Can't sleep

It was one of those days where we left the house at 8 and didn't get back again until 8 at night.  When we got home Elizabeth noticed the auto sensor light didn't go on when we got on the back porch. I looked up at it and saw it was kiddy wampus.  That was odd. I unlocked the door and looked into the house and saw some books on the floor by the front door. Not again.  But yes. We were burglarized. Turns out all they took was the DVD player and almost all the movies. They left the laptop, iPad, iPad touch and sentimental pieces of jewelry. Mom's wedding ring was safe as were the pearl pieces from E's foster mom. Thank you Jesus. But, my room was torn apart and Ella's as well.  The iPad was  in the open in my room but ended up on the floor.

I checked the whole house and called the police. The nicest officer came and took the report as well as pictures. But they won't be able to catch who did this. This nice officer went above and beyond by helping to get the front door secured again.  He also played a few songs on our piano. All of this helped the girls to calm down. Thank you Jesus for sending a special angel.

But I can't sleep. It really bothers me that this happened again. About 6 or 7 years ago when it was just me and Elizabeth it happened. Those scumbags took more stuff. It took us awhile to feel better about coming home each night.  My guess is this time they tried to come in via the back door again but I had installed a very strong door after the last time. So they went around to the front and used a tool to break the lock and broke in.

The officer thinks they were probably only in the house for about 3-5 minutes today. I wonder if it was when I was at church while the girls were at faith formation or if it was during the day. Somehow I just think it was at night since the back porch light was broken. So I guess I should be glad I decided to hang around church instead of coming home for an hour.

I will be calling a handyman tomorrow to have the front door looked at. Right now I am so pissed I want to get a big mean dog as well as a security service. But what I will be doing is putting some of our indoor lights on a timer and will think about attaching a big dog chain to the back railing - maybe the front too.  As well as signs warning to beware of my dogs and new, stronger outdoor lights at all points of entry.

I am mad and sad. I hate that this happened again but am very thankful we are ok and that the ones this time were stupid  since they overlooked the higher value items. The laptop was in the same room where the DVD player was stolen from. What is really bothersome is we live in a good neighborhood. But I guess this can happen anywhere.

I don't know if I am going to tell my Dad so please don't say anything.

At this point I don't think I will hit publish on this entry. I just needed to get the thoughts down in hopes of sleeping. Thankfully the girls are sleeping. They both were in my bed but Ella could not get comfortable and she is in her room. It is now 1:47 am and I get up in less than 5 hours for work.

Thank you Doreen for letting me vent while we were waiting for the police. Thank you too for chatting with Ella to help her feel better and gave me time to help Elizabeth while she was crying and trying not to be scared.

I am praying that I can help my girls work through all this so they feel safe again.

Ella has the right idea - she wants to tell the robber off and let them know this was mean. I would like to do more than tell them off

11/29/12
While making lunches for the girls today I noticed items missing from the freezer and fridge.  They took the frozen pizzas and hamburger and a couple 6 packs of beer.  I am wondering if we pulled into the garage while they were in the kitchen and that is why they didn't get much.  Tomorrow I have a repair guy coming over to replace the front door and install security lights.  I am gathering information on security systems too.  I am so mad that my girls were scared this way and I need to make us feel more secure.  I also talked with the investigator today.  There has been an increase in this type of crime in our area.  There was a meeting about it at the library on Monday I guess.  I'll have to go to the next meeting but with our schedule being so easy to figure out, we need a system so the police are called right away.  There will not be a third time if I can help it. 

On the way to school Ella was asking Elizabeth how to say robber in Chinese.  So I guess there is an upside - they get to learn new words.

I also sent an email to let Officer Houa Vang's supervisor know how wonderful he was.