The time I got kidnapped.....

Before you get too excited about the title I need to clarify one thing.  Yes it is true, I found myself kidnapped at one point in my life, but I was not a kid and it was not by a gross man wanting to do gross things!  This is more of a "I can't believe that really happened to you!  Even more, I can't believe you let that happen to you!" kind of a story. 

Because it is such a long story, I am going to break it down over a few posts.  We'll see how many it takes.

The time I got kidnapped: Part I

3 weeks after having my third child, my husband and I took our family on one of my favorite adventures.  We moved to Oregon.  We didn't know a soul, but we were excited.  We stayed in a rented condo for a month while we looked for and purchased our home.  I had found a home that would be perfect for us.  The neighborhood was clean and nice.  There were kids everywhere for my kids to play with.  But best of all, I could finally feel the end of a whirlwind in sight.  Keep in mind I had just sold and packed up a house while pregnant and moved with a newborn.  I was ready for some stability.

We hadn't been sure exactly how long we would be in the condo looking for our new home, but I had only unpacked the bare minimum and had the moving company deliver a futon, our mattresses, some kitchen items and a box of toys, keeping the rest in storage.  We told our kids that it was going to be like camping, and believe me it was.  

When the weekend of our final move into our home arrived I was filled with excitement.  Packing everything up as quickly as I could, I started running boxes down 3 flights of stairs to the U-haul we had rented.   On one of my last trips down the stairs I missed a step and royally twisted my ankle.  It swelled immediately and was so painful to step on that I had to hop along to get anywhere.  The thought of taking time to go to the doctor to have it looked at sounded more painful to me.  All I wanted was to be in our home, get us unpacked and sit down for once.  I decided it could wait. 

Before our move, we had phoned some people from our church to let them know that we would be moving into the area.  A few of the men offered to help us move our few things that the moving company hadn't kept, from the condo into our home.  We were so relieved.  Especially since I had rendered myself useless.  But we eventually got there and I was just in time for the moving company to arrive with the rest of our things.  One of the men who helped us move from the condo invited my husband and kids over to his house for pizza and to watch a football game.  Even though I was exhausted, I was thrilled with this idea.  It left me and my new baby alone to unpack the kitchen without any interruptions.  My husband worried about leaving me behind, but I assured him that I was perfectly fine and I would be very careful of my ankle.  He left with my two oldest, I put my baby in the swing, and began to dig us out when the weirdest thing happened....

A woman came barging in our front door shaking her hands and screaming "It's OK!  It's OK!  I belong to your church!"  

I looked at her with some confusion.  She was breathless at this point from her obviously over excited state.


"I am here to get you.  You have to come with me right now!"  she continued yelling at me.


"Who are you?" I asked, not quite sure how to process what was happening.


"My name is Annabelle! (changed for privacy of course) You have to come with me now!  I have been waiting all day!"  She still yelled excitedly at me.


"I need to unpack my house.  We just got here, it is getting late and I would really like to get my kitchen unpacked before my kids get back."


She looked at me like I was off my rocker. "I have been waiting!  And now my chicken is burning!  You must come with me now!"


"But, I don't know who you are.  I really need to just get my kitchen unpacked."  I replied with even more confusion.

"You don't need to worry.  I know your house INTIMATELY!  I have been through it many times."  She grabs my hand, drags me towards the door and says "We really need to go now or your dinner will be ruined!"


"But my baby!" I pointed to the swing.  I watched in a dazed horror as she grabbed my diaper bag, and put the baby in the car seat.  Before I could think through all that was happening she was pushing me into her car.  Her husband was in the drivers seat and didn't say anything.  He wouldn't even look at me.


(At this point in the story I need to remind you that I had just had a baby!  I was getting no sleep, I had hormones a raging, and I was so exhausted from everything that I probably couldn't have told you my full name!)

Part II tomorrow!