Merry Christmas

Well a belated Merry Christmas to everyone! We had church on Christmas Eve and frosted/decorated the sugar cookies for Santa afterwards. Christmas morning was, of course, a crazy morning just like our family. AB loved the vanity but at first didn't know what to do with it other than stare at it. D was excited about the cyberpocket vsmile system and J was, of course, excited to hear a phone ring and realize that it was his box from Santa that the ringing was coming from. The rest of the morning was a blur of wrapping paper but I think the big hit for AB was the vanity and blowdryer; for D the Indiana Jones whip, and J said his favorite gift was the basketball shoes.

Brad and I love Christmas - seeing the kids open up their gifts with such enthusiasm and seeing the delight on their faces. It makes us feel like children as well. Seeing AB's first Christmas with us was truly a blessing - Brad had to open up most of her gifts but she seemed to be in a daze and than she got hungry so we had to stop for awhile. She seemed to get more into it after she ate - she loves her food.

Believe it or not - the first gift I thought of and bought for D was the guitar and I forgot to bring it out!!!!! I was staring at the Dora blocks for AB and I remembered that I didn't see D open up the Diego blocks so I went looking and found the blocks and the guitar so D had a couple of afternoon gifts. By the way, he's soooo great on the guitar (I love you D).

Santa Claus is coming to town

Well D has been singing "Santa Claus is coming to town" for the past week now. He is at that age where he's so excited about everything that happens at Christmas - his excitement is very catching! J is excited to be done with school for 2 weeks. We did get J's end of grading testing scores from last spring and he tested at the top 6% in math - we are very proud. He also found a new book that interests him - finding a book he likes to read can be challenging at times so we are also thankful for this. Little AB has no idea what is going on - she sees the tree and pretty lights and even a few presents from relatives under the tree but she has no idea. She got a stocking from daycare and was showing it to everyone. The countdown is nearly over and we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and God Bless all our family and friends.

Surgery

We had AB's dr appt yesterday and surgery for her cleft palate is scheduled for Jan. The dr doesn't see any other problems and the cleft is a soft cleft not affecting the bones and she expects the surger to go well. They may put some tubes in her ears though. It's very common for cleft children to have problems with their ears and they are going to take a look at them during pre-op and if they need to put the tubes in than they will during the surgery. I've noticed a lot of drainage in her left ear so I won't be surprised if they say that they need to do the tubes. After the surgery, we'll meet with the plastic surgeon, ear dr, dentist, and speech therapist on a yearly basis to monitor progress and if there's any problems we can have it corrected ASAP. The dr. was great - I really liked her and she talked very frank and answered our questions. The surgery will be at the Children's Hospital and we may be there for 2 or 3 days (the won't release her until she's eating). We'll also be able to stay at the hospital with her.

I'm glad that the surgery is after the holidays as I really want her first holiday's with us to be special and her not in any kind of pain because of the surgery. She really is such a sweetheart and she has captured all of our hearts.

Right now, all 3 kids are outside playing in the leaves. D has been popping out of the leaves after being covered with them. AB is the one trying to actually rake the leaves. J and D are back on the trampoline.

UNC

Well I'm behind so I need to update on some great times at the Lasecki household. Well thanks to the boss man, J and I went to J's first college football game at UNC. It was a great time!!!! It was GA Tech vs UNC and was supposed to be a really great game but UNC just blew it out - which was awesome!!!! J was also exited because the UNC basketball team was also there and Nick Hakeem broke a school record. It was a great time! The people sitting near us were wonderful as well and J was screaming his heart out at the end.

Also, J made the "save of the day". It's no secret that I like to leave my keys in the car with the doors all locked and well I did it again during the game and didn't realize it until we were walking back to the car after the game and couldn't seem to find my keys. Low and behold the keys were in the ignition when we arrived. Well J saved the day by not locking the back door. I'm not even going to question how or why the car was still there but thank the Lord that it was and go our merry way.

Updates on the Homefront

Ok several people have asked for some updates so here we go.

First, Alyssabelle is doing great!!! She's doing so much better than we anticipated at this point. Now that we're home she's starting to pick up some English from the boys. However, she has J wrapped around her finger; she'll stand at the top of the stairs and holler for him to come pick her up. And he comes. She was a little leary of D at first (our wild man) but she's now doing great with him and she's been following him around this evening. Actually, this is the first evening where she hasn't had to constantly be held or be near Brad and I - her and the boys are downstairs playing and laughing. Actually, I was just informed that they are teaching her how to play football and yes they are inside with a real (not nerf) football. It never ends.

We went to the dr the first day we got back and she had shots, blood drawn and chest xrays. So far everything seems good. The blood drawn was to check the immunizations that she had taken in China. We go back on 11/19 - where we'll have more shots (oh joy!). We also got an appt for the specialist on 11/14 - I was rather surprised at how quickly we were able to get an appt there. I really thought we would be lucky to get one in by the end of the year. We may be looking at surgery quicker than I initially thought.

Also, I haven't changed the front pic to include her because she took a spill the first week home and her nose and above her lip has been scabbed up pretty good - and also have you tried to get pics of 3 crazy kids smiling all at once???? I have newfound respect for photographers everywhere. So anyways, we're trying.

Also, Alyssabelle is doing much better with Brad. I think both of us splitting up the days and working half days has been working out great. She's been getting one on one time with each of us and has been experiencing each of us leave for work and come home as well as seeing us drop off the boys and being with us to pick them up each day. The first day I left for work and came home a few hours later, her face just lit up.

She picks out the frilliest outfits to wear and has massive amounts of dollar jewelry on her at all times. Also, a friend gave us some dress up sandals which she loves to put on and take off over and over again. All in all, we're having a great time and I promise to try and not wait too long before posting again.

We're Home!!!!

We are home!!!!!!! Do I need to say anymore here.

We arrived in the Charlotte airport Thursday evening at 7p to a most wonderful sight - our 2 boys!!!! Couldn't have asked for a better sight than that or better hugs. After an awesome meal at Olive Garden we finally made it home around 10p. One of the things that Brad noticed on the flight into Charlotte was grass - in China and HongKong; it seemed like all we saw was skyscrapers. We're all suffering from jet lag but we're all home safe and sound and we couldn't ask for anything more.

We did take Miss Squeakers to the dr today and she got 3 shots and several vials of blood drawn as well as a chest xray done. The vials of blood are for titer screenings to see if some of her vaccines have taken or if they will have to be redone; there's also several that weren't done that she got started on today. She weighs in at 22lbs and is 31 1/2" tall. We go back on 11/19 to have her checked again, have more shots, and get her referral appt for the cleft palate specialist. All in all, it's been a rough day for her and she's here sleeping now.

Leaving

We are finally leaving the White Swan hotel today. As much fun as we've had here and as much as we've enjoyed the trip, we are all ready to go home. Well Alyssabelle has been nervous all morning and very loving, I think she's worried about what's to come. She's seen us packing up the suitcases and she's a bit edgy this morning.

We had dinner last night at a Cantonese Restaurant and I tried everything that came out - yes, everything. Some I don't really know what it was. It wasn't too bad; there was some pasty thing though that was gooey but looked like crab cakes and was filled with red bean paste. Not so appealing. It was nice to eat with all the other families and enjoy our last day.

I could write more but to be honest, I'm tired and my back is killing me from sleeping on these rock hard beds, I kid you not, rock hard. Anyways, we are going to the consulate to swear Alyssabelle in as a US Citizen than it's onto the train station to depart to Hong Kong. We have a hotel in Hong Kong for the night and than our flight leaves at 10:30p on Continental. Also, this may be our last post from China as I'm not sure if we'll get a chance before we leave on the flight out tomorrow. Love you all!!!

Boys - we're coming home!!!!!!

A Day of Shopping

Well we didn't have anything to do yesterday except shop, so we did. Along the way of purchasing souvenirs and gifts, we've learned a lot from the Chinese people here in Guangzhou. Not just about their pride of country but also history lessons along the way as well. So many people here speak English, it makes me feel a little embarrassed that I only know English. Now Brad doesn't like to shop because there's a lot of haggling and bargaining going on with the shopping but he's been doing great. We also had to buy another suitcase for the way home so we've obviously been having some fun with the shopping. We've also met some great people here that are from the US and adopting as well. Adoption not only binds you with this amazing child that you've seem to know your whole life but also with all these other families that otherwise you may have never noticed them.

Well Miss Squeakers was again at her best yesterday. You can see each day how she is getting more and more comfortable with us and how the bonding is really forming when you see her personality start to come out more and more each day. A week ago, she wouldn't touch anything in the shops and didn't want to walk anywhere, wouldn't look at you in the eye, wouldn't smile or laugh. Now she touches everything and looks up at you as if to say "hello, it's me here and I want this". She's smiling and laughing all the time now and she makes the funniest faces at us with a new one each day. She only pushes us away when she throws a temper tantrum and wants something or she's really tired. Now that she has her squeaky shoes she wants to walk everywhere and she walks with this attitude of "here I am". She's starting to talk more and more in her own language and I know it's only a matter of time before she's talking in English and we can't get to stop talking (I think she may be a little like Miss Holli in NC in regards to the talking). Someone who adopted told me that he couldn't remember what it was like without his adopted daughter in his life and I feel the same way, it's like she's always been a part of our family.

Well, we have our Consulate appt today, group pictures, and farewell dinner this evening. I need to get going and get a shower as Miss Squeakers is hungry the moment she awakes and she doesn't wait for showers.

Boys - Dad and I miss you both sooooo much and can't wait to see you. It's been fun in China but we can't wait to get home and give you both some hugs and kisses (yes Jake you too). I hope school went well today and I'm not sure what you all have planned for the rest of the week but I wish we could fast forward a couple days so we could be on that plane and coming home to you today. Only a few more days!!!!

A Changing Day

Yesterday was our best day so far with Alyssabelle. I think it was a turning point for her and us. Her little personality really shone and she warmed up to Brad. She let Brad carry her yesterday inside and outside of the hotel, which has been a first. She has been laughing and smiling all day. Yesterday evening, her and Brad were making funny faces at each other in the mirror and we would all just laugh and laugh. We also went shopping and bought her squeaky shoes, which she loves. All the adoptive children here seem to have these shoes, not sure why, - they squeak every time she takes a step. We've been having problems getting her to walk as she tires so easily, but now that she has squeaky shoes she having a blast walking around and stomping her feet in them.

Boys, watch out - she's trouble in all caps!!!!! I have taken to calling her "Little Miss Squeakers" which she seems to find amusing. J and D, she is going to wrap you around her finger and get you guys into so much trouble. Dad and I can see this already so we'll do our best to patient and understanding - but take note that she is all spunk and sass and thinks her way is the only way.

We went to a Thai restaurant last night, Cow and Bridge, and I thought the food was great and the presentation was unbelievable. Only problem is that they only have chopsticks to eat with. Let me say that Brad is pretty good with chopsticks and me, not so good. I wound up giving up and they had a big serving spoon in which you are supposed to transfer food from the main plate onto the smaller eating plate and I wound up using the serving spoon to eat with. I was starving and I did try!!!! We had appetizers of shrimp cakes, meat on a stick, chicken wrapped in seaweed, and spring rolls with all kinds of sauces. Brad got some type of meat and noodle dish and I got wings in a type of sweet/spicy sauce with peanuts, pepper, onions in a half of a pineapple (yes, I was suppose to eat the wings with the chopsticks, like I said, I tried). Mine was awesome!!! Tuesday night for our group farewell dinner we're going to a Cantonese Chinese Restaurant - don't know what we'll eat there. We had some interesting choices from last night - like pig neck and ears.

Well today we have paperwork to do and we need to finish up our shopping. Tuesday, we have to stay in our room for most of the morning while our guide goes to the consulate for us, than group pictures and group farewell dinner. Wednesday, we have the morning to pack up, than in the afternoon we go to the consulate to swear Alyssabelle in as a US citizen, and we take the train over to HongKong. Thursday AM we fly home. We're in the final days here and I have to say that it has been an amazing experience and trip. I've really enjoyed meeting the people here and getting a small sampling of their culture. I am however ready to go home and see my boys.

SuperStars

Ok, I was going to do this long post about visiting the Guangzhou Zoo but instead I have to tell everyone about our Super Star status. Yes, we are probably going to be on the myspace pages of numerous Chinese girls.

We didn't even get to the first exhibit before the attack occurred. There were only about 8-10 at first and the CHI clan didn't even know what had happened or what was about to happen. They first descended upon Belle and I asking to take pictures, arguing amongst themselves, taking pics of themselves with us. It was quite amusing all these teenaged Chinese girls thinking we movie stars or something. Then it happened - they noticed 9yr old, blue eyes, blonde hair Claira (our CHI sightseeing family). More pictures ensued of Claira - all exclaiming how beautiful she is (which she really is). We thought that was the end of it but that was only the beginning.

The girls left and came back with FRIENDS!!!!! Next thing we know there are about 30 girls clamouring around us all taking pics and wanting little Claira to look this way and that way. Claira's dad videotaped the whole thing but it was surreal. Everyone taking pics of us and the crowd just kept growing. I would never have believed it if someone had told me so Brad took lots of pics and we had Elsie, our guide, take a group shot of all the girls and us - see top pic above for proof of us movie stars. And in the words of 9yr old Claira, "I don't know how Hannah Montana does it".

Park & Temple

Yesterday was my favorite sightseeing day thus far, despite having a blister on my foot and back killing me. We went to XiuXiu Park with is amazing. Again everyone dancing and playing the hackey sack all over the place. We even heard some Cantonese Opera. There is one other family here doing the sightseeing with us and they adopted a 2 1/2 yr old and they brought their 9yr old daughter with them. The 9yr old went out and was dancing with this large group of ladies and they have been just fawning over her - she is a really pretty and sweet girl. Alyssabelle did really well climbing up the stairs - she lacks strength and tires very easily so we've been trying to make her walk as much as she can. She did throw a small temper tantrum at the park as she wanted me to hold her and I had to firmly telling her that we were walking. She's very stubborn, she decided to walk after that but walked so slow you could barely tell she was walking. Oh the joys!!!

The temple was absolutely gorgeous. Brad took lots of pics that I'll have to post while you are all sleeping later in the day. The city wall in the park was 600 years old and the temple was much much older. The temple is where they used to worship ancestors. They also had many statues and embroidery art there that was amazing to say the least.

We also went to KFC for lunch yesterday. That was an event. We were there without our guide and trying to watch Brad translate was quite amusing. They brought out a different menu with all kinds of food choices and Brad was trying to tell her that he wanted a kid's meal. Finally figured out the kids meal but they gave us hot wheels so Brad had to than ask for Barbie while I held up Alyssabelle. We did get our food though. I also opted to try ham and pineapple pizza last night for dinner, it was pretty good but a little dooey. Yes, we are going to have authentic Chinese food as well. We are going to attempt to go to either tonight or tomorrow to Cow & Bridge Thai Restaurant - I'm told it's very good. Also for our last night as a group, our guide has planned for dinner at a Cantonese Restaurant. I'm sure we'll have some interesting food choices there.

Today, we're going to the Guangzhou Zoo. It's going to be hot and lots of walking - but I hope Alyssabelle likes seeing the animals. I think this will be the most fun for the kids. It's also supposed to be about 2 or 3 degrees cooler but when it's in the 90s with about 90% humidity does 2 or 3 degrees matter - we'll report back later.

Boys - I know that you are down at the Oktoberfest and hopefully having lots of fun. We have to leave at 9a China time and 9p your time so I don't know if we will get a chance to call you guys. We will try but if not we will talk to you tomorrow morning before the soccer game. Love you boys!!! Best be good for the next couple days as tomorrow is our free day and we're going souvenir shopping. We miss you and will see you soon!

Baiyun Mountain

Today, we went to Baiyun Mountain, which is the tallest mtn in Guangzhou but not very tall. The one thing I will always remember about Baiyun Mtn is the steps. Can I first say that this trip is really telling me that I'm out of shape. If I haven't lost at least 10lbs by the time I get home it will be a miracle. By the way, we took the cable car to avoid the steps but we still had a lot of steps. It was very beautiful and the Chinese culture continues to amaze me - all the people just exericising there and dancing and singing. It's very beautiful. There are groups of people in their 60s playing hackeysack - I can't play hackeysack. So many people outside and enjoying the day, I can't remember a single moment in the US where I see people in the park dancing or singing, etc. And incredibly nice - I shudder to think how we would treat some of these people if they were in the US on vacation. Always saying hello (in English) and saying what a pretty girl to Alyssabelle, smiling, etc. It's very eye-opening.

Alyssabelle is still not liking daddy but we're working on it. She has however really bonded to me and now will not even grab our guide, Elsie's, hand or go to anyone else. She is still tires easily and we were able to get through with only one nap today (she tried to sleep in the morning but we were at Baiyun Mtn and all the steps). And let me mention again that she loves hats and bracelets!!!! We took her down to the playroom today and she was somewhat overwhelmed, but we did get her to play with some blocks (she really liked) and a big ball while we were there.

Well I hear her stirring in her sleep so I better get going. I keep waking up at around 1a and I'm going to try and lay down for another couple hours before getting up. We are going to the Chen Clan Temple and a park this morning. Hopefully there won't be as many steps.

Another Day

Well this morning at the medical exam was not that much fun. Let me tell you that despite appearances, Alyssabelle has a strong lung and is quite a fighter. If she wants to follow her big brothers footsteps and do karate, I think she will do very well in the sparring. She has obviously seen doctors before and does NOT like them. She started to cry as soon as she saw the doctor. When we had to lay her down so he could exam her - she screamed and kicked and wound up hitting her head while trying to get away. After the first doctor, she still had 2 more to go. Next was the height and weight and when we laid her down for the height measurement, we were a little more prepared for her thrashing so she didn't hit her head but I think she surprised the ladies a little. The last doctor, she was ok with and that was the one that checked her ears, nose, throat, cleft palate - not a single cry. After all that though, she was exhausted and fell asleep on the bus.

Remember when I said that she knows exactly what she wants. Well we went shopping to get her some pants as the ones we brought are way too big on her. The ladies in the shop kept bringing out different shirts, pants, etc to see if we liked and during all this I took a shirt and showed Alyssabelle and asked if she liked - she shook her head no. Than the ladies started showing her outfits and she would shake her head no. It was quite amusing. Later in the hotel, I got the outfits out one by one (pants and shirts) and she kept shaking her head no. To test her, I grabbed her little hat and she didn't shake her head no, instead she grabbed it. Result, we're going to have to get her some more hats.

This evening we got to see some more of her personality come out. We went to Lucy's (american style cuisine) and she's a little like Jake and a little like Dylan. She's very focused when she's doing something and pays close attention much like Jake was/is. She's also very devious like Dylan can be. When playing with the blocks she watches our every movement and than imitates and is very careful about putting them one by one on each other. She's also at dinner likes to play little jokes on daddy - like when he's trying to feed her, she grabs onto the spoon with her teeth and than smiles at him. She's also much more active today, but stills tires very easily. We can tell when she gets tired as she'll initially slow her walk and than start to drag her right foot some. She's doing great though thus far and she's still wary of Brad but he's the first one to get her to laugh.

Boys - it was so great to talk to you this morning again. Jake, I've been thinking about you all day and I hope you did well on your test today. I think you're going to love your little sister, she keeps looking at your picture and pointing to you and Dylan. I also said a little prayer that your recorder would come in this week so you can practice this weekend with grandma. Dylan - I think you and your sister are going to give daddy and I many grey hairs - but I know we will all laugh a lot so we will love our grey hairs. I hope you are having fun at school and that the rain holds off so that you and grandma can ride your bike today. Daddy and I miss you both and can't wait to see you. Have fun while we're gone.

She's Ours!!!!!

We have Alyssabelle!!!!!! She's so sweet and quiet, yet very smart and inquisitive. The nannies arrived with her after we got there so we were able to see her come in. She came with 2 female nannies and a male (I'm not sure if the male was one of the nannies or a driver). She wouldn't come to either of us and one of the nannies pushed her a little more to us and she started to cry. Brad entertained her with a sucker until she became a little more at ease and than we went off to a corner to be with her. She just sat and looked at everyone and everything. She's very observant and stubborn (she must be a Lasecki). We tried to give her a bottle and she very adamently shook her head NO. Another child tried to get too close to her and she backed right into Brad, like she wanted him to protect her. I think she's a little scared of the other kids, she seems to watch them but when they get too close she backs off.

She's only spoken once and it was when we were trying to change her and get her to go potty. As soon as I started to take off the diaper she started pushing me away and spoke in Chinese something very loudly and clearly. When I took her into the bathroom she started to cry.

After this morning, we came back to the hotel and took a nap. Later we went to Lucy's to eat and than walked around a bit. Everyone is so nice. A lady working in a shop stopped us and wanted to practice her English so we spent about 20-30min talking with her. Alyssabelle doesn't speak Mandarin Chinese but instead a local dialect of her area but she does understand some Mandarin. The lady was helping us with some Chinese words and we were looking to see if Alyssabelle understood any, some she did.

After our walk, we went back to the hotel to talk to the boys and grandma. Hi Boys!!!! She has been shy towards Brad and while walking she played a game with him. She likes me to hold her and will hold my hand but whenever Brad tried to hold her hand she would push him away, but than she would look up at him as if to say "try again". This would go on and on. Back in the hotel, we got out a beach ball and Brad has been playing with her and she's been laughing and laughing. I think she likes him now. Oh, she also loves bracelets. We pulled one out for her and she immediately put out her hand for us to put it on her. We are having so much fun with her this evening and we are glad that we finally have her. She's such a sweetie. I will post some pics after she's in bed for the night.

Boys - have fun at school today.

Hopefully Today

Well it was a pretty bad today yesterday. We went down to the Adoption Centre to pick up A and she wasn't there. At first, our guide was told that they were on their way but after the other families had their children we were told that the orphanage forgot to come and bring her. Yes, you read that correctly, they forgot to come. Our guide tried to get them to bring her directly to the hotel yesterday evening, but the adoption centre did not have the paperwork so the would not let that happen. We are going back at 8:30a this morning and are praying hard that she will be there. It was very draining yesterday and that's why I didn't post earlier. I wanted and am happy for the other families, but it was so hard to walk out of the building without A. I felt like I should just stay there and demand something to happen, but common sense told me that I would get nowhere so I'm trusting our guide that there's nothing wrong, just a mistake.

Brad and I were still suffering jet lag and than this so we just stayed in the room and slept all evening and night. Hopefully we'll have A today and we won't be as tired as we were yesterday.

I also need to note that the driving here is crazy!!!! I'm not kidding when I say that there's 2 lanes of traffics and they somehow have 6 lanes of traffic trying to drive on them along with people just crossing whenever and bicyclists all over the place. I have not seen an accident but it's the craziest thing - absolutely terrifies me.

Well please pray that the next time I post, it will be of pictures of A and her beautiful smile.

We're in China

We are here finally!!!! People are not made to be on a plane for 16 hours straight. Our connecting flight in HongKong was delayed due to thunderstorms so we didn't get in until midnight China time (noon US time). Also, we are missing one suitcase (the one with all the pepto, my brush, makeup, and half of our gifts). Hopefully, the airlines will find it. CHI is so awesome though!!!! We didn't think anyone would be waiting for us because it was so late (our info packet said after 11p we may have to find our own taxi to the airport), but our guide was there!!!!! We were so thankful, after being in an airport or plane for about 30 hours and losing our luggage - I was about ready to lose it but there was a CHI sign and a beacon of light (thank you Lord).

Well the plan is that we have a meeting at 11a tomorrow and than we leave at 2p to pick up Alyssabelle. It has finally really hit me that in a few hours we are going to see our precious daughter for the first time.

Mom, J, & D - tried calling you on Skype (the webcam and internet) but no one answered. We don't have our panda phone yet - got in too late. We'll try and get up at a decent time so we can talk in the AM our time and PM your time. Love you all and miss you already!!!

Leaving

Well we're waiting for Dan to come pick us up and take us to the airport. I had about 15 mins left and wanted to thank everyone for all their support throughout the past couple years. Our flight leaves at 9:15a and we'll land in China at 10:35p (China time) tomorrow.

To my mom: Good Luck!!!!!!

To our boys: We love and will miss you soooo much but we'll see you in 13 days. Make sure you have fun with grandma and enjoy the time with her. J - do your best in everything including soccer and school. We'll call you after your game today. Make sure you help grandma out and have fun!!! D - Listen to grandma and have lots of fun. Make sure you jump 5 extra times on the trampoline for me. Love you both lots!!!!

Safe Travels

Well our travel group started to head out today and we will all be in China by Monday. I pray for everyone in our travel group not only for a safe travel but a joyful trip as well.

My mom will be driving down tomorrow morning and will arrive tomorrow evening. The boys are excited for her to come and Brad and J put together the trampoline this evening (mom's gift to the boys; early Xmas). Still working on another load of laundry so Brad wil be able to pack his clothes. I also went to the store and got some snacks to pack. We're all tired and we haven't even got on the plane yet. How is this so????

Well regardless of how tired we are - we are still so excited and can't wait to meet A. I'm nervous in regards to hoping she'll like us and knowing what to say to her to comfort her. I know that it will be ok and I just need to have faith that it will all work out. I'm also nervous about leaving the boys. They've stayed with my mom before; but it's just different know that we're in a different country than them. I know they'll be ok, but I can't stop worrying about them.

Well I still have loads to do, so I better end for now, but the clock is clicking away.

6 Days!!!!

Ok - we're down to 6 days people and J still doesn't have his bed. We do have the downstairs (new room) rearranged for J and a mattress, bedding, etc but no bed. I'm still hoping that it comes in before we leave but if not - thanks again mom and Dan!!! Well on a brighter note, all my clothes and A's clothes are laid out on the bed after some quick adjusting (the weather is going to be much hotter than I anticipated thus different clothes). We have everything that needs to go (except for Brad's clothes) in A's bedroom all ready to go in the suitcases. Mom is bringing the adapters that Brandy (thank you) has so graciously let us borrow when she comes down on Wed. By the way, I just informed Brad that he is NOT allowed to pack the morning we are leaving so we'll see how this goes. Otherwise, I think I just have to get the quarterly stuff done at work and we'll be ready. Oh and D wants me to bring EVERYTHING COOL back from China for him. I told him that we would have to compromise and I would bring him back at least one super duper cool item.

I also got the carseats out and washed and put back together. I case you've never taking a carseat apart (remove harness straps and material) wow, that's a challenge. Took me a while to get them back together but I think we're set now. I also reserved our panda phone for while we're there and I've been getting the house all clean (why, I don't know as the boys will have it destroyed before mom gets here on Wed). At any rate, we're moving along and getting closer and closer. Now I just have to remember where I put those identifying CHI buttons we're supposed to wear.

J is over at a friend's house today. After his soccer game, he went to a friend's b-day party where they went bowling, arcade, mini golf, etc and than went to stay the night at their cabin up north. I told him to watch out for the bogeyman, but he didn't think I was too funny, actually I don't think he even knew what I was talking about - 9yr olds, what more can I say. He won't be home until after football starts as his friend's football game was cancelled yesterday and they've rescheduled it for today so he's going to go from the party to the game. I swear he's almost like a teenager, I never see that child anymore!!!! Perhaps, once he's out of sharing his brother's room and has his new bed and the entire downstairs den to himself he'll have his friend's start hanging out here again more. I don't think he likes sharing the room with his younger brother. Oddly enough about a month ago, when he lost his room and J and D starting sharing the room - J wanted to go to his friend's homes. I do have to say though that he's a great kid and still likes to hang out with his mom.

So D's been home with us this weekend and we made cookies last night. I think there's still some more left so perhaps D and I can have one before we head out this morning.

9 1/2 Days!!!!!

Well you read correctly, only 9 1/2 more days. One week from Saturday and we'll be getting on the plane of a lifetime. Well I think we're ready, at least, as ready as we'll ever be. The boys are already being spoiled by grandma and she's not even here yet. We're just waiting for J's bed to arrive. We had to order it, because we couldn't find what we were looking for in stock and it's not here yet. But it will be here soon enough and if it's not here in 9 days than thanks mom and Dan!!!

The boys are doing great and we're on the countdown for our last weekend!

Great Day & Getting Close

A great day and great weekend at the Lasecki house. So I spoiled the boys a little this weekend after all it won't be long before mom and dad are gone for 2 weeks. The boys went shopping with me Sat to get some travel suppplies, clothes, and groceries. They did a great job, J even held my clothes for me at Kohls. Since they were so good at Target as well, I decided to let them pick somthing out. J got the new Star Force Unleashed game and D got the Batman playhouse. They are both still playing with their new toys as we speak. And of course, I couldn't get somethign for the boys and not for A - so we got a My Little Pony playset as we well. Although, Brad seems to think that she's going to like the boys' toys more than the girlie stuff.

Also, J won his soccer game today: 4-3!!!! We're now 2-1 for the season thus far. I have to say these kids are really improving each and every game and looking great!!!

Anyways, I think we're finally getting everything ready for the trip. I need to purchase our money belts today - I couldn't find any during my shopping yesterday so it's the internet for us. We are now down to 12 1/2 days to take off and only 1 more weekend!!!! The next couple weeks are going to fly by (especially at work as I have sooo much to do before we leave).

Well I need to get back to some serious football action!!! Can't believe we had a soccer game on 1) a Sunday and 2) during football. Let's see this afternoon we're rooting for Philly and Colts and I can't believe that Carolina and Chicago lost!!!!!

17 Days to Take Off

I can't believe it's only 17 more days (more like 16 1/2 now). When we first found out we wouldn't be able to travel in Sept and would have to wait until Oct - I was devastated. I just wanted my baby home now and I kept trying to look at the positive and know that God had a plan and I had to be patient. Well, the days are starting to fly by and we only have 2 weekends left. Yes, 2 weekends!!!! Mom that means you're leaving in 14 days and a few hours. After having all this time, I can't believe I'm behind on things that need to be done yet.

Mom - priority #1 is the kid's schedule. Don't worry, I may forget clothes, toothbrushes, and sanitary items but you will have the schedule. By the way, it's almost done.

I did go through all the papers and we have everything we're supposed to - I believe that's the most important thing. I've been scanning all the papers in and saving them on a disk - why didn't I think to do this when I was filling out all these papers????? We still don't have any travel sized items (detergent, shampoo, etc), no money belts, and no adapters. But we do have A's backpack and lots of clothes. By the way, have I mentioned lately that Brad and I work with the most amazing and generous people and we also have the most awesomist family!!!!

With our without shampoo, we're leaving in 17 days!!!!

PS - J is no longer the dish and yard boy. He received a 90% and an 80% on the 2 AR tests he took.

Love my D-man

Kids are sooo funny, especially D. D has an overactive imagination and is "all boy". Everything is a sword (pop bottles, sticks, rolled up paperback books, pillows, you get the idea) and there's a story for everything, and if he doesn't get his way or he's saying something that's not true, than he's "just pretending".

Case in point #1 - I love football!!! Football is always on the tv, the games, the replays, recaps, etc. J is my sportsnut, but I think D is turning into one (slowly). D is cheering for the players in white shirts - the players in the white shirts are not playing today. So he comes up with his own cheer and song and plays the air guitar doing all of this and at the end I ask him what if the players in the white shirts aren't playing - "well they are". No D they're not - the green and blue shirt players are playing. This goes on for 5 minutes (I'm not kidding). Finally, D says "I'm just pretending". His answer for everything.

Case in point #2 - Tonight, he proves he is smarter than mom. He finds some magnetic long foam covered sticks (they're used to build forts, etc) and sticks his brother's sandals on the end of them. These are some kind of power ranger fire and water lasers (still a little unclear). I kept dying and coming back to life only to die again. (did I mention I love my boys). So, I thought I would use my powerful hand shields and block these lasers - now I'm alive all the time. D can't have that so I'm now the fire laser and he's the water laser. Did you know that water beats fire - yes, mom's just can't win some days. The taunting of "na-na-na-na, ha, ha, ha" is still ringing in my ears.

I love being a mom and I hope A doesn't love fire and water lasers because I'm tired of always getting killed during these battles.

Great Day

Well the day's not even over and everyone had an awesome day! Brad and I had to split up and take the kids to different activities. Brad took J to a soccer game in Charlotte. Apparently, Steve Smith from the Carolina Panthers was there - his son played on the opposing team. Brad didn't recognize him but J sure did. They lost the game (3-5) but apparently J played an amazing game as goalie. He blocked 15 shots. One block he had to jump up and he was going to try and grab it but instead he pushed it up and back behind the goal. He was very excited when he came home as he knew he did a great job despite the loss. To top it off, he got to go to a b-day party after the game for a teammate and they went to Nascar Speedpark in Concord Mills - rock climbing, go-karts, arcade games, what more could a 9yr old want!

D and I went to a birthday party for his friends. It was a swimming party and everyone had a great time. He did really well on his swimming and had an AWESOME time!!!! He also got a big piece of cake - which he loved. The had this big inflatable in the pool that the kids got to climb up on and slide down. Unfortunately, the kids couldn't climb up so birthday boys' dad had to lift the kids up and I helped them going down the slide. I think we both got some exercise today - but it was a great time. D loved it!!!! From the looks of it, M & A had great birthdays as well.

It's only 7:30p and it's been a great day for all!!!

Travel Itinerary

We received our travel itinerary today!!!! See the list on the left to see our activities for each day. We're so excited and it's awesome to be talking to the boys about where we're going to be each day. This weekend I'm planning on making sure all of our papers are in the binder and ready to go. We're almost there A!!!!!

Adoption News

We are now 23 days to take off. We received our final package of "very important information" from CHI this week. We also got some very exciting news this morning. Apparently, the embassy in China did not have our updated I-171 (immigration) forms. I have the form but they don't. No, mom - they would not accept us sending them our copy it had to come from the National Visa Processing Center here in the US. Well NVC in the US said that it was sent to China on 8/20 but China did not have it. Our awesome travel coordinator sent an email to China telling them politely to look for it. That was a week ago and this morning we received notice that they indeed did have our renewal forms. So everything seems to be going smoothly now and I have crossed off local politicians, congress, and the White House off my calling list.

D is so in love with his baby sister already. He's going to a b-day party this weekend and he started crying last night because his baby sister wasn't able to come with him. He talks about her all the time and apparently tells everyone in his class about his baby sister. We talked last night about all the fun stuff he'll get to do with her when she comes home - like Halloween. I talked with my mom and I think she's going to take the boys to get their costumes this year so I'm not running around at the last minute - gotta love my mom!!!!

J is not very happy with me today. He is grounded because he did not do well on his AR reading test. He seems to just read the words on the page and doesn't think about what he's reading and therefore doesn't remember. Most times it seems he picks out books that don't interest him. Last year, we spent a lot of time together and he would write notes down after every chapter and I would give him practice tests. We than graduated it to writing notes after every 3 chapters and so on. He did very well with that, but I let him start the year on his own this time and I'm going to give him another chance. We talked about remembering techniques and why it helps to remember when you write notes, etc. Basically, I got the "you're pushing me too hard". I thought of the Cosby show episode where Theo tells his dad how he's never going to be smart like his parents, etc, etc. Bill Cosby in all his wisdom's says something to the effect of "I don't care". Well that was basically my spiel as well. Afterwards, I told him that mom does not equate to best friend when doing schoolwork. Well, I still have my dish boy and yard boy for another week at least.

Soccer Game

J had his first season game (the other games in SC was a pre-season tourney) and they won 5-2. I was so proud of all the boys but especially J (what can I say, I'm a little partial to him). The first score was a penalty kick and J picked one direction and the shooter picked the other. I'm not really sure what happened on the 2nd score - it just got by him. I do have to say that Brad had to pipe up in defense of J at one point though. OK - here's a soccer lesson (J had to tell me at the SC tourney as I was lacking in the soccer rule dept). If you are a goalie and someone on your team kicks the ball to you, you cannot pick up the ball, you must kick the ball. I think all the kids know but apparently there are some soccer parents who are like me and lacking in the rule dept. Anyways, it happened today and someone yelled out to pick up the ball and Brad proceeds to yell back "He can't pick up the ball". I had to chuckle over that one - J didn't seem to really care, after all, "I know the rules". Kids!!!! Anyways, had to share the news that we're on our way to great soccer season.

By the way, D has found a new playmate during the soccer games. One of J's teammates has a brother about the same age as D and they had a blast today.

Getting Closer

29 days to take off!!! Well we're getting closer to leaving for China to pick up A. I think I'm finally starting to let things settle in my mind and get things ready. It seemed like there were so many things to do that were swirling around in my mind that I'd start a task and than move onto something else just as quickly all in complete randomness. It's probably due to football season starting - in case you don't know, I LOVE football!!! I get to yell at the tv and I think it just seems to make everything so much clearer to me (yeah, I know I'm crazy and so does the hubby and kids). At any rate, we have big plans for this weekend (other than football), I've got a written task list of what to do for the adoption and J has a soccer game tomorrow (hold off for an hour hurricane Hanna). I have a great feeling about the soccer game tomorrow and of course, Sunday is FOOTBALL!!!! Life would only be better if A was here with us now.

Oh and a big congrats to my sister and brother in law, Amy and Marcus, on buying their first home!!!!! Welcome to the wonderful world of debt and repairs.

Nice, Long Weekend

It's been a great weekend thus far. Brad and I took the kids to the park Saturday and Sunday and J got to go swimming at the neighbor's yesterday and Brad and I got to go out last night with some friends for an adult dinner. And we still have another whole day!!!! We've been so busy with the adoption, my sister's wedding, starting school and soccer that we hadn't really seen these friends in awhile and it was nice to get out.

Both boys are enjoying school, especially D. D loves his teachers and is still very excited to be in the big school with his brother. J is glad to see his friends but I think he would be happier without the homework. He likes his teacher though and he's excited to have 2 of his really good friends in his class.

This weekend my brother and I went shopping (I know, Dan shopping??? In his defense he wanted to go furniture shopping and didn't know where to look and I needed his truck). Anyways, I got a mattress, foundation, sheets, extra comforters, bookcase and I ordered J's new bed. We had a hard time finding J's bed as I really wanted a bookcase headboard and it had to be for a full size mattress. Should be here in about 2-3weeks. I think we now have everything we need for her room (the bookcase was the last item) and now we have everything for J's new room. Now we just have to put everything together - I think I'll leave that up to hubby.

D's Big School

D is now officially a big boy in his world as he is now going to the big school. We were fortunate to get a spot at J's school in their pre-K program. D is having sooo much fun and has already made friends. He loves his new teacher (who is awesome) and loves to play with the "barn". He is too funny though - today he told us that he had no time outs but he had to have lots of quiet time. Obviously, not enough quiet time for his teacher to think we needed to know but lots in his world. I was a little nervous that he would miss his teachers and friends at daycare but he is doing very well and is having loads of fun!!!

Soccer Tourney

We had a great soccer weekend, sort of. This was the first game for the boys and there were some tough teams that were nothing short of amazing and it was obvious they've been playing together for awhile, but our kids worked really hard and you could see every game they were getting better and better. I can't wait to see how they progress throughout the year. The first game - I think all the kids were sleeping during the first half but they woke up the 2nd half and started to come back but they fell a little short. The 2nd and 3rd game - the other teams were simply amazing and I don't really need to write anything more than that. The 4th game (all the parents were praying for them to win a game) they came together and won 3-0. For anyone that doesn't know, J plays goalie and does an excellent job. He had a really sweet block in the 4th game towards the end. The player kicked it to the top of the left side as high as it could go and still go in the net and Jake did a cross jump and grabbed the ball. It was awesome!!!! Overall, I think Jake did his best in the 2nd game. We're very proud of all the kids on the team as it was a tough tournament and I think they're starting to figure each other out now.

Adoption Updates

I'm so bad about keeping this up to date. Have a lot of updates on the adoption front. First, we changed her middle name to Shanwei. Several reason for this which I can discuss offline with any of you. Next, we are leaving Saturday, October 4th and returning on Thursday, October 16th. We will get to pick up our little angel on Monday, October 6th. So mark those calendars. Mom is going to be staying with both of the boys while we are out (please pray for her sanity - it's been awhile since she's had to keep track of school, homework, karate, soccer practices and tournaments, etc). We also received our China visa's back in the mail today and on Friday we received our renewal I-171H form from USCIS (we had to have this renewal form back before travel as it expired on 9/21/2008). Finally, we received an email today with our travel group's info. It's awesome to see our names on a travel group, yipee!!!! Can't wait to meet our travel buddies and their children.

Sunday Evening

It's been a busy and good weekend. Hubby was gone all weekend building a barn for a friend, so it was the kids and I. We got all of J's stuff out of his room and put D's stuff in his new room. I think D likes his new room, now we just need to get J a bed and rearrange his room and we'll be set. J also had soccer practice today - I think he's doing pretty good. They've been playing against older girls for practice and his team has been getting spanked by them. The boys and I are watching the movie "Hoodwinked" right now - it's a pretty cute movie.

On the adoption front, we're still waiting for our TA (travel approval). Hopefully, it will come next week. Guess we'll have to wait and see. We did receive our travel packet on Saturday from CHI - it tells us what we're suppose to be doing now and gives us the forms to get our travel VISA.

Tentative Travel

We could be leaving in 4 weeks!!!!! I'm about ready to officially freak out. We received an email on Friday with 3 tentative travel dates: 1) 9/5 - 9/16 or 2) 9/8 - 9/26 or 3) 10/5 - 10/16. The first 2 dates depend on when our travel approval arrives and if we can get a consulate appt (CA) on the requested days. There's still so much to do and I can hardly believe that after all this waiting it's now happening so quickly. Absolutely Amazing!!!!

Name is official

Last night over dinner at our favorite mexican place, we, as a family, decided on Shan Wei Feng's new name. Our daughter's name will be: Alyssabelle Weifeng Lasecki.

Here's the story - Brad and I can't agree on names at all. We each came up with a multitude of names only for the other to shoot it down - examples, Sophia, Jade, Isabelle, Kaylee, Jaden, Zoey, it goes on and on. Anyways, the only names we could agree on were Alyssa and Belle or Bella. Brad and I both like Belle and Bella but I thought it was more of a nickname than an adult name so we combined Alyssa and Belle to create Alyssabelle.

We also wanted to keep her given name for several reasons. 1) she's 2 and she knows her name. 2) we wanted her to have something to hold on to for when she's older if she chooses. 3) this may be one of the first things she was given and the only thing she may have when she comes to us; how can we take this from her? In China, the last name is the first name (Feng). We are still unsure if they are calling her simply Feng or our agency thinks they may be calling her Weifeng. So we took a vote at dinner and it was unanimously (children and parents both) that her middle name be Weifeng.

So again - the pics are on the left and let us introduce you to Alyssabelle Weifeng Lasecki.

SCL/LOA IS HERE!!!

Our SCL (Seeking Confirmation Letter) and/or LOA (Letter of Approval) has arrived. The UPS guy arrived around 4:30p today. They weren't kidding when they said the form consisted of 2 boxes - yes, I marked the "we accept" box (like there was any doubt). We have to mail the form back tomorrow morning to CHI.

The next step is waiting for our travel approval and consulate appointment. We are still hoping to travel in September, but it could be November. A travel package is forthcoming from our agency. It's been a great day!!!

Pics are up!!!!

Look to the left to see our cutie pie, Alyssabelle. She is currently residing in Shanwei City in the Guangdong province of China. Her birthday is June 28th, 2006. We were able to send her a package that arrived around her birthday and we hope that she's been able to look through the photo book and that the nannies are helping her to understand the major changes that are about to take place in her life. As of the last update that we received from CHI just before the 4th of July - she is 31 inches tall and 24 lbs. The boys are excited, the rooms are painted, pictures are up in the house, we just need her. Praying for a speedy TA (travel approval).

Adoption News

Well to catch everyone up. We are in the process of adopting the most precious little girl in China. We found her on the waiting children list back in May and today we received the call we've been waiting for. The CCAA has approved us to adopt our bella. We are beyond excited. Our agency called at 12:30p and are overnighting the package to us. We'll have to fill out some paperwork and check the appropriate box stating that we do accept our referral and than overnight it back to our agency, Children's Hope International.

From here, we wait for travel approval and our consulate appointment. We're hoping to travel in September. If we don't make it in the September travel group - we'll be pushed back to November due to holidays and work fairs in China during the month of October.

We want to thank everyone for all your support and prayers during this journey and an especially loud shout out to our awesome agency, CHI!!!!!

Don't worry as soon as I figure out (again) to post pics - I will. As you can tell from previous posts, it's been a long time since we posted on here.