And speaking of family...

Our family has been doing something really rewarding lately. We're working on a family motto and family mission statement/theme. After that we'll be working on some good, simply family rules that really govern our philosophy as a family. I want our children to have ownership in the shape our family takes and to agree to the rules that we are all expected to follow (yes, Mom and Dad, too!).

Last week we came up with our family motto. I was rather pleased with how it worked up and that it included input from all of our family members.

Here it is:

"Kindness, faith, hard work and laughter will get us all home together."

We also talked about some things that define our family, the kind of family we are and want to be. I may list them sometime soon.

Back to the rules thing, I'm always coming up with crazy rules on the fly. This accidental parenting thing is not what I'd call ideal. Because sometimes I come up with things like "Never pour lemonade in the dishwasher." or "We don't hit each other with baseball bats." Um, duh. Like I'm going to remember every weird thing I say and enforce it.

Instead, I want to have some good, principle-based, catch-all rules for our family. Like "We treat others with kindness and respect." and "Our house is a house of order." You know, stuff like that.

Today I actually came up with a good one. Not sure it will make the list of family laws, but I think I'll still say it a lot.

Scud was complaining because I asked him to pick up his sister's shirt when he went to get his shoes from under the trampoline and out flew "Scud, God gave us two arms for two reasons. First to help ourselves and second to help other people." He actually went right out and did it without complaint after that. We'll see if it becomes annoying after a while. That wouldn't be too terrible, really. I like annoying my kids for their own good.

So I wonder. What are some your favorite family rules, both silly and serious?