I'm Armed. . .and dangerous!

I have to start this post out about something that happened last night. Gary and I were in bed talking when we heard a thump that was pretty loud. Our kids often hit things in their sleep and talk in their sleep. There have been times where they actually yell in their sleep. Most of the time, the yelling is directed at a sibling they must be fighting with in their dream. Well, last night we hear this bang and I think nothing of it because it doesn't sound out of the ordinary. Gary, on the other hand, was concerned. We stopped talking and listened for a while and then continued our conversation. Well about 3 minutes later, Gary interrupts me to tell me he thinks someone is in our home. I guess he had heard more noise that I didn't pick up on. So I jokingly told him he better get his gun. Well, He gets up with his flashlight and walks over to the door. Then he comes back, gets his gun, loads it and continues out our door. I watch from our bed as he quietly goes down the hall and checks on the kids. Then he starts walking down the stairs. It was somewhat comical to watch because it was like out of a movie the way he was using his flashlight and his gun. Anyway, I say a prayer that we will be kept safe and that Gary will be safe if their is an intruder. I have these wonderful images of him being shot and killed in our home and dealing with him gone, dealing with the possibility of the police blaming me-with this thought I start thinking of friends that would testify to our marriage being solid and testifying for my character, silly I know-and then I think about what I will do if he is shot and how I can protect all my children in different rooms and where his cell phone is in case I need to call 9-1-1. I wasn't really worried that anyone was in our home. First of all, we don't have anything worth stealing; second, we don't have any money; and third, the doors were all locked before bed and so were the windows. So I lay there in bed as he patrols the house and I am thinking I will just fall asleep when suddenly Gary says, "HELLO?" in a very loud voice. It was in the stairwell, but it was so unexpected that it jolted me awake and I couldn't get my heart to slow down for a bit. Turns out, no one was in our house. Gary came back to bed after putting the gun away and I let him know how he had scared me. He apologized. I just hope no one ever tries to break into our home. I don't think Gary would hesitate shooting someone that endangered his family. So please don't ever come over and "Surprise" us in the night. Always call ahead and knock when you come!