Matthias is so sweet. I just want to snuggle with him all the time. He has brought such joy to our house. We are a bit sleep deprived but it is so worth it to see this little boy smile at 4 am! I’m blessed though because Ryan helps tremendously. He gets up with Matthias. He changes diapers. He doesn’t mind the brand new mommy perfume I wear: Spit Up by Matthias. 
Sarge stayed down the road at Ryan’s mom’s house up until a couple of days ago. Ryan and the boys totally missed him (okay maybe I did a little bit too) so we are happy to have him back home. Here he is looking out of the window at mom-in-love’s house.
Ryan’s dad was able to be here when Matthias was first born so that was a blessing in and of itself. His flight actually landed a couple of hours after Matthias was born. It was so great to have him here during Matthias’ first few weeks. He is so excited! Of course grandma Brenda is too and you can see more photos of her and Matthias as well as other updates by visiting me on Facebook.
I celebrated my 35th birthday on April 20th and I got a real treat from my brother-in-love, Sam. He is an aspiring chef currently enrolled in LA Culinary Institute. He has been given some pretty impressive opportunities recently and we are so proud of him and what he is accomplishing. But anyway, back to the cake: it rocked. Seriously. It was the best red velvet cake I have ever had.
Ryan, Sam, and the boys made sure that Mama Drewda (my mom-in-love) and I had the best Mother’s Day ever. We had grilled steak, potatoes, garlic bread, and scrumptious chocolate covered strawberries! Yum!
Then, of course, I get to play dress up quite often with baby Matthias.This is his favorite outfit. Who Dat? 
Carsten’s curriculum for next year came in and so I have been able to begin preparing his lessons. We are going a bit of a different route this year. He is finally old enough to tell me how he best enjoys learning and so we looked through the catalog together and made some decisions. I must say we are both pretty pleased with the books we purchased this year. For me, planning is one of the most fun aspects of homeschooling!
I also had to say goodbye to some very special people in my life. My Uncle George (better known as “Uncle Brother”) who is my grandma’s brother, passed away a couple of weeks ago. We were always close to Uncle Brother while we were growing up. He was with us every weekend and he continued to visit my grandma every day up until two days before he passed away. He was a great conversationalist and a very generous soul.
I also had to say goodbye to a very dear friend. I have known him more than half my life. He and his sister were two of my best friends growing up (Angele, his sister, still is). Glynn taught me so much about living life to the fullest. It is so hard to believe that he real
ly is gone.
Glynn and his 13-year-old son were in a tragic car accident just days before my uncle brother died. Glynn died instantly. His son, Christopher, died a couple of days later. The blessing that has come from Christopher’s death is that he has saved four lives and given sight to one other person because his family so unselfishly chose to donate his organs.
As I sat there and looked at these people I dearly loved lying there in their final resting places it really became clear to me that life really is but a vapor. While my Uncle Brother may have lived a long fulfilled life, Glynn was only four months older than me and his son was just a baby: thirteen years old… he was only a few months older than Carsten. There is but one thing that matters in life and that is love. Show it to those close to you. Be it to friends and acquaintances. Never regret giving it away and do it freely. Don’t miss out because of fear. You never know when life will be over. Don’t waste it arguing over foolish things or separating yourself from the world. Be love.
These precious souls are deeply missed. Please keep our families in your prayers.
As for me, mostly, I have just been spending as much time as I can with my boys and our newest little family member. I’ve missed being online but honestly, I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than what I’ve been doing over the last eight weeks… I guess sometimes we just need a break, huh?
Speaking of breaks, here are some amazing posts that were music to my ears this week:
- Darcy wrote a nearly poetic explanation of everything that I have been feeling. She calls it: Unsustainable.
- Holly wrote an expose about the heart of a blogging wife and mama. It is entitled: Rote.
Go read them. I promise that you will be glad that you did!
Oh, and keep checking back because I should be debuting a new WordPress blog soon. I am soooo excited about it!
Sorry to hear about your friend- that is so sad, and I am sure their family is aching! Prayers!
The Little Bayliss is very very very adorable. I dont think I’ve told you congrats yet.. so.. CONGRATS!