Rachel's Family
Gregory and Renee
Suzy Jacob
Laurie and Neil
DaNeill Nicholas Gregory
Chris Cassidy Camille
Our Family Traditions
Nicholas and Rachel both grew up in homes that were big on traditions, and we want similar consistency and exciting events for our family. Here are some of our family traditions (as we post about them we'll add links so you can see what we're talking about):Daily
Family Prayer: We begin and end each day in humble gratitude to God for our many blessings.
Family Scripture Study: Before bedtime we gather the family together and feast upon the word of God. Right now we read one verse at night with Alexa before bed.
Blessing Book: How have we seen the hand of the Lord in our lives today? We keep a small journal answering that question each day and as soon as our children can express themselves, we would like them to do that same.
Family Dinners: It is really important to both of us that we eat dinner as a family as much as possible. It is the perfect family planning session, daily recap, and family togetherness time.
Weekly
Sunday Meetings: Every Sunday we attend church and volunteer to teach classes, sing, give talks, and help in anyway we can. We find joy in serving God and want our children to find the same joy in their lives.
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches: The brainchild of Nick's Grandma, they make for an easy and delicious Sunday dinner, especially for big families. We have them pretty much every Sunday.
Family Home Evening: We dedicate every Monday night to bringing the entire family closer together through music, prayer, a lesson, and a delicious treat!
Projects with Dad: Growing up Nicholas help his dad with weekly projects on Saturdays. Teaching our children to work our by example, and as a family is very important to us.
Monthly
Tithing: From the time our children start earning money, even if it's only a dime for raking the leaves for a neighbor, we want them to understand that blessings come through paying our tithing.
Temple Trip: Every month Nicholas and Rachel attend the LDS temple together. Even though our kids won't be able to come in with us, we do plan on taking them to the grounds occasionally so they can feel of the spirit that is there.
Annually
Trip to Oregon: We both grew up in Oregon and love pretty much everything about it - the beach, the mountains, the forest, and most importantly our families. We want to make sure that our children remain close to their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.
Twin Lakes: Our children will be a part of the fourth generation of Nick's family going to this amazing vacation spot in Washington every July. It's the perfect place for doing whatever you want including all sorts of water sports, hanging out with family, and eating amazing food!
Birthdays: These days are very special - especially to Rachel's family - complete with cakes, presents, special breakfast cereal, special dinner, balloons on chairs, crowns, etc. It's a fun way to show one person specifically how much they mean to our family.
Family Campout: Fires, tents, games, fishing, roasting marshmallows/hot dogs, hiking, etc...what's not to love? These trips are inexpensive opportunities to come together as a family and get away from the distractions of the rest of the world.
College Football Games: Nick and Rachel have been going to college football games together since they started dating in 2005. We can't wait to make those dates into family outings.
Gardening: The Spring/Summer of 2012 was the first time we ever tried gardening and it went great and we loved it! We'll definitely keep up this fun opportunity to work and cultivate together.
Generally
Visits with Birth-Families: This tradition obviously only started after Alexa was born, but we really love seeing Ray and Melissa whenever we can! It's exciting to think about a similar relationship with our children's birth families in the future!
Trips to the Library: We both enjoyed family trips to the library growing up, and would like to take the children fairly often so they can learn to love reading and exploring the world around them.
This is really only the beginning. These are things that we know will happen, and as our family grows and changes, so will our family traditions. We are excited to see how these traditions will shape us, our children, and their future families as they create them.
