My Special Girl: Update on Sania Louise

Well, I wrote an entire LONG post about my sweet girl, and guess what?!!  I lost it.  Don’t know how, but I lost it.  It was there, and then all of a sudden my blog did something weird, and BOOM….GONE!  ugh.

And now I am not feeling the desire to re-write that long post.  haha!

But I still want to give you a quick update about Sania Louise!

Y’all, this girl has my heart.

The road we have been on with her has been very difficult at times, but has been the most beautiful thing the Lord has done in our lives.  She is thriving in all areas of her life.

Now I don’t want you to think it has been all roses.  Actually, this summer we experienced two of the most difficult weeks we have ever experienced with her.  We were working with her doctors to change her medication, and it had a major impact on her behavior.  I went into more detail in my first post, but to sum it up, we have found a good combination of medicine that works perfectly for her now.  Praise the Lord!

She is doing soooooo well in school.  Not necessarily academically, but socially and behaviorally, which honestly is what we are concerned with more right now. :)

In Latvia, she was kicked out of a couple boarding schools because of her bad behavior.  She struggled in all areas of school.  She was not on any type of medication to help her, and the teachers did not work to meet her special needs.

But here in America, the teachers at her school are AMAZING!!  They are so loving and patient with Sania.  They use lots of positive reinforcement, which she THRIVES on!  Here teacher has emailed me a couple of messages that just makes my heart burst with pride!

“I wanted to let you know that Sania is doing so wonderfully at school. She is at the top of the behavior chart almost every day and she cares so much to do her best. I truly love having her! 😊”

“She is really doing a remarkable job in class. I would actually say she is starting to be a role model for behavior. She is almost ALWAYS on task and reminding others to stay quiet. I am super proud of her!! I love having her smiling face and kind heart in my class:). “

What the what?!  Can y’all believe it?!

(first day of school)

Her behavior in school was one of the main things I was worried about when we first brought her home.  To see her doing so well in school just blesses my heart!  Sometimes when she comes home from school she “loses it,” because she has had to work so hard all day to be good at school.  But that is OKAY!  She can let lose at home if she needs to.  Don’t we all? :)

But even in the evenings and weekends, I am seeing my sweet girl mature and let her feelings show even more.  She is becoming more patient, forgiving, and obedient.  She strives to do her best, and she is able to change her behavior more quickly and make better decisions.

And guess what?  She’s been asking me a lot about Jesus and what is means to be a Christian. :)

We talked about it a lot last night, and there is a lot that she knows and understands about Jesus and why He died on the cross for our sins.  And yet there is a lot that I know she doesn’t fully understand.  But last night, when I tucked her in bed and prayed with her, she asked if she could pray after me.  Her prayer was short, but she said, “Jesus, please come into my heart.  Help me to be like you.  Help me sleep good tonight. Amen.”

Then she looked at me with a big smile and said, “Mommy, you think Jesus is happy I said that?”

Oh yes, He is baby!

CHILD-LIKE FAITH.

That’s what it is all about.  Like I said, I know that Sania Louise has a lot more to learn about what it means to be a Christian, but she’s getting it.  And it is a beautiful thing to see.

This morning, we were having another conversation as she was getting ready for school, and I said that we are part of God’s family, and He is our Heavenly Father.  She said, “Father?!…. Can I just call him Daddy?”

Yep.  You’ve got it girl!  He is our Abba Father.  God is more than just a Father.  He is our daddy.   Isn’t that so much more of an endearing name?

In Scripture there are many different names used to describe God. While all the names of God are important in many ways, the name “Abba Father” is one of the most significant names of God in understanding how He relates to people. The word Abba is an Aramaic word that would most closely be translated as “Daddy.” It was a common term that young children would use to address their fathers. It signifies the close, intimate relationship of a father to his child, as well as the childlike trust that a young child puts in his “daddy.”  -source

God is constantly reminding me of His great love for His children through my daughter’s sweet smile.  I am forever grateful for this journey He is taking our family on.

To God be the Glory!

 

 

 

 

62 Comments

  1. Hey Traci, What an amazing example of God’s love! I cried reading this because there isn’t a more clear and loving example of what our Father wants us to feel when we welcome him into our hearts. May our Father continue to bless your precious family!
    With love,
    Caarlie

  2. Thank you so much for the update on your precious daughter. Your family’s love and commitment shine through…even on the bad days. God bless you all.

  3. Such a beautiful little girl and it is so wonderful she is with such wonderful and loving parents.
    God choose your family for a reason. And, that was to glorify Him through your love for this precious
    gift of a child.

  4. Thank you for sharing this beautiful update. There is nothing better than knowing our children want to know about our Lord and Saviour. He knows her heart…this is amazing grace. God Bless!

  5. I LOVE this post! I am so thankful for your family and all your loving devotion to this beautiful girl! I am going to use the quote you had about God being known as “Daddy” in my youth group tonight. We have all been adopted into the family of God. I think that is something we can all cling to. I love the truth that I am a Daughter of the King, a Princess in the Kingdom that is out of this world!!
    Thanks again Traci for listening to the voice inside that had you step out of the “normal” family life you had, embraced the plan that God had for you, and now are starting to reap the benefits of being His servant. Praise the Lord for He is good!

  6. Well, Traci, ditto on the tear thing. I can’t imagine how difficult handling behavior issues to that degree must be, how taxing on the entire family. I know the getting home from school thing and lettin’ it fly because my youngest son (now 35) has Tourette’s and he struggled great!y during school hours to appear “normal.” Which did not work. At home he just let it all go. He is now a strong Christian man, married to a beautiful, loving wife. He often mentions that his struggles growing up Have actually turned out to be beneficial to him. God takes not so good stuff and turns it around for good, doesn’t he?

    It’s great that your precious girl is progressing in her behavior issues for sure. But the thing that touched my heart the most was her interest in Jesus, our Abba Father. Praise God, praise God, praise God! After all, we are here on this earth to love and glorify him and sounds like she’s on her way!

    And I hate when long emails etc. disappear! Must be a reason for it huh?

  7. Track, Reading this melted my heart. I love the innocence of a child, especially as it relates to loving Jesus and wanting to be more like Him. I know y’all are so happy that she is working so hard to be on her best behavior at school! It will slowly spill over to her behavior at home. Yes, lol of us need to be able to totally let lose at home. God bless!

  8. Thank you so much for shareing your little daughter like you do. She definitely is a gift from God!! Hope you and your entire family are doing well may God bless all of you. Thank you for shareing all that you do. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.

  9. A beautiful work in progress; and I can all learn from everything you tell us about your family, Traci. Thank you for letting me in on your sweet life and world.

  10. Oh thank you so much or sharing your journey with Sania. I was so blessed reading all this and give God the Glory too. :) It is so wonderful she is learning about HER Jesus and has asked him into her heart. :) I’m so blessed right now from all this. Will keep you all in my prayers. :) Love to you all.

  11. PS Don’t you hate when you spend so much time spilling your heart out and then loose it? You did a great job catching us up on it all. :) When this has happened before to me, I think there must have been some reason why it wasn’t sent out or I lost it. :)

  12. To hear your child say those words is the best parent moment and I’m so overjoyed she chose to say them all on her own and that you got to share in her joy! God Bless!

  13. I love hearing about the progress Sania Louise is making. You are all so blessed to have found each other. I’m sure she will continue to blossom amidst your love and guidance into a beautiful woman both inside and out. Thank you for sharing your story. It’s heart warming. God is certainly smiling on you all and showing his love for the selfless sacrifices you have made in order to nurture this amazing little girl!

    1. Thank you, Kerrie! It has been quite the journey, and it’s not been easy, but it has beautiful to watch. I can’t imagine life without her. She was meant to be in our family. :)

  14. I cried when it didn’t look like you were going to be able to adopt. Now I’m crying because you have her in your family. There’s no pleasing a woman. HaHa

  15. Thank you for sharing Sania’s beautiful story with us. The blessing for her to be one of your family, and the blessing she brought all iof you as part of your loving family is heart filling!! So happy to hear she is thriving!! Blessings for you all…

  16. Love hearing about your family! what a blessing to see so much progress in Sania, in all ways. Hang in there momma – obviously you’re doing good work. ;-)

  17. Made chills and brought tears to my eyes when she said Help me to be like you. Cause I pray that all the time and I’m a g ma. And to think that little thing said that. I love her too. Love your blog. So glad I found it

  18. Traci, thank you so much for sharing the update. I’m so glad to hear Sania is doing so well. You all are proof that it’s so much easier to see God as a loving father when you have a family demonstrating His kind of love.

  19. This is so amazing! I love hearing your Sania updates and I am thrilled she is doing so well. Such a pretty girl!

  20. Such a beautiful and precious girl and so very Blessed to be chosen By Our Lord & Savior to become a part of your Wonderful and Loving family…..We serve such an Awesome and Wonderful God…Praise Be To God…..
    Children Live what they learn by example..There are times in our lives they may go astray but if they are grounded in the Faith and know God as Their Redeemer They Will Return To the Fold.
    May God continue to Bless you & your precious family….You are a Light & Inspiration to all…All my love & prayers are with you as you guide By God’s Grace this precious little girl.

  21. Oh, this post brings tears to my heart. Only the Lord can truly work in a heart drawing them to Himself. What great love and patience you and your family have been as an example of His great love to your daughter. What a blessing that Sania wants Jesus in her heart!!! Nothing can compare to this! Thanks for sharing this beautiful news.
    Oh, what a difference a year makes!

  22. What a very candid post. Thank you for opening up to us about your special girl. I have a 15 year old son who is on the Autism Spectrum who suffers from anxiety and ADD as well. I totally understand about getting the correct medication in the correct doses to balance them out. It’s sort of like a dial on a radio. When you’re spinning it around and hit the station that you want, you say: “That’s it! Now don’t touch that dial!!” :-) Anyway, thanks for sharing.

  23. God has truly placed Sania with the right family! Love that she is continuing to grow in her knowledge of our God! God Bless your family!

  24. This is so precious and the Lord knew exactly what HE was doing when HE matched Sania up with your family. I know the Lord has great and mighty things in store for her. Blessings!

  25. Reading your blog about your precious daughter, seeing her smiles, and hearing about how well she is doing, was such a blessing to me tonight! Continuing prayers for her, for you and for your family, as you minister to her and show her God’s love. Thank you for sharing.

  26. So glad to hear your little is doing so well. Indeed, she is a true blessing. I think you may have over looked the fact that she has two loving parents too. You’ve done a amazing job with her.

  27. Traci, What a wonderful post! You know the angels in heaven are rejoicing over that precious little girl who just joined the kingdom! Child-like faith is all that’s needed to ask Jesus into one’s heart…the rest of the understanding will come later. Celebrating with you!
    love, Amy -)

  28. She is such a lucky girl! Traci, you are a beautiful woman inside and out Traci. I can’t imagine what Sania Louise has dealt with in her life but it appears you are making up for it! The power of love is a wonderful thing…

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