Every little girl grows up thinking that her daddy hangs the moon and the stars.
After all, when you’re just a little one, your dad is the one you trust to keep you safe no matter what.
But your dad isn’t necessarily the man whose genetic material you share. Your dad is the guy who raised you as his own, who taught you how to ride a bike and count to 100.
For many kids, these two men are one and the same, but some kids have a different experience, like the sweet girl who brought her tattooed “tough guy” stepdad to tears when she asked him to adopt her.
Sometimes, family has nothing to do with flesh and blood, and everything to do with love, pure and simple.
That’s certainly the case for a darling toddler girl named Josalen, who knows exactly who her dad is, even though they don’t share a single drop of blood.
In a viral post to Love What Matters, mom Karisa Smith explains the special bond between her husband Shane Smith, a soldier, and her sweet toddler Josalen.
She writes:
They aren’t related by blood, but they are daddy and daughter.
My husband goes above and beyond to take care of her as his own.
When she needs him, he’s there.
We don’t use the term “step father.” He is her father.
When he fell in love with me, he fell in love with my daughter.
He took on a 9 month old and she is now soon to be 3 years old. And is the ultimate daddy’s girl.
They are two peas in a pod and the love of a father runs deep.
So deep, he has decided to adopt her and the adoption is in process.
They will soon be “officially” daddy and daughter.
This picture was taken at 2 AM when he snuck home from work to calm her down because she missed him; he had been gone for 14 days.
Writing to LittleThings, Karisa explains their unique blended family further.
When she and Shane first met, they were both single parents, each with their own little girl.
Eventually, they got married and had another little girl.
Now their beautiful modern family is made up of Shane’s daughter Alyssa, the oldest, Karisa’s daughter Josalen, and their baby girl Harleigh.
“Our world revolves around these girls; we love them so much equally,” Karisa explains.
“We have never used the term step father or step child, it never sat right with us. We have OUR children and he is their DADDY.”
After little Harleigh was born, they realized Josalen was the only one without the “Smith” last name, and Shane decided to adopt her officially, even though he had taken her into his heart as his daughter years earlier.
“She’s even practicing her new name: ‘Josalen Smith.’ And when she says it, Shane’s eyes light up,” Karisa tells LittleThings. “He is the proudest daddy any girl can have and I’m blessed to have him as a husband.”
“Most ‘step fathers’ don’t get the credit or acknowledgement they deserve,” she adds.
“And I’m happy that my husband can break the mold for all step fathers out there.
“It’s more then a title. It’s a father loving a child that isn’t his when he didn’t have to.”
If you tear up hearing about the beautiful connection between a dad and his daughter, please be sure to Liked Video with every dad you know!
