How to Write a Family Mission Statement (and Actually Live By It)
A family mission statement only works if you live it. Here is ours, the six core values underneath it, and the weekly rhythm that keeps it from collecting dust.
September 12, 2026

What's up, One Degree Fam?! It's finally summertime, so let's kick it off by telling you everything on our summer bucket list! Hope it helps you think of some things you want to do this summer too. This is a bit more light-hearted and fun of an episode, so let's dive in!
If you haven't heard, I (Xan) am having a baby any day now... We'll let you know when he's here!
My grandparents are getting older and we've been talking about visiting them for a long time. They live in Pennsylvania, and there will probably not be a convenient time, so we don't want to push it off any longer!
We've gone to National Parks with them before, but never camped at one! We would love to go to as many National Parks as possible. We're thinking about Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota because it has more room and less people. Or maybe Rocky Mountain, but the high elevation would make that difficult with a baby. Eventually, we would love to take the kids to Big Bend, but maybe in the future.
Similarly, we want to continue to prioritize spending time outside with our kids! 1000 Hours Outside promotes kids spending time outside- they have a website with resources, Facebook groups, trackers, etc... They even have a plan for people with harsh winters (AKA- us). It's honestly kind of hard to maintain up to 5 hours outside a day, but we're trying to make the conscious choice to spend more time outside. (Honestly, it's also been a fun challenge for me (Xan)).
She's four years old and loves riding her bike with training wheels. She'll whip it around and often bikes up to two miles!
We'll see how it goes!
This has been a long time coming and it NEEDS to happen. Verity is just so stubborn- she has peed on the potty and know how to do it! She just keeps telling us that she won't do it until she's three... 🤷♀️
I (Xan) would love to learn how to do this with the produce in Nathaniel's parents' garden. (Nathaniel is scared about botulism though, haha).
We used to be very consistent in this practice for a few years, but have let it slide when we first moved to Wisconsin. Now that I'm (Nathaniel) working full-time, we decided that we need to have a whole day set aside to Sabbath and rest in the Lord.
We have some ideas: maybe pickleball (super trendy)? Plus, it'll help with trying to be outside more and it's something active!
We've already done a few RV trips with my (Nathaniel) parents and they have been so fun! We would love to do our trip to Big Bend in the RV someday.
Let us know what you're doing this summer!
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A family mission statement only works if you live it. Here is ours, the six core values underneath it, and the weekly rhythm that keeps it from collecting dust.
September 12, 2026

