to move quickly.
Our baby was born a month early! We know this is not typical but we had a baby in seven months. It was and still is unbelievable.
It was quite a week for us, but Adoption Services made sure that everything went smoothly.
It is August, six months since our baby was born and now we are awaiting the finalization hearing scheduled in several weeks. We are not worried about the upcoming hearing because we trust Adoption Services has taken every possible step necessary to make sure everything is complete and will run smoothly.
In closing, we would like to say we have had a wonderful experience with Adoption Services and will most certainly use them again if and when we decide to adopt and other child.
New Mom and Terry
They made the adoption process proceed so easily.
June 3, the day our dream finally came true. We were parents. The excitement that we felt at that moment was immeasurable. That night, we could not sleep. We were to pick up our beautiful baby girl the next day. What would she look like? Is she being taken care of at the hospital? We can't wait to hold her!! Then our thoughts turned to the birth parents. Are they OK? How are they handling this difficult decision? We never got to meet our daughter's birth parents, but hope that someday we will. We are so very thankful to them, words cannot explain. We think of them as very caring, thoughtful, unselfish parents.
Adoption Services staff were all so supportive and caring. They made the adoption process proceed so easily. We were always calling with questions, and they never seemed to mind. Pam, our social worker, eased our worries and concerns at the hospital. Elaine eased our minds at the adoption finalization hearing, and many other time. Dr. Berger made the home study process painless. He was always very honest and supportive.
We just celebrated our daughter's first birthday. She has added (and changed) our lives in so many ways over the past year. She is a beautiful, friendly, independent and very smart girl. Nothing is more special than when she reaches out to us for a hug and kiss and says, "Mommy" or "Daddy." She is the joy of our life and center of our universe. We thank God every day for her (and her birth mother and birth father).
We are currently in the process of adopting another child from Adoption Services, since our first experience was such a positive one. We hope we are just as fortunate with our next very special gift - be it a son or daughter.
Tim & Pam B
We tried infertility treatments for close to five years.
We tried infertility treatments for close to five years . We had always been open to adoption but wanted to try for a biological child for as long as we felt comfortable. It was exciting to put our name on the adoption list because no matter how long it would take we were finally on our way to expanding our family.
We got the call earlier than expected and there was a full range of emotions. Excitement, anxiety, joy, a little fear of the unknown, but all went ahead rather quickly and before we knew it we were holding our little girl in our arms. Now we can't possibly imagine life without her. Now we understand God's plan for us. We thank God every day for this wonderful, precious gift He has given us.
Rhonda and Mike
Two of the greatest aspects that I think we will always remember are your honesty and straight forwardness.
We have had a wonderful experience with you! Everyone was so thoughtful and caring it made the adoption process a very positive experience and one we will always remember.
We will never forget the great advice, the thoughtful words and the up to the minute updates. Two of the greatest aspects that I think we will always remember are your honesty and straight forwardness. You always let us know what was happening, whether it was good or bad. We felt that this was so important because we always knew exactly what to expect.
We now have our beautiful daughter and she truly is a dream come true. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping make this dream possible.
You are warm, caring and exceptional people, and you will always be remembered.
Proud Parents
The joyous excitement was matched only by the fear that something would go wrong and we would be disappointed.
What a wonderful year our family recently completed. Words cannot describe the feelings involved as we have watched our tiny infant grow into an active toddler.
We will never forget the day that Dr. Berger called to tell us a baby girl had been born - our potential daughter. The joyous excitement was matched only by the fear that something would go wrong and we would be disappointed. We had lots of preparing to do in the approximately 40 hours until we were scheduled to meet our daughter
Dr. Berger met us at the hospital and within an amazingly short time we were holding our daughter in our arms. Walking to the car and driving home was like a dream come true.
Life has been truly wonderful as parents, better than we expected. Our daughter delights us each day and we are so thankful for her.
We know we were so fortunate to be given such a precious gift and we were also fortunate the adoption went smoothly. Much credit and thanks goes to Dr. Berger...We hope to work with all of them again. We have no regrets - only joys.
Lucky Parents
My husband and I have been trying for years to have another child or to adopt. We tried private adoption 3 times unsuccessfully.
Where to begin? I hope that this piece of my heart can help someone else who might have to walk the same road. I hope with all my heart no one else has to experience this type of pain. But if you should find that you do, you can survive and be happy.
My husband and I have been trying for years to have another child or to adopt. We tried private adoption 3 times unsuccessfully.
We decided to go on. My faith was weak but yet I knew that whatever God wanted in my life would be.Two months later we received a call from the agency that we have another daughter.
Our emotions are on a roller-coaster ride. I go to pick up another beautiful little girl. This wonderful little girl has brought much happiness to our lives words can never describe. She has brightened our lives and filled our empty hearts. I'm so glad that we continued instead of stopping the process. When I look at that beautiful little face and I see her smile or I hear her say mom-mom it all was worth it. When I kiss that sweet little face my heart bursts with happiness once more. The staff was great. They were always willing to help.
So if you find yourselves here, remember that what you feel is temporary. The sun will shine again.
An Adoptive Mother
Our son's adoption was smooth with no glitches.
This is the second letter of testimonial we have submitted to Adoption Services. In February my husband and I adopted our first child, a beautiful baby boy. The entire adoption experience was wonderful and exciting. Our son's adoption was smooth with no glitches. When we decided to adopt again, we opted to go with Adoption Services. The remainder of this testimonial will outline some of the fears and heartaches of adoption.
In January Adoption Services notified us that we had been matched with a child. The birth mother however wanted to meet us. We agreed. The meeting went well and we were now on a first name basis. I remember on the drive home telling my husband that the birth mother would change her mind.My fears became a reality a week prior to the birth when the birth mother changed her mind.
To make a long story short, our daughter was born on February 12 and came home with us on Valentines Day.
Our faith in God played a major role and He deserves much credit. Our daughter's final adoption was two weeks ago. She is finally 100% legally ours.
Parents of Two Adopted Children
They were patient and helpful every step of the way.
I would like to take a moment to thank Dr. Berger and his staff at Adoption Services for the wonderful joy they did in matching us to our son, Dylan. They were patient and helpful every step of the way (especially when I was calling impatiently on a weekly basis to see if we had moved up on the waiting list.
We'd recommend your services to anyone who would be interested in adopting a child and thank all those birth mothers who make your agency possible.