Our First Christmas with Sania Louise!

Friends, I pray you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends.  I know that Christmas can be so overwhelming, and even sad sometimes when we are missing loved ones, but I pray that there were many moments of Christmas Peace and Joy mixed within the hustle and bustle. 

This Christmas, as you know, was very, very special to us.  Our very first Christmas with our daughter, Sania Louise.  

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It is hard to believe that a year ago, our Christmas was one of our saddest.  Our hearts were broken.  And our little girl sat alone at a crisis center in Latvia on Christmas.  It seemed like a hopeless situation.  And yet God was still at work.  God was still working out His perfect plan for her and for our family.  

She is our Christmas Miracle.

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It was quite an emotional journey, but WORTH EVERY SECOND!

I put a video together of the week before Christmas, and it definitely gives you an idea of the fun we had. :)  However, you may want to turn your volume down because Sania Louise is just like her mama….loud and dramatic!  ha! 

I hope you enjoy it!

 
 

And friends, thank you for your constant love, encouragement, and prayers for our family!  You will never know the difference it has made in our lives and especially our daughter’s life.  We are eternally grateful!!

We are looking forward to seeing all that God will do in our lives in 2017, and we can’t wait to share it all with YOU!!!

xoxo

Traci

57 Comments

  1. This is an amazing video that warms the heart! What a “Christmas Miracle” having Sania Louise as a new addition to your precious family! I had to get a tissue out for this one and I’m thankful for the message of family, love and thankfulness that shines through these special moments captured that morning! Blessings and wishes for a Happy 2017!

  2. Wonderful video! I’m new here, is it on your blog how Sania Louise came into your lives? I’d love to read how it started.

  3. BEAUTIFUL!! May this be the first of many, many love-filled celebrations for your lovely family! Blessings to all as you enter another year of multiple delights. God has truly shown his love and we all are in awe of the splendor!

  4. Beautiful! Tears of joy – so touching seeing the overwhelming joy that Sania Louis experienced on her first Christmas with her wonderful forever family!

  5. This was great, and a what a wonderful gift you have given her….your family and love….and what an incredible gift she has given you….She is a sweet and beautiful young lady! Her English is sounding wonderful too! So proud of her and you!

  6. Absolutely precious!!! What an incredible blessing you guys are! I love to see those boys loving on her!

    God is great!!!

  7. What a special blessing this morning to see Christmas thru your families’ eyes, especially Sania Louise. Thanks for sharing, continued prayers for you all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

  8. This was such fun to watch. Christmas gets quieter as they get older ( like at my house) so enjoy every loud voice of excitement. God bless you all in 2017!

  9. Traci — What a beautiful Christmas video! I’m smiling with tears. This will be the best, most memorable Christmas EVER for Sania Louise and your family. Absolutely precious! Here’s to more beautiful memories and love in 2017! Happy New Year to your entire family!

  10. That was great ! I wish that my daughter was that excited on Christmas morning. Looks like you guys had a great time. Happy New year !

  11. I love how excited she is about everything she got!
    My youngest daughter used to do that too and would say “this is what I’ve always wanted “!
    So precious and heartwarming!
    Happy New Year!!

  12. Loved Seeing A special little girl enjoying her first Christmas in America! Thanks for continuing to share your family. Still in awe of Gods handiwork in this family. Sania looks just like her momma! Amazing!!

  13. That brought tears to my eyes. The pure joy and excitemental was so palpable. Thanks for sharing and God Bless Sania and your entire family. Xo

  14. What an exciting morning! Thank you for sharing it with us. May God wrap your family tightly in His loving arms in the year ahead!

  15. Tears! And laughs! And SO much JOY! Thank you for sharing such a precious time!!!!! You will always be grateful that you have that on video! What a special Christmas for your family.

  16. How wonderful! Reminds me of what our house was like when our children were younger. So much fun. What a beautiful family.

  17. What special lady you have. A very lucky family to have a beautiful lady. Your son’s are so loving to your daughter. It shows as they share her excitement on Christmas morning. God really blessed your family in 2016.

  18. I’m laughing and crying at the same time! What a precious family! Merry Christmas and happy 2017 from Greensboro, NC!

  19. Oh Traci! My heart melts watching this. You have a precious family. Wanda would be so proud of you. May the New Year bring you many more blessings.

  20. Oh wow!! how exciting. Sania Louise certainly knew what to do with those packages. So many memories being made and so much love in one family. Thanks for sharing.

  21. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing video of your precious girl and her family on Christmas morning. I remember saying in another comment, that I hoped you would post pictures or video of her for her first Christmas. From watching the Halloween video, I knew she would be so excited over Christmas. I can’t express enough how happy I am for you and your family. I look forward to more “enthusiastic” videos of Sania Louise and the family. Happy New Year and God Bless!

  22. Thank you for sharing!
    That was so beautiful to watch.
    She is a lucky girl. Your family is so Wonderful!!
    Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year!

  23. The video brought tears to my eyes to witness her joy. It is wonderful to see how happy she is as I remember how devasting it was for all of you last year. You have a lovely family. Happy New Year.

  24. Thank you for sharing this joy…the joy of family and of Our Lord working so hard for us! I was filled with smiles & tears. Blessings for a loving 2017! Looking forward to watching it unfold for you all!

  25. This made me laugh and cry! There’s nothing like Christmas morning seen through a child’s eyes. You have given SL such an incredibly different life. In blessing her, you have been blessed tenfold. Love this…and you sweet girl.

  26. Now that is what Christmas is all about! What joy to see her excitement and more than that , to know that she is with her forever family celebrating in all that joy. Wishing you all a very blessed New Year.

  27. Thank you for a little peek into the fun, love, and joy of your family holiday! It’s so fun to watch the excitement of little ones! And sweet to see how your boys love her, and included her in their own excitement. Sonia Louise is beautiful, and as you mentioned in a recent post, she looks as though she could’ve been BORN into your family. Big smiles! It was God’s wonderful planning and weaving!

    What an emotional turn from last year! My heart cracked a little along with yours when you came home without her last year, but the story wasn’t yet finished. As you say, God was still at work, and brought about a true Christmas miracle! May He continue to bless your family!

  28. Oh my goodness, I am balling my eyes out. How precious – tears of joy hear. Somebody please bring me a tissue.

  29. Thank you so much for sharing! This brought happy tears! God is so great! Sania is such a precious little girl and your guys are great gentlemen. I loved how they each hugged her and was sharing in her joy. I pray for you and your family to have a blessed and happy new year!

  30. I LOVE this! Our son and daughter were adopted almost 10 years ago from Russia, so this touches my heart. Our 2 are now 12 (later this month) and 13 respectively, and we’re traveling back to Russia with our team from church and Children’s Hopechest this coming May/June. Can’t wait to take them “home”. God bless you! By the way, I found your blog through your sister. :o) Happy New Year from Colorado!

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