Our Values
Education
Education is something that we value very much--both formal education and the education that is possible in everyday life. We both worked very hard to graduate with honors and enjoyed our studies very much. While our college days are (mostly) behind us, we feel that it is extremely important that we continue to learn in our everyday lives. We love to visit museums and zoos and enjoy the opportunity to explore them with Isabel and Milo. We both enjoy reading with our children and love going to storytime at the local library each week. We feel it is important that our children have the opportunity to explore education in music, art, fitness, and the basics and we do our best to offer them such chances. We are both looking forward to helping in the preschool classroom this year! We both love to teach our children about the beauty and wonder of nature and enjoy doing so while we camp and hike together. We feel that being in nature (whether it is in the backyard, up in the mountains, or out in the garden) affords so many opportunities for learning.
Physical Wellness
Outside play and activity are central to our family. We love being active and love the outdoorsy town in which we live. We are both athletic and competitive. We hope to pass on our love of physical activity and the outdoors to our children. Each day we make an effort to do something active and, preferably, outdoors as a family. Whether it's going for a walk around the block, playing at the park, riding our bikes, or dancing around the living room, we encourage our children to appreciate their bodies and to use them!
As athletes, we also both place great value in eating well and in caring for our bodies. Erin is a good cook who prides herself in making healthy and yummy meals for her family nearly every day of the week. We do our best to teach our children the importance of treating your body well so that it can benefit you in return!
Accountability and Responsibility
Our parenting style is certainly one of love and respect. We are doing our best to help our children learn to make good choices and to be accountable for their decisions. We love having the opportunity to teach them and to guide them as they begin to explore this world. We know that by giving them a firm foundation and a loving home, we can help them to grow and learn in the best way possible.
We feel that responsibility goes hand in hand with accountability. We do our best to work together as a family to keep our home clean and to take care of our things. Our children have simple chores that are appropriate for their age (putting away their own toys, helping to clear off the dinner table) and enjoy participating in the family duties.
Do Unto Others
It is of utmost importance to us that our children live by "the golden rule". in our family, we teach our children to do unto others as you would have them do unto you at every opportunity. Some may call it karma or the rules of the universe, for others it is called choosing the right. We strive to teach our children to live as good examples of the Lord's love and we work to teach them this in every day life. Whether it's using good manners, helping mom or dad take a meal to someone who is ill or simply allowing someone to go before us in line, we believe that this important value can be taught in endless ways.
Tolerance
As we teach our children to treat others with kindness and love, we also strive to teach them tolerance. That is, we wish for them to be loving and accepting of everyone--regardless of race, religion, background, or any other factors. We enjoy learning about other cultures and places and teach our children as much about the rest of the world as we can. Erin comes from a diverse family and, as a result, we feel it is particularly important for our children to learn about other cultures and to be accepting of all.
Home is a Haven
Because we each work in rather intense professions, we place great value on having our home be a haven and place of great peace. We value the quiet and peace that is waiting for each of us there. As part of our desire to make our home a haven, we have established some great family traditions that we hope to carry on. We have a bedtime routine that the entire family participates in--brush your teeth, read a few stories, read scriptures, say family prayer, and get tucked into bed--regardless of how hectic our day has been. We also do our best to eat dinner together as a family every night and make a hot breakfast for everyone each morning. We love playing games as a family or digging through our giant art box for an activity. We have such a desire for our children to feel safe, secure, and loved within our home--and for them to create some great memories here as well!
