Pretty Ways to Remember

This past Saturday we gathered the kids for our annual Christmas photo shoot.  For last year's Christmas card, I wanted Gabriel represented in some way so we included a giant framed picture of him to be part of the background.  With the help of our sweet photographer, the end result was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself:

Photo done by Chandra Dickson


Sometimes I have my kiddos hold an embroidered pillow with Gabriel's name on it:

Photo done by Tammy Schowalter

And then sometimes I have the kids hold a little "brother bear" wearing a shirt with Gabe's name on it:


So, this time I decided to "keep it classy" and simply put on the gorgeous necklace my amazingly loving husband purchased for me last Christmas.  You can see the gold heart locket in this shot:

Photo done by Robin Schroyer

I loved being able to have something in the photo which represented him, without it being overly obvious or having something that would become the focus.  So, I decided to tell you more about this lovely necklace and the other items of jewelry I've received as gifts to help keep Gabriel's memory alive.



Here's my best Kate from the Small Things Blog impression as I model this necklace.  Inside, Kyle himself added a small photo of Gabe's precious face on one side and a small lock of his hair on the other.  It's pretty amazing:


Here's a gorgeous double angel-winged necklace I received a year after I lost Gabriel, from my friend Kat:




 And, finally, here's my newest gift of angel jewelry from one of my dearest friends, Lisa.  A beautiful and simple wing on one side:

And on the other side, it says "I will carry you," which made me cry when I read it...




 For more on the importance of that phrase, you should hear about Angie Smith and her daughter Audrey.  Basically, her story is my story.  Her hubby is the lead singer of the Christian band Selah and you can listen to that song and see their personal photos in the video "I Will Carry You" here:



Comments

  1. brandienbrownDecember 7, 2012 at 3:37 PM

    :) I love that you put Gabe in your daily life.. For a light note, it's like the "Where's Waldo?" search.. Love that you share your heart. <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. BrittanyDecember 16, 2012 at 9:49 AM

    You have a pretty thoughtful hubby. Just thought I'd remind you because I'm sure you forgot. ;) And I love the "I Will Carry You" wing necklace. It's absolutely beautiful.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Table for Six

Image
It's been almost eight years since we had our Gabriel.  Since we lost our Gabriel.  Over the past several years, one child in this family has continued to talk about him the most.  Joel, now nine years old and the only sibling to have the chance to actually meet his brother, doesn't often speak his name these days.  He is, however, very protective of his "Gabey Bear" that he sleeps with every night, and goes to find when he's sad or hurt.  I'm still not sure Ruby, who just turned four, completely understands that she has a brother who is no longer with us.  The only photos she's ever seen of him are obviously baby pictures from the day he was born, but she does usually ask if every random picture she sees of a baby, is our Gabriel.  But our Zoe, almost six, talks about him all the time.  She points out that there is a seat in the back row of our family car, between she and Joel.  "That's where Gabe sits."  And when she asked about th...
Read more

Meeting Angie Smith

Image
Almost a month ago now, I had the amazing opportunity to meet Angie Smith! She is married to the lead singer of the Christian band, Selah, and the story of their daughter Audrey is heard through their song " I Will Carry You." (Click here to listen that song, and see amazing photographs from her family.)  I haven't seen it yet, but I just read that the Duggars found so much comfort through those lyrics, that they used them in the episode about losing their sweet daughter, Jubilee. Along with being a mom of, now, FIVE girls, Angie is also amazingly funny - both in person and on her blog, Bring the Rain . She's an author of two books , and although she's very frightened by it, is an amazing public speaker! She's so real, so hysterical, so lovely. I had the great privilege of hearing her speak at the One Day Women of Faith Event in Baltimore, MD... and that's where it happened... I met her! Like, in person! And, got to speak to her! Can't wait to te...
Read more

The Bump Will Now Be Known As...

Image
Ruby Mae So, yeah, we found out the gender.  Surprise!!  I wasn't lying; I honestly had no intentions of finding out.  That is, until, we scheduled the anatomy scan.  And then the curiosity got the best of me. I cannot even express in adequate words how blessed I'm feeling right now.  All weekend, I was literally convinced this baby was not okay.  Yet now, here I am, beaming with the knowledge that all is well.  Our ultrasound tech clearly knew our history, as the first two things she pointed out to us were the giant amount of fluid surrounding baby, and both of baby's kidneys.  Insert huge sigh of relief.   Our little girl was modest, with both her lower parts and her precious face.  But, we did get confirmation that this is another little girl.  Seriously, how blessed am I?!  Two boys, two girls... As I sat in awe that not only was baby completely healthy, but that we are having a little girl - it hit me....
Read more