Sunday Evening Fun and a Scary Story

People often ask me what do we do for fun living so far from town. I have to remind them that it only takes 25 minutes to get to town so it isn't like we can't go if when we want to. Truth be told, I would rather stay at home and play here. Sunday evening we decided to set up a gun range in our backyard. Michael brought out the clay pigeon thrower and we each had a turn. Michael taught a friend how to aim and shoot. (We asked permission from her parents first). She was a little intimidated, but she was willing to try none the less.

Here father and son are taking aim at the clay pigeons. We spend time with our children and guns so that they are not something mysterious to our kids. Michael teaches the kids about gun safety each and every time he gets them out to shoot. Our kids feel comfortable around the guns, but they also have a high respect for them.

I too enjoy shooting. I haven't done it as much as I would like these last few years. Perhaps I can change that in the next year. My dad taught me gun safety and how to shoot when I was around 12. I was thankful for this education because I knew if I needed it I would at least be familiar with a gun.

When Michael and I had been married just a few years, he was stationed in upstate New York. He worked nights and I was home alone often. One night around 8:00p.m. I was on the phone long distance with my dad. During our conversation, our cocker spaniel kept barking and barking. I usually would have just let him out the door, but we had a skunk in the neighborhood earlier that week so I kept telling the dog to be quiet. After about an hour, I hung up the phone and picked the dog up to sit down to watch t.v. We were sitting on the couch and out of the corner of my eye I saw a man. My dog knew this man had been there the whole time. He was waiting for me to open the door and let the dog out of the house. He had been there waiting for at least an hour. My heart sank and I immediately walked upstairs. I didn't want the man to know that I had seen him so I tried to act casual. As soon as I hit the bedroom door, I quickly found Michael's shot gun. I prayed that I was loading it correctly because I had never shot this particular gun. I knew I had to go downstairs to call 911 because we didn't have a phone upstairs. As I was walking down the stairs I was prepared to defend myself if need be. I saw the man, but more importantly he saw that I had the gun. I crawled under my kitchen table grasping the gun praying that this man would just leave, and I spent almost 30 minutes on the phone with the 911 operator. Do you know what that man could have done in 30 minutes time? When the police officer arrived, the man was gone. I don't know what would have happened that night had I not had my husband's gun there. I will never know, but I do know one thing. I will always have a way to protect myself if need be. I also want to give that same gift to each and every one of our kids.

grace and peace,

julie