We lost Ryan's younger brother Uncle Chris when Ella was just 5 months old. Last year, we lost Poppa Dick, the man who had been the father figure in my life for the past 21 years.
Ryan's sister has been through so much in her battle with addiction and Ryan himself has been fighting some personal demons.
My mother married a man, that despite my best efforts, I have not been able to accept as part of the family.
Needless to say, that is a lot for someone who has not reached the age of 4 and 2.
This summer, I made the decision that I was going to go out of my way to enjoy the simple things in life with my children.
Here are some photos of our quality time together...
Searching for Lady Bugs... we found a real one, not one of those Japanese beetle things.
Napping together
Cooling off...
Relaxing on the front porch of Papu and Gooney's camper
