Kids love to look at pictures of themselves.

Kids love to look at pictures of themselves.

When I first got married to my husband, he had boxes full of photos of my two stepsons, ages 5 and 8 at the time, and I put them together in some little albums and wrote notes about how happy I was that they were a part of my life.

My daughter and I are so close. I can describe anything she's doing, the least little thing, and I get all excited about it. It's like medicine. When I come home from work and the first thing I see is her and she runs and jumps in my arms - everything that went bad in the day goes completely out the window. It's like taking a dose of medicine. It makes everything better.

Family photo albums are so powerful in that they make kids feel valued, cherished and respected.

I started bettysbattle.org, which is a charity in honor of my mom, associated with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a charity that is near and dear to my heart. We turned to them for resources and information. They were there for us every step of the way, from the day that Mom was diagnosed. I formed a charity in honor of my mom and them. I'm the national ALS ambassador for MDA. I do their telethon every year.

I feel very vulnerable when it has to do with family. Having lost my mom, who I was so extremely close to, now I feel so vulnerable when somebody gets sick or hurt. I become a complete wreck until they're well. Even if it's a cold! I compare myself to Marlin in Finding Nemo.