Monarch (caterpillar) Watch!

Well, our watch has come to an end, unless we happen to find more caterpillars on our milkweed plants.  The first caterpillar built a cocoon and emerged as a butterfly this past Sunday.  It was then taken outside and put on a milkweed plant.  The day started out nicely, but then a torrential rain hit.  While I was able to bring the plant (and butterfly) inside during the storm, without being in the sun the butterfly's wings didn't harden and he was unable to fly.

The second caterpillar started acting like he was going to build a cocoon, but he sadly didn't make it to that point.

While we didn't have the best of luck, I'm so glad we were able to do this.  Kieran absolutely loved watching the caterpillars and talking about their progress.  We had found a good book on them at the library, and we all learned a lot from reading it.  It also enhanced our appreciation as we watched the caterpillars.  I can't wait to try this again.

The Journey

40 weeks.  It's a journey of constant changes as the baby and I both prepare for labour, birth, and bonding.  A friend recently wrote about how God designed us for this and He gives us the strength we need.  How true that is!

But something else struck me when I read that.  I came back to the number 40.  This is my third pregnancy, so I'm well aware of the 40 weeks of pregnancy (give or take some).  This time, though, it suddenly hit me that the number 40 isn't just some arbitrary number, spiritually speaking.  I look at the Bible, and I see that number 40 repeated over and over.  The 40 days of the flood, the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the 40 days of fasting and temptation in the desert.

Notice a similarity?  All of these are times of great trial, and a great spiritual and physical journey.  I imagine that in the midst of the 40, things were rough, full of difficulty and doubt.  That could easily describe pregnancy, too, with the accompanying morning sickness, round ligament pain, heartburn, kicks, etc.  I also imagine there were joys in there, too, as God provided and comforted in the midst of pain and doubt, just as there are many joys in the midst of the discomforts of pregnancy.

These journeys aren't for naught, though.  At the end of the flood, there is a promise; at the end of the 40 years in the wilderness, there is the Promised Land; at the end of the fasting and temptation there is the message of the New Covenant.  And at the end of the 40 weeks, there is also a promise: a child leaving the womb on his own journey earthside and the joy of motherhood.  It's a journey, both physical and spiritual, preparing us for the next journey.  Now that I see that number 40 differently, it amazes me even more how God designs us for this.  Here's hoping I remember this for the rest of my 40 weeks.  To the journey.

Book Nook

Picture source

When browsing through the shelves at the library, I spied the book Froggy Plays in the Band by Jonathan London and decided to see how it looked.  After a quick perusal, I thought it looked fine and so I asked Charlotte for her opinion.  She was quite excited to get it, and so to the counter we went.  As is often the case when we visit the library, the kids enjoy reading the books immediately upon returning home, and this was no exception.  What we found was a very cute story of a ragtag band formed by Froggy and his friends, who are all determined to win the prize.  It's a little young for Kieran's interest, but perfect for Charlotte right now.  Better yet is that it meets my approval, since I'm quite particular about books.  I'd recommend picking it up if you have a chance.

Culture Shock at Home

If you visit a different country, especially one in which you are also immersed in a different language, or just attend an immersion program, there are unmistakeable stages to the experience.  The first is the shock of the different culture and/or language.  Often this elicits a negative reaction, a feeling of dislike and homesickness and confusion.  As time progresses and there is more exposure, the feeling shifts to one of understanding, and then to appreciation for the different culture and/or language.

In thinking about this, it struck me that my first experiences of the Mass directly corresponded to these stages.  I suppose that shouldn't be surprising, for I was raised in a completely different religious culture.  I had never experienced liturgy, for example, and certainly didn't understand the doctrines and dogmas expressed in the liturgy.  Instead, I only knew the paradigm of Southern Baptist theological ideas, and so experiencing something so different was quite a shock.

Because of this, my first few experiences of Mass, spread out over a number of years, were a shock to my senses and intellect.  I reacted by disliking the Mass and determining that I hated it and therefore needn't go again or learn more about it.  Since I wasn't immersed in a foreign culture, I had the freedom to choose to simply not go again, where in the case of going to a different country, that isn't an option. Consequently, I didn't allow myself to continue long enough to gain understanding or appreciation - at that time.  Instead, it took being confronted with it again years later and deciding to learn more for me to come to the end of the culture shock stages: appreciation, understanding, and love.  Of course, I am not Catholic solely because I learned to appreciate the Mass, but because I came to believe the Church teachings, which of course are expressed in the liturgy.  I would encourage those who have been to a Mass and disliked it to go again, though.  The missal is a good guide if one feels lost, too. 

Book Nook

I know I'm a day late on this. Oops.

I honestly have no idea where my children found this book, but recently they brought Rabbit's Gift: a Fable from China, by George Shannon to us to read.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I found is a very sweet tale of friends who want to help each other.  Each animal is worried his neighbor might not have found enough food since it's snowy, and so tries to help out.  In the end, they all celebrate together, sharing the extra food.  My children love the story, and we enjoy reading it to them, too.

Monarch (caterpillar) Watch!

Well, the caterpillars shown before disappeared, and we were sad.  There was a heavier rain one day, and I was afraid they'd be gone afterwards, which is what happened.

Thankfully, though, the Monarch butterflies really love the milkweed my father keeps on the deck, and so soon there were baby caterpillars again.  Determined not to lose more to weather or predators, my father got a terrarium and two glass salt shakers.  The salt shakers he filled with water and put the milkweed branches, with the caterpillars on them, in the water.  My mother grabbed one of these covers which is ironically designed to keep insects out of picnic dishes, instead of keeping them in a terrarium (and keeping the cats out!).  I replace the branches in the evenings usually, and this photo was taken in the afternoon, so they were starting to wilt.  There are two caterpillars, though only one seems to be growing as it should.  Meal times are very exciting, though, since the terrarium is on the dining table.  Kieran especially loves watching them.  Now we just need to find a good library book about them so we can learn even more.

Crafty Thursday

Whew - the end is in sight with this sweater!  Finally!  I've been putting it off and putting it off, in part because I just wasn't sure I really liked how it was turning out.  So yesterday, bored with my other project (shown below), I decided to run some waste yarn through the stitches and try it on, knowing it wouldn't quite fit over my pregnant belly, to get a better idea of how it looks.  Well, I liked it, and I also realised that I only needed to do two more pattern repeats before the garter hem.  I'm now about halfway through the first pattern repeat, since I've been out of the house a bit today and haven't been able to knit as much.  Once I finish the body of the sweater, I just need to bind off the stitches for the sleeves, as I also discovered that I like them the length they are when I tried it on.  Then I'll need to pick up the stitches to finish the neck, but that won't take too long.  Then it'll be finished!

From Your Knitting Life

The other project?  A robot backpack.  Kieran's been wanting a backpack, and I decided a backpack filled with books and/or small toys would be a good birthday present.  I did a search on Ravelry out of curiosity and found this cute robot backpack.  At first I thought it was an online pattern, and then I was temporarily discouraged when I learnt that it wasn't.  I say temporarily because when I mentioned to my mother that it was in print, not online, she asked which magazine it's in and it turns out that she has it!  Crisis averted.  I'm making the one shown as blue, but Kieran chose a green yarn for it, so it'll be bright green.  So far I've completed the front and back, shown in the photo, and am working on one of the side pieces.  Since it's just stockinette, I get bored, thus why I needed the break.