I remember taking this picture of Ava when she was 2. It was one of the last hot days of summer and I remember noticing how beautiful her skin looked with the sun highlighting it, how faded her hair was from three months of outdoor play and how scabbed up her little chubby knees were from tipping her Radio Flyer tricycle. I snapped this shot hoping to never forget how much fun we had that summer. I could take the same picture of her today and get the same warm fuzzy buzz from the joy of sharing a summer with a child.

Precious life

Today a quick browse of newspaper articles revealed mutliple tragedies over the weekend - a baby sleeping in a tent with his parents on his first camping trip driven over by a fellow drunken camper in a car, a 21-year-old drowned while swimming and a 10-year-old run over by a boat while tubing. I normally try to avoid focusing too much on this type of news. I realize that it is real and it happened and some family, instead of swimming in the backyard pool, is planning a funeral or standing by a hospital bed right now. But today the news was a little too much.

How do we find a way to suck the most we possibly can out of each day with our children? I left work at 4:00 o'clock and picked up the kids from daycare. We drove up the house, bypassed the front door, stripped down to t-shirts and undies and went for a swim. Those are the moments when life is pure and sweet and time stands still.

Tonight I'll say a prayer for the family of the baby in the tent and then I'll roll over and hug my babies tight.