THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 151, JUNE 2023

Dear Readers,

Memorial Day weekend was very memorable this year as Craig, Ray, and Calle visited us for the first time since Kay and Richard’s wedding in 2019!  Leslee-Ann had made a  solo trip to see Ming-Lee for our last family reunion with him in  Kansa City in June 2021. Covid and Southwest Airlines flight cancellations  conspired to keep many of us apart. It was so fun to see all the cousins together - Liam. Lochlan, Cillian and Alex were not even born until after the Flaig’s wedding! Lori and Blake drove over from Indianapolis and Bryn flew from LA! It was great to have so much family here.

On Saturday  May 29th at seven thirty  in the morning I was filling two  pools with water and hooking a hose up to a splash pad - I had  inflated these items  the night before because I wanted to be organized by nine-thirty that morning when Sarah would be arriving with her four children whilst Sean drove to the airport to pick up the Remsbergs.  I scurried to and from my house with arm loads of pool toys, towels, sunscreens, bug sprays and a dozen new fangled water guns that look like short pool noodles! I even hauled the water- table down from the deck. I felt that I had created a water park to rival Worlds of Fun!

Unfortunately two hours of full sun failed to warm the water very much so when the children arrived it was still freezing cold but it did not deter them at all!  Kay arrived with Alex who was more than happy to climb into the pool with Emmy Lou. LIam, and Lochlan! At least they didn’t turn blue but they were all shivering with chattering teeth! As soon as we got them wrapped in  towels and warmed  up a bit they  ran straight back into the pools: they didn’t care about the cold at all!  Fortunately by mid afternoon the pools were much warmer although my splash pad sprung a leak and Sean had to finagle the hose connection to keep water flowing into the spray spouts instead of creating muddy puddles in my lawn.

The Remsbergs arrived and Callie and Ray suited up and joined in the fun! Just before my sumptuous luncheon sandwich buffet Coryn arrived with Ava Clare but without Owen and Jeremy. Unfortunately Owen had been diagnosed with Strep Throat the day before and was advised to isolate from others until he had been on antibiotics for twenty four hours. That was a bummer - especially since we were having a joint birthday party that night for Ava Claire and Owen to celebrate their tenth and eighth birthdays  respectively which are very close date wise.After lunch Coryn drove to the airport to pick up Bryn and Lori called from the road to let me know they would be arriving in plenty of time for the planned pizza  and ice-cream cake birthday party.

I put Coryn and Ava Claire in charge of ordering pizzas that evening , and we all sang’ Happy Birthday’ to a beaming Ava Claire. Thankfully the weather allowed us to eat on the deck rather than inside my home. I was happy to let the wildlife do the cleanup for me, feasting on all the many morsels of food that landed on the deck rather than in my grandchildren's mouths!.

On Sunday I was woken up by the happy sounds of  Ray and Callie who with their parents and Uncle Bryn were staying at my house. Sean and Sarah were going to be dropping their four children off for us to babysit while they were having lunch and attending a Cirque du Soleil  performance: Sarah’s birthday gift to Sean!  Craig was very into helping baby Cillian master his rolling skills when he wasn’t being used like the monkey bars at a playground by the other children! Later that afternoon we all headed over to Coryn and Jeremy’s house where Lori and Blake were staying : they helped the Logues prepare to host our family later that afternoon.

As I pulled into  the Logue’s driveway I noticed a nice size kiddy pool sitting on their front lawn but it didn’t come close to rivaling  my setup of the previous day! That was until I followed the noise into the backyard and was stunned to see an enormous inflatable water  pool with slides three times the size of mine - probably reaching to a height of eight feet. My ego was deflated - I was prepared to see a slip and slide but this was a monstrous sized aquatic delight. I plonked myself into a chair and asked Coryn where she had got it - turned out it was her neighbors! She also had shade canopies spread around her gardens  and a lot of chairs that had also come from her neighbors! This  only served to put my efforts of yesterday into the shade. Poor Blake had spent most of his time at my house using his aeronautical  engineering skills to place my patio umbrellas in the best position to keep us all from broiling in the baking sun. Everytime the sun moved, so did my umbrellas. I  made a mental note to myself to check on the prices of these canopies on Amazon. Mother obviously needs to up her game plan.

I asked Coryn where she had set the slip and slide up and she told me it was behind the massive inflatable! This too was much more impressive than I had expected!: It  must have been over thirty feet long and even came with boogie boards!

Emmy Lou announced that she was spending the night at Grandma’s so she could have some extra time to play with Ray and Callie the morning of Memorial Day  before we headed over to Sean and Sarah’s for an afternoon cookout. Monday morning Bryn, the Remsburgs and Emmy-Lou went to Deanna Rose- the children’s petting zoo - while I stayed home to water my desperately dry garden and to straighten up the house a bit.

Unfortunately Lori and Blake missed our get together at Sean’s as they had to head home as Blake ws taking flight instruction classes the next day but it was so heartwarming to have them with us for the days we did : we all know how much fun Ming Lee would have had playing with all the nieces and nephews. He would also have greatly enjoyed frazzling my nerves with his brothers shooting basketballs on my driveway which bounced off into my flower beds flattening my blooms and causing me to screech like a banshee.

In recent weeks various family members have experienced flying in and out of our new airport and reviews are mixed. Bryn and the Remsbergs were very impressed with the new facility: loving all the restaurants, shops and amenities that the previous airport did not have the space for. So now we have a massive airport that requires one to take 3,943 steps from the shuttle bus drop off point to one’s gate. Granted there are moving pavements but I am sure that many seniors could find using them difficult with their knee, hip and balance issues! Thankfully Mother is in amazing shape for her age and frequently hits 10,000 steps a day on her fitbit tracker! 

Bryn amazed me by announcing that he was not going to be driving to the airport  with the Remsbergs as he was ubering ahead of them to try out one of the barbecue joints at the airport. None of my other frugal sons would have paid for an uber and a meal when they could get there for free in my car and eat from my kitchen! Frankly I have no desire to eat a meal at an airport   and I restrict my liquids to avoid  having to use the restroom aboard a plane. Plus of course my bowels tend to be unsettled until I am seated at my gate with at least an hour to compose myself after the stresses of driving to the airport, parking, boarding a shuttle bus, clearing security and finding the gate in the right concourse.

I flew out of the new airport to Orlando in late April to visit the Remsburgs for a few days. I arrived Friday evening and  learned that I would need to be up early the next morning to attend Ray’s basketball game at eight in the morning! This immediately sent me into a tailspin as this meant getting up at six for me with the time difference! But of course anything for my grandchildren so Grandma had her butt on the bench watching Ray play at an hour I would normally be sleeping! Craig’s dad, Roger, joined us for the game and I have to say that he and Craig were very enthusiastically coaching from the sidelines - despite observing beforehand that some parents are way too involved with their young children’s games! I think Ray was the top scorer on his team and also won a medal for good sportsmanship! However Craig and Roger thought this was not a game that best showcased his talents! I can only imagine how intensely involved these two are going to be in Ray’s teenage sports!

That night I babysat Ray and Calie as Leslee-Ann and Craig had tickets to see Steve Martin and Martin Sheen perform their comedy act. Who knew old people were so cool? I told the children that they would have to babysit me really as I had no idea what the house rules were and amazingly they did not take advantage of my ignorance at all! In fact they were both angels - sharing a bag of sour gummy worms with me while we watched the children’s movie Luca and thank goodness Ray knew how to work the television controls! I would have been trying all their remotes in various combinations for hours trying to find the show that they wanted to watch! They both got ready for bed without a fuss and Ray stayed up for some alone time with Grandma as he explained that it was okay since he was much older than Callie!

Miles, the dog, has supposedly been to obedience training since my last visit but he seemed as rambunctious as ever to me. Leslee-Ann insisted that he was jumping all over me because I made eye contact with him and patted his head. Apparently you have to completely ignore him - hard to do when he jumps all over you! Whilst there I also developed streaming eyes and a runny nose that required wads of tissues to soak it all up - tissues that the dog grabbed and tore to pieces all over the house - including in my bed. I decided that I was either allergic to the dog or fruit tree pollen from our berry picking earlier in the day.

On Sunday morning we went for a walk along a nearby lake and experienced hurricane strength winds  - far more scary than the alligators sunning themselves along the shore! Ray and Callie were challenged just to stand!

I flew back on Monday and missed the setup of the old airport yet again- it only used to take a few steps from departing the plane to being curbside for the shuttle bus . Once again I had to walk thousands of steps and use an escalator to reach the shuttle bus parked across four lanes of traffic! We definitely have a big city airport now!

We have all been following Joshua’s posts on facebook and his texts keep us informed of all his adventures as he travels around the world , - he has recently  visited Australia to attend a friend’s wedding and then moved on to South East Asia.In Bali he meetup with our family friends from Fort Madison Roger and Lori Griwold, who just happened to be there on a diving trip so they were able to spend time together! Recently he landed in Borneo and has been volunteering with a rainforest  rehab project and enjoying wild Orangutans! Hopefullyhe will be headed back home soon as it has been ten months since he left on his latest  travels!

Ming Jon has recently moved to Arlington, West Virginia after spending thirty-four years in Washington DC. Hope all goes well - he may be here for a visit shortly. Marc is working so many legal cases in Los Angeles that he hasn’t been able to get away for a visit yet but hopes things. will slow down soon. 

Climate change is reflected yet again in my garden as our dry and unusually hot Spring has resulted in the grass needing to be watered daily in order to have any hopes of avoiding scorched earth. I will have to expand my flower beds yet again: having a lawn is soon going to be impractical due to the cost of water needed to combat the drought and heat. And you will be pleased to know that I have reduced my trips to the Hen House by ordering bulk household staples like detergent,  paper plates, kitchen towels etc from Amazon. Minimizing my carbon footprint as I certainly do not drive on a daily basis anymore!

Love from your at the moment always hot Mother. Triple digit temperatures are forecast for the last days of June!

 THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER       VOLUME 150                                 MARCH 2023

Dear Readers, 

The highlight of February was the Chief’s win against the Philadelphia Eagles - when despite having a sprained ankle, Patrick Mahomes led his team against the odds to win the Superbowl for the second time in four years! Even I, an avid fan, was very anxious about our ability to pull this off as we had lost a couple of games in the season that we should have easily won - think Indiana Colts - and had usually eked out a one score win - a lot of tense games for me! And of course I was transfixed to my television all day when Kansas City threw a huge Victory Parade to celebrate! How fitting that the NFL draft will be in Kansas City this April! .

In early February I received a very early morning call from Ava Claire to inform me that Jeremy had called  911 to summon an ambulance to the house. Coryn  had collapsed on the floor, unable to move and having difficulty speaking. With my vast medical experience to draw upon I diagnosed a stroke and waited anxiously for a follow up call from the hospital to confirm my diagnosis  but they ruled this out as the cause and thought it was more likely a heart condition. Of course my heart flipped thinking of my baby girl having her chest split in two so they could perform a quadruple bypass or even a heart transplant. My own heart was beating like a jackhammer in my chest as I contemplated the possibilities.She was released later in the day with no explanation of her illness but her symptoms continued. Coryn was feeling faint frequently, unable to focus on a screen , read or follow a conversation. After a few days of this she was admitted to KUMed and for four days she underwent numerous tests, including a CAT scan and MRI. Fortunately she did not have a brain tumor or multiple system atrophy which of course has taken the lives of two of our family members. But she does have a neurological disease known as Functional  Neurological Disorder which she has been battling hard to overcome and thankfully she is now well on her way to a full recovery. 

The day Coryn was admitted to KUMed Sheryl insisted on driving from Oklahoma City - where she had been visiting family - to stay with Coryn overnight in the hospital  - Coryn was considered a fall risk at this point and was confined to bed - plus she was also tethered to a machine that was monitoring her brain activity through the many electrodes glued to her scalp!

Jeremy  dropped Ava and Owen at my house the following morning on his way to visit Coryn at the hospital. Sarah and Sean suggested I bring the kids up to their house later in the day to enjoy some cousin time and hopefully keep them from worrying about their Mom too much! Ava Claire was thrilled to hold baby Cillian for the first time! That evening Jeremy asked that I bring the children back over to the hospital so that he could take them and Sheryl  to dinner while I  stayed with Coryn!  Driving to KUmed certainly reminded me of the years I spent  ferrying Norm to various medical appointments there. It took me a minute to  orient myself to the closest parking garage because of all the new additions which somehow evolve despite the limited space!

Fortunately we found an open parking spot on the first level and were quickly in the hospital and taking an elevator to the fifth floor where Coryn was an inpatient. I have to say that I was amazed that Ava Claire and Owen were so confident about finding their way to their mom’s room after  being there only once before! On exiting the elevator they immediately turned left and headed down a corridor, opening a door to the Cardiac Unit and leading me straight to their mother's room! That evening after Jeremy had taken the children home for the night and Sheryl was preparing to sleep on the sofa bed in Coryn’s room I left for my home but  I made several wrong turns before I found the elevators. Thank goodness my grandchildren did not witness my confusion!

Coryn with a headful of electrodes - just like Norm on so may of his hospital stays!

 The next day I headed to the hospital with flowers and candy and found myself circling the parking garage looking for an open space - which of course was on the very top level, exposed to the elements with a wind force threatening to blow my bouquet to smithereens! My visit was very fortuitously timed as a neurologist with a posse of medical students quickly arrived at Coryn’s bedside to evaluate my daughter. Fortunately the doctor had assimilated the fact that Coryn was a psychologist and I made it clear that I was very familiar with all things neurological since my husband had been a patient of theirs for many years.The doctor had a tentative diagnosis but ordered more tests to confirm his conclusion. That night Jeremy stayed with Coryn while Sheryl stayed with the kids so she could have dinner with them and see  them off to school the next day. I planned to spend the night with Coryn the following day but was spared the ordeal of a night in the hospital when she was discharged later that afternoon.

Her work was very supportive during her absence, and once she felt well enough to return, another teacher in her district - who also lives in Lee Summit - volunteered to drive her every day until she could drive again. I am so happy to report that Coryn is now able to drive herself and is functioning well again with just occasional episodes of brain fog. In fact she, Jeremy and the children recently flew to Los Angeles to visit Marc and Bryn, flying out of the old Kansas City airport and into the new airport as its opening coincided with their return! An interesting piece of history in the making!

Jeremy took this photo of Bryn, Coryn, Ava and Owen in front of my 2005

Ford Focus outside Marc's condo in LA

Owen with Gabby's dog

Ava Claire and Jeremy toasting LA

A few weeks ago Kay invited me to Sunday lunch at Plate in Leawood while Richard stayed home with Alex who had suffered stomach flu in previous days. Within a couple of hours of our lunch Kay texted me that she was now puking! Of course I felt sorry for Kay but was terrified that I would be the next victim but most fervently of all I hoped that this had not been in my system and passed onto Sarah and Sean’s family. I knew I would bear the brunt of Sean’s wrath if this transpired.

 Fortunately my immune system staved off the disease for almost a week - I  passed on babysitting Alex on Tuesday but finally had him over on Thursday - when Lochlan and Cillian came over for a while too and then on Friday, while his four young cousins were here,  as Richard’s dad- who usually watches him- was feeling unwell. At about four O'clock that afternoon, while Sarah was holding  Lochlan, he suddenly vomited his lunch and a bottle of milk all over her, my carpet in the family room and my kitchen floor. Sarah dashed into the nearest bathroom to remove her clothes  and Lochans while I found clean clothes for them and grabbed my steam mop and carpet shampooer as we adults all pitched in to clean up the mess!  Sarah decided to take Lochlan  and Cillian home while  Sean , Emmy Lou, Liam and I ate my homemade Lasagna  supper around my kitchen table. Sean immediately began to vocalize his fears that all four of the children would be puking simultaneously throughout the night and that he and Sraah would be trying to deal with them while probably puking themselves. Sean always envisions the worst case scenario but gets little sympathy from me as I always recall the time that we had eight family members simultaneously vomiting and had to share buckets! Norm never threw an ice cream bucket away after that experience and had them strewn through-out the house and in towering stacks in one of his junk rooms!

After I had gone to bed that Friday night I noticed that my stomach was feeling a bit queasy and realized that I had not had my usual robust appetite that day, having skipped lunch and eating only one small piece of my Lasagna for dinner. This was a blessing as within the hour I was sitting on the toilet with diarrhea running out of my bottom and vomit spewing from my mouth into the near at hand plastic bin I keep the children’s bath toys in! I lost count of the times I raced from my bed to the bathroom but my biggest concern was running out of toilet paper as earlier in  the day Sean had removed all five rolls of toilet paper from my linen closet to the bathroom upstairs! He claimed  that he was always running out up there while he was working! After each messy bout that required numerous sheets of toilet paper I would assess the chances of making the trip upstairs and back down to ensure I had enough toilet paper  but feared both ends would explode all over my stairs on the way up or down ( that really would be a pain in the arse to clean up) and decided to stand in the shower with the detachable hand held sprayer aimed at my buttocks if my one roll ran out.

In the morning I updated Sean about my sickness and learned that Lochlan seemed to be doing better after several episodes but the next day Emmy Lou and Sean had both succumbed and late in the day Liam was sick too. Fortunately Sarah and Cillian were spared! Thank goodness it was basically a twenty-four hour virus but I am most thankful that Lochlan had puked before eating my Lasagna otherwise Sean would have accused me of giving everyone food poisoning!

Sarah and Sean recently lost their nanny and hope to make it through the next few months using a combination of maternity leave until mid April; then paternity leave for fourteen weeks;summer camps and my help !

My bed is a changing table for three!

Lochlan getting diapers ready for me!

 In the fall Emmy-Lou and Liam will be attending a nearby preschool for five hours a day, four days a week, Lochlan will be attending two days a week and Cillian and Lochlan will probably be spending time with Grandma on the days I have Lochlan helpingAlex! This works out well because the two older boys play so well together that I can give Cillian plenty of attention.I have diapering three boys assembly line fashion down pat - except when I try to put the wrong size diaper on one of them! I am looking forward to having Ava Clare and Owen’s help during the school holidays this summer with Grandma’s fun in the sun camp! Just hope I can keep up with my gardening as well as the children!

3 containers for 3 different sizes of diapers!

Kay is scheduled to have her reconstructive surgery on April 7th and we all hope that it goes well and that she makes a speedy recovery. She has done very well with the recovery from her mastectomy and is fully focused on enjoying a cancer free life..

 Our weather has been fluctuating between pleasantly warm and freezing cold. It seems that my grandchildren tend to be at my house more often on the snowy, rainy, cold and windy days when we are stuck indoors rather than the sunny, dry and warm days when we can play outside and run off some pent up energy. For those of you who read my letter online I have included some recent photos of the children interacting with each other. I take great enjoyment in being with them - except of course when one  or more of them are throwing temper tantrums, having potty accidents or dumping water out of the tub during the many baths their messy eating necessitates!

Emmy Lou sampling the frosting we used to glue the marshmallows to gether to form snowmen

Liam using candies to decorate his snowman!

My next newsletter will detail my upcoming trip to Orlando to visit the Remsburgs! I am hoping for warmer weather there this year in April so that I can play in  their swimming pool with Ray and Callie - on my last  two visits it was too cold to do so!

This mother hen wishes a Happy Easter to all my chicks - I look forward to having an Easter Egg hunt in my garden again this year so I can cluck over my  more recently hatched  chicks as they gobble up  sugary Easter treats and go home to hopefully roost in their parents nests- while this old bird recover from all the activity with a glass of wine and a long night’s sleep! 

Love from your tough old bird of a Mother who still struts her stuff and rules the roost - except when my grandchicks invade my nest, ruffle my feathers and place me at the bottom of the pecking order!

 THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 149   JANUARY 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! 

 

Dear Readers,

 We welcomed our newest family member:

CILLIAN RYAN LOWE

BORN NOVEMBER 28TH 2022

WEIGHT 7 LBS  10 OZS

 

Congratulations to Sarah and Sean on the birth of their third son and fourth child in under four years. His name is pronounced with a hard K instead of a soft C and his middle name is in honor of his Uncle Joshua Ryan! I think he most resembles his oldest brother Liam although he is much fairer in complexion and has strawberry blonde hair!  Lochlan is far more interested and loving towards this baby then Emmy Lou or Liam! 

On December 12th Kay underwent a double mastectomy and is now cancer free! She will undergo reconstructive surgery in early April,  and be  prescribed Tamoxifen for five years.  Over her summer break she will  undergo surgery  to remove her fallopian tubes. Kay and Richard have been absolutely amazing throughout this whole experience and been blessed with a lot of support from family and friends!.They were showered  with everything from meal delivery services to every possible aid for mastectomy patients. Coryn and Jermy secured a power reclining chair for her from a local breast cancer support charity to sleep in for the first  few weeks after surgery. Unfortunately the first chair the Logues delivered did not work so after hauling it up the  Flaig’s very steep and narrow staircase they had to haul it back, pick up another chair and get it upstairs again! But it was definitely worth the hassle:  Kay found it so comfortable that she and Richard have since purchased one so that she will have it  on hand for her upcoming surgeries,

Thanksgiving was hosted by Coryn and Jeremy and they roasted their first turkey together for our wonderful feast! Coryn’ s table decor was beautiful and she used her best china so we had to hand wash and try it after our meal and fortunately Ming Jon was with us and turned out to be a dab hand at drying dishes! He  flew out for the week to spend some time with Kay especially before her surgery and with all the airline flight disruptions to come over Christmas  he definitely picked the right holiday to visit!

The first weekend in December I  turned my home into a set fit for a Hallmark Christmas Movie - not that  I watch those sappy romance films ! I was expecting the Remsburgs, the Indy Lowes and Bryn to be here for the holidays so I was motivated to create a winter wonderland both outside and inside  my home.  Richard kindly hauled my four sections of Christmas tree up from the basement and helped me set it up. It took me three days to cover it in lights and decorations and I was especially proud of the new rustic country bow I made for the top - very Joanna Gaines inspired!  Liam, Lochlan and Alex’s faces lit up with delight when they came through my front door and saw thousands of white lights , shiny ornaments hanging from the tree, numerous wreaths, the mantlepiece and stairs,  Christmas themed toys, books and even Christmas  pillows and throws on the sofas and chairs! Ava and Owen, being older, remember most of my decorations from previous years and were  a tad less enthused but greatly enjoyed teasing me about my ‘Elf on the Shelf’ which they assured me was definitely a fake as they threatened to bake him in the oven or flush him down the toilet. Such charming children.

 Emmy Lou took one look at my Christmas tree and informed me that a witch was sitting on top of it. I asked if she didn’t like my beautiful bow with  trailing ribbons down the tree but she answered  that the witch was sitting on it so she couldn't see it!  Of course I gave an Oscar worthy performance enacting my fury at a witch daring to be in my house past Halloween but she appeared every time Emmy Lou visited in December! Of course her parents tree at her home has a Yeti on top of it and a pair of elf legs sticking out of the branches that move if you walk by them! I am sure that this fuels her appetite for more ghoulish decorations!

It was most fortunate that I had finished my Christmas decorating by the first week in December as from then on Sarah and Sean’s children were sick for weeks battling the flu - with Sean and Sarah also needing a visit to emergency care for prescription medications ! Of course their biggest concern was keeping newborn Cillian from becoming sick but  he remained healthy - probably due to the antibodies he was born with and the protection afforded by being breastfed.

The most frightening health scare came on Saturday, December 17th when I was checking out at The Hen House and got  a tearful  phone call from Sarah to let me know that Emmy Lou had suffered a seizure, was non responsive and was enroute to the hospital in an ambulance with Sean. Sarah was going to drop the three boys off with me and join Sean at the hospital - so conveniently located a couple  of blocks away from me. I went into full Grandma panic mode as tears sprung to my eyes as I dashed through the parking lot, fortuitously remembering to throw my groceries into my car as I burned rubber peeling out of the parking lot  feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of anything happening to my beloved Emmy Lou. When Sarah pulled into my driveway I dashed out to her van to help bring the babies in so she could get to  the hospital as quickly as possible. IIf Cillian needed to nurse I would text her immediately so she could return to feed him.

 Fortunately Sean soon texted that Emy Lou was responsive and that the doctors said this often happens in small children when they experience a dramatic rise in temperature in a short period of time.  After a few hours of being in the Emergency Room  she tested positive for the flu and was discharged.  Sean and Sarah took her home and then Sarah returned to my house and elected to spend the night with the boys as Sean wanted to fumigate their house and keep a close watch on Emmy Lou: despite the doctor’s assurances that she would be fine Sean was so worried that she would suffer another seizure that he set an alarm for every hour throughout the night to check on her - no doubt this lack of sleep contributed to his sinus infection shortly after this ordeal.

Emmy Lou with Sean at the Emergency Room! 

The following day, December the 18th, was Emmy Lou’s fourth birthday and she spent most of it in bed instead of at my house celebrating with all our Kansas City family! By this time Owen and Alex were sick too so there would not have been many guests! I took her presents over to her and set up the My LIttle Pony Castle and six ponies to play with on her bed as we watched the show together on television!

Since Alex was also sick at this time  Richard's parents were keeping him with them as Kay could not lift anything over five pounds for several weeks post surgery and Richard had his hands full taking care of Kay! Alex is a real heavy weight and very clingy when  he is sick.

Liam had his first sleepover at Grandma’s  as Sean and Sarah were coping with two sick toddlers, a newborn, a Nanny who was on vacation for much of the time and sleep deprivation as not only their newborn but sick children were waking  up needing care in the night!

Fortunately Liam thoroughly enjoyed his alone time with Grandma and apart from running a fever his first night and suffering a stuffy nose he slept well-only waking me once to find him standing up in bed next to me declaring that he was a big boy now! I agreed that he was and suggested we go back to sleep as it was still dark outside and thankfully he did! We had freezing temperatures and snow overnight so Sean and Sarah asked if Liam could spend another night so of course Grandma kept him! He was so easy with no siblings around to vie for my attention! Fortunately he loves art projects and spent a lot of time painting, coloring and drawing - he can already draw faces with eyes, noses and mouths in the right places and he’s only two!

Liam enjoyinghis first sleepover at Grandma's

Bryn was scheduled to fly into Kansas City from Los Angeles on a Southwest Flight on Friday December 23rd but  he developed flu-like symptoms so rebooked for the following Monday but his flight was canceled and no other flight was available until Thursday so he elected to stay home.

Lori, Blake and Claudia drove from Indy on December 26th and fortunately suffered no adverse weather to impact the drive and so made it safely to the Logue’s house where they stayed. They brought a lot of home baked cookies with them which we greatly appreciated as I had not had any time to bake for the holidays and lots of Christmas gifts!

The Remsburgs were due to fly in the following day but unfortunately they were also flying on Southwest and like Bryn they found themselves stuck at home after their flight was canceled too! I think we have all agreed that we should probably try to arrange our family gatherings at  off peak travel times for most people! We were all so disappointed to miss this chance to be together but we had seventeen of us here for a few days of family togetherness! 

 Coryn invited us all over to supper at her pristine house one night and I arrived with booster seats for all the little kids and two bags of pre- packaged oriental salad which Coryn threw in her fridge as she opined that she didn’t feel it would compliment her taco soup! I have to say that Coryn really came through for me another night when she turned up at my house with all the ingredients to make supper for us all ! I think that was the day that Blake and I had collaborated on lunch - spaghetti and meatballs! Of course the children who were all pretty much recovered by this time would only eat macaroni and cheese or chicken noodle soup! As always the Indy Lowes were steller house guests, insisting on helping  with the clean up after every meal! Lori, Blake and Claudia also got the chance to spend extra time with Kay and Alex at my house as Richard dropped them off with me when he needed to work! I have to say that when you have six children running around your house it is very noisy and chaotic! Fortunately Lori and Claudia have visited enough to know what to expect - I think Blake was a bit overwhelmed at times! I bet he will wear noise canceling headphones next time! 

The Logues: Christmas Eve at Grandma's!Playing Harry Potter game!

Ming Lee would have been so happy to see us playing family games once all the small children had gone home to bed. I am sure you have all seen the slow motion video of me celebrating my win after a game of Apples to Apples! Thanks Lori!

By New years Day we were all looking forward to a happier, healthier year ahead and to celebrate Coryn and Jeremy invited me to enjoy New Years Day dinner with them, Ava Claire and Owen. I  drove over to their house after watching the Chiefs football game to drive to  the Plaza with them for  a very early dinner.

 I immediately noticed that the children were very subdued and learned that they had both had sleepover’s the previous night! I immediately suggested that we might want to forgo the plan to eat out but their parents were eagerly anticipating a night on the town with Grandma so off we went! Poor Owen was so tired that he fell asleep in the car and I had to hold his head up for him!

 Jeremy was anticipating eating at the Cheesecake Factory and as we neared the restaurant he was dismayed to see a line wrapping around the block but nevertheless  found  the one and only parking space on the top floor of the parking garage. We pushed past the long line to the restaurant and learned that we would have a three to four hour wait to be seated. This was not an option. Coryn and Jeremy were in a state of disbelief that the Plaza could be filled with throngs of starving people at five O’clock in the evening! They both believe that only old people like me eat at this ridiculously early hour and thus catering to my preferences they had skipped lunch to have a five O’clock appetite. I of course was not in the least surprised - asking incredulously why they hadn’t made a reservation  since it was a Chiefs home game day and New Years Day too!  They retorted that no-one supposedly came down to the Plaza anymore and certainly not at this time of the day. They confidently pushed their way through the crowded sidewalk to PF Changs feeling confident of being seated after spying several empty tables. However it was not to be - they  could not seat any more customers for ninety minutes as they had too few staff members working! A very worrying sign of the times when even a Chinese restaurant can't find enough family members to staff it! Jeremy called Brio’s but got no response - too busy to answer the phone he surmised so we walked on and finally found seating at a Mexican Restaurant that I remembered eating in some years before when Ava Claire had given an impromptu floor show as a precocious toddler.

Of course I had made several helpful suggestions as I frequently do -anything to help my children out - suggesting we go straight to dessert at an almost empty Cinnabon or go home and order in Pizza but I have to say the Logues were determined to  eat dinner on the Plaza that night!

Once we were seated, our orders taken and our drinks delivered we started to relax until Jeremy accidentally knocked over his water glass and flooded the table, his pants and chair! We mopped the mess up as well as we could with our napkins and finally found a busboy to help with  the clean up. Unfortunately he showed up with a pail of filthy water and an old fashioned string mop and added more water to the floor! With this disaster behind us we enjoyed dinner and rose from the table only for me to realize that my purse was missing. I immediately went into full panic mode convinced that someone had stolen my brand new Kate Spade purse - a gift from Kay and Richard as I would never spend that sort of money on myself ! Jeremy, noticing my agitation asked what was wrong:  he calmly explained that he had moved my purse to a drier spot after the water spill. What a relief!

Last weekend Kay came down with Covid and so had to delay her return to work. Unfortunately she had a more severe case this time than previously but amazingly Rchard and Alex have remained disease free!We were all so sorry that she had to deal with this whilst still recovering from her surgery and gearing up for another one.

 Despite the rocky start to the NewYear I hope for smooth sailing from here on: This old battleship is ready for calm waters ahead, with nothing to rock my boat -unless it’s a baby in my arms or a toddler trying to clamber aboard! Your always anchored in family love Mother.

Ava Claire and Emy Lou doing their nails!

Av

Thanksgiving at Coryn's

Emy Lou opening Xmas presents at Grandma's

Sean opening a gift

Sarah with baby Killian

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Lochlan is into it!

Grandma with Liam, Emmy Lou , Lochlan and Cillian!

 THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER:   VOLUME 148                                      NOVEMBER 2022

Dear Readers,

Fall has befallen all my Kansas City grandchildren with high fevers, runny noses,  congested noses, sore throats, coughs, watery eyes, and diarrhea. Miraculously - despite spending days with these germ infested children   - my immune system has warded off all these ailments !  This is the third week of suctioning noses, tackling dried up snot with baby oil and a warm washcloth, and trying to get syringes full of cough, cold and anti- fever medication into toddlers who are in no mood to swallow anything but fruit snacks, goldfish and cookies. Normally Liam and Lochlan consume two cans of chicken noodle soup for lunch but now I am lucky if I can get half a can down their throats. Liam especially seems to have lost weight. I am hoping that by this weekend  all the children will have made a full recovery! At least we have been able to keep them all out of the hospital. The children's hospital here is completely full with all the kids infected with RSV.

Unfortunately their illness prevented Liam and Emmy Lou from Trick or Treating this Halloween - so I have no pictures of her in her porcupine costume to share. Hoping it fits her next year! Such a shame as it was the warmest Hallowen night I can remember -  children did not need to wear winter coats over their costumes. We actually had  lovely warm weather in October but this month we have already had freezing temperatures and snow. 

Sarah and Sean expect the birth of their fourth baby at any time now: hopefully they will be able to catch up on sleep beforehand!  Sean has been on a month long sabbatical from work and has spent most of his time caring for his sick kids - he did find time to fix my bathroom walls and ceilings and re- painted it all! Looks so much better! He patched up the dining room wall around the window which was a mess from where I had removed all the drapery hardware.I am sure Sean thought he would get a lot more projects completed but the Nanny was also on vacation for much of the time he was off. But he does have fourteen weeks of paid paternity leave in his future! Sarah started her  maternity leave this past Monday and will have until May 4th to bond with the new baby and hopefully to  figure out how to keep his three toddler siblings from terrorizing him!

Lori, and our family friend Lori Griswold , recently met up to visit Blake in Santa Monica for a few days and Marc and Bryn were able to spend time with them too. They are pictured on the patio of the rental house where the girls  were staying - Blakes one room place being too small for company! They enjoyed the beach and riding bikes around! Blake will be returning to Purdue next semester as his co-op experience with Red 6 will end next month.An Indiana winter is not going to be very pleasant after a Californian fall!

From left: Blake, Bryn, Lori and Marc

Marc, Lori G, Blake and Bryn

Blake, Marc, Bryn and Lori

Unfortunately cancer has invaded our family yet again and this time it is my beloved eldest granddaughter Kay. At only thirty-one she has been diagnosed  with breast cancer which thankfully has been caught at an early stage. She is BRCA positive which she fortunately knew  prior to  Alex's birth so has been vigilant about breast exams. She and Richard will be meeting with her surgeon and oncologist to discuss treatment options next week. When Kay and Richard came over to tell  me  she quickly informed me that she wasn’t pregnant knowing that’s the  first thing that pops into my mind  when my kids announce that they have something to tell me! I certainly was not prepared for another cancer diagnosis in our family.

I am always especially grateful  to have a large family at times like this as there is strength in numbers and we always face any crisis together. I know Richard’s family is going to be totally committed to supporting Kay and Richard through this too.

Ming Jon will be here next week to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and then right after Christmas Lori, Blake and Claudia will be here along with Leslee-Ann. Craig, Ray  Callie and Bryn and hopefully Marc will be persuaded  to join us all!   Kay and Richard are going to be surrounded by love, support and prayers.

 The recently held midterm elections thankfully spared us a massive increase in Republican winners but of course it hasn’t stopped Trump from declaring his intention to run for the Presidency of the United States again. The fact that he is facing serious civil and criminal charges in many  states  does not seem to affect him or his mob minded supporters. Hopefully he will not win his party’s nomination or better yet be convicted by then on several counts. My blood pressure medicine would have to be doubled if he were to ever be allowed to run again.

Last month we celebrated  three family birthdays: Richard’s, Sarah’s and Coryn’s. It just so happened that Coryn , Ava Claire, and Owen all spent the night at my house on October 20th prior to her birthday on Friday, October 21st. Coryn had to work on Friday but the children had the day off school so thus I had a  houseful that Friday: Liam. Lochlan, and Alex were also here and Emmy Lou arrived later in the day for an impromptu birthday dinner for Coryn! Ava  Claire had called me previously to let me know that she and Owen wanted to do something for their mom which would involve an art project and baking cupcakes! Grandma   was well prepared with cake mixes, frosting,  sprinkles,candies,  decorative picks, colored sugars, and candles.I think Liam may have consumed more cupcakes than he decorated and he was certainly not following Ava Claire’s instructions as well as Owen but they put a lot of effort into it! Alex and Lochlan were happy to watch the big kids decorate as they mashed cupcakes into their mouths.

Liam watching the older kids decorate up cakes whil he eats one

Owen' Ava Claire and Liam decoratngcupcakes.

On the days  my grandchildren spend with me at my house they manage to leave my floors covered in spilled milk, food that hasn’t made it into their mouths, toys strewn everywhere,  my kitchen counters covered in sippy cups, bottles, plastic bowls and a trash can full of stinky diapers. But the clean up of all this mess is a small price to pay for the priceless memories we are making together. 

Alex, Lochlan, and Liam in the wagon being pushed/pulled by Owen and Ava Claire

Lochlan would lik some of Owen's lunch!

Lunchtime!

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You can just see Ava Claire in sunglasses  behind Liam's head!

Ming Lee’s birthday is November 21st and it always makes me smile  when I  remember how much he loved his birthday as a child - he alway wanted a party! In truth Ming Lee could turn any day into an instant party with his ability to utilize anything into a competitive game - like throwing ping pong balls off of my deck into flower pots in the garden below while he and his siblings trampled through my flower beds to retrieve lost balls. The more upset I got the more fun he had! All of you will have memories of his  central role in your birthday parties in the gym at the old YMCA! I love looking through the family albums and reliving these happy memories.

I am pleased to report that this tough old bird got a clean bill of health at my annual check-up so I should be strutting my stuff for awhile yet! So thankful for all of you and wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving stuffed with family and love! Mother

Liam enjoyng an ie cream treat with his ousins on Grandma's deck!

 Ava Claire and Owen

Lochlan in one of the chairs I dragged out from the kitchen to hopefull keep the mess contained!

Alex in the the other chair  and both boys needed a bath after! More work for Grandma but they loved it!

Alex and Lochlan - these two are less than three months apart in age but  big size diference!

Exploring my garden! Ava Claire and Owen are such great helpers!

We went through a lot of cups and bottles!