One of the 17 ladybugs that we released
I mentioned on an earlier post that we had lots of “life†around the house and I wasn’t talking about the 5 kids. The ladybugs, butterflies, and tadpoles were all busy making changes and…voila…it was time to let them go their merry way. The tadpoles-turned-toads have been leaving us a few at a time. Marley gathers them up each morning and takes them to the pond behind our house. We still have quite a few to go!
Abbey helps a ladybug make her break from the habitat. We had 17 larvae, that all turned into ladybugs. However, one of them looked “lame†from the start. We decided we’d just keep her (I know, ladybugs can be boys, but I call them all girls) rather than release her, but she died the next day. Poor gal.
Lainey enjoyed the release time, but she wasn’t so good at sitting still!
One of the 5 Painted Lady butterflies that we raised and released. One of the caterpillars never crawled to the top of the cup to attach and cocoon, so we thought that one didn’t make it. When we opened the cup to put them in the butterfly tent, there he was, cocooned on the bottom of the cup! So, we laid that one on a papertowel on the floor of the tent and he did just fine.
Handsome dude. Needs a haircut.
Needs a haircut and a pair of sunglasses.
Abbey held the last one, after the others all flew the coop!
On a serious note, I’m sure you’ve all heard about the massive Wenchuan earthquake that hit China in the Sichuan province that has claimed the lives of at least 20,000 people and damaged or destroyed 4.5 million buildings. Read that again…that is almost impossible to imagine. Our adoption agency,www.chinesechildren.org has established an earthquake relief fund (ERF) to help orphanages purchase tents, food, diapers, medicines, and other supplies needed. 100% of your donation goes to help the orphanages affected. You can donate online at the above link, or send in your donation to CCAI marked “ERFâ€. We have found out that Lainey’s orphanage, Bengbu, was thankfully not damaged in the earthquake.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Great butterfly pics! So nice to be able to keep up with you guys now that we’re back! I’ll be writing you an e-mail about that parcel that the silly postal service LOST! AARRRRG!
May 17th, 2008 at 12:54 am
The picture of Lainey in her yellow with the flowers took my heart. I remember her looking at my azaleas and she had this look of complete joy as she reached to touch the colors.
I am amazed at my grandchildren and their love for all of God’s creations and creatures. To see them holding the butterflies and ladybugs and setting them “free” is fantastic. Marley should have a career working with animals in some capacity as she loves them so much. Thank you for teaching all of them about the beauty of how life continues.
Yes, I too have been online trying to find out if the Bengbu area was damaged. Specifically the orphanage there. It is hard to even imagine what these people are going through in China. Knowing that a lot of these people could only have one child and now that child is gone has to be unbearable. Not knowing God and having faith in His word and promises has to make it even harder. Between Myanmar and China so many lives have been lost. My prayers are with them. I am so thankful that Lainey is safe here.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Your yellow flowers are so pretty, especially with Lainey near them with her cute yellow outfit!! Looks like the kids are really getting into how nature works in the bug world! I love to see and hear that they are so eager to learn “hands on” as that’s the best way for children to learn, instead of looking at books constantly. Our 5 grandkids all look so happy and content in their individual pictures, I can almost hear them laughing!
I didn’t know if you knew about the China earthquake before you got up the other morning, that’s why I e-mailed you about it. I just couldn’t believe it when I heard it! I couldn’t wait to see the map on TV to see where it was…and I thanked God that you 3 are back in the USA. They said they felt the effects of it as far as Beijing. How awful and yes, hard to imagine that many people killed and all of those buildings destroyed. Thankfully Bengbu wasn’t affected…that’s what I was trying to find out when I heard about it. Those people need lots of prayers. We’ll make a donation for the cause. Love, Mom