I am sorry that I got so far behind on my updates. Things around the Jacksonville Cowan household have been moving so fast that the time has just been wizzing by. I hope that I can get the month of May up this weekend and work on June, so lets get started....
1st:
Michael is coming in today from Indiana with his good friend Magee. They decided to drive here from Indiana instead of flying as originally planned. Brittney had to work today so we only had an opportunity to visit breifly before we had to leave to take Brittney to work. We met up with Michael and Magee at Chick-Fil-A on Wells road for dinner.
Dave and I both enjoyed getting to know Magee over dinner. Our visit went quickly once again and we had to get home. We are having a lock-in at Adventure Landing tonight with the teens. Michael and Magee were invited, however they wanted to go bowling instead.
I decided to have the teens gather at the chuch at 8:00p.m. for some pizza and a showing of "Fireproof". That all went rather well and before we knew it we had to jump in the church van and head for Adventure Landing. The lock-in started at midnight and is going until 4:00a.m. The kids were wired and very excited about the laser tag and go-carts. I got everyone checked in and we commenced at having fun. Dave and I enjoyed a couple of rounds of miniature golf and had fun watching the kids enjoy themselves. Four a.m. came before we knew it and it was time to call it a night (or day as the case may be). Once we got into the van all of the kids started to crash.
2nd:
We made it in about 5:00a.m. this morning from Adventure Landing. Michael was sleeping on the sofa because Magee was sleeping in his bed. He got up when we got home and headed out to find some cold medicine for Magee. He said that she was not feeling well last night and had difficulty getting to sleep. Once Michael left we went to bed.
We managed to surface about 10:30 a.m. to discover that Michael and Magee had made plans to go to St. Augustine today. I made crepes for everyone and then they were off for a day of fun and adventure. We stayed home to enjoy a day of rest and relaxation (we are not as young as we use to be. Those all nighters take a toll on you).
3rd:
Michael and Magee were up early again this morning. Magee was leaving today. We did not get a chance to say good-bye because they were gone before we got up this morning. Michael took Magee to breakfast before saying his good-byes. I hope we get more opportunity to get to visit Magee in the future. She seems a very sweet girl and we all would enjoy an opportunity to get to know her better in the future, especially sinse she has been such a good friend to our son.
We were up and off to church this morning. Still not fully recovered from the all-nighter yet. We got to church and Dave taught his sunday school class. It was good to see that even the teens were still recovering from the lock-in too! There is justice in this world.
4th-8th:
This week was a normal work week at the Cowan's. Michael spent some quality time with his dad while Brittney and I followed our work schedules and usual weekly routine. This would be Michael's last week with us. He has had to cut his vacation short and leave on Mother's Day. We tried to make our time we had left special and fun, but it was difficult with the gloom of our son leaving hanging over our heads all week.
I want to give a shout out to Bill Cowan as he is celebrating a birthday on Thursday-May 7th. I believe he is turning 40 this year! I hope your birthday is a special one! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead.
10th:
Today is Mother's Day! Happy Mothers Day to all of you mom's out there....I hope your day is as special as you are!
My son bought a beautiful picture frame for me for my Mother's Day gift. I can't wait to put my favorite pictures from our last trip to the Holy Land in it. They are my favorite pictures of us. They are the most recent. I think they are better than any professional could have done.
I spent the morning in church with my family (all except my son, who was home packing his bag for his journey home to Hawaii). After the service we went home and changed into comfortable clothes, loaded the car and headed for the airport. Saying good-bye to our son seems to have become a ritual that never seems to get easier.
12th:
Today is my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! My wonderful husband made a lovely meal: steak from the grill, some pan seared brussel sprouts along with too much yummy goodness to mention. Then my lovely daughter made me a homemade chocolate cake. She also has been preparing for my birthday and mothers day with gifts she has purchased with her hard earned money from Family Christian. She bought me a lovely bracelet that I had been admiring for quite some time, as well as a movie and an interesting book that has me recording details of my life that will be passed back to her so that she has a journal of my life. What a precious gift.
My husband's present to me was an airplane ticket to Maine to see my family. It has been two years sinse I have been home to visit. This visit is really two fold. I told Nancy to let me know when she was ready for me to come and spend time with her after Clive's passing. This was the time we have arranged. A special gift to me to be able to spend time with my mom after her suffering such a great loss.
14th:
I leave for Maine today. I am so excited, I love to travel! The part I hate is having to be at the airport so early. I had to be at the airport at 5:00a.m. for a 6:30 flight. My flight was relaxing and peaceful even the part of my flight that involved me sitting in the Newark airport for two hours. I ate my breakfast and wrote about my adventure in a journal. I even had time to work on my bible study. It was very nice.
I got into Portland, Maine about 1:30 p.m. and my mommy was waiting for me. I got a big hug along with a cold gust of wind that nearly blew me over. I almost forgot-this is New England not Florida. I had left temperatures in the hight 90's to step out of the airport in Maine to temperatures in the mid 50's.
15th-30th:
I do not want to go into alot of detail about my visit at home except that I had an amazing visit. My brother Russell and his wife Staci were living with my mom, so getting to spend that special time each morning and evening with them was precious. Nancy and I were invited out to breakfast with Norma and my cousin Stacy on two seperate occassions and both experiences were something I will always treasure. Stacy and I even got to spend an afternoon together talking and catching up on what has been going on in both of our lives. We walked on the beach, had lunch at the beach and enjoyed a movie together.
My time with Nancy was also a treasure. We got to spend some mother/daughter time together that we have never been able to enjoy. The entire visit seemed to go much too quickly. I am hoping and praying that Nancy, Staci and Russ will come down for a visit to Florida sometime this year. I have missed my family so very much!
Well, there you have May in a nutshell. I hope your month was a blessing as well. Please keep the Jacksonville Cowan's in your prayers. As you know Dave was laid off from his job in November last year and has not been able to find work still. We are certain that God has a special plan for Dave and his future job. We just need the comfort of prayer to provide patience for the journey in between (the waiting time).
Huggs and kisses from all of us to all of you!
