Mission Possible

So, before I dive into all of the details of our 3 day adventure in the wild (HA), I'm going to start with the highlight of the trip for me.  For years now, Chris and I have talked about writing a family mission statement.  I think we were exposed to the idea by Stephen Covey as well as some of his colleagues.
In fact, when we first moved to Kingwood, we got up early over several weekends and put together a wonderful mission statement for our marriage.  It's a bit long so I won't post it here but I highly encourage you to write one if you are married and feel motivated.  It brought us together in a completely new way as we examined the "whys" and "fors" of our union.
In talking with the other families about the activities for the camping weekend, Chris and I made a command decision and said that our family would be spending part of Saturday afternoon working on a mission statement and a coat of arms.  To prepare, I gathered paper and markers and printed out a how-to-guide from the internet.  There were many available but the one I chose seemed accessible and short enough to achieve the goal in the brief time we had.
The girls were surprisingly enthusiastic considering that their friends would be swimming while we were crafting.  We promised to be efficient and join the others as soon as we finished.  We drove to a scenic spot by the lake and sat around a picnic table.  We talked about the importance of knowing where we are headed in life and I think we even mentioned Chik Fil A, one of our all times favorites, as an example of a company with a mission statement that sets it apart.
The first step in my guide had us throwing out adjectives to describe our family.  Six of us accomplished that as Ella snoozed through the whole process.  I think Sophie threw out "kissy" as her adjective.  For step two, we divided into pairs and went off on our own to come up with sentences about our family including descriptions, traditions, quotes and inside jokes.  Afterward, we came back together and shared.  Chris and I then worked together to summarize what we had and added a few things that were essential to us.  The whole process took less than an hour and this is what we came up with:

The Doyle Family is beloved of God.  We strive to be holy by practicing the Catholic faith handed on to us.  We support each other in developing our particular gifts and growing in virtue.  We value respect, honor and obedience* in our relationships with one another.  We are welcoming and generous to those whose paths cross ours even if one happens to be....a pink gorilla**.

*These have been our three core family values that Chris has emphasized with all the girls.
**If you are not familiar with the pink gorilla, Chris would be happy to tell you about him sometime.

So the question is--now that we have this mission statement, what will we do with it?  Well, for starters, hang it in a prominent place in our home where we will see and remember it.  We plan to learn it and give a copy to the girls for their wallets.  And we will have to re-visit it occasionally to be sure it is still relevant and to update it as needed--and I would really like to find a way to include Sophie's "kissy"!

Whenever we do revisit the mission statement, Ella will have to add her two cents.

She was in this position all afternoon.

I hope your weekend is peaceful.

See you here next time.