A little surprise on my doorstep

Okay, you HAVE to read THIS before you continue reading this post.

I'm not kidding....you gotta go back to Puppy Love first.

(Don't worry, it's short and full of pictures)

So Wednesday, January 5th I end the post with "is there a dog for us?"

Tuesday, January 11th, I find the answer is....

YES

I came home late Tuesday night---about 9:45 pm.  I had gone to a meeting for parents exploring homeschool.  Jeremy was home, the kids already in bed, and I pull into the driveway, thankful the porch light was on.

When we forget to turn on the outside lights at night, it is soooooooo DARK out here.

So I park the car, come around the van to the door and......

there she is.....

a sweet, small dog sitting in the middle of my Welcome mat by the door.

She was sitting up like, "Hello, I've been waiting for you."

I was startled and gasped and then she kinda gasped.

Where did she come from?

I did not see her when I pulled into the driveway.

I opened the door and asked Jeremy if he knew a dog was out there and he had no idea. 

Earlier today, I had heard on the radio to take care of pipes, plants, people, and pets because we were going to have a hard freeze.  I checked off each thing in my brain, and thought to myself,

"no pets here"

Jeremy said we have to bring her in because it is going to be freezing tonight.

I invited her in and she very timidly, with her head down to the floor, crawled, very slowly into the house.

I pet her carefully as she cowered away from me---like she had been mistreated. 

She was very skinny. 

Looked like she had been on her own for a while.

I texted my neighbor to see if I could get some dogfood.  She ate and drank as if it were her first meal in a long time.

We made her a bed of towels on the floor in our room, which she later ditched and found a spot on the couch.

She looks like a young boxer, with a copper coat and some unique features (like the pinky toe on each of her back paws are black).

So I'm asking her, "Who do you belong to?"

I think the answer is.....US.

You see, after Jeremy and I talked about getting another dog the day a friend emailed me about a lab,
I started making a mental checklist of what I wanted.

Don't judge me for being picky, but these are some of the things I thought about....
~I don't want to spend a dime choosing a dog.  She has to come free.
~I don't want a puppy puppy because it's like having an infant---getting up at night and the crying.  AND they are so rowdy and CHEW on EVERYTHING.
~I want a sweet dog that is loving and likes to be loved on.
~And it would be nice if she was already house-trained.

This dog is exactly what I wanted!

=)

And she shows up out of nowhere on my doormat. 

Only God knew my thoughts about what I wanted.

I'm just sayin'.

We put up tons of signs in case she has a long. lost owner.  I took her to the vet to see if she has a chip---nada.  I am not surprised.  Turns out she is probably about 2 years old and likely a mini-boxer or maybe a mix.  NO ONE called me saying they have lost a dog.

I almost KNEW she was our dog the moment I saw her. 

Because that's how God works sometimes.

Dropping off little gifts out of nowhere.

Giving us gifts we don't really deserve

just because.

So now.....let me introduce to you the newest member of our family....
Maddie Madeline

It took hours to decide on her name.  I thought we had decided on "Ginger" Thursday night, but then Friday morning Savannah had determined to call her Madeline.
(as in the story character of an orphan in Paris)

Emily was not completely happy with Madeline, so she suggested Maddie Madeline.

Maddie Madeline it is!
And we are happy to have her!