Little House on the Prairie

we've been listening to lots of books on tape. mostly in the car- on the way to church, Park Pals, Ranger Kids, trips, errands, the whole 1 mile to the farmer's market, ... Little House is definitely one of my favorites. besides just a great story, I/ we've learned so much reading and listening to Little House. I'm going to be a little sad when we get to the end of the series. But we could always start over and I didn't know about all the books about Laura's ancestors and descendants. We just finished By the Shores of Silver Lake so Laura's definitely not a little girl anymore. It's been great hearing her grow.
Some things I've learned (or relearned or thought about or just thought was neat)

-Contentment with little- they didn't have much stuff, much food, many friends, ... but they really appreciated everything they had. Whether it was potatoes (again), a little fat to cook with, Pa playing the fiddle, a homemade checker game, ... they were really thankful.

-Adapted quickly to loss- I don't know that I would have done so well with grasshoppers eating every living thing, or being thrown off their land, or ... They seemed to really get the verses from Job that said that God gives and He takes away.

-Sourdough bread. My Mom made this growing up and I've thought about making it. Now after reading more about the health benefits and hearing Laura tell how to make starter, I'm all set to start (right after we get back from OBX!)

-Biblical submission- I think that Ma and Pa are a wonderful example of Biblical submission. Ma says her peace and then tells Pa to do what he thinks is best. Pa seems confident in his leadership and decisions.

-Enjoying hard work- they really had to work hard for everything they got but seemed to find joy in it.

-Focused on family- they enjoyed the times that they spent with other people and other families. But what they truly cherished was their time together. No, they weren't perfect, once Mary and Laura even argued about what spices to season their food with, but they enjoyed their time together.

I started this post a while ago but I never finished it. Tonight I found it searching for booklists.
We do love Little House. We listened to Caddie Woodlawn last week- loved it too! I'm loving reading and hearing all these great books!