Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty; Jenny Marrs/Instagram
On Monday, theFixer to Fabulouscouple shared sweet tributes to daughter Sylvie as she celebrated her 11th birthday.
In a heartfelt post on Jenny’sInstagrampage, the mom of five shared a video that documented Sylvie’s birthday activities, which included baking, rollerblading and a fun dinner with family.
“E L E V E N✨ How can it be that my squishy toddler with the raspy voice and adorable accent is standing before me now as this lovely young lady exuding both strength and grace? How can it be that the years of praying and pining for your physical presence in our family feel equally like a lifetime and a blink ago?” Jenny began the lengthy caption.
“I remember, years ago, as I would lie beside you at bedtime, rubbing your back and reassuring you that I was here and you were safe, you would whisper the same words night after night: ‘God carried me home, momma.’ Indeed He did, my girl. He knew that our little family would never have been complete without you. And He knew that this crazy world of ours desperately needs you to shine your brilliantly bright, beautifully radiant light. Keep shining, my love. ✨.”
“Happiest of birthdays to you, Sylvie-loo! We loved celebrating you today!” she continued. “I love you to the moon and back times one million!!! 💖.”
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Dave also shared a sweet post for his daughter, including a video of him and Sylvie rollerblading together on her birthday.
“Happy happy birthday to my beautiful Sylvie Marrs. 11 years old today,” he wrote. “So, I thought why not choreograph a skating dance with my her and Charlotte. Didn’t realize I am truly terrible at roller skating. Anyway, love you Sylvie.”
Back in 2019, Jenny and Dave — who are also parents to sons Luke, Nathan and Ben and daughter Charlotte — opened up about theirjourney to adopt Sylviefrom the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“I feel like God put [it] on our hearts that she was ours, and right when you knew, it was just like, ‘Yup.’ It was a key in a lock,” Dave shared with PEOPLE exclusively.
“The emotion of it was really similar to the birth of our bio children — that first time holding them,” Jenny added. “I get emotional thinking about it, ‘cause it was just really special.”
Their journey to get Sylvie back to their home of Bentonville, Arkansas, however, was no easy feat. It wasn’t until August 2013 that she finally became their legal child. Finally, almost a year later in July 2014, the Marrses found out they could bring Sylvie home.
At the time, the Marrses said they hope to take Sylvie back to the Congo one day, but not until she’s ready to go herself.
“There’s a lot of really hard pieces of her story that we will continue to share with her as she is able to process that information as she gets older,” Jenny said. “I think part of that will be going back to Congo. I think that’s going to be very important, and it’s definitely going to be something that we do.”
source: people.com
