Thankful Thursday #15

As I prepare to crawl in the bed at my in-law's house, worn out from the weeks events, I had told myself I was not going to blog tonight. But I've been away for so long and I didn't want anyone to think that I had fallen off the face of the Earth.

Plus, there is SO MUCH for me to be thankful for this week - I just had to share; but before I begin, I must first tell you the story that leads me to all of this gratitude...

My family and I are moving.

This was something we have been talking about doing for a long time but, up until recently, it has never evolved into anything other than wishful thinking.

This was a huge decision for my family and me.

A decision that was not made lightly.

You may recall that my good friend Amy gave me a wonderful verse to pray over - and all of the humorous events that followed my first attempt.

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

You might also recall that I decided to hold off praying over this particular verse until the time came for me to actually look at some property.

So, as I got ready to meet mom and go to our viewings, I pulled out the Bible and read over the scripture again - this time with more success. :)

The second one I looked at was the one for us, we wrote him a check and it was ours.

Now I had two weeks in which to pack ten years of stuff, for our move in date of November 1st.

TEN YEARS I have lived in this house.
TEN YEARS of a love hate relationship.
TEN YEARS of some of the most wonderful memories of my life.
And after TEN YEARS, one day brought it all crashing down, to a screeching halt.

We no longer felt safe in the home that had been ours and we could no longer stay there.

The man who broke into our house early Sunday morning, one week before we were scheduled to move, while the girls and I were sleeping, took all of that away from us.

He got away with little to nothing - one TV and one DVD player - but he robbed us of so much more than that.

He robbed us of our peace of mind, of our security.

My oldest daughter (who will be twelve in just a few short weeks) bore the brunt of his intrusion, as she was awake and heard him from the time he broke in until the time he ran out.

She heard it when he slammed the crowbar into our iron door in order to pry the lock.

She listened as he wrestled with getting the front door unlocked and open.

Frozen in fear she did the only thing she knew to do... She hid herself and her four year old sister (who was sleeping in her bed) under the covers as he walked around the front of our house and her room, unplugging televisions, stereos, lamps and DVD players.

She listened as he walked to the back of the house and into my room. Then she listened as he ran out of my room, after making the mistake of turning on my bedroom light and startling me awake.

I did not realize that there was someone in our house who didn't belong. I woke up mad. Mad that one of my girls had just come into my room before 6 o'clock in the morning and turned my light on - although this is not something that either of them have ever done before.

I started to lie back down and drift back off, as the man had run back into her room to get the TV that he left behind, but the dogs were barking so I got up to let them out.

Still mad at being woken up prematurely, and now I had to get up because they weren't going to stop barking until I let them out, I crawled out of the bed hollering at the one I believed to be the culprit. And I as I yelled her name towards the front of the house he decided to leave that TV and he ran out.

No one answered me, and I did not hear him run out over Drake's incessant barking. He would not go out, he wanted to go up front.

Minutes later, she came running down into the den, frantically crying and telling me that "they robbed us."

I'm in the den and I look around to find that nothing looks out of order, but we do have boxes everywhere.

I believe that she had a nightmare and that she is confused because everything is packed up, so I begin trying to calm her down and comfort her. But as I ask her questions, to understand what she's trying to tell me, and I listen to what she's saying, it starts to sink in that this wasn't a nightmare at all but something that has really happened.

I go with her to the front of the house and sure enough, the things she said he took are missing.

Needless to say, we are no longer staying in that house.
We are currently residing with my in-laws, until this weekend - at which time we will officially be in our new home.

They can have the house; along with the TV, the DVD player and whatever else he may have taken that I haven't yet noticed.

We will take what's behind door number two - a new home, in a safe neighborhood, with better schools, peace of mind, AND our lives!

Which brings me back around to telling you all the reasons that I'm thankful:

I am thankful that my children are safe and that we all lived through this experience unharmed.

I am grateful for all of the many wonderful friends who have reached out to us and offered their support.

And I am thankful to my in-laws for putting us up this week, until we can get moved.

Most of all, I am thankful that God was with us - watching after and protecting us - during our time of need.

He was there with my baby, whispering in her ear, telling her exactly what to do and letting her know when it was safe to come out.

We have talked about what happened a lot this week and she never ceases to amaze me with her unexpected wisdom.

When I told her that He was with her and that He helped to make her and her sister invisible to him, she responded to me with this:

"I know, mommy. I prayed the whole time. I kept praying and praying that you would wake up and that he would just go away. And He answered my prayer...He answered it with you. Because when you woke up and yelled he ran out."

*Sigh*

She is our heroine!!

I will be back once we get settled; until then, please take care.