Friday, August 5, 2011

Mail Call!

I apologize for being so late with announcing the winner of the giveaway.You can see it here. Thank you again everyone for entering. I wish I had extra copies for all of you!
I was so late because Kevin was at search and rescue training later than planned and now he is off to the emergency vet with our dear kitty Midnight. He very suddenly lost weight and is throwing up blood. We don't know what is wrong with him but it's not looking good. If you wouldn't mind, please keep him in your thoughts. He's K's special little kitty and I don't know what would happen if we lost him.

Anyways, on to something completely different.




Ever sense I gave up using my credit card to buy things we didn't have the money for ahem, opening our mailbox has become quite sad to me. I haven't even had the chance to participate in craft swaps, lately, and boy do I miss them! I used to watch for the mail lady every day and get so excited when it was time to run down my driveway to that magic box that held beautiful treasures from all over the world. Even postcards and letters made my whole week. It was almost like a drug for me. I would get so thrilled. Alas, the only things we get now are bills and junk mail. Blah. Wheres the fun in that?!

But then the other day a package arrived at our door. I think I may have let out a little squeal when I saw it was addressed to the girls and I. It was from Purple Grandma and oh what fun was inside! I read her letter while the girls tore the box apart, it really made me smile.



She sent us a sweet nativity book and enclosed a picture of Kevin as a little boy dressed as one of the three wise men for a church play. The girls love seeing daddy like this, and frankly so do I (there have been some faith issues around here)!



She also sent some hair clips for the girls. What do little girls do when they see a whole package of hair clips before them?





Why put them all in their hair at once, of course!





But the absolute best part of the package... you ready??



A complete set of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Not just any set but the set we have been searching for, one of the early releases (1950s) with Garth Williams' illustrations. Do you know what a hard time we have had trying to find these? She found them at a local antique store and thought of us. She always has the best luck. Most of my beloved Butterprint pyrex came from her. We are so very grateful for her thoughtfulness.



Look at this, it even still has the original fabric ribbon on it and the original owners' name. I think you all know how much we love Laura Ingalls Wilder and just how much her stories inspire us and the way we live, so you must know how huge this was for us!

Since the books are old, they are fragile so we keep them up on a high shelf for now. We started reading 'Little House in the Big Woods' right away. We will continue reading this book over and over until the girls are a bit older and ready for the rest of the books. I have to admit we are having a bit of a time with some of the things in the book. Since the girls are being raised as vegetarians and they are so young - we are not quite ready to go into detail about animals being used for meat. So we have to skip over those parts but some are pages long! Eh, we'll get by.



Pure ecstasy, I tell ya! Thank you Purple Grandma!

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Comments (35)

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wow what an amazing parcel! i think i would let out a squeal too!
Wow that really is a great package. Very fun. Oh and I wanted to send on my congratulations on to Melissa for winning such a great giveaway!
I also wanted to say that I am so sorry to hear about Midnight and we will keep him in our thoughts and prayers please keep us updated on his condition *hugs*
Those books are just beautiful!! I love nativity picture books. When I read books to my kids with things that don't reflect OUR lives, I just talk to them openly about other people's lives...in other places, or other times in history...you could explain how reliant Laura's family was on the food they could find all around them, and that eating animals meant they'd survive the winter...I used to live up North, and ate caribou, muskox, beluga, and ptarmigan (mostly raw!)...we were at a museum yesterday and the kids were wondering about how the Inuit could eat such cute animals...so we talked about climate and body fat and evolution and adaptation...great conversation, simplified for little ears into a way they could understand.
PS! While it is sad to lose a cat, I was grateful for our pet losses when it came time for my kids to lose their beloved great grandmother...because we'd already touched on grief in a small way, had talked about how our bodies return to the earth when their time here is done, and had experienced the cleansing beauty of a good cry. Losing cats or chickens on the farm gives the kids a frame of reference for death, and makes it less scary, and more part of the natural rhythm of being a living thing. I'll keep you in my thoughts.
1 reply · active 712 weeks ago
Will say a prayer for your beloved kitty.
Our set of Little House boos is beginning to look like that! My very favorite one is Little House in the Big Woods, and I just know your girls will love it! How could two little girls hear about Mary and Laura and not love it?
The hair clip shots are wonderful...
Eeek! How wonderful for you. We have the same exact set, but blue, that I had as a little girl. My boys love them and I cant wait until my daughter is old enough to join in! Sending healing thoughts for your kitty! My old doggie is also having health issues...so hard to see them sick. <3
I'm sending all my love and positive energy to your kitty. We have nine of them ourselves and will be devestated when it is their time to go.

Speaking of mail. Someone I know (oh, that would be me) greatly enjoys sending out little somethings to people whenever she gets the chance. If someone else I know (that would be you) felt comfortable with sharing her mailing address, I'm sure smiles (okay, packages that would hopefully produce smiles) could turn up on doorsteps in the future. Just a thought. (:

My oldest read Little House in the Big Woods recently. He'll be nine in less than two weeks. We *do* eat meat and he was still a little uncomfortable with the scenes about hunting and such.
1 reply · active 712 weeks ago
Wow! What a fabulous thoughtful woman she is. The girls are luck to have their grandma in their lives. I try not to dwell on it, but it sometimes makes me insanely sad that my kids don't have my mom and really don't have much of a traditional grandparent of any kind in their loves b/c the ones we have are so far away we only see them once every 2 years or so. Cherish it!
Oh, I know what you mean about the thrill of mail! A few times a yr our box is regularly full of such goodies, but what a let down when that's over and it's back to junk and bills.
Getting packages it's so great, and letters too, would you like to us write letters to each other?
Sorry to hear about your sweet kitty Midnight..hopefully he'll be better soon. And yes, getting packages is such a treat :) Oh and I've been wanting to send you something for a long time but I don't have your address. :)
So sorry to hear about your kitty. Perhaps this isn't an appropriate thing to say, but I wanted to suggest that you may want to carefully pre-read the Little House series of books before sharing them with your girls. Just to make sure you are aware and comfortable with the fact that spanking, certain punishments, and expressions of racism occur in the books. There is always the "My First Little House" picture book series, which is... gentler.
2 replies · active 712 weeks ago
What a treat and a thoughtful grandmother. I'm with you - I love getting little presents or letters in the mail (and so do my kids), but recently it's bills or junk stuffs. Have to change that soon. Letter writing has got to be more of a priority around here.
Can you imagine having a whole set of new crisp books and never opening them to read each one? I can't. This is how I have collected many of my favorite childhood stories for my own kids- thrift shops, library book sales, and then just asking around. My own mom always passed our books on to relatives and friends when she figured we had "outgrown" them. So my two will wonder who wrote their name in our Little Golden Books, and why they smell a little funny, but they will enjoy them just the same at a price we can afford. Good for Grandma Purple!
Oh, poor kitty, I'm so sorry, please let me know how it works out. We will all say kitty prayers.

I think one of the first thoughts I had after we got off the phone yesterday (and after I went out and burst out laughing at the girls surprise..) was that we forgot to talk about Laura Ingalls love!!!
That is the exact set of books I had when I was little! When we purchased our own set last year I almost went with an extra old set like that, but I knew how much use and wear these books would get so I went with a set that was somewhat newer. I would still like to get an old yellow set someday though.

Oh kitty, I will be thinking of you all. XOXO
OH! Oh! I have that same set!! I didn't realize it was such a treasure. Now I love it even more. Last winter we started listening to the audio reading of the books. Now, I'm an old, tired Mama so didn't recall all the killing from in the series & didn't think to read ahead...so, sadly my boy got it all first-hand :-( So far he's seemed to take it in stride...now for dealing with Ma's attitude toward the Native Americans! I'm thinking of your dear kitty today...poor dear.
I am seriously swooning over that set of Little House books. I'm a Little House addict and want an older set for my daughter (and myself!) My own set was burned when my grandparent's house caught fire three years ago. Have you read "The Wilder Life" by Wendy McClure? She travels to each of the real homestead sites and wrote about her experiences. It was very interesting!
1 reply · active 712 weeks ago
Wow that is amazing find it took me years to find all the laura ingalls books another series that is hard to find is anne of green gables there's 7 or 9 books in that one. I used to own both of these collections and my mother not nowing how important they were got rid of them. I think I'll start hunting them up again.
How loving and thoughtful a present from Grandma. I'm a big fan of The Little House Books myself and have read them through 3 times, 2 to my children (now 20 & 23).
I wanted to share with you that when they were young I skipped over many parts and they never knew. There are parts that show Ma's negative attitude toward Native Americans and other things here and there. I myself am not a vegetarian so didn't censor that part. Anyway it's a fantastic read.
healinghillary's avatar

healinghillary · 713 weeks ago

That version of the collection is simply the best. I happened upon a set on eBay a few years back for $4.00.
Now I am on the look out for a set for my cousin.
What lovely post. How delightful to see another generation of children enjoying these stories.
What a wonderful surprise! I had that SAME set growing up! We have been going through the books here as well and are on the 3rd book. We didn't own it so we had checked it out of the library. It was due back and I didn't have time to run in and renew it so I just returned it thinking when we got back from our trip this week, we'd go in and check it out again. But my husband surprised the kids last night and bought it for them so now we have a copy of our own. I'm hoping my daughter will get the rest for our set for her birthday next month. She's asking for them all.
Such a wonderful surprise, I just received a box from my parents from across the oceans.
I warms the heart so, and the children get so excited..
I do wish you would have shared one of the illustrations from the books. We have the series as well, but many different prints and none illustrated by Garth Williams I think. Enjoy!
Bless
1 reply · active 712 weeks ago
I have the same set, although in blue rather than yellow. Your post has inspired me to pull them out yet again! I re-read those books at least once every few years. They are a comfort. I'm glad you found the set you had been hoping for!

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