Something so small

This morning I walk into the kitchen to fix Tony's breakfast and pack his lunch. I hear this rattling noise coming from the laundry room. My heart skipped a beat and I stood real still and listened ... Yep. Something was really rattling. I turned on the light in the laundry room, but couldn't muster up enough courage to look. I go back in the bedroom and whisper, "Tony, I think something is in the laundry room - I hear a rattling noise." He comes out into the kitchen and bravely enters the laundry room. :) He didn't see anything, but was able to determine that the noise was coming from the furnace/water heater area; something was trying to chew and scratch it's way out. It was pretty loud, too. Sigh. Tony had to leave for work. :( Which left me there by myself with the continuous rattling. I prayed out loud and told whatever it was to go away. I started cleaning and vacuuming the laundry room and utility closet. I opened the back door and set a few things there to carry out to the shed. Then I carried our recycables and trash to the car for my weekly trip to the dump. I came back inside and continued to reorganize the utility closet. I start to walk back out to the kitchen when I see something move out of the corner of my eye. It was right there by the screen door, trying to get outside. A little grey mouse with a long tail. Everything started going in slow motion. The little critter couldn't get out, so he started to walk along the edge of the wall toward the kitchen. Praise the Lord, I had piled some things there to carry to the shed, which made it difficult for the mouse to get in the kitchen. I picked up one of our Ron Paul signs (go Ron Paul!!), prayed that the mouse wouldn't go into the kitchen, opened the screen door, and guided that little mouse out of our house. I was shaking... and stopped to listen for the rattling noise. I didn't hear it anymore, which means that he was the culprit. Hard to believe that something so small was making so much noise! I called Tony right away to let him know. When he get's home from work we'll have to take a closer look at the furnace/water heater because that little mouse apparently chewed it's way through something. Lord willing, it will not go run and tell all of his friends about this new entryway into our house. Seriously!