My husband is the most wonderful, selfless man I have ever met. He works hard to provide for us, he's spiritually minded and just overall considerate of everyone. He has a very unique personality (for those of you who are familiar with the Meyers-Brigg Personality Typing he's and INTJ). Anyways, we are expecting our third child in a few months and we all know how kids bring us back to reality. My husband works hard to fulfill his family work and church obligations and he's been feeling pulled. I don't feel like he has sacrifice any family time, in fact I feel that he's been doing much, considering the other things that are pressing. He is a wonderful father to our two girls and he's excited about the third. So my question for you ladies is do any ideas on how we can show our appreciation for everything he does for us. My daughters are 3 and 19 months so I definitely want to include them in everything. I know we have father's day for dads but just one day isn't enough to show our hubbies and daddies how much we appreciate what they do for our families. Thank you all in advance.
We made Dad "King for a Day." Decorated a crown for him to wear, decorated his "throne"-his recliner and dinner chair. Cooked his fave dinner while playing his favorite tunes.
Go to familyfun.com and they have tons of great ideas to celebrate fathers.
My heart is so joyful at the love you have for your husband! My husband is a remarkable man too, and it seems like we can never celebrate him enough.
My sister is very good at coming up with great "I celebrate you" ideas, but a couple come to mind. She leaves notes (and kiddo pictures and drawings) all over in funny places where he will find them. They have "Daddy is wonderful" days and shower him with celebration. She plans little outings and surprises him.
A few things I have done (my husband is a pastor and feels that pull every day it seems) are to wake up and ask him "How can I bless you today?" I also try to make sure that he knows we are excited when he gets to go biking or something on his own.
Another thing that comes to mind is the question of how he receives love. Have you heard of the "love languages" book? When I began to really pay attention to that, my husband felt so loved.
They do feel pulled so often. The most important thing we can do is to be content, joyful, and delighted to see them when they are home so that home is that refuge. For years I did put pressure on my hubs to spend more time with us, and strained him quite a bit I'm afraid. When I began to sing and laugh and make things as sweet, fun, and calm for him as possible, he settled his "striving" as well.
Bless you and your precious little family!
T.
Have the kids pitch in to help with yardwork (if he does that).... have them pitch in to help make him breakfast in bed... set up a "trivia" game of his favorite sports or activities... like a treasure hunt... he sounds like a family man so sending the kids away to do something special with him might not be a good idea. So try to get the kids involved, but make it ALL ABOUT him that day.
I like the King For A Day idea. A man really likes to feel like he is king of the castle.. that is what he is working so hard for - his version of a loving and proud HOME.
I suggest you get tiaras for you and your girls. You can be his queen and his darling little princesses when you remind him he is king. : )
When I was pregnant with our second daughter I surprised my husband with a most wonderful present - a professionally edited video (DVD) of our life together!! All you have to do is provide pictures & video and help pick the music. What you get back will astound you! We still can't believe how well our video turned out and what a joy it is to watch!! Our five yr. old asks to watch it regularly and no one (grown men included) can watch it without sheading a happy tear. So well done and reasonably priced for what you get. The owners Tony and Christy were so easy to work with and it's clear they really love what they do. B., If you want a truly special and meaningful gift to say thank you to your husband how express how much you all appreciate him I don't think you need to look any further...
http://www.thisislifeproductions.com/ ###-###-#### :) All the best ~ S. Z.
Check out my website. You (or we) can make a book, poster, cards,etc for him.
www.yourtreasuresinprint.com
Looking forward to hearing from you,
T.
You can never do enough for an amazing daddy...but here's something that I did recently that my hubby just loved. I made him a "Becoming Daddy" photo book, that was all about he and my son for the first year. I plan on doing one for him every year as our son grows. I also will send him little texts/emails/photos of special things that my son does during the day while he is away at work or traveling...this way he gets to share in it as I do when it happens. Congratulations on such a loving, wonderful, and growing family! I wish you all the best.
What's his love language? I'd go with that. (In case you're not familiar, the love languages are: gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and physical touch). If you know what his love language is, you can best figure out how to "give" him a gift that will be the most meaningful to him. That is SO great that you are doing this for him!
I really like all the great suggestions you've been given so far. Especially Jennifer's "king for a day",
I too have a wonderfull husband, who puts in a long day's work then comes home for another full night of playing with our daughter. There are times that though he will not say it, he's really fatigued and at times falling asleep at dinner table. I then have to take immediate action to give him personal time to himself to regroup and regain his strength, his enthusiasm is never lost. I have given him gift certificates for a professional massage. I tell him to go catch a movie last minute and this summer he went to Hollywood Bowl concerts on his own (because our daughter wouldn't have been at her best). We are on a budget, since we are expecting our 2nd child, but for his birthday he was given his favorite beer (Belgian, it's not cheap $7/bottle)
You mentioned your husband has been feeling pulled, that's why I feel time and space would be a God send for him. Best of luck to you and your family.
I love that you want to show your husband your appreciation. I love doing that for my hubby too and here are some of my tips. Think back to when you were dating and harness those romantic feelings. I often leave my husband love notes in unexpected places, like a book he's reading, lunch box or on the bathroom mirror. If you scrapbook you can make him a mini album describing why you love and appreciate him so much. Oh, and you can just tell him daily how much you love and appreciate him. Sounds too simple, but don't you love when someone notices the little things you do? Guys love it too!! good luck.
