Some people's kids

This past weekend I "did life" with my college friend, Teresa and her family. We tend to go weeks, sometimes months without communicating. But our friendship goes deep. She's journeyed through every season of my life since I met her. And so it doesn't take much to "get on the same page" so to speak.

One of the things I appreciate so much about Teresa is her commitment to journey with me. I recall that when I was serving at His Mansion Ministries, in New Hampshire, she phoned me to say that she wanted to understand my life there more fully. so she was coming to visit me. And she did. She engaged in my life. She met my friends. She experienced "the mansion." And even though her life was completely different, she attempted to know and understand who I was becoming through that experience.
This marks our friendship.

In a somewhat similar way, I attempt to jump into "her life" as best I can. This weekend it meant kids...lots of kids. At one point, when we gathered with her three sisters, all their kids, plus a few friends, we had 18 kids!!! (To be fair, a couple of these "kids" are grown. So there were only 16 aged 13 and below.) At one moment it was just the four sisters plus me sitting around a table talking. The conversation didn't last long before someone needed one of those Moms, but I love catching those experiences with them.

Part of our time included a Saturday morning basketball game. Teresa's son and her sister's son played. And for a 3rd and 4th grade team, I was on the edge of my seat. With two seconds remaining, Teresa's son rec'd a pass, shot, and made the winning basket. 22-20!! It was intense, people. And all the while, Teresa's youngest took pictures. So that's the photo credit today. Lissie (short for Alyssa), age 6, pictured at the top, snapped all these photos (including the one of herself). How I appreciate digital photography. And these moments sharing a friend's life.