Home Invasion...

It has been a crazy week.  My brother is home from NY for a couple weeks so we decided to camp out at my parent's house last week. I decided it was finally time to come home on Thursday afternoon so that I could repack for our trip up north for this weekend. The kids and I packed up and headed home. Things didn't work out as expected.

I unlocked the front door and upon walking in saw the house was trashed. Things were tipped over all over the place, and the TV was gone from the wall. After frantically trying to call Josh and not getting through, I called my dad who said to get out of the house immediately and call the police. I got back in the car where the kids were still sleeping from the drive home. Upon leaving I noticed a business card from the police re: home invasion. I called the number on the card, she told me the officer was off duty and confirmed that a break-in happened at my house on Tuesday night.  Right after hanging up my phone, my neighbor stopped in. She said she was the one that reported it. Praise God that she did.  She said that on Tuesday night around 10pm she heard a loud noise like something was being broken. She didn’t think much of it, but watched for awhile out her window because she thought it was strange. She then saw a man walk around the side of our house. She called the police and reported it at this point. I am so thankful for her; she is truly a wonderful neighbor.

Later Thursday night, a police officer stopped by my house to see if we were home. He had us fill out a statement. He said that he was there on Tuesday night. His men had a unmarked car down the street and saw 2 guys carrying a TV out of our house.  They went after them, the guys dropped the TV, and went running. The police caught one of the three men.  The officer said there were the TVs, dvd player, Xbox, etc. hidden behind stuff all over our yard when they got there. They recovered what they could. I am still missing some jewelry, saving bonds, cash, and who knows what.

My house was a mess and I had cleaned the whole thing before I left for my parents. (Yes, that was one of the first things that went though my head as I walked in the house- "What? I just cleaned!". I know- sad, but true.) They had oveturned my mattress onto the floor, ransacked my dresser drawers, and threw my jewelry boxes all over, overturned my entertainment center and strew the cubicles around the floor....stuff was just everywhere. There was dirt all over the place and dirty finger prints. Our basement window was broken and there was glass everywhere.  By the way, anyone have any referrals for basement window repair?

And this was after I picked up the entertainment center and some of the bins...

My poor dresser and jewelry. :(

Tight fit for a grown man to squeeze through this window- ouch!

I honestly still feel shell shocked.  We have been so busy that I don't even feel like I can begin to process. We have barely started the insurance and police stuff. I know we have to figure out the claim information and that at some point I will have to testify against the 1 guy they caught. I am dreading both. In some way the words used on the police card fit it best: home invasion. It is an invasion. An invasion of my home, my sense of safety, my trust in people, my life. Praise God that He promises peace, hope, and safety even in the midst of trials.