Trace & Tawni

Hi! We are passionate about life and sharing experiences with others. Tawni is a school teacher with a love for agriculture and developing the minds and goals of youth in our community. Trace is a Sheriff’s Deputy who has a passion for helping young adults prepare for their future by leading and participating in several programs that serve local teens. Together we like to explore and challenge each other to live life to the fullest! We’ve dreamed of raising a child and have each had adoption in mind from before we met. We’d love to pass on our positive, ambitious outlook as parents. It is an honor to be considered as you make plans for your baby’s future. We hope to talk with you!

Our Story

Tawni on how we met: After four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Trace helped his sister and her husband move into a new home after they’d gotten a job on a ranch in Nebraska. Little did he know, but I had taken a job to train horses and do marketing and photography for the same ranch! We had our first date in a small town nearby and the rest is history. Almost 6 years later, we’re so glad our paths crossed on that horse ranch.

Things we love to do together:
• Play board games
• Travel to places where we can be outdoors and experience cultures
• Play volleyball on a community league
• Ride horses
• Walk our dogs
• Attend Sunday School, Bible studies, and small groups
• Hike nature trails
• Go dancing

Meet Tawni

According to Trace: Tawni is one of the most caring people you’ll ever meet. Her big heart, compassionate outlook, and sincerity are what made me fall in love with her. As a mom, I know Tawni would use her caring, dedicated personality to nurture our children so they would become strong, independent individuals. After we adopt, we’re planning for Tawni to be home with our child at least part-time or more, a role she will definitely cherish.

Tawni enjoys:
• Working with horses (especially in roping competitions!)
• Photographing western lifestyle
• Card games during family dinners
• Teaching my middle and high school students
• Being an FFA Advisor
• Writing

Fun Fact: “I found a way to combine my passion for agriculture and what it does for us all, along with my love for photography and storytelling. I have been writing/photographing a book to show off the different types of agriculture, and the workers, around Colorado.”

Meet Trace

According to Tawni: Trace is beyond loyal and defends those who he loves. He also has a child-like joy; he loves to play and wrestle with our nieces and nephews. Trace is also a romantic! Once I came home to a blanket fort he’d built in our living room, complete with snacks and my favorite Disney movie ready to watch. His protective, fun, thoughtful nature is why I love him, along with his heart for God and teaching others. I know he will be an incredible dad.

Trace enjoys:
• Participating in living history events
• Role playing games
• Creating things with my hands
• Being on the worship team at church
• Coaching wrestling
• Camping
• Volunteering with youth groups or helping to prepare young adults who are enlisting in the military

Fun Fact: “One of my hidden talents is my interest in foreign languages and accents. I have always been fascinated by other cultures and used this interest to learn small amounts of other languages. I have dabbled in German, Russian, Pashto, and Shawnee.”

Our Families

We both come from large, outdoor-loving families who live within a few hours of us. Trace comes from Northeast Colorado where he and his siblings grew up having many adventures and active imaginations exploring outside a lot. He has a twin brother, an older sister, and a younger brother, and they are all very close. Tawni’s family has been in the same county for several generations and still farm and ranch in that area. She has one sister, a best friend who is like a sister, and many cousins. Together we have 3 nephews and 6 nieces who we’re close to as well. We see our loved ones as often as possible, whether they come to us or we make trips to see them. Everyone is excited about our plans to adopt and can’t wait to welcome another child!

Our Home in Colorado

We live in a small, rural town with a lot of farming and ranching families. The local community centers often host events that we love to be a part of. We love the quiet life here, surrounded by supportive neighbors who are there for each other.

Our home has three bedrooms with a large fenced yard in the back, and a big open yard in front. The house is cozy and comfortable with an open concept that is great for hosting our family and friends for game nights. We have a room picked out that we will turn into the nursery and we’re excited to decorate it after we adopt.

From Our Hearts

We’re so grateful to be considered as an adoptive family for your child. We believe that parenting is a journey as unique as each child. Our hope is to find healthy ways to grow and nurture our child in a way that best suits their personality. We will raise our child with compassion, fairness, and grace, providing a safe home that values courage, honesty, perseverance, humility, and kindness. We’ll encourage him or her to make the most of education, growing their intellect and building life skills too. We promise to do our best to raise a strong, confident, capable and independent individual. We will be our child’s biggest supporters, carefully pushing them to be the best they can be, and to always love him or her for who God made them to be.

We are happy to share an ongoing connection with you, if you’d like that. We will always be open with your child about how much you mean to us, and about how we came together because of adoption. We’d love to learn what kind of contact you’d be comfortable with, and to learn more about you and your family background through this process. To talk with us just call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.

In Closing

We're so thankful to be considered as a possible adoptive family for your child. It would be our pleasure to get to know you and learn more about the hopes you have for your little one's future. We've hoped to raise a family and are ready and excited to bring a child into our lives through adoption. If you'd like an open adoption we would love to hear what that might look like for you, such as sharing updates or how we could stay in touch as your child grows up. You will always hold a special place in our hearts and we'll make sure your child knows how much you mean to us. When you're ready, just ask Lifetime to set up a call or video chat with us! We'd love to hear from you.