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This Couple's Family Portrait Is Going Viral — & The Reason Will Move You To Tears

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There’s a reason angel wing tattoos hold so much meaning. The classic symbol can represent freedom, guidance, protection, and spirituality. And for some, it can honor lives that were lost — as is the case for Steven and Gloria Kimmel.
According to Yahoo Beauty, a photo of the couple and their newborn daughter, Claire went viral this month when Gloria's sister Grace Arend shared it on Twitter. “My sister & her husband got tattoos of angel wings after their son died 2 yrs ago,” Arend wrote in the caption. “They had a baby girl in June. This moves me to tears.”
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In the picture, their newborn baby Claire is snuggled between her two parents, along with the matching angel wing tattoos that honor her late brother. In the span of only two weeks, the tweet has over 68k likes and 19k retweets. “This is just beautiful! RIP baby boy. You are a blessing sweet girl. Your story is a gift to the world,” one user wrote.
In an interview with Yahoo Beauty, Gloria Kimmel said the couple lost their firstborn, Isaac, to SMA Type 1 in 2015. “Isaac was diagnosed when he was 6 months old,” Kimmel told the publication. “We were told to take him home and love him as much as we could, as the disease, at that time, was terminal.”

He was the angel that was holding us together when we were so lost without him.

Gloria Kimmel
Shortly after Isaac’s passing, the couple wanted to honor his life. “The tattoo was meant to be his angel wings. He was half of each of us, so we each had one of his wings to hold us. He was the angel that was holding us together when we were so lost without him. The tattoos are a reminder that he is always with us in spirit,” Kimmel said.
Now, this pair of angel wings has even more meaning. In Arend’s picture, the couple welcomes new life and, what Kimmel calls “the product of all the love, hope, and prayers over two years.”
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