Missing in Action

Well, missing from blogger world at least. Things have been pretty busy here. We've been getting our house ready to put up for sale. It seems when we think we are getting close, there is more to do. Jason is putting up new fixtures outside today. I didn't realize how bad the old ones looked. We did manage to get quite a bit of furniture moved out to a storage building, so the rooms look larger now.

Most of our plans for the summer consist of getting this house on the market. Casey is going on a mission trip, so I'm happy for her. We won't be taking a big vacation this year. I'm ok with that! My dear friend Lori is coming for a visit in a couple of weeks. I can't wait! We have a lot of catching up to do.

Please keep my friend Sara in your thoughts and prayers. She got new lungs in 08, and is experiencing some rejection right now. She had a major treatment yesterday that completely knocked out her immune system, so I'm hoping she doesn't have too many side effects from that. She's the one I've blogged about before who ran a 1/2 marathon only 8 months after her double lung transplant!!!

Yesterday we went to my SIL's house for her youngest son's 1st birthday party. Her boys are a delight to photograph. She has a 1 year old and a 6 year old. After taking pics yesterday, I realized more than ever how bad I need a new lens for my camera. The more photography you do, the pickier you get I guess. I've been busy part of the day cropping feet out of photos.. haha! When you take pics of a toddler on the floor at a party, you tend to get a lot of feet in the background. Here are some of the pics. I love the one of Jason's sister and her sweet little boy.

The Biltmore Estate

We visited the Biltmore Estate on Saturday. The 250 room home is the largest in the U.S. It took 6 years to build and it opened in 1895. George Vanderbilt lived there with his wife and daughter. It still belongs to his daughter's family, but of course is open to the public now. The estate originally consisted of 125,000 acres, but now is 8,000. They have a winery and gardens. You can read more about the history here.

If you have ever seen the movie "Hannibal", it was Mason Verger's house. Much of that movie was filmed in Asheville, where the Biltmore is located.

Here are some pics from Saturday. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed in the home itself:

Casey video

These are pictures of Casey over the past year.

Who do you think...

is going to win American Idol? Or do you care??? :)

Even though my daughter disagrees with me, I really love to hear Adam Lambert sing. I think he has an awesome voice, and I am a huge fan of rock! My daughter wants Kris Allen to win. I think all 3 of the finalists are awesome singers.. no doubt.

Just curious who you think is going to win, and who you want to win. I am usually NOT one to follow the crowd at all. I don't pick someone just because the majority thinks he/she is good, but I really do think Adam is insanely talented.

Aminals...

The exotic animal drive-thru park that we went to on Saturday was so much fun. Casey and I have been several times before, but Jason had never been before this weekend.

Yesterday, we went to church and then had lunch with Jason's parents. Casey and I spent the rest of the day catching up on DVRed shows, playing games, and watching old episodes of our favorite shows on hulu.com. It was a really good Mother's Day. We were supposed to go to my sister's house last night, but I wasn't feeling well. I haven't been sleeping well, and I have a lot of swelling in my feet and ankles, so I have to go get blood work tomorrow to check out my kidney function.

I just want to say what a wonderful Mom I have. She's not only given me life 3 times, but is always there for me, is very loving and patient, and puts her children and grandchildren first. I love her so much and am so proud to call her my mom!

I am so proud to be Casey's mom too! Instead of giving me a gift this year, she gave all of the money she had saved up to help a friend of ours pay his medical bills. I was so proud of her for doing that. :) She drew me this beautiful picture of a butterfly and a flower, and waited on me all day yesterday. It was awesome!!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Here are some pics from Saturday...