Special Ornaments

Putting up the Christmas tree is always an emotional experience for me.  I sometimes wish EVERYTHING didn't make me so emotional, and I blame those emotions for much of my pack-rat status.  I just have too many memories tied to too many things.  I'm not a material girl.  Really, I'm not.  I don't give a flip if I wear designer clothes (my favorite brand is clearance), and I don't need to keep up with the Joneses.  But don't mess with my memories.  I get mean.
Until this year, the tree in our living room was my aunt's old tree.  My uncle gave it to me when I moved into my house.  I'd cry every year just putting it up and then all over again when we put ornaments on it.  All those "World's Greatest Niece" ornaments get to me. 

We typically get new ornaments to mark trips we've taken or to signify some addition to our lives.  (Jax has a couple of ornaments on our tree.)  I wanted to find something special for our angels this year.  Last year, it was just too fresh for me to even think of--I was still in shock.  I'd been looking for quite some time.  Most things I found either did not fit our situation, were meant for someone in Heaven who had actually lived on Earth, or were simply too expensive.  I finally found what I was looking for in this:

It's a set of angel wings formed into the shape of a heart.  I love it.  It arrived today.  It was boxed like this:

The verse on the left side of the box says

In Our Hearts at Christmas



Hang this special ornament,

In loving memory,

In a precious place of honor,

Upon the Christmas tree.

Whenever family gathers,

We will feel your presence near,

You are in our hearts at Christmas

And all throughout the year.

Cue waterworks.