Giveaway: A Family Keystone Kit & Personalized Canvas

“They all seemed to have guiding principles of how they were running their families,” Hille said.

Hille and Reiber are both moms to three kids and each has about two decades of teaching experience. In their time connecting with thousands of kids and families, they were really able to see firsthand how families with a shared mission were thriving.

With so much pressure to do all the things – for parents and kids alike – the moms felt like they needed something they could turn to that would help inform their day-to-day decisions and priorities.

Intuitively, the moms believe, many families do operate with a set of guidelines, but there’s a power in sitting down to write them out that builds an extra bridge of support and connection.

On New Year’s Day four years ago, Reiber sat down with her husband and then two children and wrote what would become the first Family Keystone.

“We sat down with questions and paper to write ourselves words to live by,” Reiber said.

The process was transformative in many ways, with one of the main things being that her kids felt listened to and heard in the planning of their family’s future.

Using their skills in lesson planning, they came up with a simple way for families to go through the process of creating their own unique Keystone, cementing for them the things that are important.

The Keystone creates a way for each family member to know that they belong to something bigger than themselves.

There aren’t many times that families do sit together and talk about the things that are important to them, another benefit of an intentional planning process.

Hille said she was surprised by some of the answers her children gave as to what was important to them and what would make them feel supported.

For Reiber’s family, it was about spending quality time together in nature, playing, and having dinner together every night.

The Keystone has helped everything from big decisions to small things, like how to spend a Saturday afternoon. For example, when Reiber was deciding on a preschool for her 3-year-old, she looked at the ideals set in the Keystone and chose a place that valued play over academics. And when the family as a free weekend with nothing scheduled, she fills it with ideas that bond them, like a hike in the woods.

In this way, the Keystone helps reinforce what makes each family special.

This can be especially useful for newlyweds, divorced families, or blended families, who have new paths to forge and new traditions to create.

“Traditions make the families stronger, they make a family feel unique,” Reiber said. “We love that families can choose how they want their lives to go. You set the tone for your family by setting traditions.”

They also liked the idea that a Keystone can change and grow as families evolve. You can make a new one for every new stage of life. 

In Hille’s family, one of the Keystones is that any dream can be achieved. So when she interacts with her kids, she focuses on how they can bring ideas to life.

“Nothing can stop us from trying different things,” Hille said.

They Family Keystone kit comes with everything you need to create your own, including writing prompts and discussion topics. Once the writing is done, Reiber and Hille transform it into a statement piece of art for your home.

To learn more about The Family Keystone or to get your own kit, visit thefamilykeystone.com and find them on Facebook and Instagram.  You can also follow using the hashtag: #TheFamilyKeystone.

On a personal note, I have yet to meet Stacy Reiber.  I have however known her husband since I was in 5th grade.  Rob was one of my brother's best friends!