HGTVs Jenny Marrs Celebrates Anniversary of Daughter Sylvies Adoption

Thursday, July 9, marked a meaningful day for Jenny and Dave Marrs.

The HGTV couple share five children, including twins Nathan and Ben, daughter Charlotte, and son Luke. Jenny and Dave adopted their eldest daughter, Sylvie, from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2013. However, a government shutdown prevented Sylvie from traveling to the U.S. until 2014.

On Thursday, Jenny took to Instagram to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the day she and Dave brought Sylvie home. “I wasn’t there on the day she entered this world. I wasn’t privy to the miracles that took place that day half a world away. I don’t know what her first days and months and years looked like,” she wrote. “There is so much I just don’t know. Looming, gaping holes from her earliest, most formative years are painful reminders of all I have missed.”

The Fixer to Fabulous star said what she does know is that she “bore witness to a miracle” when she and Dave were finally reunited with Sylvie. “Hope had nearly been lost. Despair had slowly seeped in,” she recalled. “602 days of waiting, 602 days of praying and pleading and calling Congressmen and Senators and flying over the sea to beg the US Embassy to help. Emails and letters and phone calls with no traction toward getting her home left us depleted.”

Jenny said it took a “battle” to bring Sylvie home. “The exhale that took place when she was placed back into my arms on US soil was echoed in heaven. The spiritual battle that I couldn’t see during those long days and nights was finally over,” she gushed. “I post this photo every year on this day to remember. I never want to forget the way the Lord fought on our behalf. The things He has in store for Sylvie must certainly leave the enemy shaking in fear or else he wouldn’t have worked so tirelessly to keep her from us.”

She concluded her sweet tribute by writing, “It’s hard to believe twelve years have passed since this day when our family was finally under the same roof. HAPPY FAMILY DAY, SYLVIE-LOO!! You are deeply loved and wanted and cherished. We are the lucky ones, my girl.”

Jenny shared her story alongside a photo and video of her and Dave’s emotional reunion with Sylvie. The clip also featured several videos of Sylvie and the family from over the years.

Fans celebrated the special anniversary in the post’s comments, with one user writing, “Such a beautiful story and testament of God’s love, grace and wisdom. Blessed.” Another wrote, “Lovely memories I had happy tears for you all.” Someone else shared, “Oh happy day to the Marrs fam!!!”

A different person posted, “Tears of joy every year when I watch this amazing victory of the power of mother/daughter love!” A separate commenter stated, “Such precious memories, hold on tightly and enjoy every second.”

Earlier this year, Jenny celebrated Sylvie’s 14th birthday with another sweet Instagram post. “It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that she’s 14 (!!) and not my little girl but the young woman she is today is beautiful inside and out and I continue to be immensely grateful and proud to have been given the honor of being her mom,” she captioned the January 16 upload.