The Collins Family
By Judy Collins

My name is Judy Collins. My husband Rich and I are the adoptive parents of 3 amazing little girls. It is our hope that you will share our story with your readers in honor of "National Adoption Awareness Month" and that our story along with others may encourage someone to consider building their family through adoption.

We have three daughters, all of whom are adopted. We started on our journey into adoption 10 short years ago when Ashley, our oldest was born. Ashley came home at the age of 4 days directly from the hospital. We had anticipated her birth for 5 long months and did what all expectant parents do and went shopping for all of the baby paraphernalia and read all of the parenting and baby name books. The day she came home was like a dream. I had to keep pinching myself to see if it was real. I remember sitting at 2 a.m. just waiting for her to wake up so I could hold her again. Much to my dismay, she was a great sleeper. She has grown into the sweetest child and has a gentle spirit. Our lives had been changed forever and it wasn't until we held Ashley in our arms that we realized that we had been missing out on something wonderful and special. We knew that Ashley would not be an only child.

Brittany is our second daughter. We decided in March, 1995 that we wanted to parent again and with the help of our social worker Vivian Cone at Alliance for Children, it didn't take long to realize that our next daughter would arrive by way of China. Vivian put us at ease immediately and knew exactly what we were going through because she was an adoptive mom also. After our meeting with Vivian, we drove home and wondered if somewhere, half a world away, our daughter was already born and waiting for mommy and daddy to come and bring her home. With this thought embedded in my mind, I raced through the paper gathering and before we knew it our paperwork and our request to adopt was on the way to China. Not long after that, about 2 months, we found out that our daughter was indeed waiting for us. Her name was Xu Keling and she was living in an orphanage in Quzhou, China. She was 10 months old when she came home to us. My husband Rich traveled alone to meet her and bring her home while I stayed with our oldest daughter, Ashley. She was excited about becoming a big sister but missed her daddy terribly. I still recall the feeling of watching my husband carry this tiny bundle off the plane. She was so timid and so tiny. Most of that first meeting is a blur of excitement. But most important of all...... she was in America and I was her mommy. Britty is a sweet, loving child and her kindness never ceases to amaze me. She adores her big sister Ashley and is always asking where "my Ashley" is. They are sisters, just as if they had been together all of their lives.

Madison is our third daughter. I hesitate to say last because I hope to adopt another child someday. Madison, like her sister Brittany is also from China. She spent the first 6 months of her life in an orphanage in Jiujiang City where she was lovingly cared for. Rich traveled to China again to meet our newest daughter while I remained home with Ashley and Brittany and helped them prepare for big sisterhood. Rich met our youngest daughter on Mother's Day 1998 and it didn't take him long to call me to tell me how beautiful our new baby girl was. He was so proud of her already. He had gotten his first smile and was working on teaching her how to do a "high-five." I reminded him that she was only six months old! Madison was definitely ready for her daddy to come and get her. Since she has come home it becomes more and more obvious that she has a spirit that can not be overlooked. She is a survivor and it did not take her long to figure out that she had made it. Madison has a zest for life and she reminds us every day to live life to its fullest.

There are many more children like my children who need homes. They need mommies and daddies and brothers and sisters. Most of all they need "someone" who will give them the love that they so richly deserve. My children have brought a world to me that I never knew existed. I am so proud of them and I wish to thank Alliance for Children in Wellesley for everything they did to bring my family together. Without them, my girls would not be here and I will be forever grateful.

Sincerely,

Judy and Rich Collins
Very proud parents of Ashley, Brittany and Madison
(781) 740-2997