Thoughts on Schooling

Abraham Lincoln was born on the frontier in 1809 to Nancy and Thomas Lincoln. His formal education amounted to less than a single year. Lincoln was encouraged to read by his mother. But when he was nine years old, Nancy died of milk sickness, a disease caused by drinking milk from cows that have eaten poisonous white snakeroot. A year later Thomas brought home a new wife to be stepmother to Abe and his sister, Sarah. To Abe's delight she arrived with books! As he grew into a young adult he saw how powerful words were and he spent hours writing speeches, debates and practicing his presentations.

1842 - married Mary Todd, they had four boys, Robert, Eddie, Willie, and Tad. Eddie and Willie died in childhood, leaving the Lincolns bereft.

1847 - Abe began his two-year term in Congress. Then he left politics and focused on his law career. But the states were deeply divided; the slavery issue was simmering. Lincoln could not keep silent. He ran for Senate. He lost twice, but he didn't give up. His words were quoted, his ideas debated, he became nationally known.

1860 - he was elected the 16th president of the United States. He served this country during one of the most chaotic times in our history - the Civil War. During these dark days, he led the struggle to preserve the Union. On Jan. 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, *which declared that slaves in those areas of the Confederacy still in rebellion were free. Lincoln was re-elected in 1864, but on April 14, in 1865, he was shot in Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died the next day.

Sec. of War Edwin Stanton said, "Now he belongs to the ages."

Today, Lincoln's face shines on our pennies, his figure meditates at the Lincoln Memorial, his words ring out on patriotic occasions. Because of Lincoln we have a United States, and no citizen is owned by another. Abraham Lincoln's love of books, the ideas they stirred, and his way with words kept our nation on the path to freedom.
*The Emancipation Proclamation is not a law in the usual sense of the word. It was not passsed by Congress. It was a presidential declaration in time of war.
*******Taken from: Abe Lincoln The boy who loved books by Kay Winters and Nancy Carpenter

I read this book to the kids recently. My daughter also did a book report (for me) on a more detailed book about Abe Lincoln. Inspiring in SO many ways!Abe's life was one of hardship. He lost his Mother! He had to work hard. Books were a luxury. He wasn't given every little thing he wanted or even needed. Today so many children are constantly entertained and catered to. I think - wonder anyway - if the public school system (or even just alot of our modern styles of parenting) are raising perpetual children instead of ADULTS. Reading about Abe was encouraging to me. My children have had a hard life. And then, of course, I went through a time of making it up to them with material things. Now we are finding a balance.
Suffering teaches us so much! Also - learning is about more than sitting in a classroom putting in your time. I hope that if I can leave my children with anything, it will be the constant desire and love of learning in their lives.

Best Pizza Dough. Ever!

Pizza Dough
3 TBSP Yeast
3 Cups warm water (110*-115*F)
7&1/2 cups flour
6 TBSP Olive Oil
3 tsp. Sugar *I have used Brown sugar because we don't have sugar here very often. I bet you could also try honey. Raw unfiltered honey is SO Good! If you have not tried it...go get some!
3 tsp. Salt
1 TBSP each of Basil, Parmesan Cheese and Fresh Garlic (can sub powdered garlic or canned minced garlic)

Disolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients; beat vigorously w/mixer (my mixer is broken and I just use a wooden spoon, go as fast as I can and it still turns out great). Let rest 5 minutes before rolling out. Top with sauce & toppings and bake @ 450*F for 15-20 minutes or until cheese on top is melted. You can brush the crust with Olive oil and sprinkle with more parm cheese and garlic powder. I've also used all wheat flour for this recipe except for 1 cup of white flour. The variations are endless, really.

This makes a lot of crusts. So you can either make four crusts and freeze two (wrapped in a ball and then in a baggie in freezer) or just cut the measurements in half and make two pizzas. I just make two. I can't stand thawing out frozen balls of pizza crusts! Takes less time to just make up a new batch.

After I found this recipe - I knew my search for the perfect homemade crust was over. The family says it's better than pizza from a restaurant.

:)

End of martyrdom.

So there's this thing that happens when life doesn't go your way. You turn into "someone else." It's not your fault though! You are not really that complaining, nagging, angry lady.

Wrong!

I have learned that my circumstances don't make me who I am...they reveal who I really am! When you take an impulsive girl like me and shut me up in a house to do the same thing day in/day out, some ugly things can happen. But that ugliness was already there. The first step to getting rid of it is to be thankful for where I am - right now.

The learning and growing happens when life gets hard. I can groan and moan over this paper route (7 days a week, before the sun gets up, rain, snow or shine) but then I have to stop and look at my husband who gets up almost every day and goes to work all day on a roof. Hopefully he is leaving with a lunch I have made him and some hot coffee...but he'll go without it if he has to. This kind of experience can really cure a wife of needing to "teach" her husband where the laundry basket is. You know what? Throw your socks on the floor honey...and let me rub your back for an hour.

Some great things I have gotten this week:

Playtex Living rubber dish washing gloves - Hot Pink: We need to take care of our hands! The inspiring pink-ness of these gloves sets them apart from the others. Dishwashing only!
Boring old yellow is for all the other jobs.

An AirLite Corn Broom: This is so much better than the synthetic brooms I have been using. I have broken two broom handles so far this year and they come unscrewed while sweeping which can be quite annoying. This corn broom (from WalMart) is doing a great job, has a broad sweep and is STURDY! I also bought a larger - indoor/outdoor - corn broom for use in the basement and on the porches.

And, speaking of gloves...in the first aid section you can find plain white cotton gloves. I have been wearing these for most of the day and also during the night. This is a great way to heal hands that have not been wearing hot pink dishwashing protection up until now.

So, maybe Mommies should get early morning paper routes...if they have a martyr to kill that is.