You are my daughter, my little girl. I am so happy just to type it let alone think about it. I am sitting in a hotel room right now in Salt Lake City just smiling. I had three dreams that I was having a boy, but somehow I felt all along you would be a girl. I guess even with my mind toying with me as I slept I could not be swayed in my heart from feeling that you would be my little girl.
          To raise a daughter; I am not certain I have even begun to grasp what that will require. Though one thing I know for certain is that it will require me to let your mothers creativity go wild- I think to this point she has spent 20 hours or so dreaming up how to decorate your room!
         What do I know of women? I know of my mothers strength. When my family was split apart she held us together and always made where we lived feel like home, even when the location changed so often. I never felt afraid because I knew of her strong love and that I would always be cared for. She taught me about how much forgiveness can cost, and what true forgiveness looks like. She is an amazing testament to the strength that can come from letting God heal your heart. She taught me how to grow and be independent, but also how to keep sweetness as a part of my life, she looked deeply into me and understood how to let me grow and how to help guide me on my path
          Speaking of sweetness you will soon meet your Grandma Turner. She has taught me of grace, patience and selflessness. It is amazing sometimes to watch certain people and realize what truly gives them joy in life. Most seek it, few find it, those that do have a purpose that enriches their lives and the lives of all they come into contact with. Your Grandmothers are amazing women, and they will help shape your life.
          I have been blessed with good friends, and they have been blessed by God with wonderful wives. These women also can not wait to meet you, your parents are the last to join the ranks of parenthood and you have been eagerly anticipated. I hope you will notice as I have the wonderful relationships each of these women have with God and how that shapes their relationships with their husbands. They live with principles and convictions, and they bless their husbands and children with both, and with their unbounded love. I know they will be a part of your life and I am so happy you will be surrounded by women you can admire and learn so much from. I can not wait for you too meet them.
         Lastly but most importantly there is your mother. No other women will shape your life as much as she; and for that I am truly grateful. I never had even skimmed the surface of understanding women until I met you mother, and what I thought I knew was quite misguided. For one, your father was a bit sexist, it took her about three years to help me see my ignorance, but looking back I often wonder how I could have been so misguided. I guess I never truly saw women’s goodness until I saw my darkness, I never saw their wisdom until I came to the end of mine, and I never knew love before God challenged me to lay down my life for your mother.
         When I think of your mother my heart swells with pride and adoration. The fact that she is a nurse speaks of her character. Most mistake her at first glance for anything but what she truly is; there is a depth that is perhaps known only to me.Your mother is a faithful woman. She waits for God, and though she knows not the hour of his arrival, she has remained steadfast through some impossible trials. My wife is selfless. If there is a need she will work diligently to fill it, even if it means going without or outside of her comfort zone, she does not act begrudgingly, but with a heart that finds joy in blessing others. Your mother is righteous and upright. To know God is to follow Him, your mother has always been a respectable woman that conducts herself in a way that brings her honor and admiration. Her relationship with God is at the center of her life, and when you look at her world you can not help but to see his fingerprint. My wife is honest. I will warn you now, she will not settle for your second best. She has compelled me, often against my will to be the man I could, and not the man I had settled into accepting.
          There is nothing insincere in your mother, she is forthright with friends and strangers, never pushing our mistakes into the darkens to make it look as though she is perfect. She knows we stumble, but she knows God is strong enough to raise us back up if we extend our hand. Your mother, my wife, is breathtakingly beautiful. I have about 20 to 30 snapshots of her in my mind that different situations will trigger. For instance, whenever I think of Prescott I see her in my arms the first time we danced, she raises her head and looks up at me, and it just takes all the silly distractions of the world and erases them from my mind.
         True beauty is not to be found with your eyes though. You will feel it in her arms, hear it in her voice, and know it in your heart when you speak with her. The longer you know her, the greater your appreciation will grow. The biggest complement that I can pay her is at the same time my single greatest hope for you; that you would grow up to be your mothers daughter.
         My sweet little girl, I have much to learn about being a daddy. But as you see, I have so many wonderful women to help me. I have secretly wished for you for so long, and now I pray for you every night. Goodnight sweetheart. Your Daddy loves you forever and always.