From a Cheer to a Mission Statement

My Family History claim to fame is that we keep a Family Home Evening Journal.

I'm not only not crafty, but I don't even frequent craft stores or boutiques enough to know how to find myself a cutesy Family Home Evening hangy-uppy-thingy to remind us who's got what and what's got who each Monday Night.

But we keep a journal.

We started the FHE Journal on August 4, 2002.  But before we even started a journal we had a family cheer.

Mind you, our children in 2002 numbered only five sons.  Our oldest was five and our youngest was nine months. 

One Family Home Evening we were talking about the Stripling Warriors.  And let me tell you, my boys were eating it up!  Man, they loved listening about those Lamanite sons.  So that night my husband decided to tank up the testosterone levels and make up a cheer to remind our boys of those Stripling Sons.  The cheer went like this: "Hurrah!  Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!  We are the Stripling Warrior Joneses!"

It was an instant hit.  And from that Monday on, that cheer became part of our weekly Family Home Evenings.

Fast Forward to January 2010.

My husband and I decided that our family was now a little bigger (seven sons and one daughter) and a little bit older (our oldest was now 12 and our youngest 4), we needed to "move up" and create a family mission statement.

We asked each of our children what they thought would be important to remember as a family.  We incorporated each idea and created our Family Mission Statement, which we repeat each Monday evening for Family Home Evening, after a rousing Family Cheer (the children made sure we didn't get rid of that)!

Our Mission Statement is:
* I am a child of God.
* I am true to God at all times, and in all things, and in all places.
* I keep the commandments.
* When I make a mistake, I repent.
* As family members, we love one another and serve one another.
* We will live with Him someday.

I am sure as our children continue to grow and mature (because now we have nine!), that Mission Statement will see some more changes and adjustments.  For now, though, it is a reminder to each member of our family what is expected of us individually and collectively.

For ultimately, each one of us want to live with Him someday!