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Today, my youngest daughter turns 11. Wow. It’s hard to believe how old my kids are getting (and yet, I remain as young as ever. They must take after their mother!). I write a lot in this blog about my oldest daughter, Brit, who is enjoying her year in Costa Rica, and sometimes Christina is forgotten in the discussion. And yet, she most definitely is a vital part of our family.

Christina Joy has always lived up to her name. Christina, means anointed one, and Joy means … well, Joy. She is anointed with joy. When she was a newborn, she would wake up in the middle of the night, not crying, but laughing. All through her childhood she has had the ability to go with the flow, to laugh easily at just about anything, to love life. Her eyes are often wide with amazement as she takes in all that is around her. Her older sister is her hero, and there is no one she enjoys playing with more. She is blond – in every sense of the word – and yet is able to laugh along with all of us when she shows it. Yes, she certainly lives up to her name. Anointed with joy.

As I sit here today, remembering the day she was born. Thinking over the past 11 years. Thinking ahead to her teen years and beyond, I find myself excited at the woman she is becoming. There is so much potential that I see in her, so much that I believe God can use to see her fulfill all that he has called her to be.

I am a blessed man. When I consider my daughters, and the amazing women that they are becoming, I am humbled at the thought that I have had a role to play in their lives. They have shaped my heart far more than words will ever be able to express.

And so, Christina, as you read this on your new iPod Touch, know that I love you with all my heart. You are a beautiful girl and I am so proud to be your daddy.

Oh, and tonight – she and I go to her first ever Sens game! That’s right, my youngest will sit in awe of the “show” that happens at Scotiabank Place … she is so pumped at going, and yet really has no clue what she is about to experience. It is going to be a blast … oh yeah, and there’s a game on too.