Keeping up with the Lacocks

Our Christmas wish this year is that we can bring Hudson and our baby girl home!! Praying that 2013 is the year we complete our family! May this year bring many blessings to your family as well.

So, last time we "talked" we had just mailed our dossier (for the first time) to the Consulate in Chicago. Well, since then, we have mailed it two more times after it has been rejected for minor notary wording issues.   We were thinking we would have a LID (log in date) of late November, now we are looking at a LID of at least January, and that's only if they accept our dossier this time and don't reject it for a 3rd time. We also received word this week that they are changing their log in process so they won't be logging in any new dossiers between Dec 20th and Jan 1st.  Any dossiers received after Dec 20th will experience some delays due to them redo this process.   When I heard this, I immediately had flashbacks of our process in Thailand, that changed 2 months into our process and resulted in us being unable to adopt from that country.    Praying this doesn't happen again and that the delays are minimal. I just can't wait for the call that we have ...

Mailing our Dossier!!! So I wrote the previous post on Wednesday and on Thursday my birth certificate arrived (Only 4 days after I mailed the order form!) So Friday morning we headed downtown to the Secretary of States office to have it authenticated and then headed straight to the post office to mail the whole dossier off!! We are soo excited to be one step closer to our son and daughter! Bring on the Referral!!!!!

Look at all those Pretty Gold Seals!!! A couple weeks ago I went to our Secretary of State's office to get our dossier authenticated. (Gold Sealed!)   While there, I was informed that they could not accept my birth certificate because it was county issued, not state issued.   They gave me the phone number to call and order over the phone, which I did as I walked back to my car.....I'm not wasting ANY time here.  I paid the extra $25 to have it overnight couriered so that it would only take 5-10 days to get it vs. 15-30 days if they regular mailed it.  Well, Monday I still didn't have it and it had been 2 weeks, so I called them to see where it was.   They then informed me that the day after I ordered it they stopped processing requests over the phone and so I would need to reorder it via snail mail.   Frustrated that I had "lost" two weeks of time I immediately was reminded by the Holy Spirit that NONE of this is in my time (a lesson you'd think I'd...

Ok, I just have to preface this news with that fact that I thought this day was never going to come, therefore I thought I would never be able to say these words out loud, although I said them in my head often.  What are these words, you might ask?? WE HAVE A REFERRAL!!!!!!! After going on close to 3 yrs of waiting, it seems surreal to say it!!   Its even more surreal to stare at the picture of our adorable 4 yr old little man in China!   Tom and I will be writing our letter of intent to adopt him this week.   Sooo exciting!   His name will be Hudson (named after the great missionary to China - Hudson Taylor) I will now address the other questions on your mind...... 1.  what about the little girl we have been praying to adopt?   We will be waiting for the next few months for a referral for a little girl from China as well, so that we can process the two together and go one time to pick them both up! 2.  What about the other Southeas...

Ok, we finally, after 2 1/2 years designed an adoption t-shirt. We didn't want it to be a serious one. We instead wanted it to be funny and edgy! Anyway we only have 20 more days to sell 50 shirts or they won't print them. So if you want to order one do it now and pass it along to anyone else that may want one!!! Thanks for helping support our adoption! Visit www.teespring.com/lacockadoption

YES, Seriously!! Call us crazy, as some have, but we think we will be extra blessed! As you all know the process time for referrals in Southeast Asia has become long and unpredictable. We see a great need in China and have decided to welcome a special needs child from China into our home while we wait for her sister from the Southeast! We are extremely excited as we embark on this new journey. There are a lot of things that need to come together {mostly finances} but are certain that God will provide for this since He led us to add onto our family in this way! We are hoping to be over in China next summer picking up our China doll! In efforts to raise money, I have added some new things to my Etsy shop: Thanks for helping spread the word!! And continue to pray for our process!

To say that we were disappointed would be an understatement. When we heard the news from our agency, that the first batch of referrals they have received in 2 1/2 years, did not contain a referral for us, it was devastating. I cried for probably 3 hours, went to bed, woke up with swollen eyes and cried some more. {just being real here people} It felt as if someone had stabbed me in the stomach and then kept twisting the knife. I don't think I have ever in my life experienced such a painful event. That being said, even though I was sad and hurting, I throughout the entire experience felt an underlying sense of peace. A peace that I know only God can give during something like that. Being able to rest in the fact that God is good always, His name will be glorified always, He is always in control and He loves me, was SOOO comforting to me. I have learned so many lessons during this adoption process and evidently God has more for me to learn through it, by extending the ...

I don't have much to say, except that we are anxiously awaiting news either today or Wednesday that we have been matched with a child!!! Words cannot even begin to express the feeling of excitement and anticipation to meet the child that God designed to be in our family from even before we were created!!!! To get but a glimpse of the love Christ has for His children as shown to us in the gospel of adoption, has been worth it all. The unconditional love I can have for a child that is not biologically my own, and of whom I have never met or seen, has been amazing. It all points back to God and His love for us! What an amazing love! A love that I cannot and will not ever be able to completely understand. But one that I am truly thankful for! Our pastor spoke yesterday on the Glory of God. Such an eloquent and powerful message as he reminded us that everything we do (from eating an ice-cream cone to driving to work) should point us back to God's glory, therefore call...

Going on three weeks ago now, we were told that 9 files were on their way from Asia to our agency. After hearing this news I cried for the next hour and a half. You see, I haven't let my emotions get the best of me very often in the process. But evidently when it rains, it pours.... The last time I had an emotional outburst like this was last summer when we were told files were on their way.....they never came. I am praying that this time is not the same. God has taught us MANY lessons on this journey. Mostly to trust in His timing and to find our joy and contentment in Him and not in our circumstances. Sounds so easy to do, and at times when all is going well, it is easy. It's during the trials of our life that what's really in our hearts comes out....and unfortunately it can be very ugly (I speak for myself). I am thankful for these times, as hard as they are, because I know that I am just in the sanctification process. These times open my eyes to what I ...

I just can't seem to get over how quickly kids grow up. It seems like just last year I was teaching our oldest how to tie her shoes and ride her bike....and now she is a 12 year old tween! For her party she picked an Asian Theme. We had SOO much fun putting it together! {The Party Table with the Birthday Girl} {They got their names Caligraphied in Japanese} {Keelan's Name} {They Learned how to make Sushi!} {More Calligraphy!} {Girl Eating} {Making Origami} {The Cake.....that nearly brought me to tears!} {The favor boxes I embellished} {Personalized glasses I made} Such a fun party and memories!

My youngest daughters birthday is January, then my husband and oldest daughter have February birthdays and my son has an April birthday......it's just months of partying!! For my youngest's birthday we did a Paris Poodle theme.....So much fun for both of us, cause we are both girly girls!!! Here are a few pics from the party: Here are a few more of the decorations: I made each of the girls a purse treat bag and a personalized glass with their name on it! SO fun! We had fun games and crafts too: And Last but not least....The Cake....so much fun to make This stop Paris.....next stop Asia for my 12 year olds Asian theme party!!! Fun fun fun!