I finally used my Cricut

So I have a ton to catch up on, and that was my plan for last night, but then a little princess's fever got a little too high for my liking and we had to visit the ER. Turns out she has bronchiolitis (basically a cough and fever) and there is really nothing we can do except keep her fever under control and give her lots of extra love.

But I just wanted to post this before I forget- because I am just so stinkin' proud of myself being all crafty! I saw this on some blog (that I can't remember) and wanted to make one for us. I did some googling so that I could give proper credit and it seems like the original idea came from here

Anyways, so for FHE a couple of weeks ago we talked about family rules and how rules help us and keep us safe and Mom and Dad are not just trying to be mean with the rules. Then I had each of the kids write a list of rules that they thought we should have in our family. If my scanner was working I would upload them, because their lists are pretty precious. Some of my favorites were:
Zach- don't say bad words, take care of your brothers and sisters, don't brag
Hannah- listen to Mom and Dad, go to bed when your parents tell you to, do your chores
Jared- hold your pencils right, Mom and Dad should kiss each other, put your toys away.
(you can tell the things that we harp on them about from their lists) So then Kerry and I sat down and decided what we thought we wanted as family rules, using the kids lists for inspiration and here is what we came up with:


I love it! We tried to keep the rules broad enough so that more specific things can fit under them, but we'll see. I might need to adjust as the kids get older. So I now love my Cricut and had a lot of fun making it. In typical Amber style, though, it's not finished. I couldn't find my mod podge last night. So, when Becca feels better I am off to Wal-mart to get some and then it will be so pretty hung up in our front room

here are the rules incase you can't read from the pic:

Burgess Family Rules
work hard. play nice. do your best.
If u use it put it away
say your prayers
be honest, be clean, be polite
don't waste your time or your money
listen to Mom and Dad
take care of your brothers and sisters
Hug Mom
Laugh at Dad's jokes
Always choose the right

I didn't measure right so I left off "don't say bad words" Hopefully it won't become necessary to add it. OK so I will update soon. I have all of December plus a New Years trip to Vegas, and a fun shooting trip, and probably tons more to post about.

Brothers!

SO tonight as I came up the stairs I noticed the boys' light on and as I crept up to the door to "catch them" not sleeping, I saw a site that I don't often see. Zach was patiently teaching Jared to read a book. It was so precious, it made my heart melt. Most of the time Zach is annoyed or embarassed by his little brother so it was truly a sweet sight to see.

Jared worships his big brother and wants to be just like him. I am glad that he has a big brother to idolize. I hope that their bond stays strong as they get older and that they can become better friends.

overheard at the dinner table

"Dad I know something you did that was wrong when you were little."

"What?"

"You erased Uncle Kory's game and he busted you up!"

"Why did Uncle Kory bust you up?"

"I accidentally erased his game."

"But it was an accident!"

"Yep, but he was pretty mad."

Kerry says that of all of Kory's "stories" this is the one that he remembers! I love the fact that my kids are around their uncles enough to hear stories about their dad when he was little. Anyways, the game erasing story is pretty priceless so I'm gonna have Kerry write it so that we have it forever:

Zelda was the first game that could save your progress. it had 8 levels i think and Kory was working night and day on his Zelda game. now remember i was about 8 years old and kory was 13 i think. so as little brothers do i watched him for hours if i was lucky enough to be allowed to stay in the room and watch. The only condition was that i had to not say a word!!! And i was pretty good at that. at this time he had just gotten to level 8. well one day i decided i wanted to play Zelda myself. little did i know that Zelda only allowed for one saved game on the cartridge. so as i began to play my own guy then saved it at the end i realized that Kory's game was gone. i knew i was in deep trouble. well lets say i got a little bit of a beating from him for that one. well at this point i was in the fear of my life. i managed to escape at one point so i locked myself in my moms room and called my dad at work. little did i know that was a big mistake. so not only did i get a beating from kory but my dad did come home and i got it again from my dad, but kory did too so i felt at least a little safer.

Aren't brothers fun?!

So Kerry told me yesterday that Zach couldn't go to soccer practice with Hannah because he was wearing his school shoes with no socks.

"That's Ghetto!" he says. SO then I said, "that is not ghetto you're ghetto." (I know I am so mature)

SO later while I am making dinner we have this conversation

Zach: "Mom, what does ghetto mean?"
Mom: "What? where did you hear that?"
Zach: "you told dad he was ghetto."
Mom: "oh yeah well ask your dad what it means when he gets home."
Zach: "Mom, you really shouldn't say words if you don't know what they mean!"

I was trying so hard not to laugh. We have told him that in the past when he has used some off color words that he heard at school, so I guess my own advice was coming back to haunt me. Anyways, I thought it was funny...AND good to know that some of what I tell my children does in fact stay with them

1. Hannah: "It says 5 and up, I am 5." Jared: "who's up?"
2. Zach: (to himself while cleaning the bathroom) "wait a minute- I need scrubbing bubbles. They do the work so I don't have to."
3. Jared: "Mom how do you spell Tyrannosaurus?" Mom: "Sound it out, what does it sound like?" Jared: "It sounds like this: ROAR!"
4. Zach: "Mom, did Padme (from star wars) have a heart attack?" (before I can answer) "See, she did because Annakin broke her heart and she died."

Becca's Blessing

We were able to bless our little Rebecca Claire a few weeks ago. It was so heartwarming that all of Kerry's brothers and all of mine (that have to priesthood so far) and both of our dad's were able to stand in the circle. And we even had our dear friends from Las Vegas come down. So, yeah, the circle was pretty big. But I was so touched that all these righteous men were there holding my child, and I got to think about how each of them will be there for her if she ever needs them. She is one lucky little girl- who is very loved. here are some pics

O what did we do in the summertime?

So I will try to fit an entire summer into one post, mostly because I don't want to make individual ones. We had a nice relaxing summer this year. and here is the review in pictures:
Jared turned 4

and got his long awaited spiderman bike

We went to Oatman (twice)and fed the donkeys


Jared found another "donkey" to feed

got root beer floats (and other goodies) at Sonic- a lot!

Zach got to ride an airplane all by himself for the first time all the way to Florida to catch up with his Grandparents. I was a wreck!!! But he was a pro and had such a good time.

Hannah and Jared got to go to Phoenix and spend time with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Hannah turned 6 (I know it says 5 but she's 6 I promise).

Jared and Zach went fishing with Dad and Granddad (which could be a post all by itself but since I am condensing let me just say they didn't actually get on the river until after dark and then the other fishermen really did not appreciate the noise level that accompanied them).

Kerry turned 30

he's still waiting for his party because the best thing that happened this summer happened 2 days before his b-day: Rebecca Claire Burgess joined our family