Thanks for waiting

You've been so patient. Thank you for that.


Dave the frog came to us 2 days before Christmas. December 23rd, 2009. He was a wonderful house guest. But he seemed...bored. I don't blame him. I tried to arrange his terrarium in new and exciting ways each time I cleaned it out. But honestly, there are only so many ways a girl can arrange a log, some dirt, and a water bowl that looks like a leaf. So as the snow melted and the days became longer, I knew that the day was coming. Dave's release date. May 21st, 2010. Just shy of 6 months. When I tell people about Dave, they are amazed he stayed alive, in captivity, that long. A few have even told me that they too have captured and tried to keep a tree frog but in the end, they were unsuccessful and the frog died. We did not capture Dave. We rescued Dave. From a cold parking lot, in the middle of a very brutal winter. I never intended to keep him. He is a wild thing, and wild things are made to live free. No...Dave chose us as his "winter resort" if you will. And I think he always knew his time with us was not forever.

We chose to release Dave in a neighborhood park not far from our house. It is secluded, tucked back from any busy roads. There is a pond there and a small stream. Lots of room to hop. Lots of bugs to eat. Hopefully a nice lady frog to settle down with and raise some tadpoles.

Can you find the frog? Amazing how camouflage he is, huh? God is amazing!!! He put all that work into a little, teeny, tiny frog! Just imagine what it must be like when He forms each one of us!

Grace was beyond thrilled to finally get to hold Dave. Up until his release, she had only held him once on the day we found him. He was so fragile and little that I only handled him when I cleaned out his terrarium. I was terrified that Sam would squeeze too hard and squish his froggy guts out, or that he would jump to the ground and Sara the cat would have frog legs for a snack!!!

She was very gentle with our rescued amphibian. And right after this picture was taken, he took a giant leap and began his life as a truly wild thing.

And Grace learned what it is like to love and let go. I cried too...it was a bittersweet morning.

We learned so much from Dave. I learned how to feed live crickets to an animal (you just throw 'em in there...there's really no skill involved other than having the stomach to touch the creepy crawlies). Grace learned about loving and letting go. We learned that God is in the little things. That He reveals Himself in the smallest of His creatures. And that sometimes, sometimes, if you pay very close attention you can find joy in the strangest of places. We miss you Dave the frog. You are the best Christmas gift I've ever gotten.