Questions You Might Have...

What are our views on religion?  Ryan was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school until high school.  Emily was raised Christian, non-denominational.  We do not currently attend church on a regular basis.  However, we know that not all who go to church are "good", and not all who do not attend church are "bad".  We have strong morals and are of the belief that everyone should follow the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.  We believe in the power of prayer and in God's word.  We love one another and treat each other with kindness and respect.  We have faith in God and in His plan for our lives.  If we are able to find the right church for us, we would love to raise our child within a church family.  

What are our views on parenting?  In terms of managing behavior, Emily is a teacher and is very familiar with a variety of strategies for classroom management (token-reward systems, succes charts, time out, positive reinforcement, etc.).  We are both very calm, easy going people.  Even when one of us does become upset, we are able to talk through our feelings - to forgive and forget.  We know that a very young child will not be able to understand right from wrong.  But, we firmly believe that there are other strategies for teaching a child how to manage their own behavior without resorting to spanking or yelling.  We believe in the power of communicating, sharing our thoughts and feelings.  We plan to encourage our child to be very open with us.  We will encourage them to be involved in whatever hobbies or interests they might have and will support them in every way we can.