Well guys, Father’s day is this Sunday. I’m hoping you already knew that before I just told you. You know, it seems every year that dads get the short end of the stick when it comes to Father’s Day verses Mother’s Day. I think lately we have done a good job as a society of recognizing the difficult job of being a mother. But a father’s job is hard too! They deserve to be recognized and appreciated just as much!

Both mine and Pearson’s dads at our wedding.

American Greetings has noticed this too and they think it’s time to bridge the gap! While there is still a majority of traditional cards for consumers to choose from, humor plays a bigger role in Father’s Day and is reflected in American Greetings feature programs like the in-department 9 card program featuring American Greetings alternative product line, justWink.

Both mine and Pearson’s dads at our wedding pretending to fight.

I don’t know about you, but Pearson and I were both blessed with fantastic fathers! Trust me, I know how blessed we are. Sometimes I just think about my family and I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude. We certainly have our flaws. Nobody is perfect. But in my (possibly biased) opinion, both my father and my father-in-law come pretty close.

About to leave our apartment to go to an Ohio State game with my dad.

My dad coached my softball and basketball teams almost every season growing up even though he worked full time and had many other responsibilities. He gave up his weekends to travel around with the team and deal with terrible bratty teenage girls and their enabling parents. Something I haven’t talked much about on the blog before is that I used to be a fastpitch softball pitcher. My dad would come home from work and spend an hour or so in the backyard catching as I practiced pitching at least 4 or 5 times per week.

He also practiced basketball with us in the driveway all the time. My brother and I were always so embarrassed when he would get aggressive and box us out trying to get us to do the same to him. But now I appreciate it. He taught me to love and fear God. He instilled in me the desire to practice and learn and get better at whatever I’m doing. And he gave me a love of sports in general and especially Braves baseball and Bulldog football.

I hope my dad knows how much I appreciate him. I definitely didn’t say it enough growing up. In fact, I probably showed the opposite. I was always embarrassed when he coached my teams and I acted like I hated it. Dad, thank you. Thank you for pushing me, for teaching me and for instilling in me the traits I have today to be a good human in society. I love you.

When my in-laws came to see me in The Music Man last summer.

My father-in-law is one of the most loving and sweetest men I know. He’s just a big teddy bear. He made me feel like part of the family long before I married his son. He hugs and kisses me every time he sees me and he always has. I always remember how he wanted me included in all the family stuff. Even back in high school before I was even thinking about being a part of his family one day. He’s just that type of person.

Pop (my FIL) also practiced sports with his kids in the backyard. And he still does with Emmaline, his youngest, who is currently playing lacrosse in high school. He also throws the football with us kids at Grandma’s every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas. He works a hard job with long irregular hours and he still finds time to invest in his kids. Like my dad, he taught his children to love and fear God. He also instilled in them (and in me through Pearson) a love for Miami football.

I hope Pop knows how thankful I am to him for raising the man I fell in love with and for instilling the values in Pearson that help him love me so well. I want to tell him how thankful I am that he’s taken me in and treats me as his own daughter. Pop, thank you for all your hard work and your love for your family. That’s something I truly admire. I love you!

American Greetings is helping me tell my father and my father-in-law how much I appreciate them this year. I found the perfect card for each of them from the huge selection at Walmart! One for my dad from both Pearson and me that says without him, one of us wouldn’t exist and the other would be married to some loser! Perfect! And the other one is for Pearson’s dad. It’s a heart felt sentiment that I love because it uses the name Pop which is what I call him! Perfect!

Unfortunately, we live in Ohio and both mine and Pearson’s parents live in Georgia. One of the toughest things we’ve faced since getting married and moving up here is not having our family close. We miss holidays and birthdays. On Sunday I’ll see a bunch of posts on social media of people celebrating with their dads. It’s not fair, you know?

So this year for Father’s Day, I’m sending both my father and my father-in-law a care package to make it seem a little more like we are there to celebrate in person. Here’s what I did…

First, I found a couple shoe boxes that were similar in size. I’m pretty sure these large square ones held some of my tall boots. Anyway, then I wrapped the boxes and the lids separately in the American Greetings Father’s Day wrapping paper I got from Walmart.

Next, I printed out these awesome Father’s Day Care Package Printables from The Dating Divas and glued them to the lids.

Then I filled that box with lots of goodies from Walmart that I know they like. I included k-cups, beef jerky, Werther’s caramel hard candies, twizzlers, gummy snacks, gum, and cute little sports ball hacky sacks.

I also included some pictures of us with our dads in their cards. You know, since we couldn’t be there in person.

My dad was checking out my engagement ring right after Pearson proposed // My side of the family at our wedding.

The same pic from before of Pearson’s family at The Music Man // Pearson’s side of the family at our wedding.

Lastly, I made some cake-mix cookies to include in the care packages. The simple recipe is below. For these care packages, I made two batches. One I made with red velvet cake mix and mixed in white chocolate chips. The other I made with lemon cake mix and sprinkled powdered sugar on top. I gave each dad half of each batch.

To pack it all up, I lined the boxes with the American Greetings Father’s Day tissue paper and put all the goodies inside. It fit perfectly! Then I added some confetti (which they will probably hate me for) and the cards then put the lids on.

Pop’s box

Dad’s box

Next, I wrapped the boxes with brown paper bags to go through the mail. For each care package, I took a brown paper bag, carefully opened up the bottom, cut along one fold, turned the bag inside out, and wrapped the box like I was wrapping a present. I used plain clear tape just to hold it together while I was wrapping. Then I covered both ends and the seem along the bottom with packing tape that I got from the post office.

Then, I addressed them and I’m taking them to the post office today!

I really hope both my dad and my father-in-law enjoy the care packages and feel the love. It’s holidays like these when it’s tough to live so far away. I’ll be sad on Sunday when everyone is celebrating with their dads but we won’t get to. Thankfully, American Greetings helped me bridge the gap a little bit this year.

How will you celebrate the amazing dads in your life this year?
Thanks for reading!

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