A FAMILY will set new traditions this Christmas to remember their young daughter who died and welcome a new addition to their brood.

The Sharpes, whose daughter Faith tragically lost her battle with a rare brain tumour in September, will be keeping her memory alive and celebrating the arrival of son Finley.

As reported by The Advertiser, Faith was diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in the summer of 2015 and given an original prognosis of a year to live.

Having exceeded all medical expectations the seven-year-old lost her life on 27 September, just seven weeks before her brother Finley was born on 15 November.

To ensure that she is still an integral part of Finley’s first Christmas and the family’s future festivities, mum Laura, dad Nathan and sisters Lacey, 6, and Brooke, 3, have had commemorative decorations made with pictures of Faith and the family on the tree.

They have had a family photograph taken with a butterfly urn containing Faith’s ashes and on Christmas morning they are letting a Christmas balloon and several purple balloons - her favourite colour - go in her memory.

Talking about what this Christmas means to them, Laura said: “It is a sad time for us because we wish she was still here but we have to carry on for the sake of the other children though and we will make it as happy and special a time as possible - we still do the Elf on the Shelf every night.

“We are doing all we can to keep her memory alive and to keep her as big a part of the family as we can. Last year she was an angel in her Nativity and this year she is one.”

She added: “I still tell people that I’ve got four children but one is in heaven.

In tribute to Laura’s dad and Faith the family named their new arrival Finley Michael Faith, and Laura, Lacey and Brooke have also had glass jewellery made containing Faith’s ashes.

Friends and family will be marking Faith’s birthday next year by abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower to raise money for Abbie’s Army, a DIPG research charity.

Her tumour has also been donated for research in London and a post mortem will be carried out on it next year.

Laura said: “If it means that Faith has helped to find a cure, then she has done her job."