Spring Break Excitement

Ah, spring break!  I use the term "spring" loosely here since the first few days were icy and freezing!!  I was not off that week, but the kiddos and Branson were.  We usually don't plan any trips for spring break mainly because I try to save my days off for the summer.  Anyway, I did spend a day at home after I woke up with a migraine that made me sick to my stomach.

That day, we had a bit of excitement...our house was almost broken into.  It doesn't seem like that big of a deal now, now that more time has passed, but I was terrified.  I kind of pride myself of being pretty tough, take-charge-in-the-face-of-danger kind of person, but you honestly do not know how you will react in that situation until you're there.

Around 10:30 ish in the morning, the girls were watching cartoons (did I mention it was FREEZING outside??) and I was in my sewing room, petting fabric, trying to feel better.  Dayna was heading to a b-day party around noon, so Branson was out getting a gift card and running a few errands.  Two men pulled into the drive way, one got out and came to the front door.  Mind you, the girls and I are in pj's, the lamps are on because it was so overcast/dark outside, and the TV was on.  One guy rattled the front windows a few times, I'm guessing checking for a dog? or to see if someone would come to the door?  I don't go to the door for people I don't know, especially in my pj's!  Anyway, he got back in his car and they left.

A few minutes later, they came back, backing their car into the driveway.  I told the girls to go to the bathroom and lock the door, keep quiet, do NOT come out for any reason.  Honestly, I wanted to hide in there too!!  I ran back to the window in our laundry room, saw the back of the car, and ran to the counter to write down the license plate number.  I have no idea what made me do that.  I called Branson at this point, told him I thought someone was trying to break in and he told me to get off the phone and call the police!  Well, sure, DUH!  Before I could dial, I heard the screen of my back kitchen window being cut by a box-cutter.  My stomach dropped.  I went to the kitchen drawer and got out the only weapon I could think of....my Pampered Chef meat lifters.  Those suckers are heavy and look like mini pitchforks.  I went right up to the window he was trying to get into and screamed "I'm calling the police!!!"  Thankfully, it scared the crap out of him and his buddy and they ran.  I don't know how I had the seconds that I had, he should have broken the window by the time I got there.  Maybe he was taking his time, trying to be quiet, or maybe he thought he heard me talking?  I don't know, but THANK GOD he stopped trying to come in.  He is a lucky guy too....because that meat lifter was ready to sink into his chest.

I called the police after I yelled and they got to my house in a few minutes.  We have 2 deputies that live on our street which helped response time.  About the time they showed up, I remembered the girls.  I was so caught up in just keeping those guys out that I couldn't think about them.  They were so good!!  They stayed quiet, Emma took her kindle fire into the bathroom and was emailing her friends, which kind of cracks me up!  I don't think they really knew what was going on until they came out.  I am so proud of them!

I didn't cry until Branson got home, and only then I just got a bit hysterical......until I saw Dayna about to lose it.  She is a sympathetic crier and cries every. single. time she sees me cry, so I held it together.

Branson left the house with the girls, took Dayna to her party, and brought home a shotgun.  I didn't want to leave the house unattended, so I stayed behind.  Brave?  Nope, just didn't want my stuff getting stolen!  Cuz I just KNEW the first thing they would try to take was my sewing machine!! Or my OOP, HTF, VHTF collection of fabrics!  Here we are, a week later, and the criminals were arrested yesterday while trying to break into another house about 10 miles away, idiots.

The deputy in my neighborhood told us that bands of burglars have been really hitting our town hard.  LOTS of break-ins, random selection, different men but all connected together.  They are connecting with each other on Facebook, of all things, posting about what streets are good to hit, if people are home, etc.  They are selling the stolen goods on FB too, avoiding pawn shops, which makes catching them so much harder.  Our sheriff department has a few undercover deputies that have friended these people on FB and have been able to track their movements.  I'ts just crazy....stuff I had never even thought of until last week.

If you're still reading, sorry for the long post!! The only crafty photos I have for this post is to show what I was working on the rest of the day, after all the excitement...ruffled zipper pouches!  We are having a ladies meeting at church the first weekend in April and I have a vendor table....so I made about 35-40 pouches for the event!  I've got about a week left and still have so much to do, but super excited!