A bit of magic...

Earlier this week the kids discovered that if they ground up sidewalk chalk and added water, then it would make a paste that they could smear on things with their fingers to paint things.

yeah.  My yard will never be the same.

Anyhow, they gathered up a bunch of rocks and painted them and pretended that they were muffins and cookies (the pretend items of choice at our home).

Then they lined them up at the edge of the yard and tried to sell them for 5 cents each.  They had an "order form" and they decorated the area with the "Fairies and Elves Welcome" sign that I'd made for Monkey's fairy birthday party.

Have I ever mentioned that we live in a quiet little cul-de-sac?  location, location, location!

Only one person came...our dear neighbor Sharon.  I think she told the kids that she might come back to buy one later, because they kept peeking out after they'd had to come into the house...to see if Sharon had left a nickel out there. 

There never was a nickel.  But the next morning there was a fairy!  And one of the rocks was gone.  They immediately assumed that Sharon had left it (which I assume too)...but I suggested that maybe the fairy had noticed the sign and had decided that our yard looked friendly to a fairy.

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Now here's the thing...the kids believe in fairies.  They ask me if I do, and I can only say, "I've never seen a fairy, and I don't think that there are fairies, but there certainly are a lot of things that I've never seen.  So there could be fairies, I just don't really know."

And I leave it to them-- to believe as they will about fairies.  And they choose to believe.

And in this case I thought I'd encourage the belief.  I did mistakenly draw a parallel to Weeping Angels, when I suggested that maybe this fairy came to life like a weeping angel...and then Owl kept saying that the fairy was going to get her...so then I had to say that she was a nice fairy and wouldn't get anyone...but that maybe she really did come to life at night, or when no one was looking.

So the next morning the fairy had moved from where she had previously been.  "Did you move her?"  no.  "Maybe it was Dad?"  I asked why Dad would move the fairy, and they said that maybe he thought it looked better where it currently was.  I explained that Dad doesn't care about aesthetics AT ALL (true fact), so I didn't think that Dad would move the fairy for that reason.

And so, having exhausted all other options of how the fairy could have moved, she was declared alive.

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They've since built her a little rocky shrine to sit upon (a la Fablehaven), fed her popcorn (which they say she ate), and chalked her wings to be rainbow colored.

There was much debate about what to name her.  They wanted a flower name...but Monkey wanted "Rose" and Chick wanted "Evie Green" (and there were several others suggested, like Tulip and Ivy), but finally they decided on one.

And so, I present to you: 
Poppy Green,  an exciting new member of the family. She'll just go by Poppy most of the time.

(And thank you to Sharon, if it was indeed you who suggested that the fairy fly over to our yard).

(Sadly, the chalked rocks didn't withstand the rainy weather, but now they'll get to re-paint them, so it's ok)