You're all sitting there wondering why. Well, we went to bed around 10:50 (a pretty good time, which would usually allow for almost 8 hours if we get up and get to work on time). However, I just couldn't fall asleep. I sat there thinking, and then realized that I couldn't remember if I had locked our front door. I got up and checked - it was locked. I went back to bed hoping that would help me sleep a bit. So I just lay there for a while with my eyes closed trying to relax. But I couldn't! At least not for a little while. Well, just as I felt like I was about to fall asleep...
our doorbell rang.
I was very tired, and annoyed that whoever it was had kept me from falling asleep, so when Kimberly woke up and asked me if someone just rang the doorbell I said "Yes, but I'm not answering it". I just hoped that it was either a mistake or something and the people would just leave.
Then I heard voices outside our window, and that's when I felt fear. I felt like something was wrong, and so I got up again and walked into our living room. Kimberly got up and whispered "Don't answer the door!" I wasn't planning to. We have a little deck with a porch light on it, and we usually turn it on at night, but for some reason we hadn't last night. I heard a sound of metal on metal outside and so I crept up to the porch door, (the blinds were shut) and turned on the light. At that moment, a shadow appeared right in front of me on our blinds, but it quickly moved away from the light. I stood there, frozen, in disbelief at what I had just seen. There had been someone standing just on the other side of that door from me! The lock on that door isn't very secure and it has always worried me. I'm guessing that other people figured that it might be an easy lock to break in through! We called the police to let them know what had happened. An officer came and told us that someone else in our complex had answered their door and the person just walked in! He didn't tell us what the person did after entering, but I'm sure it wasn't nice. It seems like these people were going around ringing doorbells to see if people were home and if not their plan was to break in through the porch. Needless to say, I was a little shaken up at this point, and I didn't have an easy time falling asleep after that.
As I look back on what happened last night, I realize how blessed we were. 1. When we first moved in, we had a meeting in our ward during which we discussed neighborhood safety. The man who spoke talked about ways to avoid break-ins. He mentioned that if you hear someone outside your home, the best thing to do is turn on a light to let them know you're home. Usually this will scare them away. 2. I think it's interesting that I was very tired, but I couldn't fall asleep. I wonder how differently I would have acted if I had fallen asleep, or if I would have heard the doorbell at all, or been awake enough to think to turn on the light. 3. I was grateful I had gotten up to check that the door was locked because I probably would have been more freaked out and would have gone to the front door to do that first and that might have given the people a chance to break in through the porch. 4. Nothing happened (no damages, nothing was stolen, no one was hurt, etc.) but it heightened our awareness and helped me realize ways that we can improve the security of our home.
It was a scary night, and I didn't sleep much, but I'm so grateful for a loving, protective Heavenly Father who guides us even when we don't know what we're doing.
On a brighter note, we went to Idaho Falls this last weekend for Kimberly's friend's wedding and reception. After the temple ceremony, we walked around on the bridges. We asked a passer-by to take our picture with my phone. She happened to be a photographer, and offered to take some with her own! Her website is here and her blog (where you'll see our pictures) is here.
Or, if you don't care to visit her site, here are the two she posted:
