"Mommy, Mommy!  There is a WORM in the tornado cellar!  May we have a jar?"

"Oh, he's BEAUTIFUL, Mommy."

Beautiful?  Interesting, perhaps.  Useful, certainly--but beautiful?   Of course I provided the jar, and helped them find a shady spot on the deck for their new-found-friend.

A sniff indicated that either the worm, or the dirt in the jar was stinky, which seemed to me an excellent name for their worm.  (The children were horrified that I'd threaten to christen their noble pet with such a lowly name, and I'll confess that in a few minutes I discovered that it was Kieran who was stinky, and not the worm after all.)

When I returned from Kieran's much needed diaper change, Kaira said, "We have to spend time and think about a name for something this important!"  Ultimately they dubbed him "Dusty". 

At last report, Dusty  is still doing well.  He's been given fresh damp soil every morning for five days now, and Kaira and Kendra informed me that his release is planned for tomorrow.  (They have a catch and release program.)  

Oh, to have the eyes of wonder my children do--seeing beauty and glory in the earthworm.