every monday should start like this

few things can lift your spirits like a good butterfly moment, and this one was even better than most. when the hippie's family came down from pennsylvania last week, they brought a little package with them. denise and tristan have been watching monarch butterflies emerging from their chrysalii, and it's been a really awesome experience for them. when they were getting ready to leave, their butterfly cage still had one unhatched chrysalis inside--not knowing what else to do, they brought it along for the ride. it was touch and go for this chrysalis--it fell from the top of the cage during its trip down, so we were not sure it would be ok or if the delicate insect inside was damaged. hoping for the best, the hippie gently taped it to the window sill in our little sunroom, and we all waited to see what would happen. lo and behold, early monday morning, we had a butterfly! i got to carry her outside on my finger (no pictures of that since i was carrying the butterfly and the camera at the same time) and put her on our azelea bush in the sun. she spread her wings out to dry, then flapped them a few times like she was testing the air and making sure everything worked ok. and then she flew away in a sudden burst of activity. the whole thing was just beautiful, and definitely not a bad way to start the week! i spent all of monday morning smiling about it, and the pictures are still making me happy--huge thanks to denise and tristan for sharing their butterfly!