The Homeschooling Journey: Meet Chime!

Is that not the sweetest puppy you have ever seen?! Her nickname is Chime, but her full name is Carillon Belle Chime! She is an Australian Labradoodle from Mountain Park Labradoodles.

This past week has been one full of blessing upon blessing. It literally has felt like God reached down and wrapped His arms around me in the warmest most loving hug. And compared to all the heartache over the past 8 months I have to say it was a very needed hug!

I have never been a dog lover...EVER! The idea of me being a dog owner was not anything I ever aspired to be. But when you have kids, most likely you are going to have them begging for a dog at one point or another. Of course my girls begged, and begged, and begged but my answer was always a big, fat, "NO!!!!" Towards the end of 2013 I began to take a small interest in the idea. Of course it was, "Someday when we move and get more property, then we'll THINK about getting a dog."

That all changed the first time I met my sweet friends Australian Labradoodle, Jack. I had never been excited about a dog until that point. I loved the feel of his fleece coat and could literally sit there and pet him forever. That wasn't normal for me. He had such a sweet temperament which really got my attention. My idea of dogs were those who bark incessantly, shed abundantly, smell incredibly, and are non-stop energy. If I was going to give into this whole, owning a dog thing, it would have to be an Australian Labradoodle. They are dogs bred specifically to be a companion dog, low to non-shedding, don't have the typically "wet" dog smell, and are great dogs to run with!!

Jack

Then summer of 2014 came, and our family went through a major crisis and it seemed that getting a dog would now be an impossible task, considering the average cost of this breed is $2500. But I have seen the Lord do the impossible before in my life and knew I had to pursue this. I was a mama on a mission to make our "doodle" dream a reality!

A few things I did in my efforts included, starting an online fundraiser and applying online for several guardian family programs. The guardian program allows families to bring a puppy into their home at no cost (or a small refundable deposit), however, the breeders have all breeding rights to the dog until she is retired from breeding.

In the meantime, the girls and I spent lots of time reading about dogs, talking about dogs, praying about getting a dog, and watching online videos about training a puppy! But neither of these two efforts, online fundraising or the guardian program applications, seemed to be getting us any closer to actually getting a dog. It seemed that every door for the guardian program just kept shutting in my face. It was discouraging but I just surrendered it before the Lord.

Several months later, on Saturday, February 28th, I received a very unexpected email from Debi at Mt Park Labradoodles. She was inquiring to see if I was still interested in the guardian program because they had a puppy, whom they had named Carillon Belle Chime, needing to be placed in a guardian home. She had gone to live with a VERY sweet family, who unfortunately, after one week of having her had to return her due to unforeseen circumstances in their lives. She needed someone as soon as the following afternoon!!!! There was a refundable $500 deposit, which would be reimbursed after Chime is retired from breeding (about 3 1/2 years).

I was beside myself! In fact I kept saying, "God are you serious? What in the world is going on here? Is this really happening?" The reason I was so amazed and bewildered is because that whole previous week had been already full of some amazing blessings and now this was the cherry on top!

And so it was on Sunday, March 1st, I drove to Debi's home and picked Chime up. The best part was my girls had no idea and later that evening I was able to give them the biggest surprise of their lives!

Moments after meeting Chime!!

The blessings have continued pouring in even after receiving Chime.

The notice to get the dog was so short I literally had nothing for a puppy. However, the previous guardian family chose to bless us generously with everything they had purchased for Chime: a crate, bed, shampoo, ear cleaner, carpet stain & odor eliminator, a comb, treats, dog food, toys, Nyla bones, a leash, and puppy spray.
In addition to this, remember the online fundraiser I mentioned? Well I raised $170 through it, plus another $150 given to me, for a total of $320 which I used toward my $500 deposit.
A dear friend wants to take the girls and I shopping for any remaining smaller puppy items we need as a belated birthday present.
Another friend messaged me and wants to send a small monetary gift to help out as well!

I am so incredibly grateful and soaking every bit of it in. God sees, He knows, and He cares about every detail of our lives....even our silly "doodle" dreams! What a testimony to my children that miracles do happen when we put our hope and trust in the Lord. He is a God of the impossible and His timing is always perfect! I won't go into specifics but there is major significance to the date of March 1st, which is also the day I picked Chime up from the breeders. Just another way God was giving me a huge hug and reminding me of His love for me.

Chime has brought so much laughter & joy, giggles and slobbering kisses. I've always heard dogs can be therapeutic but now I am living proof that they are. She is a sweet companion for all of us!

As a guardian family we are required to do dog obedience classes, purchase a specific high quality dog food, and transport Chime multiple times a year to vet appointments (pertaining to breeding) and to the breeders home, which will be about 1 1/2 hour drive each way. I also have the remaining $180 deposit to pay the breeder and need to fence in one side of my back yard. I know God will provide for these extra expenses one way or another, but if you feel led to donate please go to: Go Fund Me