A Very Special Tree

This was written by Tracy Keinrath

We lost our baby daughter, Audrey Hope, in June of 2004. She only briefly lived her life, but the impact of her loss greatly changed ours. That Christmas, it was so important to me that we remember her in a special way. I wanted her to look down from heaven and know she was a huge part of our lives, even though she wasn’t physically with us. I decided we would have an “Audrey Tree” to display just for her.  

I’ve always been quite picky about choosing a Christmas tree. It drove my family crazy the way I’d look at them from all angles, dismissing the ones that looked lop-sided, didn’t have just the right amount of limbs or wasn’t the correct size. Now, at this first Christmas without our daughter, it became even more important to pick out a PERFECT tree. I drug my family around the tree farm, examining each tree closely. I had such an ache in my heart thinking, “Audrey should be here.” I was on a mission though, and finally found a very small, perfectly shaped Christmas tree that I knew would be just right. And…it was.

Another way we honor Audrey at Christmas is by picking out special ornaments for her tree, many of them sweet little angels. We hang pink and white lights and dress it up with pink bows. I love to dim the lights and  sit in front of her sparkling little tree and think about our little girl, what she might look like, what presents we may be picking out for her, and how her face would light up on Christmas morning.

Audrey’s tree today: