Fraud and QUAKES!!

WOW--lot's happenin' here in LA! The first thing that happened was that our debit card had been duplicated and used in 4 different grocery stores last week. AGH! Yah--you heard me right...DUPLICATED!! Pin and all. Just when you think swiping your debit card is safe---THINK AGAIN! Thank goodness I decided to check our bank account when I did! Turns out that fraudulent card duplicators had created a system where they could access all of our card information as we swiped it. We caught it in time, and we were able to get the money returned to our account. WHEW!

Then, on Sunday, right after conference...I was sitting in my chair by the computer, and my chair began to rock around. I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking that maybe I was dizzy and that I just needed to clear my head, but that didn't fix a thing! I called out to Hunter, who was in the kitchen, and I asked him if he was feeling the same thing. Sure enough--he was, too! He told me to grab Sterling and get outside to the other kids. As we all stood in silence, we watched as our neighbor's tree continued to shake. It felt like a snake was swirling beneath our feet. Once the tremor stopped, Hunter and I stared at each other in stunned fear. What would we do if the quake had been worse? What had we forgotten to do to prepare for such an event? What would happen if our family wasn't together? I could tell that Hunter was thinking all the same things.

When we felt it was again safe to go inside, we flipped on the news...and SURE enough...BREAKING NEWS 7.2 earthquake. Then, more breaking news...5.1 aftershock near Malibu/Santa Monica--just miles from our city. AGH!!!! Sacramento had been hit, too.

I had such a jolt of adrenaline running through me that I had to call my immediate family members. I'm not totally sure why, as I had nothing to report, really. But, I was scared! Unfortunately, I hadn't masked it well enough, and the children were, too. Both Cody and Amber were pretty shaken up, and we had only experienced a small rumble--in comparison to those in San Diego--and of course, those who were closer to Baha California, Mexico--where the earthquake had actually originated. The reports said that we had only felt a "1", whereas, those in Mexico felt the full 7.2! SCARY! These natural disasters are so OUT OF OUR CONTROL that you just don't know when they are going to hit or how bad they are going to be. Michelle (my sister-in-law) and my mother both asked, "So, would you prefer tornadoes or earthquakes?" With tornadoes, we had some warning with sirens and news flashes. There are no warnings with earthquakes. Basements can be a place of safety when tornadoes hit. NO PLACE is safe when an earthquake hits. I, therefore, would prefer tornadoes. Actually--I would prefer NO disasters!! BUT--that seems to be unrealistic anymore :-(.

Is there anywhere that's safe? We've been discussing where we want to finish up raising our kiddos. We've talked a lot about the pros and cons of living and raising children in LA. Good schools are like liquid gold here. I've considered homeschooling the kids once they get to junior high--as I hear the public schools have a lot to be desired here. Mariah and I have already discussed her options for schooling next year, as junior high begins in 6h grade here. Mariah is also the only LDS gal in her entire grade! So is Amber, and Cody has just one other little boy who is LDS in his grade. It really does make a difference for these youngsters when they are unable to cling to others who believe as they do. Fortunately, there are many wonderful families of other faiths here, but it's a struggle for the kids to find good friends. There are so many more things that come into play with the area in which you live when your children are so affected by it. I want what's best for my kids--even if that means homeschooling or moving. We'll have to see what happens.