Growing Friends

I find myself sincerely enjoying the stage of life we are in right now.  Our kids are 11, 9, and 7 years old.  Diapers and pacifiers are a distant memory.  Tantrums and lullabies are now part of our history.  We are looking squarely into the “teen years”, preparing for what is coming, but enjoying where we are right now.  All three are fairly self- sufficient, kind to others (if not always to one another), and just flat out fun to be around!

Today is one of those days where I have watched them play, enjoyed their conversations, and admired their continued wonder for the world.  We have friends over for the day, Ty (10), and Bryson (8).  Nicole and Ty have been in the same homeschool class together for almost three years now.  They have a sweet friendship, along with the others in the class.  One that has been founded on fun, silliness, and the fact that our two families are like- minded…journeying in the same direction.  This morning, I have watched them catch butterflies, play football, dig a giant (and deep!) hole in the backyard, work together to create a time capsule, sort buttons, color, and learn together. 

Not a hint of tweeness, all day long.  As far as these two “pre-teens” are concerned…life is about fun and silliness…and nothing more.  They have laughed, and chased, and talked together.  It’s been precious.  I don’t know what the future holds for these two and their mutual friends.  How will these boys and girls, who were little together, grow older together?  Will they continue to be silly with one another and laugh together?  Will they feel awkward and weird having a conversation.  Will they protect one another from others who may not have their best in mind?  I do not know. 

My prayer is that as they, and their friends, navigate these next few years, their friendships will deepen and they will look out for one another.  I pray they would each seek to grow closer to the Lord and spur one another along.  I pray that they would influence each other in positive ways, that they would support one another, and that their conversations would deepen each year. 

Nathan and Bryson have spent the day playing race cars, also chasing butterflies (isn’t that the sweetest!), catching lizards, and being completely, ridiculously silly together.  However, there is more to it than silliness.

  There is a growing realization that they are friends, a seeking out of one another to find similarities between each other.  It’s been fun to listen to their conversations this morning.  It makes me sad though, that Nathan is a few months behind his friends.  All of his friends will be one year ahead of him when they reach the Challenge level of CC.  Although he does not know this disappointing fact yet, he will one day.  I won’t get down about it yet though.

For today, I will treasure the friendships he has and enjoy watching him grow from a young, little boy, into a boy who enjoys his friends. A boy who is good, and kind, and helpful. 

What about Hannah?  Oh, Hannah has been around, enjoying the day with Nicole and Ty.  She’s been right there with them, playing games, digging holes, and catching butterflies.  Hannah is thoroughly enjoying still being little.  She can worry about the tween changes soon enough.  But, for now…she is still my sweet, Happy Hannah.

The Biltmore

Whenever you tell anyone that you are visiting Asheville, North Carolina, the first reply is almost always, "You are going to see The Biltmore, right?"  So, of course, we went to the Biltmore.  George Vanderbilt, grandson of famous industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt, first came to the Asheville area in 1888.  He envisioned his "country home" and constructions soon commenced.

Two Hundred and Fifty rooms, built over the next  6 years made a tremendous impact on this area, and on future generations.  This is the breathtaking view you receive when you walk over the hill from parking.

According the Biltmore's website, the home officially opened on Christmas eve of 1895 to family and friends.  His home, spread over 4 acres of floor space, included 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.  

You can't help but try to imagine living during the Gilded Era of the late 1800s and early 1900s, being driven down the long path in a horse drawn carriage, dressed extravagantly for the party of the year.  We purchased the audio tour, which allowed us to learn many fun facts about the rooms we toured.  The kid's tour was from the perspective of their dog. The first stop is this beautiful atrium.

A variety of period costumes were on display during our visit.  Most of these were from movies set in a similar time period as the Biltmore was active and lively.  I, for one, really enjoyed this special touch.

This is their dining hall.  

Imagine gentlemen arriving for a full night of food and festivities in attire like this.

This was one of my favorite rooms.  The walls are covered in leather!  And, if you look closely, you can see the "secret" door.  Can you find it?

This was one of my very favorite gowns on display.  I can't remember what movie it was from.

They had a large display of prints by Albrech Durer...one of the great artists we study in CC.  

This was another piece of artwork by Durer.  It hangs above a fire mantle that he carved.  

Here is the fireplace mantle.  In the middle you can see the initials A.D.

The view from the Portico.  I believe that Vanderbilt actually deforested this area, and then had a landscape architect redesign and plant this view.  

The next several pictures are in the library.  This is the hand painted ceiling.

There are "hidden" doors on either side of the fireplace, on the second floor.

Every homeschool mom's dream.....a room filled from floor to ceiling with books.  Vanderbilt was an avid reader, and some of his favorite books were on display around the home.

This is one tapestry in a room full of tapestries.

I love this dress too :)

I loved this gown because it reminds me of an Avon figure my grandma had.  I attempted to draw the figure in high school for a costume design project I was working on.

This was Mrs. Edith Vanderbilt's bedroom.  The walls were covered in gold.  Real gold.

This one is for the kids....who knows who this is?

I can't remember the story behind this bed curtain...but it was good...

This was their bowling alley :)

This kitchen was the heart of the home.  Imagine the meals and party food made here.  It's not as big as you would expect

You can imagine the men enjoying an after dinner cigar here.

After the tour, we were all really hungry.  I packed a lunch, but didn't want to drag it somewhere pretty to eat and then have to carry the cooler around.  So...the kids ate it while sitting in the trunck, haha

The afternoon was spent touring the gardens and outdoor areas of this estate.  Of course, Jeremy had a football.  What else do you expect the boys to do on this large, green lawn?

Just some close up shots of the home.  

This is the side view, as if looking from the gardens.  

Besides the fact that the back of my ankles were bleeding from my shoes, I really enjoyed the afternoon in the gardens.  

I thought this was interesting, and I'm guessing quite purposeful to have one orange marigold in a sea of yellow.  Marigold's always make me think of my Great- Grandma Blanche's farm house in Ohio.

This is about a quarter of the rose garden.  It was in full bloom about 3 weeks before we came, which means most of the flowers were still gorgeous!

So sweet 

This has become our persona Lilla Rose flower.

I love this one too!

They had several large green houses.  This area had some unique orchids.

Spider orchid

This is the front view of the greenhouse. Cool building.

Jeremy with his two girls.

We couldn't help but feel romantic here

Hannah was always looking for photo ops.

We took a long walk around the garden paths, looking for ponds.  Finally found one.  

This little guy was a favorite though.  

This is the view when standing in front of the Biltmore, looking toward the bridge and parking area.  

Some of the trees on the property were massive!  The kids and I were able to "hug" this one.  

Before leaving, we decided to check out the winery.  

Jeremy and I got to taste test several different types of wine.  This was a neat experience. We are not big wine drinkers, however some of Jeremy's clients have inspired us to try out different varieties on occasion.  Tasting 6 or 7 different varieties here and being able to compare them helped us both know what we like, and what we don't like.  The gave the kids grape juice, which they thought was really cool.

So, we visited The Biltmore, as everyone told us to.  Will we go back?  Probably not.  This is one of those "been there, done that" places for us.  That's not to say that we didn't have a great time, because we did.  It was a beautiful, relaxing day (besides the bleeding ankles of course :)  A perfect end to our Asheville vacation.