THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 165                                               APRIL 2026, 

Dear Readers,  

We have exciting family news! Bryn proposed to Gabby in Japan last month after finding the vintage engagement ring of her dreams. CONGRATULATIONS to them  and we are delighted to have another family member! 

Gabby and Bryn engaged in Japan

The beautiful vintage ring they found in Tokoyo

The weather is as unpredictable as the actions of our president,  one day will be hot, humid and sunny, the next freezing cold with snow and punishing winds. There are days where I have to change my clothes by mid day to accommodate the huge temperature swings! For the first time ever this year my many daffodils bloomed in early March and days later were felled to the ground by a disastrous freeze. Meanwhile Trump is seemingly willing to set the world on fire by declaring war on Iran, causing the deaths of many innocent civilians all in an effort to effect regime change and ensure that they never have nuclear weapons capability. But didn’t they along with Israel claim to have bombed Iran’s nuclear weapons facility to oblivion months ago?

So far  all they seem to have accomplished is alienating most of the world, causing higher energy costs for everyone and possibly being justifiably charged with War Crimes against the people of Iran. And the most amazing thing to me is that the Senate and the Congress do not seem to be outraged that our despotic president has declared war without any consultation or approval from them! What’s the point of electing these people to serve us if they are not going to abide by the constitution?

We had another health scare recently: Liam was hospitalized for two days with complications from strep throat and a sinus infection . He was running a high fever, was nauseous and most alarming of all he was unable to move his neck. After ruling out meningitis and sepsis the doctors ordered a scan and discovered an infected growth in his neck tissue. They hoped to resolve it with intravenous antibiotics and steroids with surgery an option if he didn’t respond well to treatment. Apparently this is a condition which usually occurs in children under six who have undergone a tonsillectomy and had their adenoids removed too .So Liam definitely met the criteria and happily was able to avoid surgery! 

 His siblings stayed with me at my house - so conveniently situated just a couple of blocks from the hospital -  so Sarah and Sean could spell each other day and night at the hospital!, One night I had all three sleeping in my bed as they were so worried about their brother! Unfortunately Emmy  Lou developed a coughing fit in the middle of the night so I moved her onto the sofa in hopes that she would not wake her brothers! I gave her cough medicine and a cup of water  and settled down to try and sleep again only to have Lochlan fall out of bed! Fortunately he did not wake  Cillian and I was able to get him wedged between me and his brother!! 

Liam missed almost two weeks of school but fortunately being in Kindergarten - and a great student -it  will have had no ill effects on his education!  

On one of the nicer days recently Sean decided to cut his hair and that of  his three boys on my deck.  Grandma had to give the boys a bath afterwards to get rid of all the itchy hairs on their necks!.A few days later I ventured into the back yard to fill up my bird feeder and saw a pile of fur in the grass. I immediately thought a squirrel or a raccoon must have been savaged to death by a coyote or hawk ! Upon closer inspection I realized that the mix of blond, black and brown fur was the shorn off locks of my boys hair! Sean had clearly just swept the hair clippings off the deck to the grass below! I contemplated cleaning the hair pile up but decided that the birds could probably use it for nesting material so left it for them.  A couple of weeks later I was cutting down one of my many pampas grasses when I noticed my hedge trimer was about to cut into a flower pot so I shut it off and reached for the pot and discovered a nest of mice with a lock of Sean’s wiry black hair keeping them cosy! I am sure Josh will have something to say about this since he was removing siding around my house last year in an effort to block off entry points for vermin Not to mention all the moth balls and metal mesh he has provided me with in an effort to deter them! It's not very helpful to have a brother providing them with luxury nesting material within feet of their front door to my basement!

I volunteered to host Easter again this year and couldn’t resist some cute Easter themed fabrics which I spotted on Amazon and yards of multi-colored mini rick-rack. I devised a new pattern for this year's baskets and managed to find time to sew them all!! And of courseI found all kinds of eggs on Amazon stuffed with squishy toys, wind up bunnies and chicks and even fidget chicks that lit up! Grandma ordered them all of course and added a few dozen more filled with candy purchased at the Hen House!

Fortunately the weather co-operated with us this year so I was able to hide all the eggs outside! Amazingly I was doing this at the unbelievable hour of  nine O’clock on a Sunday morning so I could get my half ham in the oven and a bag of potatoes peeled! The hunt was scheduled for eleven with lunch to follow at noon! We had all my Kansas City family here plus Richard’s parents so my house was full with the seventeen of us! I also had a couple of chickens and salads from the deli, Sarah contributed her pasta salad, and Sean had little smokies in a crockpot for the children! Kay and Richard contributed dessert from Mclaine's Bakery. It was quite the feast!

Liam on the Bunny trail!

Cillian, Alex, Owen and Lochlan

Cillian filling his Easter bag mad by Grandma!

Lochlan 

Emmy Lou opening her eggs

The following weekend it was my birthday so the family gathered here once again and went with a pasta theme! Along with delicious salads and crusty bread Sarah and Sean cooked shrimp ravioli with lobster sauce, with meatballs in the crock pot for the picky kids and Coryn made her delicious chicken spaghetti baked dish and for dessert a delicious cheesecake with strawberry compote and fresh whipped cream! 

I had had quite a busy week in between Easter Sunday and my birthday on the following Saturday . On Monday I babysat Lucas, on Thursday I had Lucas again with the addition of Liam and Cillian in the afternoon as Lochlan had Kindergarten round up which required his parents' presence. They arrived back at my house with Emmy Lou and Lochlan and announced that the kids wanted to eat supper at Grandma’s so Sean picked up Chipotle as I don’t cook after babysitting for eight hours! On Friday morning I had Lochlan and Cillia who were joined by Ava Claire and Owen who elected to spend the last day of their Spring break at my house! Of course the younger cousins were ecstatic to see them! 

Ava Clare and Owen decided to stay overnight with me so that afternoon we headed up to the Hen House for snacks and breakfast donuts as per tradition ! Owen and I stayed up late watching a Terminator movie - one of my favorites. Thankfully the children let me sleep later the next day! 

Unfortunately Kay texted that she would be missing my birthday party as she was not feeling very well but said Richard and the boys would be there! The party was scheduled to begin at 2:30 that afternoon but Richard called and asked if I could take Lucus at noon so he could take Alex to a movie -no problem as I already had two kids here who would love to have cousin time with baby Lucas! I posted a picture on our KC thread of the three cousins at my house shortly after Lucas  arrived so upon seeing that my house was already filling with children Sarah and Sean decided to join the party early too! Fortunately the weather was perfect for being outdoors and it wasn’t long before Sean and Jeremy had the children playing baseball on my driveway! They played for hours! Lucas was happy to watch in his stroller, take a nap or be passed around the family!. How lucky am I to have eight grandchildren playing at my house two weekends in a row! I find them so entertaining  even when they are brats!

Ava Claire and Owen with Lucas

Grandma blowing out her candles on her 74th!

Owen with Lucas

Lucas watching TV with Liam and Cilian!

I am flying to Orlando this week to visit the Remsburgs - Claudia was with them last weekend. Whilst Bryn and Gabby were getting engaged in Japan the Remsburgs were vacationing in Mexico then Canada! MingJon’s move to Austin, Texas was short-lived.He is now back in Arlington. Josh is still in Georgia, - too close to Iran for my liking - and will be making his way to Germany  to fly home next month! Marc will be visiting Blake soon to check out his two newly adopted rescue cats!

Hoping we can all weather the endless storms and ensuing chaos as Trump continues to blow hot air around the world, spewing hatred and propaganda out of his narcissistic mouth. Thank goodness I have so many grandchildren who can quickly ground me in their world for a few hours a week and in the ensuing chaos I enjoy a respite from the latest Trump disaster. Love Mother

 THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: Volume 164                                               January 2026

Dear Readers 

I am delighted to announce that we have a new family member! Congratulations to Kay, Richard and big brother Alex!

                              

                                             LUCAS LOWE FLAIG

                               Born:     November 25th 2025

                               Time:     5:33pm

                               Weight:  8lbs 4ozs

                               Length:   20 inches 

Lucas Lowe Flaig

Grandma's visit  to the hospital hours after birth!

He appears to be a  clone of his proud big brother Alex - they weighed the same and both have Kay’s huge dimples making them irresistible to this Grandma! His cousins are enthralled with him and all vie to hold him and  feed him. I will be splitting the baby sitting with Richard’s parents again so all the baby equipment which I had given to one of Coryn’s neighbors is now back in my house! 

A couple of days after Lucas was born we celebrated Thanksgiving at Sarah and Sean’s house.

Coryn and Jeremy contributed numerous dishes to our feast - I made Stove Top stuffing - along with Sean’s smoked turkey and ham and Sarah’s pasta salad! On their way home the Logues dropped off a lot of left overs for Kay and Richard who had been discharged from the hospital with baby Lucas that very day!

Once again I hosted  Christmas Eve with our present exchange and of course another feast straight from the freezer into the oven or air fryer Hors d’ouveres! I actually baked cookies from scratch this holiday season and Coryn contributed a  cheesecake with blackberry compote!  It was absolutely delicious and I hope her love affair with making them continues!

Lucas: our Xmas baby in a manger

Richard wih Alex and Kay with Lucas

Liam, Lochlan, Owen, Alex, Cillian, Ava Claire and Emmy Lou

Opening presents

This year's Chrstmas tree!

Coryn burbing Lucas

Sean and Jeremy snacking on my glorious spread!

Has anyone else realised that the school holidays seem to be getting days longer yearly?  The Thanksgiving  break used to start on the Wednesday before- now they have the entire week off! Then for Christmas break they had over two weeks - with an extra day for Teacher-in Service! Good thing Grandma's daycare is always open! It must be very hard for some families to find childcare for this long period of time!  Fortunately Sarah, Sean, Coryn and Kay were all on break too but frequently seemed to need a break from their kids - so if one family showed up at my house it was quite likely that more of my Kansas City family would decide to visit me too!

One day I was watching Lochlan and Cillian when Coryn came through the door about three O’clock  with Ava Claire,  Owen, and a huge spiral- cut ham - gifted to  a Buddhist neighbor who

obviously could not  serve it to her family so re-gifted it to Coryn!  I was to bake the ham,  she would be making mashed potatoes- by some miracle I had two sticks of butter,  kosher salt and Lowry’s seasoning which she needed ! Thankfully she had a bag of potatoes that I certainly would not have had in stock!  Apparently Sarah and Sean would be joining us for dinner along with Liam and Emmy Lou with Jeremy planning on swinging by after work! I quickly found a pan to bake the ham in and calculated how long it would need to be in the oven - fortunately I had the two hours and thirty minutes needed before the grandchildren would be starving. Coryn and I peeled potatoes as Sean arrived with peppers and onions to stir fry and Sarah  our beloved Stove Top stuffing !This saved me from digging in the freezer for some frozen vegetables! I was quite surprised to be eating another festive meal! There is never a dull moment at my house !

Another day Sean came over with his four children as he had offered to caulk the window in my laundry room which was letting in an icy blast. As I thought he was going to be spending just a few minutes doing so I elected to set the children up in the kitchen with cornmeal (play sand) and numerous containers - an activity that they all enjoy and I have to say that the cordless vacuum I received from the Logues for Christmas makes cleaning up much easier! Sean quickly finished his task so  announced that he had the energy to complete another minor home improvement. 

Sean setting up the step ladder in my crowded kitchen

Corn meal sand play

He decided to patch the crack in the wall by my kitchen table. I had fortuitously  decided  to set up my child size table and chairs by the kitchen sink rather than using the glass kitchen table!! We were out of Sean’s way! However once this was done he remembered that I had a chunk of plaster missing under my window in the bathroom so pushed past the kids to get there and mumbled about my choosing the most inconvenient spot possible to have them play while I protested that I had no idea he was going to be working in that area! He then decided to caulk a couple of  spots in the kitchen which meant dragging a ladder in and once up it  he noticed the gap between the top of my wall cabinets and the wall they were hung on.. This was appalling to Sean - I knew about it but since it’s not visible from the ground I have never been motivated to address it. Whilst trying to keep the kids from spilling cornmeal everywhere I was sent to find a tape measure, quarter round strips - which I have a stack off in my garage( already painted in my trim color left over from last year's floor installation ) and a saw with a miter box if possible. Then I needed paper and pencil to record measurements that he barked out to me. He handed down my dust laden decorator items that I have displayed up there so I could wipe all the dust off!  In between these tasks for Sean I was trying to scoop corn meal piles off the table back into the kid’s containers as they continued to bury objects in it, run cars through it or pretend to bake! My pretend sand kept them occupied for well over an hour!

This past weekend Kansas City  endured a winter storm of several days duration. Like hundreds of thousands in the storm's path I used the advanced weather warning to stock up on groceries - I grabbed one of the last packs of toilet paper left on the Hen House’s shelf and immediately texted my KC family of the need to shop sooner rather than later in the day!

This storm impacted Sean’s birthday plans: he was to celebrate it with Sarah at an evening culinary cooking event. I was planning on having their four children for a sleepover but the weather changed those plans! They were worried that they might not be able to pick their children up the next day or even the following if the dire storm predictions came to fruition so they decided to postpone their date night and celebrate Sean’s birthday at my house along with Kay,Richard,Alex and Lucus who had decided a visit to Grandma's was needed  once Alex’s school was cancelled due to the frigid temperature!  Sean and Sarah arrived at dinnertime with bags of Chinese takeaway, and a carrot cake. They also hauled in enough food to ensure my survival throughout the storm and  at least a week beyond despite my assurances that I had stocked up! Kay and Richard both offered to run to the store too but I assured them I had plenty of food! I am so blessed to have such caring children! 

After Sean’s birthday meal I filled up two bath tubs and let five kids play with bubbles and containers, whilst I washed their hair and urged them to do the same to their chocolate ice-cream covered faces! Then they all were dressed in pajamas with Grandma using a hair dryer to ensure that they did not go out into the sub zero temperatures with wet hair that would surely turn to ice in seconds! Home to bed while Grandma tackled two loads of laundry and relaxed with a nice cup of tea and my knitting!

The snow fell the next day  and continued into Sunday but frankly the frigid temperatures were the worst part of the storm! My neighbors were out in force on Sunday once the snow stopped with their snow blowers, leaf blowers and snow shovels! I assured them that there was really no need to do my driveway as I had no intentions of driving anywhere on icy, snow covered roads. One neighbor responded with great concern that an emergency with one of my grandchildren might arise needing me to drive to them to help out! I had not given this scenario a thought as I know full well that my children can make it over to my house  regardless of road conditions! Roads and schools may be closed but my kids will find a way to  unload their kids on my doorstep to save their sanity for a few hours!

I recently came across a drawer full of yarn in my sewing room  - after a cleaning session necessitated by Ava Claire needing half a yard of fabric for a school home economics sewing class- Coryn was sure I would have something on hand - which of course I did! However after pulling out  various leftover fabrics to see if Ava Clare liked any of them and even more crucially if they measured up to the yardage needed, she found one that would work so I closed the door of my mess and decided to tackle cleaning up later. I then came across a drawfull of yarn and have been knitting hats for everyone ever since! Three for baby Lucus - one of which he has already outgrown! Chiefs hats for Alex, Emmy Lou, Liam, Lochlan and Cillian, a Bronco’s hat for Richard, two girly coloured  hats for Emmy Lou, three hats in patriotic red , white and navy blue - two of which Sarah and Sean took while they went on a date - curling on ice in Blue Springs followed by dinner on the plaza.. Ava Claire did not want a hat but bought her own yarn for me to knit into something for her bedroom so I made a neck pillow which because of the stitch pattern I chose looks more like a peanut than the sea shell  I had in mind for her beachy themed bedroom! Needless to say I have made a  couple of trips to buy more yarn in order to have enough color selection but  do think I have used more yarn from my stash than I have purchased!

Emmy Lou wearing her new hat while crafting

Lochlan and Cillian ready for swim lessons in their Chiefs hats!

Several of my children gifted me a robotic vacuum this Chrismtas - another nod to their high tech mother and I have to say it almost cost me my life recently. After Sean had set it up and claimed that I had probably thrown some vital missing part out with the Christmas wrapping paper - he replaced the said missing part -  I decided to use the app installed on my Ipad to run it! I saw it vacuuming my basement carpet and heard it running for some time so assumed it had completed the rest of the floors down there so I started sewing burp cloths for Lucas and just as I started to iron my seams I heard a motor running and then the vacuum came into my sewing room and almost ran over my foot! I dropped the iron and sprung out of the way and then it became a dance to the death as I tried to rush past it and escape upstairs! ! No wonder Cillian is terrified of the one in his home! I thought that when it returned to its dock it was done for the day but apparently it will go back to recharge and then continue to clean!

Whilst on maternity leave Kay has been appointed Principal of Hale Cook Elementary school - she was vice principal of this school before her present job as vice principal at The Foreign Language Academy. I know we all wish her every success in her new position which she will assume shortly. Thankfully Lucas is beginning to sleep for longer periods during the night!.

Ming-Jon is moving to Austin, Texas in a few weeks so that will be quite a change for him after being in the Washington DC area for decades! Hope all goes well for him! Josh is still in Eastern Europe, Marc spent Christmas in Orlando with the Remsburgs, Bryn and Gabby were with her family in Arizona and of course Lori was so happy to have Blake and Claudia home for the holidays!

Earlier this month Sarah and Sean invited me to join their family at the Johnson County Community College for a theatrical performance of the Jungle Book! We had excellent seats, practically sitting on the stage!  I was interested to note how many elderly people were attending the performance without grandchildren present. The show was not the cartoonish rendition of the book I was expecting but quite a dark version: very cleverly performed by four actors playing numerous parts with a lot of lighting effects and set changing wizardry. I thought it might be a bit scary for the children but they were all enthralled in the performance. Liam was even invited to participate at one point  - willingly giving up the location of the heroine hiding from the villain but only after the actor offered him a monetary bribe! I am so lucky to live just a block away from this facility with all it has to offer! Maybe once all my grandchildren are in school I will have the time to take some classes there myself! I would not mind reliving some of my fun filled college days at all!

Love Mother

Making marshmallow snowmen at Grandma's

                 

Owen with Lucas! Everyone wants to hold him!

Emmy Lou's turn!

Lochlan's turn! He loves babies!

Alex, Lochlan and Lucas!