Man of the House Day!

Do you ever just know God wants you to do something?  That's how it was for me yesterday.  I just knew Little Mister and I needed to plan an impromptu, simple celebration of our appreciation for Kevin.

I did not feel well.  I did not have any fancy ideas.  I did not have special ingredients in the house to make a spectacular dinner.  My child was being extremely disagreeable at first in the morning.  I kinda wanted to postpone what the Lord was impressing upon me to do.

But it was one of those things that just wouldn't be ignored.

So, I pulled myself together, managed to deal patiently with Dear Son until he turned his day around (oh, thank You, Lord, for answering my prayers by working in me and in him so powerfully when we both needed an attitude adjustment!), told Dear Son what we were going to do, and we enthusiastically planned.

We don't look exactly like this!  ;)

Kevin is a great husband and dad.  He deserves (and perhaps your man does, too?) to know he's appreciated.  He prays with us first and last thing of every day (and often in-between, too), is a diligent spiritual leader in our home, works long hours to provide for us, helps many people in many ways, serves faithfully at church, is loyal, faithful, and loving.  Just to name a few admirable traits. ;)

The first thing Dear Son and I decided to do was to each write Kevin a letter to express our gratitude, love, and appreciation.  DS decided to make a card and to include his own original poem about his dad.  I was seriously choked up as I read my 10-year-old son's tribute to his "papa" ("papa" is pronounced with a French accent, for whatever reason! lol).  (Oh, and I have his and Kevin's permission to publish this).  :)

A man at the test
A man in the field
He has the guts
To God he will yield

He is my papa
He is the one
I cherish always

He has what it takes
To stand and fight

I want to follow
I want to give
If I were God,
And I think He would agree,
I would say,
"Well done good and faithful servant
You have given your son
All he could want.
Love, patience, kindness,
And most of all, understanding."

Then we planned and cooked dinner.  We haven't been eating desserts or sweets at home unless we have company or something, but we decided since it was a special occasion, we'd break the rule and make one of Kevin's basic favorites--brownies.  I found a recipe online that made just a small pan, and that was perfect.  While those were baking and cooling we made a spinach salad that Kevin loves (actually, so do I, and DS likes it.) and this Pinterest recipe for Chicken and Broccoli Stir-fry that we all enjoy.

Nothing fancy.  But served with love and special admiration!

When Kevin came home, we shouted, "Happy Man of the House Day!"  He was surprised and touched and enjoyed our efforts.

Incidentally, "Man of the House Day" was the only name we could seem to come up with.  We couldn't call it Husband or Daddy because neither of those applies to both of us, and DS doesn't call Kevin, "Kevin."  There probably is a better name out there, but it did not reach out and grab us, and my feverish mind was not up to searching for it overly long!  ;)

I don't know that this will be an annual thing, or more or less than once a year.  I just know that yesterday it needed to be done.  As I cleaned up the kitchen after our celebration, feeling like I absolutely couldn't stand up another minute (I've been quite sick the last several days, and, though I'm on the mend, I don't have my strength back yet!  This was a nasty one!), I thought about the look in my husband's eyes when he read our notes and ate those brownies, and knew I couldn't and wouldn't and shouldn't have chosen any other day to celebrate who and what he is to us. :)