Justin and Sarah both provide care for Savannah and Julianne, but they agree that Sarah is the primary caregiver and disciplinarian. Justin is the primary breadwinner and works out of the home five days a week. When asked about their expectations of masculinity and femininity, Justin replied, "My dad was the only one who worked outside the house when I was growing up, and my mom took care of us. Because of that he felt like my mom shouldn't have as much input in big decisions, but I always thought that was wrong. That's why we make decisions together." Sarah works part-time about two days a week and states, "My job doesn't provide much income, but it gets me out of the house for a while, and I make a little spending money." Justin verbalized, "Sarah would probably like to work a little more, but we just can't afford childcare for two kids. That's why my mom and her mom watch them when she works." .
Sexual Orientation.
As far as sexual orientation, the couple is in a monogamous, heterosexual relationship and have always kept this type of relationship. No other members of their family hold a sexual orientation other than heterosexual. If the topic was brought up when they were children, any sexual orientation other than heterosexual was strictly frowned upon. Any bisexual/homosexual member of the community had always been considered deviant and "wrong." Neither Justin nor Sarah has ever had sex with anyone else, and each only reports having one other boyfriend/girlfriend.
Rank Order.
Wright and Leahey (2013) say the position of children in the family with regard to age and gender is known as rank order in the CFAM. Savannah and Julianne are the only children in the family. Justin is the second oldest child with one older sister, as well as a younger brother and younger sister. Sarah is the oldest child, with two younger brothers and one younger sister. They do not know if they want more children in the future.
