Night Two

Night two of babysitting:

{In case you missed yesterday's post, click here.}

Background information: You need to know that at this house, every time you open an outside door, there is a voice that says, "Garage door opening." And you can hear it throughout the house. Just remember that for later.

Soooo I went back the next night a little nervous. I mean wouldn't you be nervous if the kid had thrown a home phone at your head?

That's what I thought.

The night was going pretty smoothly. I had Four in the bed. Seven and Nine were cuddling with me as I read them a book. We were just about done with the story and I was about to put them to bed.

All of a sudden, the power went off. Immediately after the lights went out, the door voice went off. Only I couldn't hear what it said.

Naturally, my first thought was

"Oh my word. Someone just cut off the power and broke into the house."

No joke. My heart was pounding.

To make matters worse, all three children are terrified of the dark. Like they sleep with their lights on because they just can't handle it. So you can imagine how upset they were.

I tried to get the kids to be silent. I told them that we didn't want to wake up Four. Really, I just didn't want the (possible) intruders to know we were in the house. I'd rather stay alive, thank you very much.

Fortunately, earlier that day I had seen a flashlight laying in the floor of Nine's room. I had picked it up and told her, "Let's turn this off. We don't want the battery to run out."
Praise the Lord I had seen this. I know that was such a God thing.

I picked up Nine and Seven (who wouldn't let go of me for anything) and started walking slowly to Nine's room. We were being super quiet and then Four started crying. Of course then I was thinking, "Oh goodness. The intruders know we're here now. I'm going to die. The kids are going to die. The parents are going to kill me."

We got the flashlight and ran to Four's room. I shut the door and went to lock it. Oh but wait. The door locks from the outside. Now I was thinking, "Someone is coming to get us and I have no way to stop them."

At this point, I was stuck in a bedroom that wouldn't lock with one flashlight and three kids who are scared of the dark. And no phone to call for help.

I realized that I had to somehow make it to the living room to get my phone. (Where was that darn home phone when you needed it?)

The only problem was that the kids didn't want to stay by themselves. The only way I could get my phone was if they came with me. I stuck my head out the door to see if I could see/hear anyone. It was pitch black so that was to no avail. We started walking slowly to the living room. I was praying the entire time, "Lord, don't let someone get us. I have no way to protect myself or these kids. Please keep us safe" over and over again.

While we were walking, I made sure all the doors were locked. Nothing was open so I started to calm down. Maybe no one had broken in after all. I got my phone, texted the mother, and then called my mom.

She was freaking out. What are the chances that something bad would happen again with these kids?!

The next five hours consisted of me getting the kids to sleep (by telling them we were having a sleepover), assuring the mom we were okay, praying no one was in the house, and trying to stay awake.

Right before the parents got home, the power came back on. I did a quick walk-through of the house to make sure we were alone. Praise the Lord there were no intruders. The parents came home and were so amazed that I had gotten the kids to sleep in all that craziness.

Suffice it to say, those were two of the most eventful nights of my life. And I got a HUGE bonus for all the stress I went through.

If I learned anything about myself in those two nights of babysitting, it's that I handle myself extremely well in a crisis. Let's just hope I don't have to deal with this again. One time was enough.