Monarchs

Cody's mom brought over 3 Monarch chrysalises a couple weeks ago and we patiently waited to witness their miracle. Over the last couple of days each of them opened into a stunning butterfly. The kids love this process, and so do I!

The chrysalises themselves are beautiful. That strand of gold at the top is exquisite and mysterious.
As the time draws near for the butterfly to emerge, the chrysalis slowly gets darker and darker until it appears nearly black. If one looks closely, they can see the colors of the butterfly within.
We rarely see this next part. There's just no way to know when exactly the butterfly will break out from the bottom of the chrysalis. This is the only time we have ever happened to see the actual event. The butterfly climbs onto the stick and begins drying its wings, stretching them out, and opening them.
The drying process takes several hours. At some point, we carry the stick to the yard and let the butterfly climb onto a plant to finish drying before flight.

And sometimes we let them crawl on the kids. Though not often because we don't want the butterflies to get hurt.

Taking the time to watch this amazing process always points me to the delicate, miraculous nature of life. And it means so much to me to share these things with my kids.