life-long friends

These five kids have known each other all of their little lives. Jaclyn -- mom to Luke, Norah and Caroline -- is one of my dearest friends. I love that our friendship has sustained so many seasons of life, starting with college life and continuing into our engagements to our college boyfriends, weddings two months apart in the summer of 2002, e-mailing while we adjusted to careers and married life, living in the same town again, trying to have kids, having a family, quitting our careers, and growing our families. I know I've written about this before, but I continue to be thankful with how God shapes friendships into what they need to be. Sharing our lives has changed as we have these little people who need us, but I'm thankful we've figured it out as we've lived our lives together.

Our kids love each other to pieces at some moments and fight like brothers and sisters the next moment. But that's part of it, and it's probably to be expected when there are five kids almost 5 and younger.

Ben certainly didn't want to miss out on playing with the window clings with the big kids.

Only nine months and less than 2 pounds separate these two. They'll go to kindergarten together. I hope Ben is the kind of boy who will protect her, even if she is bigger than him.