Love
Love is very important in our home. Both of us do our best to be kind, caring, and supportive to each other in everything we do. When we have disagreements we talk about them and work to come to a compromise instead of yelling or fighting. We do our best to carry this same attitude into our parenting, and teach our children to love and respect others. We have such a desire for our children to feel safe, secure, and loved within our home.
At every opportunity, we want to teach them to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We will strive to teach our children to live as good examples of the Lord's love and will work to teach them this in everyday 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.
At every opportunity, we want to teach them to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We will strive to teach our children to live as good examples of the Lord's love and will work to teach them this in everyday 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.
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 from college and enjoyed our studies very much. While our college days are behind us, we feel that it is extremely important that we continue to learn in our everyday lives. We both enjoy reading and enjoy reading stories to our children. It is important to us that our children have the opportunity to explore education in music, art, fitness, and the basics and we will do our best to offer them such chances. Both of us are try to find ways of teaching our children about the beauty and wonder of nature, whether it's by camping, going on walks, gardening, or playing at the park or the beach together.
Religion
We both had a strong religious upbringing and are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Families are a central part of our church and we look forward to helping our children develop a love for their Heavenly Father and Jesus.
Tolerance and Inclusion
As we teach our children to treat others with kindness and love, we will 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 plan on teaching our children as much about the rest of the world as we can. We both studied Spanish and lived abroad and, as a result, we feel it is particularly important for our children to learn about other cultures and to be accepting of all.
As our children begin to form friendships with their peers, teaching and modeling kindness is of utmost importance to us. In trying to teach them to be a good friend and a good citizen, we talk a lot about being inclusive. We are working to teach them to invite those who may be shy or new or in need of a friend to play with them, and to never intentionally exclude others from their play. As Amy's dad always says, "the more the merrier!"
As our children begin to form friendships with their peers, teaching and modeling kindness is of utmost importance to us. In trying to teach them to be a good friend and a good citizen, we talk a lot about being inclusive. We are working to teach them to invite those who may be shy or new or in need of a friend to play with them, and to never intentionally exclude others from their play. As Amy's dad always says, "the more the merrier!"
Responsibility and Accountability
Our parenting style is certainly one of love and respect. We do our best to help our children learn to make good choices and to be accountable for their decisions. We are excited about 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 and will do our best to work together as a family to keep our home clean and to take care of our things. Our children will have simple chores, appropriate for their age (putting away their own toys, helping to clear off the dinner table) and we're excited to teach them as they participate in the family duties.
We feel that responsibility goes hand in hand with accountability and will do our best to work together as a family to keep our home clean and to take care of our things. Our children will have simple chores, appropriate for their age (putting away their own toys, helping to clear off the dinner table) and we're excited to teach them as they participate in the family duties.
Health
Being active is something we both enjoy. In the summer we like to go on walks, go on family runs, play frisbee, and go camping, hiking, and play at the beach. In the winter, we enjoy playing in the snow, especially skiing and snowboarding. We plan on sharing our love of the outdoors with our children and teaching them the importance of having a healthy body.
We both place great value in eating well and in caring for our bodies. Amy is a good cook who prides herself in making healthy and tasty meals for us 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!
We both place great value in eating well and in caring for our bodies. Amy is a good cook who prides herself in making healthy and tasty meals for us 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!
Happiness
We want our home to be a place of happiness and peace for our children. We like to try to find the fun in life, and we find joy in the small things like playing games together, eating dinner as a family, and working on projects together. Our happiness comes from our good relationships with each other, our families, our friends, and our Heavenly Father. As they grow, we desire for our children to create fond and happy memories in our home.