Who Do the Courts Protect Anyways?

Yesterday was a very stressful, enlightening day for me. I was asked to appear in Federal Court to give a statement against a guy who shot at us....well, sorta. It all started almost a year ago.



My girlfriends and I meet each Tuesday night for a time of Bible Study and prayer. However, the week of April 10, 2008 we decided to meet on a Thursday night because of scheduling conflicts. Boy, was that a mistake! As we were studying about spiritual warfare and how Satan works to keep us away from growing closer to the Lord, we heard what sounded like a gun shot. We kinda paused and looked at each other as we heard it again. Just as we were trying to figure out if that actually was gun shots, fireworks, or a car back-firing, we heard two more shots. The last shot hit the house we were at (owned by two of my single girlfriends). It was super loud and the house shook! Obviously, we all ducked to the floor in terror, not sure of what was going on. I had Payton, barely a month old, in my arms and my girlfriend had her 6 month old in her arms. After laying on the floor and calling 911, Marta and I decided to run upstairs with the crying babies so we weren't by any windows or exterior walls. A couple of minutes later, the police showed up down the street, blocked the street, and hot shotguns pulled on a house. They arrested a guy and then came to get our statements. They informed us the bullet went through the exterior wall upstairs. As we went to look, the bullet had come all the way through the wall and lodged in a mattress that was laying on the floor. If the bullet had been about 6 ft lower it would have definatley hit one of us girls. It was truely a terrifying night.



Well, we hadn't heard anything else of this case until last week. Turns out, the guy was already a felon (had three previous records of being in possesion of a weapon or misconduct with a weapon) and was found guilty in Dec. of being a felon in possession of a weapon. The Federal Proesecuting Attorneys asked us if we would come in a give a statement at his sentencing of how this experience was terrifying and how it has affected us. They were hoping our statements would help convice the judge to give him the maximum time allotted for this crime.



So, we met with the attorney and ATF Investigator yesterday, and then went to court in the afternoon. We found out during our meeting that this guy has some mental health issues and is very paranoid. Appearantly he's into the "gangsta wrap scene" and he was shooting at a car driving past his house. He said they were reaching for a gun so he shot at them and it accidentaly hit our house...bad aim I guess! The court experience itself was very intimidating because his wife, sister, mom and dad were all sitting just down the row from us! And let me tell you, he was a scrawny white guy, but I know his black wife could take me without even trying!



We each gave our statements and an hour later, the judge pretty much let the guy have it for being so stupid. He acknowledged that he needed help for his mental health issues, but he found him competent enough to make the choice to NOT be around firearams and to not shoot at people...he explained that's what the police are for! :)

Here's the kicker for me. The guy received the maximum penalty...41 months (3 1/2 years) in a federal prison (they don't allow parole in fed. prisons) followed by 3 years of supervised parole. What the heck? 3 1/2 years is the MAXIMUM for someone who has THREE previous records and now this?? When the police searched his house, they found the gun his used, plus a stolen shotgun and an "oozie" behind the washing machine. He was charged with only being in "possession" of the gun he shot with because of lack of evidence to prove he was in "possession" of the other two guns. Hello.....does anyone else find that disheartening?? The other guns were at HIS house, being hidden behind a washing machine, and he KNEW they were there....yet they can't call that being in possession? Oh my goodness! If he had been found in possession of the other two guns, the MINIMUM prison sentence would have STARTED at 92 months....does anyone else see a problem with this?

I have lost some faith in our judicial system. How many times should a person be allowed to misuse a weapon before they are locked up for more than 3 1/2 years? He (and the community) have been lucky in the past....how many more "lucky" situations do there need to be?

I am just so thankful the Lord was protecting my friends, my daughter, and myself when he decided to be so wreckless and stupid! I hope it's a long 3 1/2 years for him!

Silly Pictures

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was hoping to upload a short video of Payton learning to walk. But the video is in HD and too big to upload. So, you'll just have to take my word for it that she is walking....or at least starting to try! :) And if you have any tricks on uploading videos (April) then please fill me in! :)

I was looking through pictures on the computer tonight to find some to print. Here are a few silly ones that made me smile.

This is about the best picture I have of Payton lately. When she sees the camera, she normally attacks it before I can get a picture! My big girl will be one next week....where has the time gone?!

Preston found this sheep sleep mask that came with a blanket my mom gave me from Bath and Body Works. I've never used the mask, but he has put it to good use! I don't think he has ever actually slept with it on, but he sometimes puts it on the top of his head at bedtime. Hey, whatever works, right? :)

My two monsters wrestling together. Payton doesn't look overly happy, but she was actually laughing. They love wrestling together...at least for a couple of minutes at a time. I keep telling Pres to be careful because one day she will be throwing him to the ground!


This was from our trip to Texas in January. My mom busted out the sewing machine to patch a few things (including some pants for me since I have no clue how to sew). I peeked in to see what these two were up to, and this is what I found. Notice the glasses from the 70's my mom is sporting and I think Preston has on a pair of my dad's reading glasses he had found.

Just so you believe we actually DO have moose here in Alaska. I took this about a month or so ago outside our front window. The poor moose have a hard time finding enough food during the winter and head for our trees and bushes. I always love watching them.

My two "fix it" guys. These are actually safety glasses that came with Preston's nerf gun game that didn't go over so well (see a previous post about Christmas). But he likes to wear them when he "helps" daddy. This pictures was taken while "they" were installing our new tile kitchen floor. Preston had to make sure daddy had his safety goggles on! :)

I truely believe God blesses us with children and uses them to bring smiles to our faces and joy to our hearts....most of the time anyways! :)

Payton

Well, my sweet little "Peiwei" (that's her nickname....after the restaurant!) is starting to walk. She is so cute and so proud of herself! The last couple of weeks she has been standing a ton and trying to take a step or two. She is getting good at balancing too. A few days ago she started taking 3 or 4 steps from Darron to me and back. But the last couple of days she is intentionally walking! She will stand up and walk towards something that she wants. She can usually make 5-10 very slow, methodical steps before falling. Sometimes she gets back up, other times she just crawls. But it is cute! She claps for herself too! :) Adorable.

I tried to post a video tonight of her walking, but the video is in HD and it took to long to load. If finally timed out or something. I'll try to post it again tomorrow, along with some cute pictures, so check back!

My Sweet Boy

So, Preston told me today that I am his "favorite mommy in the whole world!" Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Hey Pres, you get a surprise tonight, do you want to know what it is?

Preston: (Deep breath in) REALLY? No, I don't wanna know. (5 sec later) Okay, tell me, I wanna know!

Me: Well, daddy is going to take you to our church tonight. There's a new Veggies Tales movie that you get to watch and you're friends will be there and you'll get to eat hot dogs and chips and popcorn! What do you think?

Preston: (In a VERY excited voice) Yeah, that will be SO fun! (Runs and jumps on me as I'm laying in the floor...bear hugs me and says....) You're my most favorite mommy in the whole world!

Man, I'm so glad my sweet little boy is so easy to please. And I'm glad our church had a free movie and hot dog night so I could be declared Preston's favorite mommy. Oh, the small joys in life! :) Don't you just love being a mom?? What a life changing blessing....

Trip to Texas

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. I've kind of been in a funk lately. I've wanted to get stuff done, but I've been tired and not motivated to do much. Then of course all of my favorite shows are on during the week and they all have to be two hour episodes. So once the kids are in bed....I've been vegging.

Anyways, if you are on Facebook, you may have already seen some of these. Thought I'd post a few of my favorites from our trip home. We've been home just over a week and Preston and I are already wanting to go back! He talks about Maggie and Peepaw daily and still talks about the "fair" (aka Stock Show) and fishing at Peepaw's. It was a wonderful trip and the end of May won't be here soon enough!

Darron and I woke up early with Preston our last Saturday in town. We decided he was finally old enough and ready for the introduction of Krispy Kream Doughnuts. He was amazed as he watched them make the doughnuts. After 1 1/2, we had to stop him because we knew the tummy ache would soon be following. It was a wonderful morning! :)

We were able to enjoy a nice dinner at a GREAT Mexican Food Restaurant with my long time friend Kelli and her family. It was SOOO good to eat together and get caught up. I miss her so much. Her little girl Maya took great care of Preston. I think he developed a little crush! We ate outside on the patio and dinner would have been perfect if it hadn't been for that cold front that decided to literally blow in during dinner! :) Thanks for making us feel at home guys!

It was in the high 70's one afternoon so Darron and I got Chick-Fil-A and took the kids to the park. We had such a great time together. As you can see, the swings were Payton's favorite. I can't wait until summer time. In Alaska, you can't go to the playground during the winter because of the cold and snow. It Texas, you HAVE to go during the winter, because in the summer it's too hot and you'll burn yourself on the slides and swings! :)


Peepaw, Darron, and Preston fished off the dock everyday. They didn't catch any fish until the last morning when they went to put away the fishing poles. To their surprise, they had a 9 pound catfish waiting for them (thanks to a jug line that had blown under the dock). Preston was so excited about his fish! He thought the funnies part was when the fish started peeing everywhere!



Peepaw and Payton hanging out. See where she gets her looks from?

Preston and Maggie making a cake together. He loves "helping" in the kitchen.

The gang at the Ft. Worth Stock Show. This was at the end of the day when we were ready to leave. We had a great time seeing all of the animals and walking around. Preston and Payton loved it. They both sacked out as soon as we were in the car.

Preston has been wanting Cowboy boots for several months (I think he saw another little boy wearing them at church one day...yes, even in Alaska). When we decided to go the the Stock Show, we knew it was time for Preston's first pair of boots and hat. Maggie and Peepaw bought him his boots and hat and he fell in love with them. The hat hasn't gotten worn much since we've been back in Alaska, but the boots are a favorite! Thanks Maggie and Peepaw!

By the way, I saved these pictures from my Facebook account and then uploaded them on here. Is that why they're so small? Hmmm....guess I won't do that again.