If only we could freeze time.

 We spent Thanksgiving in Dallas. We lived there until we moved here in 2007. This picture brings so many emotions up. We lived in the greatest neighborhood ever before we moved here. Every time we go there we stop by the old hood. Oh my how the kids have grown....and the trees! We lived in the kind of neighborhood you dream about. The kids all got along, the parents all got along, and the dogs all got along. I never lived in a neighborhood like this before and haven't since. You walked in and out of the houses as if they were your own. We raised our kids together almost like a team. We spent Friday nights in a drive way drinking beer, letting the kids play, and having good conversation. I miss this part of my life probably more than anything. We had good times together for sure. We also had a few bad times. We lost an amazing neighbor in a tragic accident right before we moved. We all stuck together through everything though. I wish sometimes that I could go back and freeze time for a while. My plan was to live there forever because almost everything was perfect. Sometimes God has a different plan though.

 I went into my vault of pictures....and there is a huge vault. Looking for some pictures of the kids I no longer recognize including my own. The memories of this time in my life flood my brain. We brought Cole home to that house when he was just a month old. We all had nicknames for each other before we got to know one another. Well at least Christi Huff did. We were known as "The boat people". That is because Hubs stuffed a boat in our garage that my car never saw. I still have a boat in my garage. We all became fast friends. We always had each others backs from that time on. We saw the hood change through the years. There were breakups, makeups, parties...lots of parties, we rocked it there at Halloween....most of us anyway, some moved away, one passed away, we lost parents together, we raised our kids together, and we just plain all got along great together. I had the biggest surprise of my life there. That would be Aidan who is now nine. Best surprise I ever got...even if it took a while to be happy about. I found out I was sick with MS in that house. That was a very dark time in my life. My friends there were my rock and got me through that. I will never forget that. Times like those are the times when you really get who your friends are. They are with you through the good and bad.

 We lost my father in law when we lived there. A lot of my best memories of him were in that house. He loved that neighborhood and got along great with my neighbors. Everyone of them came to his service. They all helped out when he was sick. They would watch my kids in a second when I needed help.

 We spent lots of holidays together. Almost all when I think about it. This was a once in a lifetime kind of neighborhood. There were bonds made there they can't be broken. I look forward to going there every time we visit Hubs family. I miss that time in my life all the time.

It's funny because on our Friday night driveway beer nights. We used to laugh with our neighbor Aldo across the street. They had two girls, one a year older than Blake and one a year younger than him. We talked about how when they got older if they dated it might ruin our relationship. We talked about the parties they would throw behind our backs. Aldo worried that Blake would be the kid that jumped from his roof to the pool!!! That is funny now since he recently jumped from a roof and broke his jaw in two places. Well it's not that funny since that cost me an arm and a leg as the old asses would say. This last picture cracks me up. The girl Rachel who is towering over Blake is only a year older than him. If you scroll back to the first pic he finally caught up to her. He is standing right next to her in that pic. I can't even believe those two are a year apart in this pic.

I left that part of my life kicking and screaming for a reason. I just knew I had stumbled on something rare. In a perfect world I could take all those perfect people with me. We not only left them but we left Hubs family behind. You don't truly understand how important all these people are until their not right there. I already said it but I will say it again...I miss that time in my life. Thank you to all the Shoal Creek peeps for my favorite memories.

There were the Huffs.....Who made me laugh out loud so many times. Their kids were older so I took many good pointers from them. They raised some pretty perfect kids....I may cuss them from time to time in my head....It's just that green monster...There were the Ken and Gina who had an almost sick like perfect marriage....Yes we all might of been green. Plus they raised an amazing kid. There was Christy and Aldo....They had the most beautiful girls who just get more pretty. We had so many great times with them. We talk about them and think of them often. There was Todd and Christina...they moved across the street later but fit right in right away. They have been here many times. There was Kevin and Lisa, Kevin passed away right before they were to marry. We think about him all the time.  We have some amazing memories of our times with him. There was Cary and Ryan....Who were so young! They lived next door for a while. They moved away and had a beautiful daughter. There was Jon and Lisa...who had a son that rocked Ty die for a very long time. They are great people! Aidan loved Jon and would just walk in their house to "Play" with Jon! I think he thought Jon was a kid. Then there was Cindy and Steve. They are probably some of the greatest people I have ever met. They had one daughter Rachel who turned out to be a beautiful young lady. Steve was the ring leader for any party in the hood. Cindy became one of my best friends and still is. They are just good people to the core. There are others but these are the ones on my mind for sure. When I wrote this my eyes got teary just a few times. I'm lucky that I still talk to every one of these people. Our lives have all changed through the years but we all made that bond you can't break. These people to me were some of the greatest people in the world. The people I'm proud to call my lifetime friends! Miss you Shoal Creek! I wish we could go back and have one of those driveway nights!