Too much to write

So much has happened in the past week, I'm not sure where to start. A week ago yesterday, Casey had an interview with BP in Naperville, IL. Friday, they called him back and offered him a job. They are giving him 10 days to decide if he will take it or not. I have grown accustomed to the idea of living in Illinois, and I have to say, I got pretty excited about it. It's not set in stone yet, though, so I have to keep my feelings in check for a bit until Casey weighs all of his options.

In other news, my mom was admitted to the hospital last Thursday, and stayed there until Sunday. She sounds a lot better now, which is good. I've probably been driving her nuts because I call her at least twice a day, but I just want to make sure she's okay. COPD is such a scary disease to me- I just can't believe what it's done to people I know and love. I hate cigarettes. I'm really glad my parents stopped smoking, and I hope that Mom is able to recover from this last episode. I know it's hard for her to slow down and not be able to accomplish all the things she normally would, but the main thing is that we just want her to be healthy. She's already determined that she's ruined Christmas for us. All I want for Christmas this year is to be home with my parents and see that they're both doing okay. (This is also another reason why I'm getting my heart set on Naperville- we'd be a LOT closer to home!)

Finally, I'm excited because we ordered a new camera- something we weren't planning on doing until Casey found an AMAZING deal online- and it is supposed to arrive tomorrow!! I'm a little too excited about that for my own good. This camera is everything I've wanted in a camera since I started getting more serious about photography. I only hope I can do it justice and learn all the cool new things I can do with it quickly enough to take some nice pictures at home and at Sean's wedding on the 29th. I can't wait to go home for Christmas and see everyone!! Just over a week from now, we'll be on our way back to Kansas.

That's all for now- I'll be sure to try and write again before we leave for Kansas, and maybe next time I'll post pictures from the NEW CAMERA! Hopefully I'll also have news about the job, and a good update about Mom.

-Ash