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!
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| Liam on the Bunny trail! |
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| Cillian, Alex, Owen and Lochlan |
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| Cillian filling his Easter bag mad by Grandma! |
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| Lochlan |
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
