Daddy daughter Dancing

My darling husband took my 3 younger girls to a Valentine Daddy/Daughter Dance

What a precious thing, Dads and daughters celebrating Valentine's together.  My father never took me to a Daddy/Daughter dance.  Maybe because these didn't exist in the 70's and 80's but boy I wish they would of!  When I think about how fun and special that would of been, it brings tears to my eyes. Probably because my father has passed away.  I do remember dancing with my dad, particularly on a river cruise boat and the special times we had alone doing things together.  Mostly we played tennis, rode bikes, or just had fun driving around in the car singing together.  We as moms need to encourage our husbands to do special things with our daughters; things that don't involve us.  These are memories that will stay in our precious girls' hearts forever, even if they are "sharing" their dad with a sister.  We can't forget the importance of a father in the lives of our daughters.  According to a study released by Baylor University,

" shared activities form some of the most pivotal memories and bonds between fathers and daughters.

Shared activities. When dad and daughter do something together.

The daughters in the study, all 22 years or older, identified three kinds of activities that changed the course and depth of their bonds with their dads:

1. Sports: Doing a sport opened lines of communication, created shared play moments together, and encouraged the daughter to “take risks and stand up for themselves.”
2. Working Together: Engaging in some tasks together helped daughters see a different side of their dads.
3. Vacations: Time spent together on vacations opened up communication and deepened bonds in unique ways.

Not only that, building these bonds with our daughters apparently helps them be more successful in school as well. As a matter of fact, researchers are seeing that dads sometimes have a bigger impact on their daughters’ success than moms."

So, like I said we moms need to give our husbands opportunities and ideas to help them with our daughters.  Don't let this special time pass by!

Sweet Caroline

Darling Elisabeth Daisy

My littlest sunshine girl "Cakey"

A Father-Son Adventure

 My husband has taken each of my sons on a father-son adventure around the age of 14-15.  But this is more more than a fun, adventure filled trip.  While it is that, it is a biblical step into manhood with other like minded father and sons.  

 Christian is our third son to reach this milestone and Ron took him to Montana for the trip.  I do want to do a plug for Big Sky Christian Adventures.  The men that run this program are godly, retired, older men that do this in the summer as a ministry.  

 Each day the dads and sons do a different outing, this includes rock climbing, kayaking, white water rafting, horse back riding, hiking, visiting Yellow Stone National Park and fly fishing.  Each evening all the sons and fathers come together for a study around the topics of biblical manhood.  

 On the last night of the week, the fathers conduct a "knighting ceremony" based on the book Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis.  It is a very special night where each father encourages and challenges their son and then prays over him.  It is a monumental moment in a son's life and that transmits deep things into their relationship.  Lifetime memories are made. 

Super Dad

Just to brag on my husband a little bit....my daughter and I, plus the baby, went to visit my son Ben in Tenn. at college and also let her visit a few other colleges over Labor Day weekend.  My husband was home alone with 6 kids and decided to brave the NC zoo with all them on Labor Day. It's an hour and a half away and is very large. They had a great time and took some awesome pictures!  I don't ever remember going to the zoo with him.  This little trip made some great memories for my kids!

Helping Our Husbands Be Better Fathers

My husband wrote a blog post a few months ago about how us women can help our husbands be better fathers.  So I thought in honor of Father's Day tomorrow  I would post his ideas.  These are things that he tells me help make him a stronger dad and enjoy it more.   I try to do these things, but many times fall short.  Anyway, I thought it was an interesting list from a man's perspective.

1.  Pray with your husband daily.  Even if it's just a two minuter prayer, it's so important to "connect" spiritually.  And praying together for your children is so important!

2.  Give him good chapter books to read to your children at bedtime.  My husband loves this and it's such good "daddy time" before bed.

3. Don't over burden your husband right when he comes from work.  Give him some down time and some "happy time" before dumping on him all that is wrong in the house or with the kids.  Also, be sure to give him a proper welcome when he comes home.  I think this means dropping what you are doing and greeting him with a kiss. 

4.  Defer and show respect to your husband, especially in front of your kids.  Men crave respect and we should always talk positively about our husbands.

5.  Pray daily for our husbands to be better dads.  I love the books by Stormie Omartian..."Power of a Praying Wife" and "Power of a Praying Mother." 

6.  Help your husband with his schedule.  I like to meet on Sunday evenings together and go over the upcoming week with him.  Make sure he has important things down on his calendar......like ball games, date nights, meetings, graduations, etc.

7.  Notice when he does fathering well. This means complimenting and praising him.

May we all inspire to be godly wives to the wonderful men that God has given us.  Yay for Fathers!!!!

A Commercial for My Husband's Blog

Below is the link to my husband's blog.  He seems to be jealous that I've gained so many followers since he's been blogging longer than me. I told him it's because there are not near as many man/dad bloggers out there.  So here's a plug for the poor guy, tell your husband to check it out.

http://jacobsenfam.blogspot.com/