Angel on My Tree

I don’t need an angel on my tree….I already have one in heaven watching over me.

Cue all the tears.

I don’t want to play favorites, but I do. There are a few companies I work with under the A Gutsy Girl brand umbrella who are my absolute faves.

One of them is Just Thrive Probiotics. My main contact, Beth, gets me and sees me and I can’t tell you how critical that is to me when choosing my partners.

Anyways, Beth sent me this.

This holiday season has not only been filled with sadness, but also a lot of happiness.

We have been in our new house for a smidge over a year. And during this time, we have made a lot of changes to fit our own style.

What used to be one of my least favorite rooms of the house has now become one of my most favorites. I’m in here so much, in fact, that I decided to put the Angel on My Tree in this room vs on the actual Christmas Tree.

Room Renovation

Let me quickly show you.

You can kind of see the dining room HERE, and how it looked when we first moved in. It’s the picture where Samarah and Isaiah are sitting on carpet steps; Amiya behind them lifting up her dress like naughty, little princess she is :)

My vision for the dining room was to turn it into a place where the kids could enjoy coloring and tea (yes, they love tea time), and where Ryan and I would want to have people over for dinner. Until now, we’ve never had that.

My Mother-in-Law had the dining room decorated exquisitely. If you know her, you know she has a ton of class. Our style is very different. It’s country, farmhouse, and definitely includes hardwood floors.

The biggest thing we did to this room was put in the hardwood floors.

My friend Abby owns the local Suburban Furniture so we used them exclusively for the project (and most projects!). They are incredible and never let us down!

They were quick and efficient. And when they were finished, the dining room floors looked like this.

Angel on My Tree

Samarah reached up to touch this piece the other day. My heart was beaming with both happiness and sadness.

I’m desperately wanting my dad here this Christmas — to see all that we’ve done in a house he helped originally build in the ‘80’s.

I’m finding so much joy in making this house — that is truly a dream house on multiple levels — exactly what Ryan and I have been envisioning.

But this Christmas season is really reminding me that even when we have all the “things” in the world, it can feel so lonely at times.

About a year ago, my aunt and uncle came to visit from California. Dad was so proud to show him our house, the view, all of it. So he brought them here, and then when he got too tired to continue walking, I remember him sitting in the main living room just looking outside.

He wasn’t in our house much from the time we bought it until he left us, but I can feel him near when I think of every spot I clearly remember him being in.

This Christmas, I’m just letting it all be — the first major holiday, the first Christmas, without Dad.

I’m doing my best to enjoy the here and now, while also remembering that angel in heaven who is watching over us all.

p.s. Notice a little furry friend in the image above?!

p.s.s. Shout out also to Diane at SummerHouse Farm. So many things in the Dining Room are from her shop, including the three adorable, little green vintage farmhouse chairs you can sort of see near the window.

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Xox, SKH