THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 88 DECEMBER 2013

IN LOVING MEMORY OF NORM WHO LIVES IN OUR HEARTS AND LAUGHTER FOREVER

Hi Bubby,

I loved you for thirty eight years despite the differences in our ages, races, and culture. None of these things are of any importance – of course it helped that you were completely oblivious of the social norms! Remember sitting at the kitchen table in the Black Hawk Heights house and taking four hours to propose to me? I figured out pretty early on in the conversation where you were going with your analogy of a plane circling the airport and finding it's destination but I let you do it your way, just hoping that I wouldn't fall asleep before you proposed! Then the next day you ran through it all again to make sure I hadn't changed my mind! You laughed when I said I'd been to the library to check out divorce laws in what to me at the time was a foreign country.

Since 2005 you struggled with prostate cancer and Multiple System Atrophy – a rare neurological disease. Despite numerous hospitalizations, surgeries, being home bound, wheelchair dependent, with total dependance on others to help you with dressing, personal hygiene, and medications you never once had a pity party for yourself. The grace with which you accepted life in a body that barely functioned was awe inspiring to everyone who knew you. You only ever expressed gratitude that your dreadful illness had not befallen you in your younger years when you were working so hard to support our beautiful family. Putting eight children through college was a big motivator - plus you lived to work whereas most people work to live!

Thursday, November 7^th was not a good day. Shortly before midnight I called hospice because despite the morphine, your pain seemed to be intensifying. They told me to give you another half dose and call back if there was no improvement in the next fifteen minutes. There wasn't so about 2:00 am a nurse arrived to try and move you into a more comfortable position and finally we slept for a few hours.

On Friday you woke early in the morning still complaining of pain. I called our wonderful hospice nurse, Toni, who spent most of the day with us. She berated me for not calling her out the night before! She called the hospice doctor and the pharmacist to ask about pain killers that could be given in liquid form in addition to morphine. She asked about one in particular that she remembered giving to another patient but the pharmacist insisted it wasn't available. Later that night she called for help to clean you up and move you as I had put my back out earlier in the day just emptying your catheter – something I had done hundreds of times with no problem. The other nurse, Jennifer arrived to help us and Toni expressed her frustration over the pain medicine situation. Jennifer said she was certain it was available and called the pharmacy and told them to check a certain kit and sure enough there was a bottle of it there. At almost midnight this nurse who had no history with you drove over to Olathe and back to get it for you. Our experience with hospice care was stellar.

The next day, Saturday, Coryn, Jeremy and Ava Claire arrived unaware of your rapidly deteriorating status. I hadn't told Coryn the day before because she was working and I didn't want her to be upset while driving especially with the baby. You know she is the ultimate “daddy's girl” who had you twisted around her finger from the moment she was born. Pals for life you would both say as you stuck out your matching chicken legs.

Once Coryn realized what was happening she texted all her siblings. Josh came over right away and volunteered to spend the night and stayed with us from then on. Sunday Coryn and Ava Claire moved in until you left. Unfortunately Delilah smelled the dogs on Coryn's suitcase and peed all over the contents marking her territory. Just what we needed, a load of washing. We sent the smelly suitcase home with Jeremy.

The three of us took it in turns to give you your medications , all in liquid form as you were no longer able to swallow pills. We had to give you two different medications every hour night and day in hopes of keeping you pain free. Josh applied his analytical brain to figure out how to move you every few hours, without too much discomfort, to avoid pressure sores after we found one on your heel. We stuffed pillows around you, and under you to support you as best we could.

Coryn shared the harrowing experience on Facebook finding it almost impossible to sleep. I was worried that her lack of sleep and the stress of the situation was going to make it difficult for her to produce enough milk for Ava Claire but thankfully that wasn't an issue. At night when I was snuggled up in bed next to you I would hear her tiptoe into our room and whisper in your ear ( you two loved your little secrets) even though it wasn't her turn to give you medications. She swabbed your mouth out when it filled with fluid and when she put lip balm on your lips she'd tell you it was hot pink lipstick! She was amazing, she really held it together. You must have been so proud of her!

Ming Lee reading Coryn's texts decided with Lori, that we needed more help so he flew in on Tuesday November 12^th ( after working all night himself) so that he could take on part of the night shift in hopes that we could all get a few hours of sleep as by then we had been on this regime for three nights.

Jeremy pitched in by picking up lunch and dinner for us all that day - a huge help as none of us had the energy to do anything – we forced Toni to eat too as she spent so much time with us only leaving if she had to see another patient.

Shortly before 5:30 am on Wednesday morning Coryn felt compelled to check on you yet again: almost immediately we noticed your breathing change. She ran to get her brothers so we were all with you when you finally found that perfect peace and quiet you craved all your life.

Craig and Leslee had decided to come the day before and were literally flying in as you were flying out and they were as relieved as the rest of us that you had been freed from your pain and the limitations of your body. They said their goodbyes when they arrived. Ming-Lee was a rock, staying with you while I worked with Toni and Leslee on the arrangements to have you cremated. Now here comes the funny part Bubs. For months I had been showing you the two Chinese Ginger Vases that your mom gave us years ago and explaining that your remains would be in one and mine in the other. I thought you would like to have your ashes scattered on your uncle's farm where you used to love to spend your boyhood summers but you didn't like the idea at all and decided the simplest thing to do would be to combine our ashes and let the kids throw them around their gardens or something – literally pushing up the daisies maybe! Well to get back to the vases Ming took one look at them and asked if they were going to be big enough. For some reason I was thinking that there would only be a couple of cups worth of ashes. Craig and Leslee were clueless too so someone looked it up on the net: the vases were not going to hold the estimated ten to eleven cups as determined by your weight and height. I immediately thought of the large vase that I use as a centerpiece on the dinning room table - also given to us by your mom. Leslee grabbed it and began filling it with cups of water. It was big enough to accommodate us both ! While Leslee cleaned it's dusty insides Ming and Craig dashed to the hardware store to find something to use as a lid and found a cork circle that was the exact size needed. I was planning on having you as the centerpiece of the dinning room too but some of the kids found the idea unappetizing so I put you up on the mantle in the upstairs family room.

Since you so enjoy bathroom humor I will mention that while Ming was keeping you company in the bedroom and Coryn was either napping or showering I was holding a fussy Ave Claire. Just be glad you couldn't smell it because I developed rampant diarrhea and dashed madly pass Ming throwing the baby at him as I made it to the toilet – too late. This happened not once but thrice! Ming was stoic – he even managed to get Ava Claire to sleep. You know my bowels always get in an uproar when I'm stressed bubby. Toni advised me to double up on Lomotil.

Becky (Coryn's friend) insisted on bringing lunch over for us and said her goodbyes to you before you left the house. What a great friend she is to all of us!

Shortly afterwards the hearse arrived to transport you to Heartland Crematory. We all bid you another tearful goodbye in the family room hugging each other in our grief.

Kay was a great support, spending time with you, grocery shopping, helping out with meals and airport runs. Lori, Claudia and Blake called to say goodbye while Ming held the phone to your ear, Sean Facetimed you from Australia a few times. Marc and Bryn called from California. Sean posted a blog shortly after your death. He really captured the essence of you. It made me cry and laugh. Marc also posted a great tribute to you.

I thank Ming-Lee and Leslee who each flew in three times in a short period of time to be with us. Without doubt their visits helped boost your spirits and probably gave you at least another week or so with us. On Leslee's second visit she again took over the kitchen and had you eating for the first time in days. Scrambled eggs and pancakes in bed! Your spirits were so lifted by her presence that you announced that you might be up for a walk later in the day – something you had not been able to do in years! When I left the house to run an errand you coerced Leslee or should I say your Pippy or Little Pip Squeak- into getting you in the wheelchair and taking you out to the front porch. She told me she thought it was too cool but you insisted so she piled blankets on you and gave you a cup of hot tea . You loved it but she was glad when you agreed to come back in after awhile.

During this time you were suffering from hallucinations and confusion (greater than normal) which Toni assured us was not due to your medicines. One day you were dozing in bed sandwiched between your two daughters when you opened your eyes, looked at your girls, and asked if you were in heaven! Your girls are not that angelic! But it was a beautiful memory for them.

Only the week before this Coryn and I thought you were on your deathbed saying our tearful goodbyes as you asked us if we saw the red light. I called hospice and the team quickly appeared in our bedroom. One of the chaplains quipped that you might not want to go on the red light: might be better to wait for the amber or green light! You rallied and were able to enjoy another couple of weeks with us.

I learned a lot about our children during this time. I knew Ming-Lee could shop for groceries and make a meal but I had no idea that Josh could too. Even Marc( who flew in after Leslee's visit) amazed me by going to the grocery store and making one of your favorite meals, beef stew. Marc had me stewing over the electric bill as he had the crock pot running for ten hours! However you were so enthused about the stew that you ate too much, too fast, and had a terrible esophageal spasm which lasted about an hour despite my dropping medications under your tongue. The next day I offered to puree Marc's stew for lunch for you. You looked terrified.'' Not the beef stew” you cried.

Ming-Jon came out for a short visit the week before Thanksgiving and enjoyed meeting Ava Claire and spending time with Kay. Bryn came for a week but spent most of his time flat on his back as usual! Nothing like Ming-Lee and Craig who hauled at least two carloads of books to the half price book store so that I could start re-organizing things with space to work in.Craig and Leslee also cleaned the house from top to bottom for me!

I decided not to put the Christmas tree up this year: it just wouldn't be the same without you constantly warning me not to go a step higher on the ladder to reach the top of our nine foot tree; then getting agitated when I leaned too far over threatening to topple myself, the tree and ladder in your opinion. Of course the more you fretted the more I climbed and leaned! When the tree was about half decorated you would tell me what a beautiful job I had done and be most disappointed when I said I still had boxes of decorations to add. Then when I decorated the mantle and staircase you would warn me that so many Christmas lights were going to throw a circuit breaker. I'd just smile and say I still had the outside to do!

For years our outside Christmas lighting at the old YMCA consisted of one green and one red light bulb. Stringing lights was not your thing. When we moved to Arlamen Drive the boys and I strung icicle lights the length of the house and wrapped the four porch pillars in greenery, bows and lights. Guess who was running up and down the street taking pictures in the dark of the house fully decorated ? I think you grew to enjoy all the holiday decorating.

You have always been a central character in my newsletters because frankly you provided me with endless stories to recount – unintentionally of course. Someone else in the family is going to have to fill the void – I wonder who the lucky one will be?

I write this last letter to you through my tears but take great comfort in knowing that you are watching down on us all from the best seat in the heavens. We'll put a great show on for you for the rest of our lives. I love you more today than I did yesterday and I hear you saying those words right back to me. Thank you so much for our beautiful family who lift me up every day.

The Lowe Family Newsletter Volume 87

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 87 SEPTEMBER 2013

Dear Readers,

August started off with gloriously cool summer days and ended with horrible heat and humidity. As usual my weeds have thrived, while I and my plants have wilted.

My children are spreading their wings and flying off in different directions leaving behind this broody old hen. Sean is currently in New Zealand and reading his blog is very enlightening – I had no idea that his ego was so big, his effect on women so amazing or that he had some interesting body parts that I failed to notice during diaper changes. The photo's are amazing and I am so glad that I get to read about his exploits – white water rafting, flying a stunt plane, bungee jumping etc- after he has survived the experience. I read your dad a somewhat edited version. But I highly recommend the blog to those of my readers who have a broad mind, a sense of humor and an appreciation of good writing.

I received an amazing email a couple of weeks ago from Kay – she asked if she could cook Sunday lunch for the family ! Furthermore she undertook to shop for all the necessary ingredients to make this meal! This was an unbelievable offer so I was thrilled to accept it : what a glorious sight to see her coming through our front door with bags of groceries for a three course meal! She even made her own salad dressing from scratch. After our delicious salad and pasta lunch with cookies for dessert she insisted on helping clean everything up! Quite a contrast to some other family members who only ever ask what I'm planning on making them and when it might be ready for them to eat- then they dash off to the gym leaving me to clean up the kitchen and dishes. Only today Coryn put in an order for three home baked desserts for a back yard get together that she and Jeremy are throwing for some other young couples this weekend. I pointed out that it was a bit much to expect me to bake in this heat for a party I wasn't even invited to but she promptly said I was welcome to come if I wanted to play beer pong and besides by Friday ( her pick-up of my baked goods day) it would be cooler so I should be fine in the kitchen with my double ovens going all day! I declined her invitation to play beer pong but agreed to make her desserts. At least I'll get to see Ava Claire that day!

Bryn announced a couple of weeks ago that Black and Veatch had offered him a promotion and transfer to San Ramos in the bay area close to Oakland and San Francisco. Last week he flew out to check it out and found an apartment in Walnut Creek, close to shopping, night life, jogging trails and the Bart system. He has sold most of his household items but unfortunately not his house. He is going to hand it over to a property management company in hopes that they can rent it out for him. He plans to drive his car, loaded with his clothes, some electronics and an air mattress to his new home which will probably take two to three days. He plans on leaving the day after Leslee-Ann arrives for her visit on the nineteenth of this month.

When Sean left on his extended trip, Josh moved from the “Seando” to Bryn's but his brother's unexpected job move left him homeless so I thought he might move in with us or Coryn and Jeremy but he chose to move into the basement of a friend. He will finish his current job in December and then plans to meet Sean in Thailand, possibly to be joined by Leslee-Ann, Craig and Bryn if their work schedules permit.

Ming-Lee has been in flight school all summer learning to fly a new plane for Fed-Ex. Hopefully he will soon be finished and able to spend more time with his family. Lori and the kids have had a great summer despite Ming's absence, although he did manage to make it home for a couple of days here and there. He will now be flying internationally so will have a chance to explore more of the world on his down time. This should be an exciting experience for Ming who loves to try new things and now that Blake and Claudia are older it will be easier to cope with his frequent absences.

Ava Claire is a happy, healthy baby but unfortunately something her milk supplier is eating is causing her to have gassy and explosive poop – during one diaper change I was showered in poop and had to completely change my clothes, scrub myself and my carpet. She is even passing a little blood in her poop so the pediatrician suggested that Coryn eliminate all diary from her diet and put Ava Claire on a milk free formula for a week or so before returning to nursing. I thought this a ridiculous suggestion but tried to be supportive. I was very pleased that my grand daughter refused to take a sip of the chemical junk (my terminology for baby formula) so instead of pumping her milk Coryn is still nursing but eating a very restricted diet. It does not seem to have helped much yet so she is now thinking that melons may be the cause as a couple of family members have allergies to one or another of these fruits. Sometimes I wonder if any one in the medical profession has any hands on experience. Nursing babies often will not drink from a bottle and if one does succeed in getting them to do so after a few days they will not be interested in breastfeeding anymore. I say keep the boobies flowing and Ava Claire growing. I am sure she will grow out of the problem as her system matures. She has already doubled her birth weight and is definitely a full figured girl!

Last Saturday I was able to enjoy a carefree shopping outing thanks to a hospice volunteer, Mike, who has signed on to stay with Norm for an hour or two every other Saturday. This is such a blessing as we are going to be losing all three boys help very soon. I usually only run errands when I am fairly certain that your dad will sleep the whole time or be engrossed in an NCIS episode.

Norm continues to have his esophageal spasms while eating so we have a couple of other medicines

added to our arsenal to combat this problem – they are in liquid form and can be placed anywhere in the mouth to help with the secretions and panic sensations. He continues to have daily bleeding due to his prostate cancer but fortunately it has not worsened over the last few months. But despite all his health issues he remains in good spirits especially when Coryn, Kay and Ava Claire visit.

Kay was a little concerned during her first few weeks of teaching that her very small class size might result in her class being split between the two other first grade teachers and her being transferred to another school. Since she liked the staff and was comfortable with first graders she was not looking forward to having to start afresh in another school but fortunately everything worked out. A fifth grade teacher volunteered to transfer and one of the other first grade teachers was assigned to the fifth grade class leaving Kay with her original class plus a few more kids. Kay seems to be adjusting well to life in Kansas City although she elected to skip out on watching the Chiefs defeat the Jaguars on Sunday after lunch. I of course am thrilled that we are back to Football Sundays and will be coaching the team to the playoffs this year!

Ming-Jon has moved to North Bethesda to cut his expenses while he continues to look for another job. Hopefully something will happen for him soon. Don't forget to send out your new address Ming-Jon! You never know when Marc might want to mail you something!

Your dad and I have enjoyed watching the US Open Tennis matches this past week and every time they showed the spectators I looked for Lainee who was there a couple of days during her recent trip to New York. Time for me to rally and serve your dad's noodle lunch, love your always on the ball Mother.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 86 JULY 2013

Dear Readers,

July 4^th my great friends of many decades, Becky, Evelyn and Sherry drove here from Fort Madison , making a slight detour to Hannibal to drop off Becky's dog at her mom's house. They arrived to find the flag flying, a traditional picnic of hamburgers and brats on the grill with chicken salad and corn on the cob for those of us (me) that are not into red meat – and trust me any meat that my boys cook is blood red when they deem it cooked. I had made my traditional flag cake as well as a chocolate cream pie for dessert demonstrating how this Brit can be a good sport about the American holiday that celebrates my country's defeat - albeit of centuries ago.

Evelyn, Sherry, Becky and Norm

As usual we all toured my garden and I was anxious to have Evelyn and Becky's opinions on some of my 'volunteer' seedlings as they are much more knowledgeable than myself. I was mortified to learn that one of my prize specimens - that I have been nurturing for two years - was a dreaded thorny locust: it would need to be ripped out if I didn't want visitors to my house impaling themselves on its long needle like thorns on their way to the front porch. I loved it's gorgeous fern like leaf structure that was a lovely contrast to my other plantings. I had not noticed any thorns until Evelyn pointed them out warning me that they would get enormous as the sapling grew. I was convinced to dig it up after taking a walk through our nearby woods with the girls and having a huge decaying thorny locust tree pointed out to me as an example of what the future held. It was scary enough for a Harry Potter book – I could hardly wait to get rid of my ' fern 'tree.

I thought another seedling that I had dug up and lovingly transplanted was a burning bush that had self seeded but I was assured that I was nurturing another weed. In fact almost everything I wasn't sure about was deemed a weed. Thank goodness the girls were able to enlighten me before any of my neighbors - who constantly wonder into my yard for advice or for some free plants - realized that I was tending a garden full of weeds! I even had a small poison ivy plant. I was green to the gills when I realized how close I might have come to losing my status as the green thumb of the cul de sac. I was glad that the girls were enthused about a visit to a garden center on Saturday before they left so I could replace my weeds with real plants. Of course any weed that I do inadvertently keep I will label as a native plant much needed to attract helpful insects to the garden.

We heard the fireworks exploding once it was dark and the girls thought they sounded close enough to see. I explained that although the display is very close to our house the view is obscured by our neighborhood's tall trees. But wandering down the driveway I noticed that at a certain point some of the fireworks were visible peeking between the trees. Then I remembered that one of my neighbors had had some huge diseased trees removed that now left a vantage point for us to enjoy the fireworks so the four of us stood out in the driveway to enjoy the show.

Unfortunately Josh and Bryn had to work on Friday and Sean had a previous commitment so my friends and I were limited in the time we could be away from Norm. But on Friday afternoon while Norm was napping we went to the Carter's Outlet Store which is so conveniently located just a few blocks up Quivera. They are all grandma's to boys so they were feeling a little blue as they shopped the boys side of the store while I - apologizing profusely for having to abandon them to the much cuter girls side - was secretly tickled pink to be able to flaunt my frilly and frothy finds while they did their best to enthuse over their much less flamboyant boys selections. We all noticed that the girls section was much larger and cuter! I assured them that I had fully expected to be on their side of the store, but for once I was wrong about something!

Friday night, after dinner, Norm enjoyed a long chat with Becky and Sherry recalling their years together at FMCH and hearing about the current happenings there. While they were chatting Evelyn and I dragged the hoses around my yard giving the parched plants their much needed daily drink. Evelyn spotted a fledgling thrasher on the ground, with its mother nearby. I was immediately concerned that the bird would become one of my cat's late night snacks so I decided to try and catch it and place it somewhere where the mother could see it but the cats wouldn't be able to nab it. Evelyn enjoyed watching me chase the fledgling down, grab it and place it in a hanging basket only to have it immediately tumble out back to the ground. It's mother was venting her fury very loudly so I decided to leave Mother Nature alone. Evelyn later assured me that the mother had led the baby to a neighbor's yard and I know it survived the night as I spotted it the next day and hoped it was now fully fledged. Our watering finished we joined Becky and Sherry and decided to take a stroll through my hilly neighborhood , to check out every one's landscaping and enjoy the great variety of architectural styles of the homes and the walking trail through the nearby Valleybrooke Park. I constantly reminded Becky of the need to step up the pace in preparation for our trip to England. She assured me that she was doing her very best but I said greater effort was going to be needed to chase down those London cabs!

Exhausted from our walk we retired to the deck with a botttle of wine and talked very late into the night with me occasionally leaving to check on Norm.

The only disappointment of the trip for my friends was that they didn't see Coryn, Jeremy, Ava Claire and their new home: they were spending the 4^th at Jeremy's aunt and uncle's vacation home at the Lake of the Ozarks – a family tradition. A great reason for another visit – I hope! At least the nursery will be totally finished as I have supposedly completed the last task but Coryn always seems to think of something else I need to do! I have actually rediscovered the joy of sewing and have been making little outfits – I made matching dresses, panties , headbands and even a purse for Elena and Ava Claire. I announced that I might make this an annual project as the girls are probably destined to be friends because their mothers and fathers are best friends and spend some time together. I made a little sun hat for Ava Claire and Coryn declared it made her baby look Amish and hoped I could come up with a more fashion forward design. I thought it looked adorable and will stick it on her head every time I take her out for a stroller ride.

Our friends returned on Saturday afternoon, once again having to cram all their shopping and nursery selections into Becky's car. It reminded me of one of their previous trips where the car looked a mobile rain forest with no rear visibility for the driver. Norm and I are so grateful to them for making the trip which truly uplifted our spirits and of course allowed me to remain the garden guru of our neighborhood!

The following weekend Marc arrived and was totally smitten with Ava Claire: just as he was with her mother so many decades ago. He did admit that if he was ever a father( highly unlikely) he would probably spend most of his days at the local ER as every tiny noise from Ava Claire was taken as a sign of some possible dire medical condition. He was convinced that her stomach was going to be permanently contorted by the hiccups, that her neck would be broken if not supported at all times and that her slightly spotty cheeks needed a dermatologist's care. The only thing he was not worried about was keeping her bottom clean – he refused to change her diapers! His concern for the baby saved us from his usual hypochondria.

Marc loves fried smelts and coincidentally Sherry remembering (what a memory!) how Norm and I also enjoy them saw some at a fishmongers and made a gift of them to us. I had some in my freezer too so the three of us had a feast.

Jeremy has been spending a lot of time working in Oklahoma City this summer, usually staying with his mother so the weekend of Marc's visit he returned with her so that she could spend some time with Ava Claire. Coryn called her dad on Saturday night to invite him for lunch on Sunday, assuring him that the whole Kansas City family would be there to carry him into the house so he wouldn't have to stand at all. Last time getting him in and out of the house was a challenge and provoked a seizure so your dad was reluctant to try again. Fortunately he will do almost anything for his girls so Marc and I got him in the car and drove him over to Coryn and Jeremy's where the boys carried him in his wheelchair into the house – even carrying him up the stairs so he could see the bedrooms and nursery. I was thrilled to see Kay - the boys had all helped her move into her apartment the day before – even Marc! Thanks to the kids recent moves she inherited a bedroom and living room set, general household goods and even a car. She was happy to be back in Kansas City and spending time with us – especially Ava Claire whom she met for the first time!

Jeremy had a grill laden with Kabobs, and baked potatoes with cabbage and bacon . Jeremy's mom was churning homemade banana pecan ice-cream. Coryn was looking very domesticated – I think she pulled out some plates and tableware. It was such a treat for me to enjoy a family meal at someone elses house!

Recently our family doctor needed to get in touch with me and thanks to the medical technology provided by Sean's former employer, Cerner, my health was severely challenged. Instead of a phone call I received an E-mail which directed me to their web site where I could log on and read my message. I confidently clicked on the link and was immediately asked for my user name and password. I typed in the pin they had given me at the time I was coerced into signing up for their green paperless medical program. It did nothing. I checked my list of user names and passwords but could find nothing for my doctor's office. I thought it likely that I might have used an existing log on combo so I tried them all and was told that I had reached the maximum number of times that I could try to log on for that day. I was so tense and frustrated that I could feel the blood pounding in my head, was I on the verge of a stroke, a heart attack or a panic attack?I tried to calm myself down by assuring myself that if it was dire news that they would surely telephone me if I didn't respond to the email. I tried logging in on different computers – to no avail. I was now convinced that my frustration was going to lead me to do something rash – I thought about self medicating with your dad's meds before I found myself enrolled in anger management therapy. That evening I decided to go through all the medical papers on my desk and if that didn't help me I would call the doctors office the next morning to explain my inability to connect on the web and ask if they could prescribe Valium over the phone .Going through the papers I finally came across the brochure they had sent home with us on our last visit and right on the front was my user name and password. Obviously I thought it was a smart place to record the information at the time but it seems that on top of everything else I am now suffering from early on set dementia. I think the old fashioned way of communicating with my doctor was much better for my health!

Sean is off to explore the world this coming weekend and I hope he has some great experiences to blog about so that we can join him on his journey in spirit. One thing we can count on is a lot of photographs as he is traveling with enough camera equipment to suggest that he is a wannabe Craig! I'm worried that he is going to be scoped out by a mugger. I have been told that he is expecting his last supper at our house for awhile on Thursday night.

Love your mother who holds you close to her heart as she seems to be losing her head.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME85                                                        JUNE 2013

SPECIAL DELIVERY THIS EDITION: Miss Ava Claire Logue

                                 May 25^th 2013

                                 6lbs 11 oz, 19 inches
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Dear Readers,

I was awoken by the phone ringing at about 8:00am on Saturday, May 25th. I staggered out of bed and ran around to your dad's side to grab the phone. It took a few seconds for my slumbering brain to compute that it was Jeremy, asking what time I was planning to be at their house to plant flowers. I wondered why on earth he had called me at this strictly tabu hour to babble on about landscaping, but then he delivered the real reason for his call by saying that I might want to swing by the hospital on my way. I was stunned, the baby was not due for almost three weeks and frankly I didn't think Coryn was anywhere near the usual end of pregnancy desperation - if I go one more day in this condition I am going to jump up and down until something happens mode. I said I would be there asap. Fortunately Sean answered his phone and was able to come up to stay with a still sleeping Norm while I pulled on one of my suitable for the hospital outfits and flew down I 435 to St. Josephs hospital. I was there about 9:00 am and charged up to the birthing floor where I was soon shown into Coryn and Jeremy's labor room. My daughter was on all fours panting like a rabid dog. I knew immediately that she was in hard labor and asked how far she was dilated. Jeremy said she was at two when they were admitted. Having a little birthing experience myself I knew she was further along. The nurse came in just as I was thinking about looking for her. I immediately let her know that my daughter was in hard labor, should be checked for progress and would probably be in need of a midwife before lunch. I knew I had made the nurse's day: having spent years advocating for your dad's healthcare in various hospitals I know the staff feel such relief when I make all the decisions for them. As soon as the nurse left the room she probably called the midwife and warned her that the mother from hell was with her patient.

We had never discussed my being there for the birth so it was an unexpected privilege to share in this amazing experience with Coryn and Jeremy. She coped so well with a fast and furious labor , only delivering some blood curdling screams towards the end - any other mother there laboring over the decision of whether to have a natural or medicated birth probably opted for an epidural thanks to Coryn. Jeremy and I cooled her down with wet washcloths and talked her through her contractions, assuring her that each one was bringing us closer to seeing whether they had a son or daughter. Finally at about noon a head covered in dark hair was peeking out between Coryn's legs. I gushed about the baby's hair as I knew Coryn's biggest fear was a bald baby. I hoped the head of hair would be incentive to really push and push she did. I was very surprised when Ava Claire appeared as I had expected a boy! She looked just like her mother at birth, minus the big wide awake eyes.

Shortly after her birth I left the new family to bond and drove home to deliver the details to the boys who were all over at the house with Norm. Almost as soon as I stepped into the house they raced out to buy some flowers for their sister and went to the hospital to see their new niece. Later that night I took Norm over to the hospital to see Ava Claire as he had set being here for her birth as his goal. He cutely referred to Coryn's pregnancy as the' impending obstetrical delivery' for which he would like to be present. We have now set Ava Claire's first Christmas as our new goal.

While we we were there Fred and Becky showed up with Elena who did not approve of anyone holding the baby. Her lower lip trembled, her eyes grew moist and she demanded that her parents pick her up and pay attention to her! Then the Lowe boys showed up for their second visit of the day. Earlier in the afternoon Grant and Sheryl had driven up from their vacation home in the Lake of the Ozarks and Gaylene, Jeremy's mother had come up from Oklahoma City. A lot of visitors for Ava Claire's first day!

Coryn and Jeremy were ready to go home the next day but the pediatrician stated that she was uncomfortable discharging Ava Claire, declaring her a preemie at 6lbs 11oz and asking the parents to stay another night. By the time they were discharged the baby had jaundice but thankfully was sent home with some contraption that attached special lights to the baby for a few days. Thankfully Sheryl was able to stay with them for the first few days, driving Coryn and Ava to the doctor's office daily to have her blood tested for bilirubin levels. Fortunately she was much better in a few days so that Coryn could concentrate on nursing : nursing her nipples I should say as unfortunately they became very cracked and inflamed. Fortunately a month later she is finally healed. She did ask me yesterday which part of nursing was enjoyable. I know she will think it all worthwhile the first time Ava breaks off nursing and gives her mom a milky grin!

Ava's early arrival turned my dinning room into a sweat shop as I sewed crib bumpers; a crib skirt; another flock of birds; basket liners; big bows; and tufted a chair cushion; I have gone through about twenty yards of fabrics! Before the baby was born Coryn said she was having custom drapes made for the babies room (I gave silent thanks) so I asked who she was ordering them from and she looked at me as if I had just asked the dumbest question ever and replied that I was making them of course. I muttered something about hardly calling my sewing skills custom but Coryn declared that I was creating her custom nursery. The price is right.

Ming Lee, Lori, Blake and Claudia were able to visit for a few days, staying with Coryn and Jeremy. Claudia was ecstatic to hold Ava Claire and had a great time shopping with Lori for baby clothes. Lori even passed on a couple of dresses that we had given to Claudia when she was a baby. Coryn was thrilled as she had asked Lori years ago if she could keep one of them for her in case she had a girl! Only took ten years!

We celebrated Father's Day with 3 dad's in the house this year, Norm, Ming and Jeremy. It was the first time in weeks that we used my dinning room as the chairs and tables were covered in fabrics, batting, foam, and threads - with a pin cushion carpet. I have never been able to break myself of the habit of pulling pins out of fabric as I sew and tossing them to the ground. It took me so long to clean it all up that I had to press Bryn into running the vacuum around to suck up all the pins before someone got one stuck in their foot. The boys worked together to prepare a special Father's Day lunch, steaks on the grill, corn on the cob, baked beans, garlic mashed potatoes and gravy. Dessert was four large boxes of ice cream treats which your dad is enthusiastically eating his way through in an effort to clear some space in the freezer- right. It's strange how he doesn't have an appetite for fresh fruit desserts but show him an ice cream sandwich and his appetite immediately returns.

Ming and family cooked some meals for the Logues, helped clean their already pristine home and took Ava Claire on her first stroller ride around Raintree Lake. Lori said the baby screamed as soon as she pushed her down the driveway so she took her back into the house, changed her dirty diaper and set out again: this time successfully. Ava Claire likes to have her diaper changed immediately when it becomes soiled. The boys spent Sunday night hanging out with them at Coryn's while I got back to my sewing and gardening.

Tuesday everyone except Sean showed up for dinner which Ming Lee ordered from Bolings, the best Chinese food around I think. I certainly enjoyed the break from cooking. After supper Ming and family drove to the airport and arrived home exhausted at about one in the morning. We greatly appreciated their visit as Ming will be away from his family for much of the summer training for a new FedEx plane.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter your dad is now being cared for by a hospice team in our home. This gives us access to medical care twenty-four /seven so I no longer have to try to make contact with an on call resident at Ku-Med. We have a nurse, bath aide, chaplain and a social worker. Our beloved Tina who use to take care of him has stopped by to visit a couple of times and always brings sunshine with her. We try to make each day as pleasant as possible and your dad remains in good spirits.

Marc will be here in mid July. I'm preparing myself for his hypochondria and sure to be complaints about the heat and humidity, especially in our house as your dad freezes if the thermostat is set below eighty degrees! It's much worse upstairs so hopefully he won't be spending hours in my bathroom damaging it's plumbing with his sub standard plumbing equipment. Josh always has to adjust the toilet after Marc's usage.

Kay should be back from Tulsa later in July, ready to start teaching at the Pitcher School in Kansas City. She and another girl in the Teach America program are sharing an apartment in the Plaza area and with all the furniture Coryn and the boys have for her, her biggest challenge will probably be deciding where to put it all! Sean has sold his condo, Josh is moving in with Bryn who also has his house on the market. My concern is where are the boys going to move if Bryn sells his place - my upstairs? Can you imagine my shame if I have to confess that not only am I the mother of five eligible bachelor sons (Bryn and his girlfriend split) but worse - two of them have moved home?

The July 4^th weekend will certainly be cause for celebration as my great friends of many decades, Becky, Evelyn and Sherry will be spending the weekend with us. I will fly the flag – (a very special one that Ming-Jon sent your dad this year for Father's Day as it has flown over the Nation's Capital Building), make a flag cake and completely ignore that it's the day we Brit's lost the war. They are very anxious to meet our newest family member who unfortunately is going to be away that weekend but we hope for an early return! Love your firecracker of a mother who will make sure the weekend doesn't fizzle.

501 NE Noeleen Lane

Lee’s Summit, MO 64086

Volume 84

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 84 MAY 2013

Dear Readers,

April flew by thankfully as it was a very cold, wet and dreary month and May was ushered in with a record breaking snowfall which almost broke my gardening spirit. Fortunately we finally have sun and warmth and my garden is in full bud just waiting to bloom forth – rather like Coryn. We are now just about four weeks away from her due date of June 12^th.

Leslee-Ann and Craig visited us in mid April for a few days. Josh picked them up at the airport on a Thursday morning and decided to have a little fun with mother on their drive home. They were running late so I called Josh to ask if they had stopped to eat or something. When Josh answered the phone he sounded as if death was imminent. He didn't know if they had arrived as he was still in bed, too sick to move. I immediately went into full mother in a crisis mode. I told him that I would call Leslee and Craig to see if they were waiting curbside for him, explain the situation, then find someone to stay with Norm while I raced to pick them up or see if one of the kids could take a long lunch hour to fetch them. I also assured Josh that I would be flying down I435 to take care of him once Leslee and Craig arrived to stay with Norm. His voice sounded so weak I was convinced that he was terribly dehydrated and probably on the verge of lapsing into a coma – all my fears of the nasty bugs he might have picked up on his travels came flooding back to me. Then as my bowels begin churning Josh had a miraculous recovery and offered to put Craig on the phone. Why do I always fall for these stories?

Leslee took over as soon as she arrived. She, Craig and I headed to the Hen House where she shopped for all the groceries they needed to fix several meals. Leslee is very touchy feelie when it comes to the produce aisle: every vegetable or fruit was poked, prodded or squeezed to test for ripeness. By the time she had selected her tomatoes I would have shopped every aisle and been headed to the self checkout. I asked Craig if she was always like this – Craig confessed that he would do almost anything to avoid shopping with her. He escaped the produce aisle by offering to hunt for other items on her list through out the store .I frankly don't remember ever grocery shopping with Leslee in her younger years – in fact I suspect she probably made it all through college without ever fixing a meal. When we made it to the cash register we had dueling credit cards: Leslee won.

Another interesting fact I noted was that a butcher behind the meat counter hollered at Leslee and me when we were several yards away up another aisle to see if we needed any help. Now I have shopped at this store at least once a week since we moved to Kansas and no-one has ever asked me if I needed any help! The same thing happens with Coryn. We went to see a musical at one of the downtown theaters months ago before Coryn was visibly pregnant and immediately an usher appeared to escort her to her seat, leaving me behind to fend for myself! I didn't notice any other little old ladies getting escorted to their seats either. The same thing happens on planes – male passengers leap to their feet to heft her suitcase into the overhead bins while I struggle with mine!

Coryn took Friday off work so that she could spend time with her sister and Craig. Josh - who is off work permanently at this time it seems - was also around a lot so we played a few rounds of the game Bananagrams that Lainee introduced us to and Quiddler. When Bryn and Sean were around we broke out more family games. Norm never plays but enjoys listening to all our bantering and the kids giving me a hard time .One night they all headed to Barley's – a nearby restaurant /bar. They met up with an old Aquinas school friend, Josh Dinwiddie and his wife who have recently moved here.

On Saturday morning the guys went to play basketball while Leslee and I stayed with Norm. After lunch the boys returned and stayed with Norm while Leslee and I shopped and got our nails done. Unfortunately I got talked into gel nails and have spent over a week trying to remove the polish with very little success despite following the instructions on the web. I think I am going to have to pay someone to take the gel polish off! Never again.

As you all know your dad has been having more health issues of late. We have had several instances of days of fruit punch colored urine, blood in his underwear and pain. One weekend I had to irrigate your dad's bladder through his catheter tubing three times. I never expected to find myself shooting your dad up with a huge syringe full of liquid! After consulting with a couple of his doctor's we have decided to move ahead with Hospice care. It has been a very difficult decision as we have been very happy with our present home health group but they do not offer in home hospice care. Hospice does a great job with pain control which has become an issue for your dad lately.

Mother's Day was very special again this year. All my children called, sent cards, or presents. The doorbell rang early Sunday morning so I rushed to open it in my nightie, thinking it had to be one of my children not having any idea of the time. It was a delivery guy balancing a gift box containing a beautiful flower arrangement, a fresh baked loaf of bread and a cheese assortment. The guy wished me a nice day to which I replied it would be now as I grabbed my gift and I thought the vision of me in my nightie had just guaranteed him a nice day too! No sniggers or comments children!I grabbed my glasses to see who had sent my gift and saw that it was from Leslee and Craig. I also saw that it was only eight O'clock in the morning so I decided to go back to bed since it was my special day. I had just nestled myself in next to your snoring dad and the purring cat when the doorbell rang again. This time FedEx delivered chocolate covered strawberries and a trio of cheese cakes from Marc. Amazingly Marc admitted during a later in the day phone call that he had been prompted by a radio ad rather than his boss or one of his siblings into doing something for his all too soon to be moving in Mom. At this point I decided I might as well stay up in case another delivery came my way. Towards lunchtime Josh, Bryn and Sean arrived with bags of groceries to fix a barbecue steak and chicken lunch which we enjoyed eating on the deck. They were soon joined by Coryn and Jeremy with the boys. They contributed some sides and several ice-cream/candy bar treats.

Remember the flock of birds I made for Coryn and Jeremy's nursery? Coryn decided to check out my supply of tree branches and espied some she thought would work in a pile of branches on my neighbors side of the fence so I found myself bent in two over the fence trying to wrestle her chosen branches free, hoping my neighbor wasn't watching my antics to steal his trash! Coryn explained that it was my duty to contort myself into a pretzel as she couldn't even get close to the fence, leave alone bend over it with her baby bump. This done we headed out through my new garden gate to Quivera where she found some just laying on the ground that she liked better! I made her take the lot home with her as I was not going to throw the branches back over the fence. Guess who is probably going to be stuck with the job of hanging the branches and perching the birds on them?

Kay graduates from Tufts this weekend with a bachelors degree (Cum Laude) in Chinese and Clinical Psychology.She will be arriving in Kansas City for a few days in early June for her orientation into the Teach America program and will then spend most of the summer training in Tulsa, Oklahoma until school starts here. We are so excited to have another family member so close.

Sean has handed in his notice at work and plans to follow in Joshua's footsteps by exploring the world. He is also trying to sell his condo .Josh has been helping him to clean it up and is now helping Bryn ready his house for sale too. I can only hope that my house will be the next beneficiary of Joshua's handyman skills. I have lots of projects!Knowing Josh he will probably take off on another adventure or maybe totally surprise me by finding a job. I am now the mother of three unemployed sons. Ming-Jon is very actively looking for a new one so I hope he finds one very soon. When Coryn goes on maternity leave half my children will be unemployed! I shall have to hope that no-one asks what you all do – although I guess I could say that half of my children are embracing the concept of stopping to smell the roses – preferably at mother's house where a free meal is always available!

Ming-Lee has been adding a new floating dock at the Lake House although he may not get to enjoy it too much this summer as he will be in flight training for a few months soon as he has to learn how to fly a new plane. I think FedEx is retiring his usual type of aircraft. Hopefully he and the family will be able to get together sometimes.

Marc is very busy in court – says one of his cases made the front page of the LA Times – doubtless it's a scandal sheet. I just hope he'll net enough for our dream home overlooking the Pacific Pallisades. Then he'll have enough room for all his unemployed siblings – wouldn't it be lovely to mooch off of Marc?With that uplifting thought I must abandon you all to put out my trash,water my plants and check your dad's catheter bag to see what's growing in there now! Love your always in the dirt and blooming mother.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 83 MARCH 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

March unleashed a tornado on the land of Oz: Thursday, March 7th Norm's sister Elaine, his niece Lainee,and nephew Chenson stormed the city. Elaine and Lainee flew from San Francisco and Chenson from Boston. The eye of the storm joined forces at the Kansas City airport and landed a bull's eye on our home. They blew in with enough luggage to have one think that the contents of a jumbo jet's cargo hold had been sucked up and spit out by the tornado. All this for a four day stay I asked myself as I was ordered out of sight so that Lainee could do her “ staging”. Welcome hugs over, I hid in the kitchen, giving my big pot of chilli a stir or two whilst debating whipping up another pan of cornbread which Josh assured me was not needed. Soon I was summoned to unpack gift bags containing bath time, breakfast, lunch, supper and in between time treats, and Asian treats for Norm. I panicked as with the exception of the half dozen varieties of made from scratch cookies and candies everything else needed to be frozen or refrigerated. Would my mid- sized fridge be able to hold everything? I gave thanks that Sean had purged a lot of the contents the week before during one of his check the expiration dates of his parent's groceries compulsion - something he is compelled to do all too often. Item after item was found to be past it's use or sale by date and I witnessed a weeks worth of meals being trashed by my son.

My fridge already contained two smoked chickens, a smoked turkey breast, Canadian bacon, smoked bacon and cheddar cheese: Elaine had all these items shipped from Harringtons shortly before they arrived. Lainee had stressed repeatedly that they did not want me slaving in the kitchen, thus they had brought enough food with them to stock a food pantry. Certainly a contrast to my other family members who assume there is nothing more Mother enjoys than cooking up a storm with her own groceries.

Their arrival time coincided with our dinnertime so shortly before they arrived I decided to set the dinning room table - and immediately gave thanks that I had not waited to spread the tablecloth. A nauseating stench was coming through the cracks and crevices of my dining room window. I cursed the marauding neighborhood tom cat knowing that he had lifted his tail and sprayed my window. This sent me into a tail spin. I ran to the kitchen for paper towels, Windex, and Febreeze which I used inside and out to rid my Martha Stuart dinning room of the stench. I wish that wretched tom cat would realize that my female cats are spayed. Worse my female cats spray over his spray and then when Coryn's dogs visit they lift their legs and add a third layer. To add to my stress our guests were all allergic to cats and not at home in a house where the cats consider every chair and bed their domain. Trust me I dusted, vacuumed and washed all the bedding prior to their arrival and was ready to offer allergy medication if needed. Elaine asked me hopefully if there was one room in the house that the cats were less likely to use: unfortunately that would be the storage room with their kitty litter boxes.

Once all their food gifts had been squeezed into every nook and cranny of my fridge I suggested that we might move into the dinning room and have supper. My guests were not very hungry as Lainee had made sandwiches for them all to enjoy on the plane. Good thing that Josh wasn't with them or he would probably have tried auctioning them off to the highest bidding passenger – come to think of it someone could probably make a living flying from cost to coast with a weekender full of sandwiches and wraps now that the airlines no longer offer meals. I decided that we would eat anyway since your dad does better with a routine and my tum starts growling at five in anticipation of supper and we all know how irritable I get when my stomach is empty. .

Josh had just returned from his travels where he had a harrowing time getting out of Columbia so he entertained our guests with numerous details of his adventures. Like Josh they have all traveled much of the world so they had a mutual interest.

When Lainee and I found ourselves working together in the kitchen I thought my culinary skills might cut the mustard. To be blunt I thought Lainee, a former professional caterer, would be impressed with my new set of stainless steel knives – a promotional offer from my local grocery store- but she muttered something about her grandma not being able to abide a knife that wasn't razor sharp. I felt the jab but my stab at slicing an avocado really piqued her interest. Apparently she had never seen any one use a soup spoon to scoop out the big seed and then use it to remove the edible part, a bit like a melon baller. Unfortunately I couldn't tell whether she was amazed or dismayed. But we did cut into the wonderful assortment of English Cheeses that Lainee had found in San Francisco and enjoyed them with a glass of wine in the evening. In fact long after the rest of the household slept Lainee and I munched and drank our way into the next day throughout her visit!

Our guests spent most of Friday sightseeing, taking in The Nelson Atkins Museum, the first Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue restaurant located in a gas station, and visited Strouds where they picked up pan fried chicken and cinnamon rolls for us all to enjoy. Saturday they spent some of the morning at the largest of our local Asian grocery stores and found that we really can buy most things here needed to make authentic Chinese dishes. In the afternoon we visited Coryn and Jeremy and enjoyed a tour of their new home. Ollie and Buster were thrilled to see Grandma, especially when I pulled their treats out of my purse. Jeremy's big dogs were kept out of the way – four dogs might be overpowering for people not use to living in a dog pound.

Later that night we all had dinner together, squeezing ten of us around the dinning room table. I attempted to make this a more formal affair by using my cloth napkins and gold rimmed glasses. Any hopes of setting a higher standard were thwarted immediately when Chenson and Bryn returned with a box full of burnt ends, baked beans and cheesy corn from Jack Stacks Barbecue. I was prepared to transfer all the food to serving platters which my boys deemed a crazy idea as they cleared my centerpiece and unpacked the contents of the box onto my table. We served ourselves out of foil takeout pans. Since all our guests are “foodies” they were excited to try out the barbecue foods for which Kansas City is famous .When Coryn and Jeremy arrived with their gas station to go beverages I knew there was no hope of having any degree of sophistication once again in my Martha Stewart dinning room.

Norm was in his usual place beside me so that I could monitor his food intake and make sure it was cut into small pieces in hopes of avoiding an esophageal spasm or a seizure. We avoided the former but not the latter. I was so busy interacting with everyone else that I failed to notice your dad helping himself to more and more food and soon his system was overloaded and he went into a seizure. The boys decided to move him into the living room where we used an ice bag to cool him down while we waited for him to recover.

Chenson was a big help one night with Norm during a bedtime seizure: I was able to get Norm in bed much more quickly than I could have by myself. Being stuck in the bathroom with your out of it father is not my idea of bedtime fun.

Chenson returned to Boston on Sunday and Lainee and Elaine left the following day after another whirlwind of activity stripping all their beds, washing, drying and remaking them – not something my children often do – usually they leave the bed unmade, stuff strewn everywhere and towels draped over doors. Lainee really meant it when she said they didn't want to burden me any more than I already am with my caregiving.

Much to my amazement Lainee had bought extra of everything she had eaten – even barbecued baked beans so that her husband, Francis could sample all that she had enjoyed in Kansas City. She packaged it all up and checked it through to San Francisco. She certainly had the space since most of her arrival luggage was packed into my fridge!

Bryn spent the following weekend with Joyce, flying to Vegas and driving to LA whilst Coryn and Jeremy took one last trip before their baby( my newest grand baby) arrives to Coronado Island, near San Diego. Marc drove down to spend some time with them and confirmed that my account of his driving skills in a recent newsletter was not exaggerated.

 

Kay and a friend were in Orlando for part of their Spring Break with Leslee and Craig. The girls took a three day cruise for part of the time. Leslee posted a great picture of herself and Kay on Facebook enjoying the night life. We are so excited to be having Kay with us very soon.

Your dad and I have been following the March Madness College basket ball teams on TV, especially the Jay Hawks. I have been coaching loudly from the sofa and fortunately your dad seems to enjoy my commentary far more than my children.

Budget shortfalls have led to Ming Jon's having to find another job so we wish him luck. Fortunately he has a couple of months to do this so lets all keep our fingers crossed.

Well it's time for me to shake my cute tail and hop into the kitchen to prepare my Easter Luncheon which I hope Josh, Bryn and Sean will enjoy. Coryn and Jeremy are spending the holiday with Sheryl and Grant's family. I am sure they will be very eggcited to have our incubating chick to cluck over - she certainly has a lovely egg shaped belly .Unfortunately she has been pecking away at Jeremy demanding more upgrades to feather their nest so Jeremy has been spending what little free time he has shopping for new furniture, and decorator accents. He has married one very demanding bird –I hope he ruffles her feathers sometimes!

Your honey bunny of a mommy with eggstra love to all!  

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2013 VOLUME 82

Dear devoted readers and family members,( who are probably not among the former,)

Today is dank, downcast, and dreary: a typical English day which explains why I fled the country decades ago. Of course everything is blanketed in our second heavy snow within days and two of my kind neighbors are battling it out with their snow blowers to clear my driveway and sidewalks because they worry about my visiting nurses being able to take care of Norm and are aware that he may need an emergency medical trip at any time. Unfortunately until the street crews plow our neighborhood the only way to go is by ski or sled. One of them thought of calling city hall to get our street designated as a snow plow priority since there is no way an ambulance could make it into our cul de sac if Norm should need one. I am sure all the residents trapped in their homes would be most grateful to Norm if this transpired.

Ming Lee flew in for a quick visit last week and witnessed a senior moment with his mother. We were in the kitchen and I flipped the light switch on only to have one of my two kitchen lights come on. Ming asked if there was another switch -no I assured him as I started complaining about the high cost of these new fangled long lasting light-bulbs that hardly seem to shed any light where I need it. I muttered that they weren't that old. Ming unscrewed the fixture and took out the bulbs which looked fine but suggested we might want to try new ones so I handed a couple to him but still no light. He thought it odd that one fixture worked but the other didn't if they were on the same circuit. Again he asked me if I was sure that there wasn't another switch so in exasperation I walked over to the switch and realized that I had one switch up and one down on my dual plate. I guess I am so use to putting them both on with one flick that I had forgotten that each light had it's own switch. Ming shook his head and replaced the new light bulbs with the still fine old ones. It takes a long time for Mother to see the light sometimes. Thankfully things went better with my garden gate repair – I only found some tools for Ming to work with and tried to distract the neighbor's barking dog from his frenzied attempts to get over the fence and show Ming some affection.

We spent Ming's last evening babysitting Elena because Becky had parent/teacher conferences and Fred was out of town. Since this coincided with supper time Ming made his dad a sandwich which he raved about -using up some of the smoked turkey that he and Lori had sent us earlier in the week Elena was thrilled to have another male to flirt with. I decided to take some pictures of Ming and his dad sitting together so I was counting to three and saying cheese when Elena came up with “cheese” all by herself after the count. So cute.

Norm's sister Elaine and her daughter Lainee are visiting us for a few days in early March. They are both foodies so hopefully they'll be able to adjust to my gourmet cooking -more truck stop than Wolfgang Puck! They are renting a car at the airport so they will be able to do some sightseeing- we can always offer a tour of our homes: Coryn and Jeremy's offers a dog pound feel,Bryn 's showcases what you can find on Craig's list and Sean's pay's homage to Norm's artistic abilities.

On Saturday morning Coryn came through our door unexpectedly with a bag of sub sandwiches for our lunch and announced that while her dad was taking his afternoon nap we would drive to downtown Overland Park to shop at a fabric store that she thought might have some trendy fabrics for a mother/daughter nursery project . Earlier in the week she had sent me a link to a picture of fabric birds which she saw perched on twigs in the nursery. We made it to our destination despite all the snow but it was impossible to find a parking spot. I thought downtowns were a dying memory these days but this place was pulsating with life - each trying to beat the other to the few parking spots available. We all know how miffed Coryn gets when she can't find a spot right in front of the store she wants to shop in. She berated all the shoppers for ruining her excursion by causing us to drive in circles before we parked in the Farmer's Market parking lot. I did warn her to be mindful of the pedestrians and cars that she almost plowed into in her haste to find a spot but she mumbled something about it being one way to lessen the competition. Once inside the store we did see some great fabrics but nothing in quite the right color scheme. They had some beautiful quilts – mental note to self to bring Becky Clay on her next visit – one of which featured an abstract bird motif. Coryn immediately saw this in her nursery, in fabric to match her birds. She mentioned that she might be able to find a ready made crib skirt and bumper pad in a solid color to co-ordinate and without even thinking I said that it would look more custom to do the whole thing in like fabrics and thus committed myself to a quilt, bedding and the birds of which I initially thought there would be about five but it turned out that our Mother bird is expecting a flock!, We drove to three more fabric stores before we finally found seven fabrics in her newest color theme: the place I suggested first of course, - after Walmart which she said was an inconceivable choice for her baby. I will have to set this project up in my basement instead of the dinning room as it will take weeks to do all this work. Coryn had mentioned that it was a mother daughter project but other than picking out the fabric and design , the fun part – I seem to be left doing the actual sewing. I did mention that it would be a great time to learn to sew but as usual Coryn doesn't seem to see the point in learning to do something that her mother can do for her.

Recently we had a new development in your dad's ongoing saga of ills. As you all know he has suffered from esophageal spasms for years, particularly triggered by eating too fast and too much . Saturday night I served him roast beef au jus, rice and mushrooms . Obviously he was gulping his gourmet dinner so fast that he went into horrendous spasms producing blood curdling sound effects and liters of clear mucus. Once I grabbed some towels and a bowl for him to spew in, I researched the clear mucus which has the consistency of egg whites – no children I did not contemplate whipping it up into a batch of meringues to serve you at Sunday tea time – and found that it is another common condition with MSA. It took well over an hour for the attack to subside. The following morning Norm had a chipmunk cheek so I suspected a blocked salivary gland. I used a flashlight to check it out but his cheek was so swollen I couldn't see a thing. I gave him a piece of dental floss and told him to rub his gums with it. That was definitely putting a foreign object into his mouth for your dad- who as we all know thinks dental care is swishing with mouthwash or using left over polident solution. UGH! I had him follow up with salt water rinses and sucking an acidic candy which I found on a home remedy page on the web. It worked. By lunchtime the swelling was greatly reduced and your dad was ready to eat. Bryn and Sean were here for lunch and I explained it wasn't happening because between the dwindling contents of my snowbound fridge and your dad's health issues I was out of commission. They settled on picking up Taco Bell , just a couple of blocks away

Whilst eating lunch with the boys around the kitchen table they glanced at the deck and wondered if I wasn't worried about it collapsing under the weight of over a foot of snow. I wasn't until they bought it up. I suggested that they might want to shovel it off for me but instead they shoved off to the gym. I was left contemplating the prospect of another foot of snow and the danger of the deck collapsing and pulling the kitchen with it. I bundled up and started shoveling. Two hours later it was about done and I was done in. I worked up such a sweat that I had to take my coat off. Good job my neighbors didn't see this or they may have decided I was more than capable of clearing my own driveway!

A couple of weekends ago Norm had his first excursion since his hip replacement surgery. Coryn's former neighbors,Doris and Donny were going to see the newly weds home for the first time and since Norm especially enjoys Doris I thought it might persuade him to go. It did but unfortunately we had trouble getting him in and out of their house. He had a spell on the way out so we had to carry him in the wheel chair back into the house until he came out of it. But at least he got to see the first floor of their home and its neighborhood..

Bryn and Sean seem to have only just returned from their trek to Machu Picchu (hope you saw the great pictures and Craig's time lapse)and they are already planning a road trip to attend a bachelor party in Austin, Texas this weekend. I just hope the roads are cleared and that we have no more snow as they are driving. Bryn's renter, Adam ,is another lucky man who has found a woman to help him through life. I just hope they get enough sleep and make sure they are completely sober before they even think of driving home.

We celebrated Norm's 85thbirthday and our 38^th wedding anniversary with pizza and an ice-cream cake provided by Bryn and Joyce who was in town for a few days. Sean, Coryn and Jeremy joined the party and we were presented with a new copier/fax and scanner to replace a lot of the outdated equipment in your dad's office. I still have to set it up as my boys have such confidence in my IT skills that I was assured they didn't need to do it for me. Mother will make it work even if I have to solicit Coryn!

Ming Jon is still hoping to have his hours increased at work and keeping busy with his causes and love of the arts. Only months now until Kay will be with us in Kansas City – just in time for the baby.

Coryn and Jeremy are planning one last trip to California before they become parents, wonder if they'll see Marc? Josh will be home the day before Elaine and Lainee arrive and Leslee and Craig will be here in April.

I shall miss having Josh here for his thirty third birthday – I had seven children by this age – but I won't miss the stress of baking a custom cake. I will be so happy when my son with the beautiful curly hair is safely home.

Time for me to don my Eskimo suit, drag the trash cans to the curb and fix the garage door for the second time today. May have to call in a professional as it's been having its ups and downs for some time just like the rest of the house. I remarked to Coryn the other day that I'm beginning to see more cracks in our foundation than I do on my face. I'm beginning to think our lemon of a home is showing it's age more than me! Love your holding it together Mother.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 81 JANUARY 2013

Dear Readers,

This Christmas I opened a very special card. On Sunday, December 23^rd I was watching the Chiefs lose miserably with your dad, Sean, Bryn , Coryn, Buster and Ollie. Jeremy was at Arrowhead Stadium watching the game. Tina, our wonderful bath aide came to visit with her family as she wanted the girls to see my Christmas decorations and to take their picture on my teddy bear themed front porch – specially designed with Elena Dickinson in mind. Tina's young daughters were far more entranced with Coryn's dogs. Somehow the topic of babies came up and I was teasing Coryn as usual about her aging eggs and predicting that her babies would be born with gray hair and be in need of a gerontologist rather than a pediatrician. Coryn had one of her withering comebacks for me: “oh good, then you can take them with you when you see your doctor”.

Once the game was over Jeremy came by and handed me a card to thank Norm and me for all we had done for them. I assured him it wasn't necessary to give us a written thank you as I opened the envelope and pulled out the card. I opened it and immediately saw the sonogram photo of our new est grandchild. The card was signed from Coryn and Jeremy and BABY Logue. I was so excited I jumped in the air and screamed touchdown, hugging Jeremy and congratulating him on his ability to score so quickly. I realized that the sonogram picture meant that Coryn was more than a couple of weeks pregnant and was amazed to find that she was in her fourth month! Apparently they decided to wait until the third month to tell anyone just in case of problems and when that milestone was reached they decided to wait another couple of weeks until Christmas knowing it was the best present any one could have. I had not noticed even a tiny bulge on my skinny daughter but realized that I had not seen her as often with all the house moving and then when she does come over she's usually bundled up and then wraps herself in a throw blanket to lounge on the sofa. The last time I visited her house I walked into one of her bedrooms that has a beautiful view of the lake and said what a perfect nursery it would make and Coryn just said maybe and strolled out.

The very next day, Christmas Eve, Grandma jumped in her sleigh and pulled up at the Hallmark store buying several baby gifts for the parents-to-be to open on Christmas day. They were going to be telling his side of the family over the holiday. Since then Coryn and I have had another mommy/grandma shopping day for neutral newborn items- Coryn and Jeremy are going to let the sex of the baby be a surprise to them at birth. Coryn wouldn't let me get a shopping cart saying I could only buy what I could fit in my arms – we ended up with a cart. And don't worry mother will be standing by with a bottle of Clairol in the birthing room just in case the head emerges with grey hair. Coryn has a midwife for her delivery and of course a grandma on standby! Coincidentally the baby's due date is June 12^th – Ethan's birthday.

Marc's travel plans proved the usual disaster.. His flight from LA to Denver was fine but his flight from Denver to Kansas City was canceled so he had to fly to Chicago and then back to Kansas. He arrived about one in the morning again without his luggage. Sean was not happy as he had wasted time searching the various terminals for Marc's missing luggage. Once again I rummaged through a pile of clothes on the closet floor upstairs and found enough of his brother's clothes to use for a few days. It took the airlines a couple of days to track and deliver his bag. .Marc our hot shot LA trial lawyer with his newly leased BMW is too cheap to book a non stop flight which would avoid a lot of missed /canceled connection problems.

Christmas day Sean, Bryn and I were in the kitchen preparing our gourmet dinner. Marc as usual was in the bathroom. As there were only seven of us this year the boys talked me out of buying a whole turkey opting for a half with stuffing and gravy included at Costco. I was a bit dubious but have to admit it was excellent. I baked a ham too just in case.... We ate much later than usual as Coryn and Jeremy had to drive up from Clinton after sharing the happy news with his family who all burst into tears! So late afternoon we unwrapped our Christmas gifts and I am absolutely enthralled with the Ipod. Thank you children for once again acknowledging your high tech mother. I let your dad hold it for a few seconds and offered to teach him to play Angry Birds but he seemed to think it a waste of time. Now you can enjoy facetime with Mother!

Christmas night as I was cleaning the kitchen a dark stain on the ceiling caught my attention. I realized it was directly below the upstairs bathroom and immediately wondered what Marc had done to cause it. Two years ago we had to replace the toilet after he wrecked the tank. I raced upstairs to make sure that he hadn't forgot to turn the water off or something, then remembered that he had mentioned the tub was draining very slowly and that I might want to run some Draino down the drain. I had given him the bottle and told him to man up and take care of it. I checked a few things out and realized that this was a job for a plumber who fortunately came the next morning. He had to cut a hole in my linen closet to rip out some old pipes that were leaking and had been for some time. Marc's long shower had finished the pipes off. Of course as usual I was ready to finish Marc off.

Speaking of leaks, your dad woke me up one morning with a “hey old bud”. I don't find this a term of endearment and know it usually precedes news that I am not going to enjoy. Sure enough Norm said he thought he had sprung a leak.. I dragged myself over to his side of the bed and saw that he was unfortunately correct. Once again he had managed to pull his catheter tubing apart apparently in his sleep. Mental note to self that I should probably have him sleep in oven mitts. Unfortunately he was in a puddle of urine so I realized that I was going to have to take his clothes off, get him in the wheelchair and onto his shower seat. For once your dad didn't argue. Once I had him safely sitting in the shower – after reconnecting his catheter tubing – I stripped the bed. I had to run five loads of laundry. Thankfully I managed to squash our our king sized comforter into the washing machine. All this before I had even had a cup of coffee.

Christmas brings one chore that I really abhor: mailing packages. In early December I forced myself to drive to our local post office because I needed to send Ethan his gift. On arrival I was delighted to see that the line was only about twenty feet long but unfortunately it was moving at a snails pace. I grabbed a customs declaration form and filled it out as I waited in line. Little old ladies who can't decide whether they want the Santa or angel stamps in under two seconds should be asked to step aside while those of us who don't need to make a decision forge ahead.

In view of the inefficiency of the postal service I decided that I would mail all my domestic packages at the conveniently situated HyVee's customer service just fourteen blocks up the road. I planned to park by a cart return thinking that I could put my numerous packages into one so that I didn't have to make a couple of trips to and fro. I should have realized it was a bad omen when I drove into the parking lot and saw that all the cart returns were empty. Finally I found one, loaded up my packages and went to customer service, delighted to see that there wasn't a single customer. No need to feel guilty about monopolizing their counter help with my packages – I admit that if I was standing behind me I would have been muttering that I should have gone to the post office or that HyVee should set a limit on how many items can be mailed at one time. My first two boxes were taken care of – albeit slowly as the young cashier was obviously a novice under the watchful eye of a more experienced worker. Package three caused a system failure. The cashier hollered for help : the message on the screen was one they had never seen. They hit a few keys but no luck. I turned to apologize to the line that had formed behind me. The workers summoned more help over the PA system. I knew it wasn't going to be a quick fix when their computer expert muttered a few what the hells under her breath and announced that she couldn't fix it either. She would have to call the Post Office. While the female worker was explaining her problem to one person after another over the phone I found myself once again apologizing to the whole rapidly growing line as they eyed my still full of packages cart. Finally she hung up the phone and announced that they were going to shut the system down and have the post office reboot it This could take hours apparently so they decided to handle my packages the old fashioned way and just stuck some stamps on them. I wished I had gone to the post office after this experience because I suspected that they might just set them aside until their system was restored and maybe my packages would get lost or be sent days later. But they did arrive safely. Next time I'll go to the post office – it will probably be quicker even if the line does extend out into the parking lot.

Sean recently left for his adventure and Josh just emailed me to let me know that he and Sean are together and preparing to visit Lake Titicaca in the Andes.They will hopefully be meeting up with Bryn, his girlfriend Joyce – a lovely girl who had dinner with us recently – Leslee and Craig. Frankly I'm glad my children enjoy being together and have adventurous spirits but my mummy tummy is very wonky when I think of all the ills that could befall them. Fortunately I have a lovely box of English sweets to soothe my stomach. A couple of flaky bars and I'm thinking how wonderful it is not to have to share !

A couple of days after Christmas we met with your dad's neurologist who had reviewed his data and come to the conclusion that the high doses of various medications prescribed to try and stabilize his blood pressure were not working and were probably putting him at too great a risk of a heart attack or stroke. We are currently weaning him off some medications and lowering the dose of others. We have reached the point of letting Mother Nature take control.

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy 2013, Love your mom with one daughter that has met her expectations!