"Look, Mommy! I have a new pet. It's a grub. It's a beetle. Daddy said so. And when it comes out of the cocoon, I'm going to set it free. Then I'm going to find a caterpillar, and when it makes a cocoon, then I'll let it go. I'm the bug girl, because I collect every bug I find! The ones in a cocoon, anyway. Because that's like a surprise. When it comes out I find out what kind of bug it is!"

This stream of excited bug talk came from my almost six-year-old Mackie. She and her sister have, inexplicably, always loved bugs. Kalli used to say she was going to be a bug scientist until she decided instead to be "a singer, a writer, and a mother." She's fond of hearing the story of how, at five months old while living in Africa, she picked up a giant grasshopper and bit the head off before we could stop her. This is the same girl who later cried piteously over the broken wing of a moth.

Incidentally, their interest and compassion does not extend to flies. They take great pride and delight in their pest-smashing ability. Our family goes through what must be an unusual number of flyswatters every year. Granted, there are a lot of flies in Mongolia, and since we have a huge compost pile out by the garden and no screens on the windows, they come by this pasttime honestly. Still, they adore nearly all little creepy crawlies.

We've indulged this love of everything insect with countless bug books, insect printed flannel sheets, a bug catcher's kit, a butterfly net, a bug vacuum (to gently remove creatures from the house), and countless impromptu bug lessons out in the garden. But I have to say that I've never been a big bug lover myself. I catch itty bitty spiders and take them back outside where they belong, but roaches totally creep me out, and anything bigger than a baby's fingernail I won't touch.

The girls, on the other hand, ran around the yard all last summer catching grasshoppers for Hermione the Hedgehog and petting huge, hairy, Mongolian caterpillars that look like they belong in the zoo. Even though I'm secretly squeamish, I pretend to be brave in the interests of homeschooling and fostering a healthy connection with all God's creatures.