Yo Daddy Posted Up

Dear Addie, 

Your Mom has been writing you some pretty awesome letters on this blog. She's a durn good writer. I figured it was high-time I get in on the fun and write you a little love letter myself because I mean, after all, I am yo' daddy. 

Having a daughter will make a man serious - even if his daughter is a total ham (and even if her father is already a little too serious). For that reason, I'm not quite sure what words to pass your way so soon in life. Do I start already with my father-daughter speeches I've prepared? Do I tell you all the funny things you've done in the last 18 months? Or do I tell you how much you've absolutely blessed our lives? And believe me, you have blessed our lives. You came into this world a few weeks late but as soon as you did, you instantly catapulted us into a family filled with joy. You surely don't know it yet, or recognize the joy you brought us, but one day I hope you'll know that you've stirred up love in my soul that I didn't know existed.  

At this point in your life, you're starting to have some "favorite" things. You love your monkey sock doll. You love the doll our neighbor made you and you of course love the biggest doll of them all, Aslan...or ZiZi as you like to call him. Maybe "favorites" isn't the right word - these are simply things you're drawn to and love. And that thought of being drawn to captures perfectly how we feel about you. You've given some context to what our "favorite thing" is. When someone asks about you, I think of this little ball of fun, your curly out-of-control blonde hair and how your very presence challenges me to be a better man. 

Will I do anything for you? You better believe it. The father-daughter bond runs deep, even before the daughter can string a complete sentence together! But the greatest thing I can do for you, you little stinker, is to step aside and point to a God that loves you. Psalms 139:14 says that we are "beautifully and wonderfully made." I never quite understood that as much as I do now and see God's craftsmanship in you! Just my humble opinion here, but I think you are some of His best work yet! 

Love, 

Daddio.