We have had the good fortune to being able to travel across the country and around the world. Some of our favorite places are Tokyo, Japan and Southern Germany. Ronnie adores Japan for the food and still talks about the sushi ... A LOT. He is not afraid to try new cuisines, and Japan was a good place to experiment with seafood. Liz has family in Germany and loves visiting them often — it allows her to become immersed in her family heritage. We actually had our wedding in Germany, which was fantastic and a favorite memory. Christmas in Germany is magical, so we cherish the year we had the chance to go during the holidays, the German Christmas Markets (Christkindlmarkt) are a one-of-a-kind experience.

We travel often to Texas to visit family. We have also visited New York, Florida, Las Vegas, and California. Together, the two of us have done a lot of International travel — to the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. In the coming years we intend to continue our travelling adventures and hope to share this with a little one. Our love of travel, we hope, will translate to our child in visiting places of culture and heritage that are important to them. This is an experience we hope to share.

We are big animal lovers. Currently we have three small dogs, and we love that each of them has their own distinct personality. GOB (named for a character from the TV show Arrested Development) is now 11 years old and is the most mellow Yorkshire terrier on the planet. He spends the majority of his time snuggled into a heated blanket. Dee is a 10-year-old Maltese and is the alpha of the group. She is attached to Liz, and we jokingly call her “Little White Shadow” since she follows Liz from room to room.

Dee and GOB had a puppy named Leeloo, who is currently nine years old but still acts like a puppy! She loves to play with all of her toys at once. It is adorable to see a three-pound dog trying to carry five toys into a room all at the same time.

Our nieces and nephews adore the dogs. When we make a quick trip back to our hometown, we’re always quizzed by the kids who want to know “where are the puppies?” They enjoy playing fetch or tug of war, which makes our smallest dog happy because she never tires of that game. It’s always fun to watch the kids and dogs chasing each other around the house!

We both grew up in a diverse city in Texas, so we are accustomed to experiencing a variety of cultures, through art, food and friends. Since moving to Colorado, diversity is something we have actively sought out. With a large city less than 10 miles from our home, we are able to regularly attend cultural events and museums. We want to expose our child to all that the world has to offer. Travel will play a big role in this, as we visit places around this country and throughout the world. We firmly believe that representation is important in showing children their potential, because of this we will be seeking out pediatricians, dentists, hairdressers, etc. of the same race that will help show our child that they can be anything if they put their mind to it. Additionally, each summer Colorado hosts a heritage camp, that culturally immerses children adopted into a transracial household while including the adoptive parents in family activities. We look forward to experiencing this with our child!

Growing up, Liz, the youngest of four children, and her family lived in many different places throughout the United States, as her father worked for the airline industry. Today, we have six nieces and nephews whom we love dearly. Her parents recently retired and visit several times a year in their large RV that can fit all of the grandkids. Each year we plan a vacation together. This can be anything from Disney World to international destinations. These vacations are a big plus in our lives, and we look forward to showing our kids different parts of our country and the world.

Ronnie was born and raised in Texas, as the oldest of five. With siblings as much as 18 years his junior, he is no stranger to helping raise children! He absolutely loves showing our nieces and nephews new technology and opening their eyes to new ways of seeing the world. We enjoy the holiday season with Ronnie’s family, watching movies, sharing meals, and just hanging out together.

The support of our families in our adoption journey has been awesome. They’ve learned everything they can about adoption and speak freely and in-depth about it with all the kiddos. Everyone is excited about having a new addition to the family.

We are located in a community-oriented suburb of Colorado, just 10 miles outside a wonderful large city. The neighborhood is close-knit and friendly, surrounded by green space and protected wilderness areas for local wildlife. There are gorgeous mountain views with lots of hiking and biking trails that we take advantage of throughout most of the year. We are also conveniently located within walking distance of schools and parks.

The community holds events and festivals throughout the year, including a July 4th fireworks extravaganza, an Easter egg hunt, Oktoberfest, and a Christmas tree lighting ceremony with reindeer, just to name a few.

Our neighborhood is connected to other areas of town by a series of trails. You always find families and children walking and biking along the trails, or getting some baseball practice in at the nearby field. Four recreation centers sprinkled throughout our community host a variety of activities for children, adults, and families. Liz herself is currently attending a pottery class offered at one of them.

Our home has four bedrooms, and we’ve already designated a room for a future little one right by the upstairs master bedroom. When we’re home, we spend a lot of time in the living room relaxing and watching movies. The open floor plan allows us to grab a snack from the kitchen without missing anything! We couldn’t be happier with our home and neighborhood, a perfect place to raise a family.

Hello. We are Liz and Ronnie. First and foremost, we would like to thank you for taking this time to learn about our family and considering us as adoptive parents for your precious child.

We love each other very much and have been together for 13 years, including almost eight years of marriage. We met in the early days of social media in 2005, before dating apps. We were just friends at first, until one day in 2007, when Ronnie asked Liz to a concert. The rest is history.

Liz studied art and photography in college and absolutely loves taking photos. She is artistic and enjoys trying out new creative ventures. In her leisure time, she watches holiday movies, even when it isn’t the holidays! She is currently a Systems Analyst for a worldwide company, but has the luxury and freedom to work from home with a flexible schedule. She is part introvert and part extrovert. While it may be hard for her to approach a group of strangers and strike up conversation, once the initial ice is broken, she can’t stop talking! She’s a bit of a homebody, in that she likes hanging out at home with Ronnie, but she also loves to get away, enjoying travel and all the experiences it offers.

Ronnie is an introvert at heart, but he reaches out to others in spite of that, easily joining new groups of people. Ronnie is currently the Engineering Delivery Manager for Networking at a large education company. His job, in a nutshell, involves making the Internet work. Ronnie works from home, which will help with the baby, since he’ll be available for caregiving as needed. In his leisure time, Ronnie enjoys playing video games, which allows him to connect with friends and family. He bikes, hikes, works out, and also reads often. More than anything, he enjoys spending time with Liz.

Because we both work from home, the two of us definitely spend a lot of time together. We go out to dinner quite often and have a rotating list of restaurants that we visit. We’ve gone through most in our town and have settled on the best. We also enjoy going to movies and watching TV (old Simpsons episodes and other comedies are our favorites). Other things we love doing together include hiking, visiting the zoo, attending local festivals, and playing video games.

As far back as when we started dating, we both stated that if children were in our future, we would want to adopt. We want to extend the love we have for one another to a child, building a strong and happy family life. We believe in open adoption, because it will help the child understand their identity and story. We are open to exchanging emails, photos, facetime calls, and more, depending on all the various circumstances.

We are excited to show your child the great outdoors and all that Colorado has to offer. We will provide a safe space and the opportunity for them to try every avenue of self-expression. We both come from loving homes with very close families, and we intend to give this same experience to our child. Right away, your child will have an extended family who is ready to shower them with love. Our goal for your little one is to grow up healthy and happy. We want them to look back as an adult and think fondly of their childhood, just as we do with our own childhoods.

Thank you again for learning a bit about us. We look forward to meeting you and learning about your hopes and dreams, too.

With greatest love and respect,

Ronnie & Liz