THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 104 DECEMBER 2015

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

Dear Readers,

The highlight of last month was my trip to Orlando and Savannah. Craig and Leslee-Ann picked me up at the Orlando airport on the evening of November 12^th and headed home to give me a tour of their house filled with baby paraphernalia donated by friends. They already had a crib and bassinet set up in their bedroom and their little boy isn't due until Spring!

The next morning Leslee-Ann was filling a crate with snacks and beverages for our road trip. I questioned whether all this was necessary for a four hour drive with a stop planned for lunch en route. Leslee-Ann patiently explained that her baby was a parasite robbing her of every calorie she put in her mouth thus she needed frequent snacks - plus it was important to stay hydrated. I recall being grateful if I could keep a cracker and a couple of sips of water down during some of my pregnancies but still gave birth to perfectly healthy babies – well Marc Andrew might have been lacking a nutrient or two but still... As she drove Leslee-Ann shared her thoughts on nursery décor with me: something soft and subdued, definitely nothing stimulating. Bright colors were out, pastels were in. I was shocked. Anyone who knows the Remsburgs thinks loud. Pregnancy hormones must be soothing her soul I thought to myself - or maybe she and Craig are terrified at the thought of a mini them!They were both fussy, demanding babies and as adults one of them is still. Personally I am drawn to vibrate color schemes when sewing so hoped I would be able to keep my focus on yards of pallid fabric.

We checked into a very nice hotel in the downtown historical district of Savannah (Leslee-Ann insisted on picking up the tab and I told her how pleased Norm would have been of her taking care of me) and once settled I called Becky to arrange to get together for dinner. Leslee-Ann and I spent a couple of hours walking around the local sights including the narrow brick street of the riverfront filled with small touristy shops. The town is very picturesque, with lots of courtyards and small park like areas lined with trees dripping in Spanish moss. Lots of outdoor cafe style eating, tour trams and most fun of all a contraption that a number of people can board and peddle their way around the sights with drinks in hand. Leslee-Ann lamented that we couldn't join in the fun as she was very mindful of her condition. Every meal was carefully vetted for any contaminants that might be harmful to the baby. She insisted that all her meat be well done and declined all alcoholic beverages pointing out her obvious bump to every waiter/ waitress. This was the girl who use to get up at the crack of dawn on college game days to make jello shots!

At supper time we drove over to David's house to meet up with with them all. Lysander was as cute as ever and Merovy of course had changed greatly in the many months since I had last seen her. She is now walking and beginning to talk, with a southern drawl! Becky insisted on taking us all out to dinner on Tybee Island and the children were so patient with the slow service. Leslee-Ann and I were most impressed with their behavior. Once dinner was over we made plans to meet up with Becky the next day to fabric shop.

That night, once we returned to the hotel, Leslee-Ann decided that she would like to incorporate some monkeys into the nursery, maybe copy her sister's idea of the hanging branches but instead of all the birds I had made for that nursery I would be making monkey's for hers. I suggested that we could just buy some ready made monkeys but Leslee-Ann said she wanted them to co-ordinate with her nursery colors which she thought were going to be pale yellow, gray and cream. - just like my master bedroom! I suggested that we might want to incorporate a fun monkey print into the fabric mix but Leslee -Ann had reservations about the likelihood of finding one in colors to match her scheme. I think I dared to suggest that we could pick a print she liked and co-ordinate to it but that was not well received.

That night I fell asleep with visions of monkeys dancing in my head only to be awoken with a snap, crackle, pop, not once but thrice. Leslee -Ann was ripping into chip bags in the dead of night gnawing like a beaver building a dam. We all know that she is a loud eater – how many times did her siblings tell her to keep her mouth closed when she ate so they wouldn't have to see and hear her masticating her food? Even Norm commented on it and we all know what his table manners were like!

The next morning I mentioned that I had woken three times hearing her nocturnal snacking and said if Craig had been enduring this for months he deserved a medal. She couldn't believe I had heard her claiming she was trying to be as quiet as a mouse – try a New York rat I thought.

Unfortunately when we called Becky to set up a time to get together for our day she was feeling unwell, apparently our delicious Mexican dinner had caused her intestines to protest and she was pretty much confined to the bathroom. We were so sorry to hear this and hoped she would feel better soon. Leslee-Ann and I checked out the two fabric stores in the downtown area but found little selection and high prices so we decided to check out Jo-Ann's and Hancock fabric stores after lunch. Fortunately by then Becky felt a little better so we met up at Jo-Ann's and unbelievably found a monkey print in the colors Leslee-Ann wanted – it does have a little green in it but she was okay with that. I was grateful to have a fun print to work with! We added a geometric and chevron print and a pale yellow and a gray solid. I found a fleece print in just the right colors and will bind it with one of the other fabrics for a crib blanket.

Poor Becky spent most of our shopping time in the rest room but emerged to help Leslee-Ann pick out furry chenille for the monkeys as I stood in line at the cutting counter to facilitate our getting checked out. Yards of fabric later we headed out the door back to our hotel room where we spent the rest of the afternoon so that Becky could visit with us, rest and be near a bathroom! I am glad to say she felt better the next day but overall she has no time to take care of herself and this is concerning.

Since Becky was not up to dinner she headed home and we walked out into night to explore our dinning options and came upon Paula Dean's restaurant. Leslee -Ann was hesitant about supporting a place of business with a murky race relations history but we decided to give it a try. The buffet was a mouth watering, heart attack inducing true southern fried feast. Since our trip coincided with the two year anniversary of Norm's passing he was very much on my mind: I smiled imagining how many times he would have piled his plate at that buffet in his healthy years- all the time proclaiming that his arteries were as clean as a whistle! He was the only one of us who was shocked to find he needed a triple bypass! Leslee-Ann and I gave the buffet a wide berth and ordered the healthiest choices on the menu, my salmon was delicious.

We returned to the hotel and spent the evening checking out monkeys on Pinterest and Etsy. Of course Leslee-Ann settled on the most detailed pattern available with requests for longer limbs for pose-able versatility. I jokingly remarked that we were going to have them climbing up the crib and swinging off the light fixtures before we were done. Leslee-Ann thought that was the greatest idea.

The next day we returned to Orlando where the parents-to-be purchased a sewing machine and I set up shop on their dinning room table. We laundered all the fabrics and I made up a crib bumper with two fabrics and a third for the piping accent so they could see how it would look. We then tackled a monkey and unfortunately the downloaded pattern pieces came with no instructions and it took about three hours just to get about nine pieces together to form a head. Once home I downloaded a pattern with instructions but no diagrams. After messing the first monkey up I think I know how to assemble the many pieces. Leslee -Ann hopes I'll have several done by the time I leave. Me too!

Thanksgiving was hosted by Coryn and Jeremy . She asked me to roast the turkey in one of my ovens and to keep Ava Claire the previous night so that she could make all the side dishes with only Owen to contend with. She felt fixing the whole meal in one oven would be stressful – I pointed out that millions of Americans were cooking a turkey and all their side dishes in one oven. I did it myself for a few years. But figuring out that this was the easiest task I embraced that turkey and dutifully flipped it from back to front side up after the first hour of roasting – juggling a red hot turkey not being my favorite thing to do. But both Josh and Coryn think this is the way to ensure a moist turkey. Over the years the kids have had me try out almost every method ever dreamed up – but somehow it's always my fault when it goes wrong. This year's turkey was very good thankfully. It took a little longer to roast than expected but by early afternoon my car was loaded up with the turkey wrapped in foil in the lidded roasting pan in the back seat with Ava Claire as we set off to Lee's Summit in torrential rain. Josh insisted on driving which was a blessing as I couldn't see a thing once we hit the interstate.

The dinning room table was beautifully decorated and we began our meal with a champagne toast followed by Jeremy's sweet potato casserole( which I love despite the fact that I don't care for them fixed any other way), Coryn's made from scratch macaroni and cheese, stuffing, vegetables , my turkey and of course desserts.

I have been doing a lot of sewing these last few weeks. I made a faux fur vest for Ava Claire and her mommy immediately requested one for herself. I said it might have to wait until I was a little further along with my monkey's but Coryn said her vest was seasonal and her sister's baby wasn't due until Spring and since when had Leslee-Ann been anxious to get anything done on time? She muttered that she never started a term paper until midnight the day before it was due. Coryn called her sister and told her to get in line. She needed her vest now. I made Coryn's vest and thought I would get back to the monkeys but then Ava Claire needed a Christmas dress so that took seasonal precedence too!Leslee-Ann's feathers are ruffled but I will smooth them out when I arrive and help the nest building along.

I put up some lights, greenery and Christmas balls this year but since I will be away for almost a week over the holidays I decided to forgo the tree and Josh certainly doesn't miss helping to haul it up and down the stairs and being asked to help fix the endless broken light strands.

Tomorrow I plan to be at Kay's school to help out with the class Christmas party – paper plate reindeer with candy cane antlers. Wonder how many kids will have eaten the antlers before we get to the part of attaching them to the head?

Time for me to cut out some more monkey limbs and bodies but I need the fabrics at Lesee-Ann's house for the faces, paws and tails. After a couple of hours of trying to stitch numerous little pieces of fabric together with narrow seams - that tend to get pulled into my machine- this monkey business makes me bananas. But I will swing through it and hope the Remsburg's branches will be hanging in the nursery for me by the time I arrive.

No matter where you are in this world my children you will be in my heart this holiday season, love your monkey brained Mother.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 103 November 2015

Dear Readers,

Recently I discovered that I was laboring under the misconception that the chances of Leslee-Ann and Craig conceiving were about as great as the chances of Marc marrying. When Leslee-Ann called me shortly before Craig's visit( to film the Kansas City Royal Barbecue) to ensure that I had my air conditioning set at a temperature to chill a polar bear for him she casually announced ''I'm pregnant''. Frankly I was in talking to Leslee-Ann on the phone mode - one ear paying attention while the other searches for relief from the endless “just listen to this”; ''guess what''; “and then he/she goes''etc. Leslee-Ann questioned if I was paying attention, I assured her I was all ears, I just couldn't conceive that she and Craig had! Like her sister she waited until she was into her fourth month to announce that a little boy will be arriving in late March, early April. I had no expectations of this news so it was and is a wonderful surprise. Next month I fly to Orlando for my road trip to Savannah with Leslee-Ann where we will be meeting up with Becky to do some nursery fabric shopping. I will return for a few days over Christmas and sew as much of the nursery stuff as I can!

Craig arrived with crew member Mike a few days later. I congratulated the new daddy-to-be and dashed out to their rental van to help haul in all their luggage and equipment, most of which was too heavy for me to heft. Fortunately he had recruited two of his 'bro's' Josh and Bryn to help out for the week. Josh had arrived a few days earlier, taking up residence in my chocolate bedroom and Bryn drove into town a few hours after Craig and Mike arrived. Having promised my bed and breakfast accommodations to Craig and crew a few weeks ago I was not about to offer them anything less that my best rooms. I explained to Josh that he would have to share the twin bed room with Bryn so my guests could enjoy my queen bedrooms. To my amazement Josh was more accommodating than I had anticipated and moved rooms accordingly. However, as mentioned in previous blogs, Bryn can not seemingly sleep without a blaring television so he hauled his mattress downstairs to the basement family room and set it up in front of the television. I had to endure this for several days. Ava Claire however thought it a great thing and was soon jumping up and down on it stark naked!

Craig looked at all his equipment and asked if he could set up a charging station on my Martha Stewart dinning room table. Where would we all eat I wondered? I suggested that I setup one of my folding tables in the upstairs family room - quickly covering it with a color co-ordinated to my décor tablecloth. I pulled the sofa forward a bit and voila we had room to squeeze past the equipment table to get into the kitchen. Actually the boys only ate two dinners with me that entire week as they worked day and night sustained by endless barbecue samples. Within hours of Craig's arrival Fed Ex dropped off more boxes of equipment which soon found it's way into my dinning room. Craig set his laptop up in there and soon the table was buried in cables and equipment, including a drone! I was hoping that Craig would see the potential of capturing the beauty of my garden by buzzing it around a few times - why he could capture a drone of bees with his drone around my sedum and butterfly bushes! Alas Craig was only interested in burnt ends and brisket.

I was so excited by all the activity the venture was generating that I actually ventured to suggest that I could do the voice over for the documentary. Craig laughed.

The boys kept their energy up with Red Bull and nightly shots of some must drink brand of vodka. They made it up to Barley's one night to meet up with Josh Dinwiddie (an old schoolfriend from Aquinas ) and his wife who live close by.

A couple of my neighbors( doubtless noting all the activity going out at my house )stopped over while the boys were here and were very impressed by all the equipment and the purpose of the trip.

The guys had so much fun on this gig that Craig has decided to return next year to follow the progress of the barbecue teams he was documenting this year, presumably to give some more meat to his documentary.

Bryn rested for a day after Craig left and then took two days to drive back to Los Angeles where he has now moved into a downtown loft and acquired a job. It amazes me that my boys can take months off work and then be rehired or snapped up by another company immediately upon their return. I guess a steady work record is no longer a job requirement. My sons claim that few people have their work ethic and ability to perform but I only see them lolling on my couches contemplating ways of making money doing absolutely nothing.

A couple of weeks after he left Craig was back in Kansas City: this time covering the Royals baseball team for a play off game here in Kansas City and previously in Toronto, Canada. Recently while watching the world series game between our destined to win Royals and the sure to lose Mets, Fox broadcasting lost their main power and their back up generators failed too so the game was off the air ! I hurriedly texted Craig to make sure he wasn't working this game too – I would have hated to tell my neighbors that my son-in-law had pulled the plug on the most watched game on television that night.. Fortunately Craig was not responsible.

I have been busy sewing matching Halloween themed skirts for the three little girls in my life and a few new fall outfits for Ava Claire

. For a few weeks before Josh took his present job (he was offered two within hours of arriving back here) I was playing a game of cat and mouse with him over who had use of MY sewing room. Josh was and is still doing technical writing work for Leslee-Ann and set his computer up on MY desk in MY sewing room, pushing one of my machines aside to do so. I recall that when I painted each wall a different bold color in this room Josh declared that he couldn't even iron a shirt in there anymore so I was most surprised that he decided to set up his home office in it. Knowing that disturbing a working Josh is akin to setting off a Molotov cocktail I would creep downstairs, look in on him and decide to cut out another outfit or do some pinning on my table in the family room, then as soon as he vacated the room I would scurry in and sew a few seams. I finally mustered the courage to suggest that Josh might want to work at the kitchen desk or my dinning room table so that I wouldn't disturb him trying to sew in the same space. Josh said both areas were too high traffic for him to concentrate - with just the two of us? I offered an old door in my garage as a possible alternative desk top for his use, suggesting we cut it in half and use corbels to attach it to the wall in one of the bedrooms. Josh could not see my vision. Then he pointed out that I only had one office chair anyway. I suggested that another could be purchased but ….. Josh finally took the hint and is now using another of my bedrooms as his workspace, balancing his laptop on his knees sitting in a wicker chair.

Kay has needed more help in her classroom this year as she has twenty-nine first graders and at least eight of them have serious behavioral issues. Thankfully the school has finally found the funds to hire an aide but there have been no applicants for the position so she is having to make do with a succession of substitute aides which is probably not in many of the children's or her best interests. I have seen an improvement in many of the kids over the last couple of months, noting that they are trying to be kinder to each other and those who can do the work try to help the many that can not. I took in some crafting supplies last Friday and we decorated paper bags with foam stickers : do it yourself treat bags.. They had a great time looking through piles of stickers and then getting tons of candy to fill them! Many of the parents sent bags of candy to school although very few came to the party.

As the world knows the Kansas City Royals Baseball team won the World Series against the New York Mets four games to one.

A sea of royal blue.

Today a huge victory parade is being held in the downtown area, history in the making, celebrating our first win in thirty years. Most of the metro schools are closed so that families can attend and many workplaces are closed too! Josh has the day off and is contemplating trying to drive downtown to watch but I think he may be a few hours late in getting on the jam packed roads. I will watch on TV, probably the best view!

Ava Claire is greatly enjoying having Uncle Josh around again, she loves to invite him to tea parties in her play house – finally she has claimed it as her own – and I find it highly entertaining watching Josh contort his six foot frame through her three foot door so he can sit on a miniature stool and pretend to drink tea and eat plastic food. I explained to Ava Claire last week that since it was getting cold outside she wouldn't be able to play in her house anymore so we would be bringing it inside for her during the winter.” Okay Grandma”she said as I took it apart and reassembled it in the downstairs bar area. She carried in her stools and stove top and tea party essentials. She even helped me clean it all off and pointed out the several spiders squatting in her house that I promptly evicted. That evening she and Josh were happily playing in it so I was not prepared for her distress on her next visit to Grandma's. It was a beautiful seventy five degrees and Coryn suggested that we go out into the garden. Ava Claire immediately said she wanted to play in her house, I reminded her that it was now inside. “But I want it outside Grandma”. I reminded her of how much work it was to get it inside and let her know that Grandma was not not going to take it apart and reassemble it every time there was a change in the weather. She sat on the wall by the patio where her house had stood looking very forlorn. I thought back to the time when she wouldn't even go in it! Kids are very changeable.

I will be soon be packing for my trips to Orlando and Savannah. It will be great to spend some time with Craig and Leslee and of course to see Becky, David, Lysander and Merovy. It's great that Josh is here to take care of the house and cats for me.

Sean has resumed blogging, posting some great pictures and highly entertaining (though frequently raunchy) accounts of his European travels whilst living and working in London so you might enjoy checking it out again! I certainly have no concerns about his self esteem!

Love to you all from your so proud and happy to be a grandmother to my sixth grandchild , Mother.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 102 SEPTEMBER2015

In August the Logues and I headed to Fort Madison to attend a wedding reception for Amber Scott and her husband,Ryan, at her parents home. We traveled in style: I was sandwiched in the back seat between two car seats in Jeremy's pick up truck after Coryn declared that her Mercedes Benz was too small for five and when I offered my Ford Focus I was informed that it would not be suitable at all! I recollected how my great friend Becky Clay had managed to contort herself into a pretzel shape in order to slide between two car seats in rush hour traffic in downtown Atlanta during a torrential down pour in a Ford Focus to pacify a screaming Merovy. Coryn rolled her eyes.

The trip up went very well with Owen virtually sleeping the whole way there. Ava Claire was very excited about going to Mary and Mikes house and seeing Princess Amber!We only had to make one potty and lunch stop. We were staying with Mary and Mike Brockman: they have the perfect home to host small children! Mary has something to delight a toddler in every room, Ava Claire was entranced! She made herself at home instantly enjoying all the toys and when Mary took us upstairs to see our room Ava Claire helped herself to three elephants, a mummy, daddy and baby. In Ava Claire's world everything needs to be grouped this way. One day she noticed that all my neighbors had a mummy and a daddy trash can out for collection but no baby ones! She was very disappointed so I explained that they hadn't had their babies yet!

We enjoyed a quick dinner together and then changed to attend the wedding reception which was being held in Cathy and Jimbo's garden. It was a very hot and humid evening but the setting was beautifully decorated with trees wrapped in white lights , huge white feather plumes as table centerpieces and a dance floor was set up with a D.J. I was happy to have a chance to visit with some of Marc's classmates from Aquinas, Tony Fullenkamp, Keith Upton, Danny Roach and of course Amber's brother, Jason Scott. All family men Marc!

The Hoyer clan was there, so I got to catch up with them and when I had my arms full with Ava Claire and Owen, Lynn and her beautiful daughters were very happy to take Owen for me! Coryn and Jeremy were having their picture taken with Amber and her husband Ryan.

The couple had been married the weekend before in a small intimate ceremony in Chicago and were having one reception in Amber's home town with another the following weekend in Ryan's.. Amber was wearing her wedding dress for all three events so she certainly got her money's worth out of it! Great idea..

Worn out from the long drive and activity we left the reception around ten and headed back to the Brockmans. Coryn and Jeremy had thought that they might spend some time checking out Fort Madison's night life but they were too exhausted so they headed off to bed with Owen: Mary had very thoughtfully set up a bassinet in their room for him! Mary and I headed upstairs with Ava Claire a little later with Mary reading her a bedtime story while I got ready for bed.

The next morning Elizabeth arrived with Rosie the dog but no children, they were still at a sleep over. Mary made brunch for us all while Elizabeth told us all about her house remodel which we stopped by to see on our way out of town.. I had already visited her house a couple of times before any work was done so it was amazing to see how they had meshed the old and new together so perfectly. The addition is stunning. We found Brent precariously balanced on a step ladder on an unfinished upper deck painting trim work above his head.. Brent and Jeremy were soon into construction talk as we girls toured the new master bath and bedroom , media room, and gym. Brent has done a lot of work himself, including the tile work. Elizabeth is so lucky to be married to a handy guy!That was not one of Norm's attributes for sure! About an hour later we were back in the truck and headed home.

Unfortunately the trip home was not as pleasant. Ava Claire announced that she needed to go to the potty when we were on a stretch of road with few exits. By the time we exited for a state park and found the restrooms Ava Claire had peed all over her clothes and car seat. Coryn and Jeremy cleaned her up and hauled a suitcase out of the truck bed to find a clean outfit. I cleaned the car seat with baby wipes and used Owen's diaper changing pad with the waterproof lining to pad the car seat. Ava was not happy to return to the car as she had noticed that we were parked by a beach with swimmers everywhere. She wanted to go swimming. We were on the road again until Ava Claire realized that demanding to go potty guaranteed a stop:of course,once seated on the toilet at some restaurant off I36 she announced she didn't have to go and so the trip resumed. Owen woke up and my singing and sticking the pacifier in his mouth only worked for awhile. He wanted to nurse so we pulled off again at a gas station so that Jeremy could fill the truck, Coryn could fill Owen and I could fill Ava Claire's tummy with chips and gummy bears purchased after another fruitless trip to the gas station potty with her!

Ava Claire was happy with her snacks and content to be a back seat driver again,“Slow down everybody”she would command and every time daddy purposefully hit the rumble strip she would tell him not to that! She also became very annoyed if Coryn or I referred to the vehicle as a car instead of a truck. “It is not a car, Daddy has a truck” she would admonish us. By the time we hit the outskirts of Kansas City we were all starving so we stopped at a Perkins. Ava Claire was not into more sitting so it was a challenge to keep her contained. The restaurant was fairly empty so Coryn found a quiet corner to feed Owen. Finally we were all packed into the truck again and headed for Lee's Summit. I jumped into my car and drove home. It was almost dark when I pulled into the driveway but I pulled the hoses around my yard as it had been a couple of hot and dry days for my plants.

Although exhausted from my trip I rallied the next day as a busy week of babysitting confronted me. I was watching Elena on Monday as Becky had to go back to work before Elena's school year started, on Tuesday Coryn had a dental appointment and needed me to watch the kids. When it was time to leave Ava Claire announced that she was staying at Grandma's for the night so Owen left with Coryn just as Becky texted me to see if I could watch Lola Rose that evening as it was Elena's open house at her new school so I had two little girls to enjoy!I kept Ava Clair for another night and day as Jeremy was out of town. We went to the petting zoo again where she loves to feed the live animals and ride the metal ones! Coryn and I met for lunch in Lees summit and then I returned home for the night. The following evening I headed back to Lee's Summit to spend the night at the Logues babysitting Owen while Coryn and Jeremy took Ava Claire to her first Chiefs game. I watched the game on their big screen TV frequently startling poor Owen with my loud commentary on the game.

Unfortunately we have another family member diagnosed with a rare illness. Owen has a mastocytoma on his left arm which is a an overgrowth of mast cells which means his body produces too much histamine. Fortunately he only has one growth- unlike some children who have multiples-it is a raised bump which periodically reddens, then blisters over, oozes and forms a scab. There is no cure. He has the cutaneous form of the disease which is far less damaging than the systemic. Some children outgrow the condition, it others it worsens. His pediatrician says this is her first experience of the disease in her fourteen years of practicing. Owen is a happy and seemingly healthy baby who craves attention – he loves to be talked to and shrieks back in delight. Coryn shudders wondering how her days are going to be with two very vocal children. Ava Claire talks non stop.

Ming- Jon visted Kansas City over Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately he didn't get to see the Logues as they were attending another wedding in Dallas, Texas. He stayed with Kay and Jeff and we all spent Sunday together at my house. We played a lot of games as it was too hot and humid to do anything outside which ruined our previous plan of hiking around the Overland Park Arboretum. Ming-Jon certainly excelled at all the trivia questions! He could have beaten Kay, Jeff, and me combined himself. He is enjoying his current job assignment so we hope it lasts for awhile.

I helped Kay to set up her classroom again this year, came up with a Hooked on Learning theme which involved making dozens of fish from plain and patterned construction paper. Kept me busy with scissors and glue for a few evenings but I was happy to help as Kay was exhausted from her whirlwind trip to Singapore. Last week I went in to help get her large class of 27 first-graders logged onto their computers and working on a math website. It was a challenge as she has a number of disruptive kids and a lot of low achieving students .I am planning on doing the same one afternoon this week..

Bryn has returned to this country and is driving from Orlando back to LA with a stop over en route with me. Josh is also headed my way from Texas. Then Craig and crew will be arriving to make their documentary. Mother's is the epicenter of the place to be in the next few weeks! Ming-Lee and Lori are missing out, spending this week in London celebrating their 20^th wedding anniversary and seeing Sean!

We had another health drama last week. Coryn had a meeting at her former school with the psychologist who replaced her so she dropped the children off with me. When she returned she said she was not feeling too well and frankly she looked ill. As she was nursing Owen she got the chills and felt feverish. She had a temperature of almost 105 degrees so I took her and the children to the nearby Emergency Room. By this time she had wet herself, (I knew she must be feeling really bad when she willingly pulled on a pair of my granny undies ) started slurring her speech and felt faint. I was sure she either had a urinary tract infection or Mastitis and it turned out to be the latter.

Fortuitously I had thrown a drink and some snacks into my purse for Ava Claire as it was dinner time so once her mommy was ushered into an examining room I handed her cheese sticks, crackers, an applesauce pouch and a drink.. Owen was not happy in his car seat so I had to alternately walk him in circles and fly him above my head making noises to amuse him. Fortunately the waiting room at this time was almost empty. After an hour or so of hearing nothing about my daughter I approached the front desk to inquire and was told that I could see her for a few minutes so I put Owen back in his car seat, grabbed the diaper bag, my purse and Ava Claire's hand and headed off to see what was happening.

Coryn was hooked up to an IV,wearing a blood pressure cuff and having a very large sample of blood drawn for testing. Ava Claire was not upset by this at all – she declared that she was a lady doctor and promptly offered her juice carton to her mummy assuring her that drinking it would make her feel better. She then proceeded to inspect all the equipment and was not happy to be told to leave things alone. She was the doctor! Owen nursed with me holding his head as Coryn had the IV needle inserted into her elbow for some reason and therefore could not hold him.

Coryn and I had both called Jeremy to keep him updated so once he was close to the hospital I took the children home. Coryn was discharged later that night after treatment and prescribed antibiotics. Jeremy took her and Owen home whilst Ava stayed with me. We returned around lunchtime just as Jeremy was heading off to work. I stayed for a few hours to help with the children so Coryn could rest and headed home as she was doing much better.

 monarch butterflies
drinking nectar from my flowers!

I think Ava Claire has inherited my green thumb, she loves to dig in the dirt with me looking for worms – we always have to find a daddy worm, a mummy worm and a baby worm which she insists on holding until she is ready to set them down in the dirt again. She also enjoys pulling clover out of my grass and feeding it to all my ceramic frogs and turtles around the yard. Ava Claire is certainly nurturing my spirit with her love of Grandma's garden. Her most favorite activity is helping me water- her way- which means instead of holding the hose over my flowers she finds a patch of bare grass and creates a muddy puddle to jump in and then showers her self clean with the hose. Her love of jumping in muddy puddles has come from watching Peppa Pig video's and reading her books.

I have several pieces of fabric sitting on my downstairs pub table waiting to be turned into fall fashions for Ava Claire – she helped pick some of them out with her mother yesterday. The evenings are drawing in so I will be less able to spend hours gardening and visiting with my neighbors. Instead of pulling weeds I'll be pulling threads and probably hairs out of my head when seams don't go my way!

Love to you all, Mother. 

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: volume 101 AUGUST 2015

Dear Children, Family and Friends,

Last month I experienced running a Bed and Breakfast from the innkeepers perspective. Bryn was my first guest, choosing my newly decorated bedroom, ( the only one with a television ) now boasting a queen bed in place of the old twins. Bryn seems unable to fall asleep unless he has a television blaring through the night – perhaps this quirk is one of the reasons that he is still single. A couple of days later Craig and Leslee-Ann arrived, the following weekend Mary Brockman, together with Elizabeth, Mia and Drew checked in. Coryn , Ava Claire and Owen spent a night when Coryn attended a social event with staff from her school one evening and then the last weekend in July Ming-Lee, Lori, Blake and Claudia came to stay. Mother was stripping (close your eyes boys) beds, laundering bedding and towels and remaking beds constantly. I gave up ironing pillowcases and top sheets after the second set of visitors. I think I spent more time cleaning my upstairs bedrooms and bathroom in July this year than I did in the entire year before!

Craig and Leslee-Ann barely gave twenty four hours notice of their arrival, requesting a late night ride from the airport – I was glad that Bryn had arrived the day before so he was able to make the night time trip to pick them up. Unfortunately their flight was delayed so they didn't arrive until one thirty the morning of the 4^th. Luckily for them, I am a night owl so I was happy to perch on my porch rocker to await their arrival. I waved enthusiastically from the porch as they pulled into the driveway thinking they would berate me for staying up so late to greet them but no ..... Leslee-Ann threw her arms up (instead of around me) and asked what on earth I was doing dressed in my nightie rocking away in public . I hardly think my porch qualifies as a public space nor do I think anyone would be scandalized by the sight of a grandma in her nightie in the wee hours of the morning. Leslee-Ann said I was obviously failing to keep up appearances. Did she think I was going to pull on a cocktail dress and greet them with a martini in hand? I love being old – it's a license to live life your way!

Since their trip was unplanned Leslee decided to keep it a surprise for Coryn. It worked out perfectly as the Logues had already invited me, Bryn and the Dickinsons to an afternoon of swimming, barbecuing and after dark to their neighborhood 's fireworks display over Raintree Lake. When we all traipsed into the kitchen Coryn was truly surprised! Bryn had shared the secret with Jeremy the night before but he kept mum too.

I had called Leslee-Ann when Owen was born to let her know that her sister had pushed out a nine pound baby and her response - “that's disgusting – that's the size of a two month old”! Not much change in attitude since she was a toddler when she welcomed Bryn into the world in my hospital room with the words “he's ugly, don't bring him home!” At some point in the afternoon everyone drifted into the back yard to play bean bag toss and for the little girls to play on Ava Claire's slide. Leslee-Ann was holding Owen and announced that she was ready to dump him so that she could join in the fun outside.

I think her maternal instincts must run very, very deep – perhaps never to see the light of day!

     Coryn still trying to boss her sister around, Leslee -Ann has the what the .... look on her face!

When the party moved to the clubhouse pool I stayed with Owen, content to hold him the whole time!.

One of the most interesting observations of the day was the great difference in which the 4^th July is celebrated across state lines. In Kansas fireworks are illegal except in sanctioned public displays whereas in Missouri they are for sale to anyone and the cul-de- sac in which the Logues reside was blowing up a small fortune – even early in the afternoon! One guy had a huge trailer with a grill, smoker, big screen TV and enough fireworks to light up the sky for miles around. Becky and I - as Johnson County residents- put our noses up in the air and declared how happy we were that we didn't have to put up with all the noise and smoke.

Once it was dark we drove over to watch the firework display – I ended up with Elena and Ava Claire both sitting on my lap in a rickety folding chair threatening to tumble over at any minute whilst a friend of Jeremy's, Matt Smith spent most of his time grabbing Lola Rose who was intent on charging into the road behind us.

Once the fireworks display ended we headed back to the Logue's house and I was hoping that we would then take our leave but no – Jeremy was all fired up about joining his neighbors in setting off more fireworks so he and the guys drove off at eleven O'clock at night to shop for them. I shook my head in disbelieve wondering if I would get any sleep that night by the time they returned and set off all their fireworks. The guys were as excited as a group of toddlers on Christmas morning as they joined their neighbors in the street to prove they had money to burn too. I was just glad that no-one got hurt.

Since Bryn had been supplying people with some kind of mixed drinks all day that included jalapeno peppers and tequila I decided that I was going to be the designated driver in my Ford Focus on the late night drive home despite my dislike of night driving.

The next morning I returned Leslee-Ann and Craig to the airport as they couldn't get seats on a later flight at such short notice. Fortunately it won't be too long before I see them again as Craig may be coming to Kansas City to film a documentary in early October and he and his crew will be staying with me for awhile.

The Brockman's visit was primarily for shopping. Mary, Elizabeth and the kids arrived late one Thursday afternoon with plans to spend the night with me, then check into a hotel with a pool for the kids the following day. Brent was joining them Friday night - driving down after work. They spent Saturday shopping at Ikea for closet fixtures! Did I mention that Kansas City has recently added this store to it's ever growing arsenal of attractions and of course it is all very conveniently situated to my home.

This was the first time that they had the opportunity to meet Ava Claire and Owen so of course I was a very proud Grandma! Mia and Drew were very kind and patient with Ava Claire who now refers to them as her friends! I wished I had a camera in hand when I saw them helping Ava Claire up the deck steps – one on either side, holding her hand which was perfect as she would not have been safe by herself. She is a bit of a klutz , very capable of falling over her own feet even when she's standing still!

Owen's size was greatly admired and Coryn earned kudos for delivering him!

Mia holding Owen

Ava Claire spent the night with Grandma on Thursday so that she could spend more time with her new friends. On Friday morning we all headed out to the mall , just up the street, planning to shop at Nordstrom's with lunch at the instore cafe. Elizabeth found some cute outfits for Mia and Drew and Ava Claire talked me into buying her a Ninja Turtle backpack complete with her own face mask. Unfortunately the lunch queue was so long that we decided to eat elsewhere and once lunch was finished I headed home with a tired Ava Claire whilst the Brockmans shopped on.

Later that evening Mary called and asked if she could possibly spend another night at my house as there was a mix-up with their hotel reservations – no room for her at the inn so of course I welcomed her back so we enjoyed some wine and conversation – an unexpected bonus!

Ming-Lee and Lori made a spur of the moment decision to visit the last weekend in July, flying standby. They had hoped to arrive Thursday night but it didn't work out so they ended up flying out early Friday morning – I was up at 6:30am to head to the airport at 7:00am.If this had been Marc I would have told him to take a cab or wait until 10:00am!

I made a run to the grocery store the previous day stocking up on breakfast rolls, muffins and ice-cream only to discover that poor Claudia is on a gluten free diet! I have to say that she is handling the dietary restrictions with a much better attitude than I could ever muster. Life without cheese and ice-cream would be terrible for me!

Ming-Lee took over the cooking and grocery shopping for their visit which was great – although I almost had an anxiety attack when he decided to roast a turkey in my oven. I questioned the wisdom of creating more heat in my kitchen considering the high heat and humidity of the day, not to mention the extra strain on my electric bill! I rarely use any appliances to cook in the summer these days – or for that matter any season really – as I no longer have Norm asking what's on the menu a few times a day!

Coryn came over later in the day with Ava Claire and Owen so there was a lot of activity! The following day we went to Coryn's house for lunch, she made BLT's the Ivy Bake Shop way. Since it was another horribly hot day they all went swimming while I stayed with Owen. We headed home later on and were delighted to hear that Kay and Jeff were going to join us for dinner. Kay had just returned from a week's stay in Singapore and was very jet lagged so I wasn't sure she would be able to come but fortunately she did!

Once again Ming-Lee cooked – choosing to grill Mahi-mahi burgers on the deck. I warned him that my grill was probably about done for but he went for it. Unfortunately it didn't work out too well, the grill caught fire at one point but the fish was fine!. Ming said it was definitely a goner now and offered to haul it to the curb but I said to wait until free trash pick up day! Now I am thinking it might make a great planter box for the deck. Will post a picture when I get the project done.

True to our Lowe Family tradition we played a game after supper – it went much better than the previous evening when Ava Claire wanted to join in the fun!

Unfortunately Jeremy was out of town during Ming-Lee and family's visit so they didn't get a chance to get together . On Sunday morning I returned them to the airport car rental lot so they could drive home as there were no available standby seats to Indianapolis for a family of four that day.

This has been such a hectic month: one day I found myself babysitting all four of the children in my life when Becky and Coryn both needed to run errands. While Owen slept I fed the three girls and when he woke up I switched on Bubble Guppies which kept the girls happily fixated on my downstairs TV while I changed the baby. My admiration for my friend Becky Clay soars at these moments as she is rearing two children full time.

I cracked a tooth on an almond which later succumbed to a chunk of chewy bread. It took five days to get into the dentist for a temporary crown which has since been replaced with a permanent one.

The weather has been truly challenging with torrential rains, heat and humidity and even a few tornadoes: one of which happened one night when I was staying with Coryn and the children as Jeremy was out of town. There was such torrential rain that a river sprung up across Coryn's front yard and the winds felled one tree, did damage to another and blew Ava Claire's play set across the yard, breaking the swing. Ava Claire found the whole event very exciting, running from window to window to watch the lightening strikes and pouring rain. The tornado sirens, and our phones sounded warnings several times but we were spared unlike some in Lee's Summit. Jeremy called to make sure Coryn and the babies were safe – I told her to tell him that his mother-in-law was there so he had no need to worry knowing that I am a force stronger than mother nature!

This has been a very hard month for my great friend Becky Clay, marking the anniversary of Gretchen's death whilst celebrating the joy of Merovy's first birthday. Thankfully some of her family members were there to help her and David through this difficult time. Leslee-Ann and I have planned a trip to Savannah in November to hopefully give Becky a bit of a break from her routine.

WHERE ARE ALL MY CHILDREN?

Sean and Bryn are in England, Josh is back from Bolivia and staying with Leslee-Ann and Craig in Orlando doing more home improvements for them. Marc is awaiting the return of Bryn to LA maybe in October, Ming-Jon returned to Fort Madison for his class reunion, Ming-Lee and Lori are headed to England to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversay next month – more of my family across the pond – and this weekend the Logues and I will be driving to Fort Madison on Saturday to attend Amber Scott's wedding reception, returning Sunday.

On a technical note I have upgraded my laptop to Windows 10 in hopes that it might speed the computer up a bit. After this download my internet provider announced that it was upgrading it's system for faster service so hopefully I will no longer be talking to my computer using words that can not be said in front of the grandchildren. Who knows children, maybe I'll be in such a twitter over all these upgrades that I'll learn how to tweet you all! Love to give you something to look forward to, your ever anxious to please Mother.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 100 JUNE 2015

ANNOUNCING THE BIRTH OF OWEN DAVID LOGUE

BORN JUNE 8TH 2015 AT 6:22AM

WEIGHT 9 LBS 1 OZ

LENGTH 20 INCHES

Coryn had calculated that Owen was due on May 28^th. Since Ava Claire was born three weeks early she was hoping that labor day might happen as early as Mother's Day but this time she was overdue according to her calculations. I am sure we all remember that math was not one of her stronger subjects. The doctors decided that June 12^th was a more likely due date after reviewing his sonogram: very fortunate that they calculated a later date otherwise Coryn may have faced an induced labor. I would say that Coryn was actually correct (for once) since he weighed a couple of pounds more than his sister at birth. Owen obviously takes after his ever running late father!

Once again I was privileged to be present for his birth at St. Lukes East Hospital, in Lees Summit. Jeremy called me about three in the morning to let me know that Coryn's waters had broken and that they were headed to the hospital if I wanted to join them. I hastily pulled on some clothes, made sure I had my egg timer in my purse and programmed the hospital address into my GPS and drove in the dark(which we all know I do not enjoy) to help in any way I could. By the time I made my way up to the their birthing room Coryn was already having strong and regular contractions so I had her focus on the egg timer while doing her breathing exercises assuring her that before the sand ran half way through the hourglass her contraction would be over. This worked well for the first hour, by the second she was headed into transition and she was beginning to lose focus. It did not help when the nurse examined her and said she was dilated to about a seven and the doctor commented that this labor was probably going to be longer than her first and excused herself to get some sleep. I was not thrilled with the doctor's remark: a woman in labor needs to hear that things are moving along well! Coryn said that she didn't think she could handle the intensity and unrelenting contractions for much longer and wanted an epidural. I suggested it was a little late for that but the doctor decided otherwise and called for an anesthesiologist. As they were preparing Coryn for the procedure- which was difficult due to her need to move around during contractions - she screamed hysterically that she needed to push. The anesthesiologist ran out, the doctor ran in and I looked between her legs and saw that the head was almost out! A couple of pushes and out came Owen David after a labor that was even shorter than her first! So much for the doctor's opinion! Once again with Jeremy's support she managed to have a natural childbirth!

Unfortunately the baby was very bruised, especially facially from his fast and furious delivery and sustained burst blood vessels in his eyes too but of course to me he was totally perfect. Everyone was amazed by his size! He looked like a two month old! Like his sister he has a head of dark hair and now that his bruising has disappeared he looks just like her although Coryn says he has several sets of dimples, but I have only seen a couple so far!

You might be wondering who was taking care of Ava Clare at this point. Fortunately Jeremy's aunt was staying with them for a few days as Coryn and Jeremy had had a false alarm a couple of days before and she had driven up from the Lake of the Ozarks to help out and decided to stay in case she truly went into labor in the next few days.

I left the hospital shortly after the birth and headed home to hopefully sleep for a bit after letting the family know that we had a new baby to love. Later that day I returned to the hospital and witnessed Ava Claire's maternal instincts. 'He's adorable,' 'he's so cute', and every time he cried she would pat him and murmur 'there, there.' And of course she wanted to hold him on her lap the entire time. Unfortunately she also wanted to check out all his body parts to see how they worked. Coryn found her enthusiasm exhausting so I took Ava Claire home with me for a couple of days so that she and Jeremy could go home the next day and just bond with Owen themselves.

Jeremy has not been able to spend as much time as he would like with his family as all the rainy days we have experienced this spring made installing roofs impossible for extended periods, ergo they are very behind schedule and being pressured into completing jobs as quickly as possible. To this end Jeremy has had to join his uncle and cousin Shelby working along side their roofers in order to tackle the backlog of work . A lot of this work is scheduled in the Lake of the Ozarks so Jeremy is also having to be away for days at a time. Coryn and the children did spend a couple of days there this past week so he could at least have a little time with them. I have been helping as much as needed always enjoying the chance to do so.

In my last newsletter I was gloating about my dry basement despite heavy rainfall: shortly after I was drowning in my sorrow when an absolute monsoon of torrential rainfall fell for hours and caused water to seep up through my foundation once again. I had to pull up half my carpet squares and vacuum up gallons of water two weekends in a row. I decided it was time to stop swimming against the tide of reason and admit that despite regrading around the house, adding new gutters, gutter guards and downspouts and routing out all the drainage lines my home was still taking on water. I called my contractor who suggested a sump pump, epoxy injections into the concrete around the main water pipe into my basement which was an obvious problem spot and more dirt up against the house on one side. Having a sump pump installed was a very noisy and messy job. They had to jack hammer the concrete floor, excavate a mass of waterlogged clay and gravel to make a pit big enough for the sump pump to sit in. All of this was carried away in wheelbarrows through my downstairs family room and bar area and across my newly poured stamped concrete patio and up my freshly mulched garden path to the driveway. They even bought the garden hose inside to wash some of the mud away. It was a disgusting, smelly mess but if it works it will be well worth enduring a week of having my basement resemble a swamp rather than my family room.

Bryn will be arriving in KC before the 4^th, spending some time here before he heads to Orlando to visit Leslee and Craig. Then I believe he plans to fly off to England to see Sean and the Tuckers.

Marc will be glad that Bryn is no longer using his towels and eating his snacks when he stops by on his trek to the beach.

Josh is still in Bolivia and plans to be there through August as I understand it but …. who knows.

Frankly with torrential rain almost every day in May along with the heat and humidity plus my two felines it is hard to comprehend why Josh would pay to volunteer to work with big cats in the rainforest when he could just pitch a tent in my back yard.

Kay and I recently had a fun shopping spree for her birthday up the street at the Oak Park Mall where we found some great bargains to guarantee that she will be the best dressed teacher. She was recently awarded $1000.00 for classroom improvements for having the most improved test scores for a class in her school so she is off to a great start for the new school year plus she will also begin work on a degree to work with foreign language students.

Ming-Jon continues to do contract work and has recently signed a lease on a new apartment so we hope its a good move.

Ming and Lori unfortunately lost the buyers for their lake house at the last minute so they are having to go through the whole process again so I hope they have a buyer by the end of summer as it is such a hassle to maintain a vacation home in the winter.

I have not heard much from Sean. I know he got together with Ethan in London to celebrate his cousins birthday and he was thinking about visiting a foreign country the following weekend. He has found a flat, he has his own bedroom but is sharing the rest of the facilities with a young couple. So expensive to live in London.

Leslee and Craig are planning to visit this summer to meet their new nephew as I hope many more of you will be!

Coryn and Jeremy have asked Bryn to photograph their family to mark this major addition to it. Ava Claire will finally get to wear the confection of a dress her mother whipped up for her – I was expecting it's debut for her birthday party but since Owen didn't make his a timely one Coryn decided to keep it for family pictures. Hard to protect a dress from all the cake and ice cream spills that a two year old creates.

My heartfelt thanks to Coryn and Jeremy for inviting me to share in the birth of their big and beautiful son, it was such a privilege to be with them through the birthing process. Boy oh Boy as Ava Claire loves to say!

Children, your mother is so happy to have another healthy grandchild that I would make a couple of batches of Oreo balls to celebrate if you were all here! Love to you all always.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 99 MAY 2015

Dear Children, Family, and Friends,

Spring burst forth this year with gloriously sunny days interspersed with frequent rain showers causing my garden to blossom long before usual. I don't think I have ever seen daffodils, columbines and clematis blooming simultaneously. Everything from milk weed to cleome has emerged from the dirt weeks before it would usually. I hope my garden won't be all bloomed out by the end of June though!

As mentioned in my last letter , I went ahead with my latest home improvement project: a stamped, neutral toned patio, with a stone sitting wall and a section of fencing which incorporated a five foot wide gate which improves access to the backyard for garden equipment. I had the contractor who did my kitchen and bathroom projects last year head this one up too as he undertook to find some good bids for me and I am very happy with the result.

Growing up in Bedhampton, southern England, I spent hours every summer day in my garden house – a converted shed. I decided that a play house for Ava Claire on my new, safe and level patio would be just the thing to mark her second birthday. Fortuitously it arrived on a day she was here with me so I excitedly explained that the huge cardboard box contained something very special for her. Ava Claire looked at the box and announced she was going to see her frogs. I assured myself that once I had the pieces out of the box she would understand that a real little house was soon to be part of her backyard paradise at Grandma's. I managed to drag her away from her frogs – a set of four ceramic garden frogs that her mother gave me many years ago – and exclaimed “ Boy oh Boy” as I showed her the door, walls, roof, and windows. She repeated “Boy oh Boy” with gusto as I handed her the bag of fake food to carry over to the patio as I hefted a wall. Ava Claire asked me to open her bag so she could play with the contents. She immediately set the food and dishes up on the stone sitting wall and when asked if she would like to help Grandma bring more of the house around to the patio, she announced that she was staying put with her plastic food. I hustled and after about six round trips from the driveway to the patio I had all the house pieces in place ready to assemble. Again I asked Ava Claire if she would like to help Grandma but she informed me that she was playing. I rationalized she would be more excited once the house was assembled because she probably didn't comprehend that a pile of plastic bits and pieces was going to turn into a playhouse. I managed to get the actual house assembled fairly quickly but the biggest problem was installing the doorbell – I had to scrunch into the house hold the back and front doorbell pieces in place whilst I drilled through the wall. Ava Claire was far more interested in my drill than her house and would try to grab it every time I set it down - further delaying the process. The doorbell makes six different sounds that I thought she would enjoy but the only sound she likes is that of the barking dogs, which probably reminds her of her real home. I mounted the stove top into the wall, added the adjoining picnic table and stools and looked around for Ava Claire who had wondered off back to her frogs. She bought them over to check out the house briefly but soon returned them to their usual spot in my circular bed of the lily of the valleys where she played happily. Coryn said she would probably have been more enthused over another set of ceramic garden ornaments and that I should have just turned a cardboard box into a playhouse but I am sure that Elena and Lola Rose will be more excited about it and maybe this will influence Ava Claire.

Elena has certainly had a very positive effect on Ava Claire's potty training. The last time the girls were all together at my house Elena demonstrated every step of the procedure to Ava Claire who practically pushed Elena off the potty to see her poo poo! Elena explained that she had to take toilet paper and “pat pat” until she was dry. Ava Claire has this part down pat, unfortunately she still has problems getting to the potty before she wets but for her age she is doing well I think. She does best when she goes commando and then always gets herself on the potty in time to poo and pee. She has been dry through the night for quite a while.

In the middle of April I drove to Iowa City for the wedding of Lauren Clarke , the youngest daughter of my good friends, Dave and Jane Clarke. It was great to see the other kids, Katie and her twin boys, Dan and John. John is very excited about the prospect of being able to visit Sean in London – let's hope Sean's budget will be big enough to afford space for visitors. The wedding and reception took place at The Celebration Farm : a beautiful round wooden barn which perfectly suited the rustic themed wedding. A shuttle bus service was offered between the hotel and venue so at check in I signed up for that: glad to be relieved of the responsibility of finding my way from one place to another- especially late at night in the dark. However once I boarded the bus I was soon surrounded by twenty year olds who clearly saw this as the party bus: grateful that they could drink without having to worry about driving themselves back to the hotel. I had to admit to myself that I was probably a tad too mature to fit in with this raucous group and decided that I would try to nab a more sedate ride home. Fortunately I was seated with some very nice couples and was offered a ride back to the hotel with one of them: and thank goodness I didn't choose to drive myself as we were caught in a torrential downpour on the drive back with zero visibility on I80!

I am happy to report that Josh is back in Bolivia volunteering with the big cats who hopefully are well fed and not tempted to snack on my son! I cannot imagine running through the rainforest with a puma tied to a leash around my waist being eaten alive by mosquitoes and wading into rivers with the possibility of becoming fish food! But Joshua seems to thrive on the challenges.

Sean is now working for his former company Cerner in their London office. In early April I dropped him off at the airport for his first flight of three to Manchester airport where he was met by cousin Ethan. He spent about three weeks with my brother Trevor, his wife Angela and of course Ethan in Huddersfield taking trips to local places of interest and a weekend was spent in Scotland. Then Cerner flew him back to the states at the end of April for three days of meetings before returning him to London where he is currently being housed in a hotel at their expense while he looks for an affordable flat – which will be a challenge.

We were able to see Sean for dinner on Friday night before he returned to London which was great - we all got together at the Logues as Sean had some stuff he had stored at their house that he was taking the opportunity to retrieve and take back with him. He also had had some electronic stuff shipped there as apparently it is much cheaper to buy it in this country. Unfortunately Ava Claire threw up at dinner time but she felt well enough to demand pizza and proceeded to demand that Sean play with her, take her to the potty and read books to her. Jeremy had been ill with diarrhea earlier in the week and unfortunately Coryn and I succumbed in the next few days. I was greatly concerned that Sean would be affected while traveling but fortunately he stayed healthy. The Tuckers sent some cute clothes over for Ava Claire and her new brother to be and some classic English sweets for the rest of us. They also included a tea bell which is perfect for Ava Claire and her beloved tea times.

Kay and Jeff had picked Sean up at his hotel so he got to meet Theodore , their rescue dog who looks a lot like Buster with a tail. I bet the neighbors were very worried when they saw five dogs running around the Logues back yard - not another one! Unfortunately Theodore is estimated to be about two years old but he is not potty trained so Kay and Jeff are trying to crate train him but it is a challenge with an older dog. He is adorable but a lot of work - I did try to talk them out of it until they at least had a house and a doggie door but as usual no-one listens to me! He is a very cute,nice dog and surprisingly my cats seem quite comfortable with him.

I completed all my nursery sewing for my newest grandson, crib panels, bumper pads, changing table pad, valances , and a pillow for the rocking chair which thankfully I did not have to reupholster as it worked with the new nursery colors. I am now concentrating on Ava Claire's summer wardrobe.

The last couple of times that I have talked to Bryn he has been at Marc's condo instead of his house in downtown LA. Apparently there is no air conditioning and Bryn claims it's not his thing to sit and sweat. He would rather drive to Marc's, and take his brother's towels and snacks to spend the day at the nearby Redondo Beach! He is actively seeking a sub- leaser with thoughts of joining Josh and or Sean. Frankly I am bewildered that he thinks he could survive in the hot and humid rainforest when he finds LA a challenge! I can see Bryn happily drinking his way through England's pubs as he contemplates future employment opportunities.

Mother's Day weekend was a social whirl on the Plaza. Becky Dickinson invited Coryn and me to lunch at Andres as a belated celebration of my birthday on Saturday – a feast for the eyes and stomach as one has to walk pass display cases filled with handmade specialty chocolates to reach the cafe where I enjoyed a delicious chicken vol- au- vent with salad and a raspberry pastry for dessert. The following day I met Kay and Jeff and his mother Barb,(for the first time) for brunch at Brio's. It was so sweet of the kids to do this for us. I am so blessed to have these young people in my life.

Today I was meant to be helping Kay with her class field trip but it was canceled due to rain so hopefully the weather will co-operate for a make up day. I think we are going to have rain all through the weekend yet again. This has certainly be a wet spring. Fortunately my basement has stayed dry.

Ming and Lori have put their lake house in Crawfordsville, up for sale after coming to the conclusion that it was no longer practical or enjoyable to maintain two properties, especially with Blake in high school and both kids activities. Ming Lee certainly put a lot of time and energy into updating and improving the property with his extensive handy man skills. Now they will have more time to visit all that I have to offer in my wonderfully located fun in the sun paradise of a home.

Coryn and Jeremy will soon be introducing us to our their son and my next newsletter will be a birth announcement! Ava Claire's 2^nd birthday will be on May 25^th and the plan is to incorporate the two events if possible! Coryn is counting on delivering early again this time! She actually made Ava Claire's birthday dress herself from yards of tulle with no sew construction! I am so proud of her! I was hoping that she might be motivated to learn to sew but she quickly squelched that hope.

Mother is now a lady in waiting, waiting for the arrival of Owen, waiting for the rain to stop and waiting for one of many unmarried sons to call with news of at least a date. Love to you all from your mother who always penetrates like a ray of sunshine into your lives no matter how thick the clouds that surround you.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 98 MARCH 2015

Dear Readers,

Mother has been relentlessly attacking so many projects that I have not found time to write about it all!

February kicked off with my Super Bowl party attended by my Kansas City family and adopted Dickinson family. Watching Elena, Lola Rose and Ava Claire was as entertaining as the game - especially when the two oldest girls tackled the issue of just who's Grandma I am! Elena declared I was hers -Ava Claire insisted I was her Grandma and neither girl seemed to think it was possible that I was the other's Grandma if I was hers! They would be totally confused if they came with me to Kay's school where the entire class calls me Grandma Lowe! Frankly I am happy to be a Grandma to all the kids in my life and have never dreaded hearing the word as so many people seem to. I am constantly amazed at the names women dream up to avoid being addressed as “ Grandma”. I have been Grandma Lowe since I was thirty nine years old ! My only complaint is that I don't have any grandchildren from five of my offspring!

My Florida bedroom has undergone a transformation since Coryn and Jeremy decided to switch Ava Claire into a toddler bed freeing up her crib for the new baby. The queen bed that was in the new nursery was moved to my house in exchange for two of my twin beds that will be better suited for the kids future needs. This meant that I needed new bedding, matching bed-side tables, and some refinishing of existing furniture to match my new color scheme. My garage floor is now blood red since I spray painted two wicker chairs there – despite putting down large sheets of cardboard to protect it!

I am now giving serious consideration to painting all the dark woodwork upstairs the same creamy color as most of the first floor doors and trim. It will be a very time consuming project but I think it will be a positive change.

The weekend before last Coryn took me to see the ballet Giselle at the Kauffman Center which is touted as one of the best performance auditoriums in the country. It was a Christmas gift from her and Jeremy and was much anticipated and greatly enjoyed. We used a gift certificate from some of my sons for dinner on the Country Club Plaza and had a fabulous seafood dinner with a novel desert - fresh berries and mousse in a chocolate bag - reminded me of the chocolate swans filled with raspberry mousse that Coryn and Jeremy served at their wedding reception. We both thought how much Ava Claire would have loved the dessert and will definitely have to repeat the experience with her when she is a little older.

We had some time between dinner and the ballet to walk around the plaza shops – the streets were jammed with crowds of people in town for the Big Twelve Basketball games at the nearby Sprint Center. I was concerned that the short drive to the theater might be a traffic jam but it was fine. Coryn happily teetered through the stores and along the sidewalks in her five inch heels with her baby bump seemingly defying gravity. By the time we reached our theater seats her feet were swollen, throbbing masses which led her to sit barefoot( thank goodness she didn't have smelly feet) through the performance while she hoped she wouldn't need any runs to the rest room before intermission. Today's dress standards have become so relaxed that one can almost roll out of bed in grungy sweats and an old t-shirt and go anywhere. I am rather old school on this issue – I loved my English days of wearing beautiful dresses and hats to weddings, dark respectful clothes to funerals and changing to go out to lunch or dinner.

Ming-Jon visited us the last weekend in February to spend some time with Kay Jeff and the rest of us before his planned departure in early March to teach English for a year in China. However things fell through at the last minute so now his trip has been postponed indefinitely. Fortuitously his arrival coincided with Josh's 35^th birthday so he was part of our celebration and got to enjoy two birthday cakes! I'm afraid I started making my cake too early in the morning. Josh had requested a strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting – from yet another web site which claimed the recipe tasted great but was difficult to get to the right consistency- I decided to make an early start in case my first batch of frosting was so bad that I would have to start another. Unfortunately I grabbed a box of cake mix from the pantry, dumped in the other ingredients and started my mixer. A few spins later and I noticed that my cake was chocolate and not strawberry. I had no idea that I had more than one cake mix in my pantry. So I decided to bake the chocolate cake and the strawberry cake. Fortunately I had enough whipping cream to make two different kinds of frosting. Actually the chocolate cake seemed more popular with my guests – many of whom had a slice of each – including Ava Claire of course along with strawberries and ice cream.

Ming Jon's Sunday return flight was canceled due to bad weather and the earliest flight available was for late afternoon the next day so he got to spend an extra day with me and Ava Claire on Monday. Coryn left work a little early so that I could take Ming-Jon to the airport. I know he was pleased to see Kay happily settled into her life in Kansas City with Jeff, her extended family, her work, great apartment and new car.

Ming- Lee, Lori, Blake and Claudia are spending the kids Spring break in Pheonix, Arizona with Lori's mom and step- dad. Coryn and Jeremy went to Chicago for a few days to visit with Amber Scott and her fiancee whilst Ava Claire stayed with me. Sean stayed at Coryns with the four dogs and I had some help from Josh at my house with a very demanding Ava Claire. The cat became her great playmate again, enduring having her fur coat tugged out with my hairbrush, fake food rammed in her mouth and being poked with a plastic medicine dropper when Ava decided to play doctor – over and over again. At least she didn't try to put a diaper on the cat this time although she did make her wear a hat! It is amazing that the cat tolerates her so well and actively seeks her out. The only time Delilah has scratched her was when Ava Claire rolled over the cat while she was sleeping.

Josh and Sean are both planning to leave next month, Josh will be headed to Texas to help build another hydroponic greenhouse and will return to Bolivia to volunteer at at an animal reserve again. Sean is planning on using his British citizenship to move to London and work for an extended time. Being interesting to see how he feels about the weather and high cost of living there.

My friend Becky Clay had some great news recently: her home in Fort Madison has sold. This means that she can now explore the possibility of finding a place of her own in Savannah. I hope she finds something with lots of character and some outdoor space for at least a few pots of flowers. I will be visiting her once she is settled and will enjoy seeing Lysander and Merovy too.

I have been hoping to remove my cracked and heaving concrete patio and replace it with something else for years- I didn't want to subject Norm to the noise of a jack hammer. I have decided to attack the job this Spring and am currently getting bids. I just hope it can be transformed before all my plants get trampled to death by the workers. Masses of my bulbs are blooming and green shoots are poking up through the dirt in all my flower beds. We have had a relatively mild winter here – some sub freezing temperatures but a lot of above normal ones and very little snow.

I have painted the walls in my sewing room – each one a different color to use up paint that has been sitting in the storage room since we moved into this house. It is very bold, bright green, terracotta, turquoise and sunshine yellow. It seems to have stimulated my creativity as I have been sewing for weeks! Some of my children seemed dubious about my paint job – Josh said it was so distracting that he found it hard to concentrate on ironing his work pants and shirts whilst Coryn said it suggested a Mexican themed restaurant. I am very pleased with my handiwork and have decided to put laying carpet squares in it on my to do list – maybe a rainbow of colors. If I have to sew with my sunglasses on so be it.

Coryn recently met me at a going out of business fabric sale in Belton, a town between our homes. She was hoping to find some fabrics for the new nursery but we only found pink glitter tulle which Coryn wanted me to make into a many layered table skirt for Ava Claire's room. We had lunch but eating with Ava Claire these days is no longer a pleasant experience. She has become a picky eater. She will announce loudly “I don't like it” and toss it on the floor if one does not remove it from her grasp fast enough. However she likes to order hot tea and desert of course. We all hope that this will be a short stage.

Coryn eventually found fabric on the web which she ordered – fortunately Jeremy liked it after the fact. Now I have yards of four complimentary fabrics waiting to be turned into crib panels, bumper pads, pillows, changing table pads, basket liners and valances. I have learned that when Coryn has plans for a custom anything it means I will be doing all the work! Good job I find my sewing room such a happy place to be slaving away in.

Bryn is now contemplating working as a consultants as he feels it would give him more flexibility to take extended vacations and possibly be more lucrative. Marc is just glad to have his space back to himself and muttering about his brothers laid back approach to life.

Easter will be soon be upon us and this cute chick will be preening in the garden for all my neighbors to enjoy and hopping around the kitchen chasing my tail preparing an Easter ham if I have dinner guests. In the meantime I will continue to wish that many of my chicks will breed like rabbits when their soul mates finally hop into their lives. Love to you all from the best bred mother of all!