Simple Hobby Homesteading

Guess what… THIS Sunday is Father’s Day…June 15^th, 2014. Are you ready to party? Hold it right there… should we throw a big party on these “Hallmark holidays”?

If you were looking for a blog to get you out of any type of work, thoughtfulness, or kind words for your husband or father on Father’s Day then you have come to the wrong blog. I am all about taking the opportunity, every opportunity, to tell and show my father how much he means to me and my husband how incredible I think he is as a father. I just think that every day should have a bit of “Father’s Day” sentiment and that we shouldn’t save it all up for that one day in June.

With that being said it’s never too late to start some fun traditions. In our home we have a very simple tradition on days that celebrate a specific member of the family (birthdays, mother’s day, father’s day etc.). We make cards. Yes we get out the cardstock, construction paper, markers, crayons, stickers and anything else that we find around and we make cards. It’s fun to see my normally anti-crafty boys channel this side of their brains and oh how I long for at last one kid who wants to create scrapbook pages, quilts, cards, and the other multitudes of crafty items that my boys personally think are “the most boring and tedious projects in the world.” Boring… really? Apparently they’ve never watched paint dry.

*Note to self, have boys watch paint dry so there is something more boring than crafting in their opinion.

Ok, back to fathers and the Day of Fathers.  My husband’s opinion on the whole thing is that it is a Hallmark holiday and there is no need for celebration. He goes a step further to point out that he is not my father so there is no need for any type of celebration, gift giving, extra kindness, etc. from me… I should direct all of that to my father, who is actually my father and the natural recipient of MY Father’s Day wonderfulness. He’s got the same sentiments about Mother’s Day (I am not his mother so there should be no wonderfulness, other than normal day to day wonderfulness coming from him… it’s all on our sons)…  I’m still coming to grips with that (not sure I ever will, I am a selfish person… especially on Mother’s Day.)

I’ve met our sons… in fact I know them really well. They are not all about celebrations and meaningful remembrances of love and appreciation. At fifteen and ten they are usually looking for the easiest way out of, into, and around anything. Expert easy road finders, they won’t touch celebrations with a ten foot pole.  Celebrations=work and usually plenty of it. Couple that with the fact that they know their parents aren’t fans of extravagant purchasing and gift giving and what’s left is the horrible world of craftiness and creativity.

This year I’m forcing it on them though. They will be helping me make dad (by dad I mean my husband, their father… I refuse to buckle to his thoughts of what I should and shouldn’t do in loving wonderfulness for him on Father’s Day) a big breakfast (unless we go out to eat after church which I am sure my boys will suggest if I tell them of this plan ahead of time… so I’m not telling them) and then we will ask Kevin (aka “dad”) what he wants to do for the day. I’m guessing he will want to go on a bike ride (he and I do that every Sunday and he likes routine… oh and we need to train for a 535 mile ride), play a few board games (the boys and I love that, seriously, no sarcasm, we’re a gaming family), eat a big brunch (homemade, he’s not a big fan of restaurants), grill something for dinner, have a clean house (this would be the ultimate gift for him), family devotions in the evening, and see some cute cards made by his sons.

Now think about this folks… what looks different here from a normal day in our home? Not a whole lot. If my sons made him cards any other day you wouldn’t be able to tell this day from a normal day in our home (except for the brunch… Kevin would be at work). That’s the point. We try to live every day as it is a celebration of each other not because we are the most important things in life or on this earth but because we are filled with grace, humbled exuberance, and awe of what God has blessed us with, each other. God could have seen fit to never give Kevin and I children and Father’s Day would have been just for our own fathers. However, he gave us two amazing boys to raise up in His Word and teachings. This is why God made fathers, to protect and provide for the family and raise up and guide children to praise and glorify God!

This is what we strive for. Appreciating each other every day of our lives and finding ways to tell and show each other how blessed we are to have one another. There are so many people out there who have never known their fathers, had them pass away, or distanced themselves from their dad’s for one reason or another. Don’t use a Hallmark holiday as your one day to show dad (husband, father, grandfather, uncle, friend…you know who fits that bill for you) how much you love and appreciate him. At the same time use Father’s Day as a fun day to celebrate a little extra how much you love and appreciate him.  Make him a card 🙂

Since I mentioned gaming I have to throw out a few games that you may consider purchasing for dad this Father’s Day to start a gaming tradition in your home.

I have to tell you nights and afternoons of gaming are so much better than sitting in front of the TV! Our family favorites are as follows…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Castle Panic (our favorite lately)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tobago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Legend of DrizzT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Battlestar Glactica (yes, from the television series… we are that nerdy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Age of Empires III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wings of War (Kevin and the boys love it, I’m ok with it… they always beat me)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gulo Gulo (Kevin and I can never seem to beat the boys at this one… great for ages 4 and up… not even kidding adults are usually worse at it than kids)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carcassone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Settlers of Catan (gotta love the ore, wheat, sheep combo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agricola (you get to make a farm folks… seriously! And Kevin actually likes this one…. Score!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s Jet (a Simply Fun game and a god one)

 

 

 

 

 

These games can be found at Hobby Town USA in Evansville, Barnes & Noble, and of course online (Amazon etc.). We try to get a new board game every Christmas, birthdays, and sometimes Father’s Day. Start a collection folks, it turns into a collection of great memories!