The last few days the boys have been down with stomach illness so it was semi early to bed this evening. R.C. has been busily reading and doing other work from the comfort (and quiet) of the bedroom and I was looking forward to taking some tylenol, curling up on the couch and watching a movie until I fell asleep this evening.

Well...that did not happen.

Actually, it sort of did. The boys were in bed snoring, R.C. was in the bedroom working and I was on the couch getting ready to watch a movie. I was just beginning to feel warm and comfortable and minutes away from falling asleep when I was startled by a car squealing it's tires as it drove quickly away and then a loud (LOUD) pop that shook the house. My first thought was...hmmm...is that what a gun shot sounds like? I decided to play it safe (and cool) and act like nothing happened, but when R.C. called from the bedroom and asked what that noise was, I though maybe I should peek over the back of the couch and investigate. To my surprise, as I looked toward the 3 windows that face the street, I saw a flickering that didn't seem quite right and I automatically jumped from the couch to open the window and investigate. Upon opening the blinds I found that a car was completely up in flames RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE!! I immediately called 911, while R.C. tried to rouse the boys. The fire was so intense, close, and hot that we felt it was in our best interest to get out of the house. All the neighbors were outside as well, so the boys and I, and one of the girls from upstairs, went to another neighbors house to stay warm until things calmed down a bit. Everyone was thinking the same thoughts...this was no accident.

The car has been raising suspicion for weeks now with the neighbors and ourselves. Fancy Mercedes car. Young "suspicious" guys driving it. They park it on our street, but they don't live here...all the neighbors have wondered why it is always there. Lots of dings and dents in it...if you were to spend big money on a Mercedes wouldn't you try to keep it nice....or.....maybe it's stolen??? Hmmmm??

After spending some time at the neighbors, holding the new baby, and discussing what had just happened, we got the ok from the firemen that we could go back home. The boys were still in a daze so they went back to bed quickly, but I found myself glued to the window watching the firemen try to extinguish the flames, take notes and pictures, and finally tow the car away.

There is one person in this house who will not be sleeping tonight. Thankfully R.C. was home tonight and not in the studio working. I don't know how I would have handled a drive by (for lack of a better word) car bombing 15 feet from my front door if I was here alone. We were told that a detective may come tomorrow to talk about what we saw/heard so that could be interesting.