Julia Roberts attempts to get life back to normal after her sister's suicide by hosting a family brunch for mom Betty Lou

It's been terrible time for Julia Roberts and her family, but it seems as though the movie star is doing her very best to get things back to normal.
The 46-year-old seems especially - and understandably - eager to make life as nice as it can be for her mother, Betty Lou Motes, who has recently battled cancer in addition to losing her youngest daughter, Nancy, to a suspected drug overdose in February.
On Sunday, the August: Osage County star arrived at her mother's Pacific Palisades home carrying a vase of pink roses.

It's the little things: Julia Roberts brought her mother Betty Lou roses to her home in Pacific Palisades Sunday as the pair attempt to get back to normal

She looked strained; as she has since receiving the devastating news that her sister had passed away.
Roberts was accompanied by teenage family members but her own children weren't spotted, as they all headed to a local brunch spot.
They are united in grief, and Julia and Betty Lou, 79, seem to be finding much solace in each other's company.

Mother hen: Julia was joined by various members of the clan for the brunch

Slim: The tragedy of her sister's death has left Julia looking thinner than usual

Julia cancelled a number of public engagements following her sister's death in order to spend time with her family.

Neither she nor her mother were seen at the public memorial held for Nancy on March 8 by Nancy's fiance John Dilbeck, but friends of the Glee production assistant did attend, including show favourite Jane Lynch.
Julia is said to have held 'her own private goodbye service' with close family.
The redhead has come under fire since her half-sister's death, as it was revealed that Nancy felt bullied by her famous sibling.

Tragic: Julia's half-sister Nancy Motes, 38, died of an apparent drug overdose on February 9

'Nancy was proud of Julia but she had severe abandonment issues,' Motes' fiance, John said.
'She had a knee operation as a teen and piled on weight because she couldn't exercise. While her sister was the Pretty Woman, Nancy was an overweight, insecure teenager.’
'Nancy was a tortured soul. She grew up in the shadow of a superstar as a sister and Julia’s fame cast a cloud over her life,' he added.
‘Nancy adored Julia but she became increasingly resentful of the way Julia behaved towards her. In Nancy’s mind Julia was a bully.'
The only public engagement Julia has attended since the death was the Oscars at the beginning of March, and has been seen only rarely in public.
It seems that the star is taking solace in her family instead, and was seen last week dressed in black, picking up her sons and daughter from school.
Fresh from the critically acclaimed August: Osage County, Julia is set to star in TV movie The Normal Heart, about a gay activist raising awareness of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s.

DM