Turning pain into joy: Family’s light display honors late daughter

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    CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pennsylvania (WPMT) — A Cumberland Family is turning pain into holiday joy, after losing on of their greatest gifts, their 9-year-old daughter, to cancer.

Between the inflatable Snoopy, Ralphy, even the jolly old man himself, it’s hard not to see the light on Europeana Circle in Camp Hill.

“We’re finding peace and joy in creating joy for our family, our friends, and the community,” Brian Dien said.

Though it all came from a place of darkness.

“Even though we’ve given up the most that any family can possibly imagine giving up, we find peace and joy that while Bree is not with us physically, that she’s inspiring us and others to live like Bree,” Dien said. How could we do that to Jake Zach and Ali and how could we do that to ourselves?”

Bree was Brian and his wife Kelly’s funny, bubbly, loveable 9-year-old daughter who passed away May 27th from a rare form of brain cancer. By all accounts she was always the life of the party.

“Kelly and I would love to crawl up in bed and shut ourselves off to the world, and quit work, and whatever happens but guess what – we’re not going to do that to Bree,” Brian said.

So they went big this year, just like her personality. The winter wonderland extravaganza outside of their home, “The 25 days of Breelieveing in the Magic” is filled with inflatables and lights for families to enjoy in their cars.

With some help, from their neighbors, the Dien family’s hope is to create memories for other families.

“When you see this is all in the spirit of live like Bree and taking a negative and turning it into a positive, taking a lemon and turning it into lemonade,” he said.

Brian and Kelly have started a foundation in Bree’s honor, called Saving Super Smiles Foundation.

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