In honor of my fourth child being born this week, here’s a tribute to all the dads out there who either have, currently are, or will be experiencing the joys of changing diapers. And to think we are so macho…

This past Saturday, Valentine’s Day, was an opportunity for many of us dads to be creative and express our love to our wife and/or our children in a fun, special way.

Some dads used the My Wife Journal and took their wife out on a special romantic date. (If you didn’t take advantage of this tool, it’s a great little guide to use on any date with your wife!)

If you were one of these dads, my hat’s off to you!

At our home, we baked “heart cookies” and gave small gifts and personally-written cards to one another over a leisurely Saturday morning breakfast.

That evening, I took my wife out for some one-on-one time, shopping for her, and we sat down over dessert to discuss much-needed vision for our family and our future.

If you did something that was especially meaningful to your wife and/or your children on Valentine’s Day, why not share it with the rest of us and encourage a bunch of other dads?! If you used the My Wife Journal, tell us how it went!

Write up your story and email it to me. If I select yours to share with the FamilyDads list, not only will we all get to read your great story, but you’ll also win a copy of Todd Wilson’s excellent book, Father Power, compliments of DadResources.com. (This book is one of my most favorite of all books for dads to read!)

Also, I just received permission to post an audio online of a message that was recently given regarding this year 2009 that I think will be a tremendous challenge and encouragement to you as it relates to your faith and your finances. I’ll share the link to the audio later this week!

When I was growing up, my mom took advantage of Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to communicate her love to my sister, my brother, and I.  Each year, she woke up early and set small gifts at the breakfast table along with a handwritten note or card that basically were meant to say “I Love You.”

As a 38-year-old grown man now who can still recall these memories, they obviously left meaningful impressions on me. My wife and I do the same thing for our children now, and we hope this tradition will pass down to our next generation.

What we do is go to a local grocery store or shopping center (without our children with us!) and look for small inexpensive items that will express our love to each of them.

Examples of gifts include things like stickers, coloring books, a chocolate bar, or some little trinket from the “Valentine’s Day” aisle in the store. If you have older children, it’s a little bit more challenging, so think about their likes and interests and just be creative.

You can spend as little or as much as you want on each child. It’s not the amount that is important, but rather the thought that counts.

The night before Valentine’s Day, we place the items on the breakfast table at each of their seats with a short love note from us. And we date the note so they can keep it in their “memory shoe box” and look back on it years later.

This simple and inexpensive expression communicates to your children… “Your father and mother love you and want to show it on this special day in this special, fun way!”

It will leave a greater impression on them than you know.

Dad, don’t forget your special woman on Valentine’s Day too! Think flowers and a date! Romance her!

Blessings on your family,
Joey Watkins
Founder, FamilyDads

FamilyDads is a dad-founded and dad-focused organization committed to helping dads prioritize and lead ther family. Signup for the FamilyDads e-Newsletter at http://www.FamilyDads.com

Hey Fellow Dad,

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that there are times when your marriage isn’t always as great as you’d like it to be.

In my family, we have 3 very active children, a fourth one on the way, a family-run business, and we homeschool. Finding time to spend alone with my wife is a bit challenging.

Yet I know for an absolute fact that the times when I take her out on dates and give her my complete, undivided attention and focus means more to her… and to our marriage… than almost anything else I could do.

I know this because she has told me so… more than once.

All the flowers, chocolate, jewelry, movies, or anything else I “buy” for her don’t even come close to the love she feels from me when I simply give her my time and focused attention. It makes her feel valued and cherished by me.

One of the best dates we’ve ever had was exactly like this. Since Valentine’s Day is coming up,  I asked her to briefly share about it. (The book she mentions is called My Wife Journal, and I highly recommend it no matter what stage of marriage you are at.)

“This is what I can tell you from my heart. I will always remember our date on a cold winter night.

Rather than getting desert at the restaurant and rushing off to see a movie, our going to the quiet, empty eating area of a local supermarket was one of the best dates I’ve ever had with you.

It was so much better than any flowers or anything you personally could have bought me.  With your work at such a hectic pace in your life, it was like you took the time to stop and focus on me.

Blessings on your marriage,
Joey Watkins
Founder, FamilyDads

PS – Don’t forget, Valentine’s Day is February 14th!