new creature and blessings from above

One thing that I have I noticed, being a worker at home, homeschooling and having a child with cancer that is in the middle of treatment, is how good God continues to be to us. Even though we don't often venture too far from home, not including our weekly trips to Iowa City, I am amazed and thankful at how God blesses us with little gifts along the way. I am pleasantly surprised to look back at my short blog and see how many adventures we've had already, but each has been a small little treasure that God brings to our daily lives as we go. We waft along in between exhausted bodies, irregular schedules and intermittent vomiting.

Continuing in this masterful pattern and with the recent influx of warmer weather, we were inundated with a plethora of 'wild creatures'. I didn't get a good picture of any of the many garter snakes that kept crawling out of nowhere. I am not sure how many there were or to what extent the children unintentionally tortured them during their excitations and curiosity. Anyway, it was a delight for the children and provided a more spontaneous educationaI experience than I ever intended to plan. I did get a few other pics though.

Here is Abby with a Praying Mantis. Isn't this little bugger huge? Abby wasn't quite in the mood to hold it. I think that she was thinking.."She does what to her mate after she marries him?"

Look what happened next...

Abby was in from playing outdoors for the evening and was doing her chores by putting her dishes away when she felt her hair and something was in it so she screamed and flicked it out of her hair! Wouldn't you know, there resting in a daze was an insect we had never seen before ourselves. It knew it was some type of huge beetle but we weren't sure which. LOOK.

WHEEL BUG

ARILUS CRISTATUS

He can give a very powerful jab if not handled properly!

Let the investigation begin. The kids always love our Audubon field guides and love enlisting our resident biologist/entomologist to assist them. I love this kind of treasured memory!




And so begins NATURE NOTEBOOKING. Bryce loves bugs. He loves anything nature and we were thrilled when he felt well enough to indulge in some artistic endeavors since the chemo makes these things very difficult for him, much of the time currently. Dad joined in this time which is a rare but pleasant treat.

Here's Bryce's finished product.

Toby's

Abigail's

Glenn's

"Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name."—Psalm 100:4