Too young to know about shootings!

Amaya's quotes from the day:

1. "If you shoot somebody that's bad, will you still go to jail?"
2. "What happens to the person's money when they go to jail?"
3. "Have they caught the other two suspects yet?"
4. "So kids get spankings and time-outs, but adults have to go to jail when they do something bad?"
5. "Mom, I can't sleep. I just want to be with you."

Usually my response to this last one is simple... "Amaya, get back in bed. I have been with you all day... I'm right downstairs."

Today, we snuggled up on the couch together... and talked and kissed and hugged and talked some more. We were thankful just to be together.


I signed up the girls for a free soccer camp this week. It sounded almost too good to be true: FREE, it started at age 3, so Tennyson (theoretically) could be a part of it too, and free goods: t-shirt, water bottle, shin guards, soccer ball, and Bible.

Tennyson wasn't too interested yesterday, but Amaya had a blast, despite some disorganization on the camp's part. She was just happy to be on a team with friends from school. She's usually my laid-back morning kid, wanting to stay in her pajamas until the last possible minute. This morning, she was dressed before she even came downstairs.

What started out as a joyous morning turned out to be very frightening. About half way through the camp, there was a loud gun shot. There wasn't immediate panic... even Tennyson asked what the sound was, and I blew it off as a tire back firing. Not 30 seconds later, a lady rushed by and said, "Grab your kids. It WAS a gun shot."

We were at some soccer fields at a private school in Rockwood. In front of the fields was a Mexican Tienda where the attempted robberry occurred. The thief shot his gun while the store owner and some shoppers tried to pin him down. The altercation was less than 50 yards from the soccer fields. All 150 kids, parents, and younger siblings were shuffled to the back of the field to avoid any further danger. The soccer coaches and instructors rallied around, trying to keep kids calm.

I immediately grabbed Tennyson in my arms, shouted for Amaya, and bolted for the back forty. My next thought went to all the kids at the camp who didn't have parents standing by to grab them, comfort them, and love on them. I was grateful that I was the one explaining the situation to my children and not some other adult who only had known my kids for a few hours.

Emotions ran high. The thought of being so close to something that could have potentially turned very tragic was in the forefront of my mind. An open field. Masses of people. Desperate gunmen. Thank you, Lord, for your protection.

The gunmen was arrested by police, while two other men drove off in a 4 door white sedan. As far as I know, they have not been apprehended. I am thankful for the many circumstances that made today safer:
-A friend's husband, who is a Gresham Police Officer, decided to accompany his family to the camp on his day off. He was first on the scene, and called 911.
-Tennyson wasn't involved in her part of the camp, which allowed me to be right by Amaya when this happenned.
-T and I went to our car to get water, and returned to the field just before the gun shot rang out, which was only a few yards from our car.
-Having so many friends that were there with us. It was nice to be huddled together while we waited for the policemen to clear the parking lots. I was so thankful to have other moms and my girls' friends surrounding us. It was nice, also, to have people to debrief with during the day. Jen, Christine, Mars, Heidi, and Tricia- love you each so much (and all your kids too!)

Amaya and I have talked about this, in some way, over and over and over today. She processes through things by talking, so this is what we did. It served to be a great opportunity to talk about our sinful nature, the consequences that come with every bad decision that we make, and that God does not want us to live in fear.

I constantly remind Amaya and Tennyson to be bright lights in whatever situation they are in. We had just talked about that this morning.

For that reason, plus a few others, we are returning to the camp tomorrow. Amaya asked if it would happen again. I told her that I couldn't guarantee that. But what a good reminder for us to cover our days in prayer, and step out in faith. God will protect us. We cannot thwart his plan. We do need to continue to be bright lights, especially in a world where evil can seemingly flip the switch.