Laura Ingalls Wilder

This winter we have been listening to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books on cd. They are in the library system, and they are done so well! I love sitting on the couch with a little project like cross stitch just listening away. And Ellie likes them too, she will ask me questions about it as she is playing so I know she is paying attention. Clayton got me this book to try. Honestly, since I have been pregnant I have not read one book! I have been too exhausted at night to stay up, which makes me feel like a bum. He brought this one home, it is short and sweet and full of fun stuff! There are real testimonies from her friends and neighbors in Mansfield! I love how close we are to the setting of her life.

Did you know she didn't start writing the stories until she was 65? She out lived everyone, excluding her one daughter Rose, to the age of 90. She seemed like a homebody in a lot of ways. Her husband Almanzo was an introvert and she was the outgoing one. Although she really wasn't that outgoing, but compared to him she was. She did not live like the famous author she was, she dressed old fashion her friends said, ate simple food, and really just loved being at home. But she was kind and generous. There is a library in Detroit that is named after her, she was asked if she would be going up there for the dedication and she replied, "No, it would make too nervous." She had so much fan mail, worldwide, that at times she could not handle it. She was constantly receiving visitors that would come from all over, even Japan! Reading all the accounts from her friends and neighbors was very interesting because sometimes the perspectives were very different. People truly loved her books.

I love her books because they almost have this medicinal balm. They survived so much and they survived with thanksgiving. Those are the stories we love aren't they? One with tribulation, perseverance, and triumph. Could you imagine your whole crop of wheat being destroyed by grass hoppers? That is your one paycheck for the year. And then the next year there might be a hail storm or drought? Ladies, could imagine living in a dugout for a season of life? Our homes would have been a castle to Ma. They loved each other and followed Pa where ever his pioneer heart took him. I know Laura was not a saint, but she was a real person with doubts and shortcomings and lived in a time that is so foreign to me; their lives are amazing to me.

When it gets warmer we are planning to visit her and Almanzo's home in Mansfield. I am really excited. Also, there are three books total in the series I have mentioned. The one I just finished is the third volume. If you read one let me know what you think!