A Christmas stocking from the heart!

You might think that I am crazy, to still be up at 4:00 am in the morning (on a school night), but I just had to finish it, and I almost made my goal.
I finished our little Sharyns stocking for Christmas, and I had to do it today. You might ask why is today so important to stay up half the night to finish a stocking? Well Sharyn joined her Heavenly Father a month ago today, the 14th, and I just had to have her stocking finished TODAY.
I have made each one of my family a special stocking for Christmas. My mom made me one when I was a kid and it was so neat to have something homemade just for me. I always looked forward to getting out our stockings at Christmas time, and hanging them up. So I made one for my kids and Dan and I. Well I started Sharyn when I found out she was a girl. I had almost finished it when that devastating night happened a month ago. I did not know what I should do with my almost finished stocking then, I just would hold it and cry. Here I had made something for my baby that I could never give her, and that Santa could never fill, and it was heartbreaking. after a week of it just sitting there needing just a few more charms added to it, I decided I would finish it, so we could remember her, and acknowledge that she is a part of our family. But every time I picked it up to finish it, I just felt like it was not right. I made all my other kids stocking before they were born or shortly there after, and ironically all of my kids stockings match there personality, even though I had not got to really know them yet. And Sharyns just didn't fit her, It bugged me so bad, so finally a week ago I decided I was going to redo it, but I'm not a fast enough cross stitcher to get it done before Christmas, so I asked my mom to help. She is amazing and got it done in just a few days (wow!), and it turned out beautifully!

Her other stocking was a little girl holding an American flag, I loved it, I have waited for so long to have a girl to make it for. But it was a little girl(not a baby) and Sharyn will not ever grow into it, she will always be a sweet little baby to me, and I just could not see this stocking as hers. So I made her stocking with a angel, with no hair and a sweet halo, in baby pink and light lavender. It now reminds me of her, she will always be my little angle baby girl.

(here is Sharyns stocking before I redid it.)

Now I can hang it up with my other children's stockings and feel that they are complete. We decided to ask Santa to still fill her stocking with 3 small gifts, that our kids could each put on her grave, on Christmas day. So come Christmas morning her stocking will still be filled and she will be remembered as a part of our family, and included in our family traditions. Even though today has been hard, and I miss her I found joy in finishing this special gift for our sweet baby Sharyn. We love and miss you Sharyn, Marry Christmas!

Love, Mom and Dad

We got our stocking holders when we were first married, hopeing we would have a family someday. The snow man was picked for our littlest girl, so this is the first Christmas it has come out of the box. I love it!

All our stockings hanging in a row.