It's been a while since I've posted, not because there's nothing going on.  Ha!  I can't imagine that every being the case in this household!  In fact, there has been a lot going on both here with our family, with our friends, and in Sierra Leone, too!

Here are a few updates....

The Widhalms
We are doing well.  The biggest news in our house today is that Harrison has started pee peeing in the potty!  We (mostly I) am SO excited!!  He is such a big boy and he LOVES doing things that his big brothers do, but I was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to realize that his big brothers don't wear diapers!

As of today, the puppies have all found wonderful homes.  We did have one placement that didn't work out, but I'm so happy that she is going to live with my BFF in West Plains!   I couldn't be happier.  Buster is staying here with us and the boys are loving it.  It was a little hard for them to see all the others go, but they did a great job.

Our house is on the market.  We are hoping to sell the house and possibly find something a little further out of town with a few acres for the boys to run around on.  We'll see, though, what God has in store.

I'm heading to my first appointment today with a holistic nutritionist.  I'm really excited to see what he has to say and I'll tell you all about it.   A few of my friends have been seeing him and have had great results and learned a lot about how to manage their bodies holistically.  We've been so busy, that we've been eating out WAY more than we should, which has put our traditional eating habits to the wayside.  I think today's appointment will help get us back on track.

Doug and I have decided to make a trip back to Sierra Leone in February.   By then, the kids at The Covering will be in a new building and we'll be helping to make improvements to that facility as well as helping with the construction of a new soccer field.  I will be announcing our next project soon related to the trip.....so stay tuned!  I'm really excited about it and I think you will be, too!  You won't want to miss it!


Friends
My best friend, Tracy's, son got married a couple weeks ago.  I just can't believe it!!  How did this happen?  He's not my son, but Tracy and I are like sisters.  We've been best friends since kindergarten and her family is like my own.  Seeing Brett get married was just CRAZY!  I had the strangest mix of emotions....I feel like it was a milestone in my life even though he's not mine.  I am very happy for Brett and Katie, though.  They are sweet "kids" and excited about their new life together.

Another friend of mine and her husband got back from a trip to Zambia last week.  We went to West Plains last Sunday to hear all about it.  God is SO awesome!  They had an amazing journey and were able to make a lot of progress in the acquisition of a piece of land and finding a building to be used for a Christian school and feeding program there.   They were even able to share the gospel in a village that had NEVER heard about Jesus before!  Their hearts and lives are changed forever......and that's a good thing!  It will be exciting to see how God works through them in Zambia!


Sierra Leone
A lot has happened in SL and with "our" kids at The Covering in the last few days.

A lease has been signed for a new building for the kids to move into, which is desperately needed.  Funds are being raised now to take care of the year-long commitment.  They now have about 85 kiddos there, which is a handful more than when we were there in May.  All those kids living on 2 floors with 2 bathrooms and 2 schoolrooms.  You can imagine how crowded and hard that would be!  They really NEED that new building!  If you'd like to partner with The Raining Season in being able to help, let me know or visit their website.

Gerald and Geraldine, the twins, have both been moved from the hospital back to The Covering.  They have gained weight and are doing much better.  Please continue to pray with me that their recovery continues!

Like I said above, Doug & I will be returning to SL in February to help with projects around the center and to love on some sweet kiddos!  I'm excited to them all again!   Please pray that we are able to secure babysitters, funds and supplies to take with us!

Puppies: 11 Weeks

The puppies are doing really great and are growing fast!  We have only two more who are able to go to new homes, Belle and Arial.  The rest have been placed with wonderful new families, who are excited to have them.

Lucy is going to the Chicago area and will be trained to work with Alzheimer's patients as a therapy dog.  Lady went to a great home in West Plains, MO, where she has two very happy young boys to play with.  Moose found a home with a young couple here in Springfield and has already taken his first long car ride with his new owners, to Memphis.  Princess is staying in the family, with my little brother, and we are keeping Buster for our own boys.

Belle and Arial are both great puppies!  They are not the last to be picked because there is something wrong.  We honestly didn't have one puppy in the litter that was not a great pick.  Unfortunately, though,  someone has to be first and someone has to be last.  Here are a few pictures of Belle and Arial.  You can also see them at various stages by following the other links on our website.  www.servantsheartlabradoodles.com

Puppy Video

This is a video I made last night of several different clips and photos of our puppies over the last few weeks.  We've had a great time raising them!  They are 10 weeks old now, though, and ready for their new homes. 

Australian Labradoodles were originally bred by Wally Conran, in Australia, back in the 80's.  He was a breeder of labrador retrievers  that were used for service work.  He received a request from a couple in Hawaii whose wife needed a service dog but the husband was allergic to dogs.  They needed something that would fit both their needs.   His first attempt was a Standard Poodle, but it wasn't a match.  After that, he started crossing the Poodle with the Labrador.  It took him a couple of years and a few generations of puppies to find one that worked, but he was finally successful.  In order to test before he actually trained and sent a dog to Hawaii, he sent many dander and saliva samples to be tested.  From that point, the breed was further developed and top quality lines of Spaniel were added to get a specific type of coat.  All of this work was done in Australia.

The multi-gen Australian Labradoodle is the Doodle that began the Doodle craze across the globe.  They are EXCELLENT animals that are smart and easily trained.  Liza, our female, is from a line of dogs trained for therapy work.  I've been wanting to take this up with her, as well, but haven't found time to do it yet.  She could also be trained to do agility trials - she's very athletic.   She was potty trained in about 3 days and hasn't had an accident in the house since then.  She so smart that sometimes I think she  understands us when we are talking.  Seriously.  Other Aussie Doodle characteristics are:

• Non-shedding/hypo-allergenic coats
• Wonderful for asthmatic owners (our Carter is an asthma kiddo)
• GREAT with kids and other pets
• Easily trained
• Eager to please

These are not just any ol' labradoodle.  Be careful if you are in the market for a Doodle.  They are not all equal.  Any "breeder"/"puppy miller" can cross a lab and a poodle and call it a labradoodle.  You will be sorely disappointed if you mistakenly ended up with one of these.  Be sure that you are looking at multi-gen Aussie puppies from quality lines.

We've decided not to have any more puppies after these are placed, for a couple of reasons.  Primarily, because we feel we want to be free to do as much mission work as possible.  It's hard to travel when their is a litter of puppies at home.  We were hoping puppy sales would help fund our mission work, but we continue to have more and more travel opportunities arise and want to be able to go whenever God leads.  The economy has also made it more difficult to place these gorgeous babies.  The going rate for an Aussie Doodle is $2500.  The larger breeders say they are still getting that price, but we haven't had any takers, and we honestly feel that our puppies are being raised in a better environment than a large breeder.   All this means we are very negotiable in the price we are willing to take and it is to our buyers' benefit!  It's really is a great opportunity for someone to get a high quality pet at a great price.  Let us know if you have any questions. 

www.servantsheartlabradoodles.com

Puppy Love

Liza's puppies are 7 weeks old now and getting cuter each day!  They've have been to the vet for checkups and had their first shots.  The doctor says they are doing great and all the ladies at the office were carrying them around like babies while we were there.  They each weighed in at about 4 1/2 pounds, except for Moose - he's 6 pounds!

Our "kennel" (although we don't really have a kennel - these puppies are raised in our home, one litter at a time) name is Servant's Heart because of the great disposition of Aussie Doodles, and also because we are using funds from puppy sales to support our ministry to orphans.  These are Puppies With A Purpose!

Check out our website at www.servantsheartlabradoodles.com for more information about the history of Australian Labradoodles and adoption.

Arial

Belle

Buster

Lady

Lucy

Moose

Princess

Puppies: 5 Weeks

Well, even though we've tried not to, we named all the puppies.  It was just easier to do it.  Trying to keep them all straight is just so much easier when there is a name to associate.  So, here they are at 5 weeks.

Buster

Lady

Bella

Lucy

Moose

Princess

Arial

Please help us spread the word!  Australian Labradoodles are just amazing animals.  Great for families!  Non-shedding/hypo-allergenic coats, intelligent and easy to train, great for therapy work, and known for their wonderful temperments.  These puppies were born in our bedroom and are being raised there.  They are loved on daily by our entire family and a few of the kids from the neighborhood, too!

Check out our website at www.servantsheartlabradoodles.com for more information.  These are "Puppies For A Purpose"!  The sale of these puppies and any future litters will benefit our mission work for orphans in Africa.  

Puppies Have Arrived!

Liza, our Australian Labradoodle, had her puppies last night!  We are so excited and a little tired!  She had seven - 5 girls and 2 boys.  Four of them are black/white parties, one solid black and two black with white markings.  She did great and both babies and Momma are doing well today.  

Australian Labradoodles were originally bred to be non-shedding service dogs.  They are easily trained and are suited to service or therapy work, wonderful with kids, and low to no shedding.  As far as I'm concerned, you couldn't ask for anything more!  You can check out Servant's Heart Labradoodles, our website, to get more information on Australian Labradoodles and adoption.  This litter will be ready to go to their new homes the first part of July.

Liza with the first two puppies born.  Two girls, one
black/white parti and one black with mismarks.

Here she is with all seven!

Harrison telling a puppy secrets.

Carter is in love!

Puppies Are On The Way!

We are so excited to be expecting our first litter of Australian Labradoodles!  We have two multi-gen Aussie Doodles at the house now, Liza and Barkley.  They are both from great bloodlines that originated in Australia at Tegan Park and Rutland Manor.  Originally bred to be non-shedding/hypo-allergenic service dogs, they are truly an exceptional breed!


Everyone who meets them just adores them.  They are very smart, easily trained, non-shedding and absolutely wonderful with kids.  We bought Liza when Jackson was just 3 yrs old and Carter was a baby.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect pet for our family!


We've had Liza since she was 8 weeks old and she is truly a member of our family.  She passed all of her health tests wonderfully, including tests for hip and elbow dysplatia and she is CERF certified.  She is three years old now and I expect she will be a wonderful new mom.  


Barkley is still a puppy.  He is not quite a year old and is full of energy!  He is a great boy, though, and we love having him here.  He is a beautiful red with a gorgeous wavy coat.  Because he wasn't old enough for his health testing yet, though, we had to send Liza to meet her stud this time around.  Future litters will be from Liza and Barkley.


This litter should be born the second week in May.  Liza is black and Keith, the sire, is a chocolate/white parti.  We are hoping we get some partis and creams, but we will have to wait and see!


I can't say enough about this breed!  Check out our kennel website at www.servantsheartlabradoodles.com  We will be keeping one female and selling the rest of the litter.  Please spread the word and let us know if you or anyone you know might be interested!!  This will be a wonderful place to get a really well-socialized puppy.  We only intend on raising one litter at a time, right here in the house with us.  The puppies will be taken care of like they are part of our own family and will be well socialized.  


We will be using the proceeds from puppy sales to help fund our orphan ministry efforts in Africa.

Barkley coming in from playing in the snow.

A New Family Member With A Purpose

I'd like to introduce you to our newest "baby", Barkley.  He is a beautiful Australian Labradoodle, hailing from Rivermist Labradoodles in Oregon.  He arrived on Friday morning, via a red-eye flight from Portland.  We all went to the airport in time to watch his plane land and even saw him coming off the plane as they unloaded our precious cargo.

Barkley is going to be our stud dog and will hopefully become a daddy to many beautiful puppies, beginning sometime in the next year.  He still has to grow a little and then go through his health testing.  Until Barkley is ready, we will fly Liza to Oregon to be bred with Cloudcatcher Keith, a stud there.  Hopefully, that will just be one trip, in mid-January of 2010.

We have been thinking about breeding Liza for a while.  We were really undecided until the last several months, since the Holy Spirit has really been leading us into more service.  Doug and I have searched scripture as well as other sources to learn about God's heart for orphans and those He created who are vulnerable in this world.  We decided to go ahead and begin breeding puppies, with the profits of any puppy sales to be used for ministering to others.

Liza and Barkley are both absolutely wonderful dogs!  We're excited about having gorgeous puppies one of these days and having the opportunity to bless other families with such spectacular pets.

I need to get started setting up a website, though.   If any of you know anything about building a website, let me know!  I have a feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get.

I'll be blogging about the new adventure as well as whatever ministry opportunities God brings our way, along with the other usual posts.