Part 4:

The phone wakes us at 6:30 in the morning. I do not get up that early on a work day, far less after the longest day of my life. My wife looks over at the caller ID and tells me it is WIBC radio from here in Indianapolis. Fine, I will take the call. After reminding the caller that it is really early, I proceed to tell the story again, practically asleep. If you heard it (I did not) I am sure I sounded like I felt. After the call, my wife and I lie in bed and continue to talk through what happened. The people, all of the places God was so involved. Phone, keys, person getting lost....It is too long of a list.

Around 7:15 I call the office and this is when I first hear about being in the paper. They understand I will be out for a few days but almost seem in disbelief. Not of me and my story but that I have such a story at all. A call from my wife's work and with it info that we are not just in the paper, we are on the front page. As she tells me that, I ask the ever important question. "Above the fold?" Yes, we are the top story.

Next a call to Firestone about the Trailblazer. $158.95 to get a new tire. This poses a bit of a problem in that we have canceled all of our credit cards and put a hold on our checking account. My wife's father had left one hundred dollars and if needed we could go to the bank, deal with all of the hassle and get the money before getting the car. At about 8:00 we head downstairs and it starts.

The phones are ringing. A lot!

My cell and our land line. Eric, Jane, Megan, Scott, the list is incredible. Friends that I had seen Saturday night to friends we have not talked to in years. Everyone wanted to make sure we were ok, see if they could do anything, come to grips with the fact this happened to a friend. I have said many times that this seemed like the kind of thing that not only never happens to you, it does not happen to someone you know.

One of the calls is from a sweet woman who tells me she lives right by where this happened and when she read the story in the paper she just felt she had to do something for the boys. She politely asks if she and the pastor from her church can come by about 10:30 with some toys for the boys and a gift for us. Of course.

Though this all, the kindness of others has been amazing.

She arrives with stuffed animals, match box trucks and cars and a card for my wife and I. After the boys tear into the gifts and we talk for a moment, we say a prayer and they are gone. Inside the envelope is $60. God has now provided for us $160 for the $158.95 tire we need. He is amazing.

At around 11:30 I decide to head for the bank and begin to deal with everything. New account, new debit cards, etc. As I am standing in line, Inside Edition calls my cell. As I talk to them, the tellers are picking up parts of what I am saying and the looks in there eyes is now one with which I am becoming used to. Shock. Awe. Fear. Amazement.

John at the bank has not watched the news or seen the paper so when I tell him I need to get a new account, he asks why I think that might be necessary. He got the short version as we started working on changing things over. Inside Edition calls again and want to do the story that day and get an exclusive. I am not comfortable with the exclusive part because I feel this is a story about how great God is and I want to tell everyone. After consulting my friend, I agree to the interview but not the exclusive. Ok, they will there that night. A call later and they will be there Tuesday at 10:00. Ok, see you then.

After lunch we pile into the Acura, I guess facing one of the many hurdles we will try to get over in the coming days and weeks. Back into the car that 24 hours earlier had been stolen with the boys in back. I feel weird. There is still some dust from the crimelab where they had lifted prints the night before. Same for the steering wheel. Loaded in the car with the doors locked, we back out of the garage. Hurdle cleared.

The Trailblazer is on the lot at Firestone and after paying, we are off to check it out. I had looked at the door at the scene, but now I could really look at it. I felt sick to my stomach. The first hole was so far forward in the door and you can see the angle of it through the console (thanks Tammy) and where it hit me. There is blood on the seat. My blood. The 4 year old looks at it and asks if that is mine from my buttocks. Sure is buddy I smile, so proud of how brave they have both been through all of this. It is now that I remember that the camera is in the Acura packed in with the stuff for the swim party. Might as well get a few pictures.

Bullet hole in the door. From the inside. In the console. Out of the console. Where it exited the console. A picture with the boys pointing to the holes. Family keepsakes. I will try to post them later. As the bullet went through the console, it his a tin of Altoids pretty clean. Regular hole in and big exit of shredded metal. It provides a very graphic image of the shooting.

From here we are off to Pedigo Chevrolet, which is where we bought the car and is also approved by my insurance. After dropping the car off, we are heading back to my car to head for home when my wife says, "Should we go see if Stan is here?" Stan is not only the guy that sold us the car but he lives in our neighborhood. I am confident he has heard about what happened. As we walk in, I feel what it is like to be known. A few of the people stop to look, one just asks if we are ok. Stan has the look of a father that cannot believe such a thing can happen two blocks from his house.

He asks how we are doing and I tell him a lie and say we are fine. The car is here to get fixed and he asks if we need a car. I said yes, for a few days until we can figure out how long the other car will....Before I can finish he turns to one of the other guys standing around looking at us, verifying that it really is the guy from the paper/TV/radio. Three guys take off and in 5 minutes Stan hands me the keys to a 2006 Trailblazer with dealer plates and tells me to keep it until the other car is fixed. God put Stan in our lives in August when we bought that car and realized he lives around the corner. We had no idea when we walked in six months ago. Stan apologizes for it being a little low on fuel. Are you kidding? Another great person in all of this.

At home there are eight or nine messages on the machine and they are almost all the same.

"Hi, it's _________ and I just wanted to call and make sure you guys are ok. I saw/read/heard about what happened and just wanted to let you know that if there is anything you guys need, please do not hesitate to ask. When things calm down, please call. Bye."

Monday night we go out for dinner and I think that people are looking at me different. In reality, I am looking at them different trying to see if they are looking at me different and that makes them look at me differently. Clear on that?!

That night I sleep for a only a few hours, the image of the car racing down the driveway with my boys in the back and my wife's screams keep sleep away for hours. We plan to spend Tuesday doing little, after the interview in the morning that is, getting back to the bank and whatever other things God may have planned for us.