Ornaments In Their Memory

If you are visiting for the first time, this post is part of the series “12 Days of Christmas With You in Heaven”. To learn more about this series, please click here. Today Angie is sharing a bit of her heart and how she honors her daughter this time of year.

Tis’ the Season to be Jolly. That is hard to do when you have a lost a child and we have come to that Christmas season, that we knew would bring lots of familiar emotions and new ones that would tug at our hearts so deep.

Six years ago, we lost our first child, Payton, she was stillborn on March 16th. As we survived those seven months before Christmas, including Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, we knew Christmas was going to be especially hard. Everyone walking and singing with Christmas spirit. children smiling and excited to share all their wants from Santa, and decorations filled our homes reminding us to Believe.

I couldn’t believe my daughter was not going to be with me for her first Christmas to open her presents, peak in her stockings, and many more to come. That is when I was overwhelmed with the desire to keep her spirit alive along with the Christmas spirit in our home. She was still a part of our family. I would love to share with you a few things we do in our home to keep her spirit alive during the spirit Christmas.

We have Angel ornaments on our tree that represent our daughter. We will either buy a new one each year or receive a new one as a gift from memorial services that we attend in honor of her. We are blessed with two healthy living children and they share this with us. Our son likes nutcrackers, our daugter likes anything shiny and pretty, and our sweet first child has the Angels.

We love to get a gift for our two children to play together from our daughter in Heaven. We sign the gift label from big sister Payton and our children get so excited when they see it under the tree. We still hang her stocking we bought that first year with our family stockings.

We also participate in our local Angel Tree at church. We choose one angel for each of our children. We try to pick a child’s name that is the same gender and age as ours. So this year we will have a 6 year old girl, 5 year old boy, and 4 year old girl. This is a selfless act and a rewarding way to help others in need while honoring our child in Heaven and teaching about giving to our children.

Lastly, I remember our first Christmas after we had our second child, it was time to do our Christmas cards. I was so excited to share our family photo and sign our cards, love the Brown family, and list each of our names. I was also heartbroken thinking that my daughter was not in the family pictures or how do I sign her name on the card. I was not ashamed to have her name and I did sign it the first year but I was concerned how it would make others feel as time went on. I decided for our family to feel that we were including her in the the special time of sending Christmas cards, was to use an Angel punch stamp, and I would stamp each corner of the card to cherish our daughter . Some people asked about it, some smiled, and some said nothing at all but I knew in my heart she was with us and I could celebrate her this way.

As Christmas day approaches, I pray that you will find healing and special ways to honor your child. I pray that you find peace and comfort in these little ways that represent your sweet child in Heaven. I hope that you will find joy and laughter throughout the season during the midst of sadness and heartache. Fill your hearts with hope in honoring your precious child of God who was chosen to be yours.