Awe... Grateful.

Where do you even begin when life has been so crazy and full. Between our "new normal" in a crazy schedule, nights at home are few and far between. Afternoon and nights with no demands written on the calendar are even fewer.

A couple weeks ago my husband brought the boys home from our daughter's dance class and while she was dancing the boys got to enjoy a little water fight with the neighbors across the street. Just a carefree night with laughter and fun. Then two weeks ago we all hung out front and watched the kids all play then we got into a fun family game of kickball in with our neighbors in the front yard. It was priceless! Even the mom's played too. Dad's played out field and "pitcher". No real organization, just come up and kick and run to your base till you are out. Absolutely blissful.

Oh I miss those nights.

Now that it's getting cooler (I use the term loosely... I do live in Texas after all) all of the kids are out and about in the front yard. Our kids played out front yesterday for HOURS with two other neighborhood kids riding bikes, tag, dolls (my daughter and the little neighbor girl), basketball, football, kicking down our boxing/kicking "dummy"; you name it they probably did it.

The laughter and conversation did the heart good! For all of us. It also reminded us why we are so grateful God picked this neighborhood for us almost 2 years ago. In that whole time... 2 cars drove through our street.

TWO... in HOURS...

We live in a neighborhood but we live in the country and our street is tucked around the side and back of the subdivision. It's the "older" street of the neighborhood but all of us who live on it wouldn't have it any other way. If we lived on any other part of our street we wouldn't have what we do on our part of the street. The kids play outside and between driveways only on our half of the street. It's absolutely heaven and everything we've ever wanted in a neighborhood! Us adults sit in the driveways and talk and talk while the kids run from one garage to another getting toys and inventing games.

God was in the details.

The kids relish in days/nights like that. It makes me happy to know that they have those moments that childhood is made of. That those moments can still be found in life today.  We can't wait for the next day we can all play outside and listen to the sounds of childhood. They are growing so fast... I don't want to miss them. We need to hold on to these days/nights as the days on the calendar get more filled.