Long Time, No Blog! ;)

It's been awhile since I've posted anything...mostly because I didn't have a computer to blog on!  I came home from Classical Conversations (a homeschool group) back in late March to find that my computer was dead (or at least in a severe coma).  My hubby originally thought it was the power supply, which would have been a pretty easy fix...but after buying one and bringing it home, we discovered that wasn't the problem after all.  The computer turned on long enough for the motherboard to start smoking!  So...we bought a new motherboard, only to discover the processor wasn't working either.  After waiting several weeks for a processor to come in, my hubby put the computer back together...but the operating system wouldn't boot because the motherboard wasn't an HP motherboard!  OH MY!

So...David calls HP and talks with their equivalent of "Peggy" (from the Discover Card commercials).  After quite some discussion on the phone, David is transferred to Tori (an actually helpful HP Customer Service Rep) and discovers that my computer is still under warranty (which we never suspected, given that the computer is about 2 years old) and if it could be returned to it's original non-working state, they could repair it for free.  So...David took out the new motherboard/processor, re-installed the old, non-working motherboard/processor and waited for HP to send us a box to ship the computer to them.  The good news in all this is that somewhere along the line, David mentioned that I use my computer for my Avon business...so because it was a business computer, they upgraded the shipping to Express (for free!)!!  So, box arrived, we packed it up and shipped it off, and it came back in full working order!  WOO HOO!!!  The day after it arrived, Tori called to see if it was working and if there were any further problems.  From all that she said they replaced, it sounds like I've pretty much got a new computer!  :)

So...that explains why I haven't been blogging lately.  Not for a lack of events...just because it's very hard to blog without a computer!  LOL!  So...without further ado, let me catch you up on some of the other life events that have been going on! :)

The first big event was that on the last day of our Classical Conversations homeschool group, we had to say a farewell to our friends, the Sotos.  Christopher and Emily were in PK4 together and have been the best of friends ever since.  I met Emily's mom, my sweet friend Maureen, on the playground one day after school the year our kids were in PK4.  We have been through many ups and downs together...and it was heartbreaking to let them go, even though we know God has great plans for them where He has called them!  Christopher and I both were in tears on the way home from the park that day!  But we are looking forward to many visits with them...both here and there!  :)

In my last blog post (which I did on a borrowed computer), I told you about a very special event that was taking place in Christopher's life...his Baptism! It may have taken him a year, but he finally overcame his fear of the water! We never wanted to push him into something he wasn't ready to do, so even though his profession of faith had been made a year earlier, we waited on him to be ready to take the next step. All on his own, he announced that he was finally ready! We chose Easter weekend for his baptism because baptism is a picture of what Easter is all about!

On Easter morning, we have a tradition at our house that the "Easter Bunny" sends Christopher on a scavenger hunt to find his basket.  This year, the clues took Christopher to the kitchen, Jayden's nursery, the game closet, his playroom, and finally to Daddy's closet to find his basket.  At each clue, there was a candy-filled carrot.  We started this tradition about 3 years ago, when Christopher first learned to read.  Christopher loved it so much that it quickly became a tradition!  I can't wait until Jayden is old enough to read his own clues...but I'm not rushing!  I know how fast that time can fly!

Later that day, we went to Grandma Jansen's house for Easter dinner with Grandma and Uncle Chuck. Christopher brought along his Uno cards, so after dinner, we enjoyed a few games of Uno.  I have always enjoyed playing board games and card games...and it looks like Christopher is following in my footsteps!  :)

Because of Jayden, I have been able to re-join the MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) group at my church.  I have really enjoyed being a part of the group and have been blessed so much.  I even had the opportunity to brag on God a bit as I gave my adoption testimony one week.  Our MOPS group had an Easter Egg hunt just before Easter and Christopher had a blast!  I'm not quite sure, though, which he enjoyed more..."hiding" eggs for the little ones (which pretty much constituted of tossing them on the ground for easy hunting by the littlest of egg hunters), hunting eggs with his own age group, or pushing the toy car around with his buddy John Robert's little sister (Sarah Kate) inside after the hunts were all done!  He is going to make an awesome big brother!  He loves taking care of the little ones and helping them have fun, too!

Just after Easter, our Classical Conversations group had their End of the Year Program.  As a group, they said John 1:1-7 in both English and Latin.  In the past year, we have learned many great facts about American history, some English and Latin grammar, math facts, American geography (including all 50 states and capitols), and did some great science experiments!  Classical Conversations is a great way for kids to learn...at the elementary level, most of it is learned through memorization of songs and chants that they will be able to fall back on when they are older.  I think the best way it was explained to me is by relating it to the Alphabet Song we teach to toddlers.  They may have no clue what those letters are or that they are used to make words, let alone be able to read...but later in life when they are trying to put those words in alphabetical order, they fall back on that catchy Alphabet Song to help them figure it out!  :) 

Of course, school is still in session at the Jansen Christian Academy!  And sometimes, Daddy gets to be a part of the homeschooling fun!  These pictures were taken the day we had our home study completed.  Daddy took the morning off and while we waited for the adoption agency director to come down to do the home study (usually this part of the process is done before you are matched with a birth family, but NOTHING has been normal about this adoption!), Christopher showed off to Daddy how well he is doing in school.  The board behind David is our daily schedule.  At the bottom of the schedule each day, I put a challenge for Christopher to finish his school work by a certain time (the time varies slightly...and I put a clock face showing the ending time...this serves not only as a visual for him, but also helps develop his time-telling skills).  At the very bottom is a reward Christopher can earn by beating the clock!  On this particular day, the reward was getting to play a game with Daddy (the board says Mommy...but since Daddy was still home, he and Christopher played a few challenging games of Battleship - their favorite!)! 

In case you are wondering, our home study went by without a hitch!  We had a great visit with the agency director.  I think my favorite part was when he told me he wasn't even going to ask us about our parenting skills because we are obviously doing a great job with Christopher!  As any parent knows, some days are quite challenging...so it's always good to hear compliments like these!  :)

Towards the end of April, we got to see our cousin Ben in his school's production of The King and I.  Ben played the part of the interpreter and an angel.  It was a great production...one worthy of Broadway (at least in my opinion)!  As I look at the picture above, I realize Christopher is three years older than Ben was when I moved here...and now Ben is graduating from high school this year!  Time really does fly!  It seems like just yesterday that Ben was in elementary school!  And to think...when Jayden is Christopher's age, Christopher will be old enough to drive!  Scary!!! 

Last weekend, my brother, his wife, her mom, and my nephews held a yard sale for us in Alabama to benefit our adoption.  They raised $311 for our adoption...and in the process of collecting donations for the yard sale, one of their friends offered to do a Zumbathon for us!  The Zumbathon will be held at their church in Santuck, Alabama (near Montgomery) this Friday (May 11th).  If you live in or near that area and would like more information about the Zumbathon, let me know.  The cost is only $10 per adult and $5 per child...and 100% of the profits go toward our adoption!  There are also lots of door prizes, too!  =)

Speaking of our adoption, we are down to the final weeks..just about 5 weeks to the due date!  We are now at the stage where I will not go anywhere that I couldn't easily get to the delivery room if Jayden decides to come early!  I am so excited that I get to welcome him into the world just like I welcomed his big brother into the world eight years ago!  Please continue to pray for us and for this adoption.  Pray also for the birth mother.  I can only imagine how she must be feeling as her time with Jayden is drawing to a close...and yet, she has never once waivered in her decision to place him in our home...just as she never waivered in her decision to place his big brother with us.  For that, I have the upmost respect for her!  She has great love for these boys...so much so, that she chooses to give them the best she can by placing them for adoption!  And we are so blessed because of her loving decision!  :)