We met Melissa in Great Lakes right when we started with the Navy.  She, with her 3 month old baby boy and sweet 2 year old little girl, became our friend in a place where we really didn’t know anyone.  She also became my biggest photography fan, seeing potential in me that I didn’t realize and encouraging me to keep at it.  We both moved to Jacksonville and, even though we are an hour apart, we do what we can to get together on occasion.  With her and her little ones, as we continue to get to know one another, I feel a sense of family… almost like she’s my sister and our kids are cousins.  They sort of are, as we’ve known them now for 3 years, and that’s longer than we’ve been with anyone since leaving Montana.  I love to photograph her children (and those eyes of her daughter, OH MY) and to see our children playing together so happily.  Melissa is now a single mom and is struggling in a way that makes my heart swell with compassion and love.  We so cherish you guys and your little family.