Day 3

Today's start was a little touchy. Lila was on verge of crying immediately upon waking but once she realized we were dressing for breakfast, the smiles started. The only piece of businees we had to take care of today was getting a passport for Lila. After the stress and strain of cutting through the tangled mess of Chinese beaurocracy, nap time was calling.



After getting Lila's passport, we took a trip to the "Big Goose Pagoda". It's a buhddist temple (for those of us who aren't world travelers or religion majors, including Jen and myself).


The Chinese characters behind Lila say "Good Luck", we'll all need it especially Jake and Cade.


Mom and Lila at the temple. Jen burned a candle at the altar of sleepy, new moms; so tonight should be a good one for catching up on a few lost hours.



At the time of writing this (3:15 p.m. China time) Lila has been running at 110% so we're going for a walk. Maybe we'll burn off a little of the excess energy. Going to visit the Bell Tower; which our hotel is named after. Tomorrow maybe we'll post the photos.

Day 2

Well fiesty is the best way to describe Miss Lila.She is very independent and will accept little help.She wants to do it all by herself. She is very smart and a fast learner she is already repeating words I say to her. We finalized her adoption yesterday and she was very sad when we got back to the Hotel. She does not like to be in the hotel. She is much happier out and about. I know this is very hard on her and she has lost the only family she has ever known. The orphange director and her nanny were there and they were so happy to see her. They really seemed to have a deep affection for Lila and I was glad to see that she didn't listen to them either. The director made a small album of Lila's pics from over the years. She is the little girl in the blue jacket with the balloons that I posted awhile ago.It is so nice to have pics of her past she will appreaciate them so much when she is older. The orphange did recieve the care package we sent and brought me back the disposable camera as I requested. I can't wait to develop them and she her everyday life.Cade better watch out bacause this girl can eat!! She gets so happy about food and giggles and talks the whole time she eats. She can use a regular spoon and fork like a pro. We were amazed and she clean us after herself!!

Lila's is in "bath" therapy. When she gets so sad I fill up the tub and toss in some toys and she goes to town. She can wash herself(hair and all). She also scrubs her toys with a toothbrush and sets them out to dry.She is amazing she's like a little housekeeper. I will post more pics later. Lila is an amazing child and although right now it's a bit rocky we love her pieces.

Day 1 with Lila

We met Lila today and it was interesting. A lot of wailing and knashing of teeth. A Lila did a lot of crying. In the hotel room we did it all over again when the only other chinese girl (the CCAI Guide)in the room left. At about 9:00 p.m. things became a little calmer and we got some smiles and talking. We all could use a good night's sleep. Dad(Scott) 



Well I must agree her little tears were hard but right now she is eating Cheerios and laughing. The last 3 hrs have been tense but she is beautiful and a bit sassy if I must say so. She does what she wants to do now she will be just like Jake and Cade!
Post more later. Jen

We made it to Beijing!!!!

We arrived in Beijing on the 26th after an uneventful 13 hr flight. Scott and I were upgraded to better seats and the person inbetween us was a no show so we had some extra room (also was an exit isle). Our guide Helen is super nice and very helpful and tonight will take us to the acrobats show and to a real Chinese dinner @ a 400 yr old resturant. Scott is so excited about the dinner he is much more adventurous with food than I. We will go to the Great Wall tommorow then off to Lila's province on Sunday.We also found out that we would get Lila a day early so now the count down is less than 48 hrs!!!I plan on taking so pics to post tomorrow. Hope all is well at home I already miss it!!

One for the Road!!

Well Robin strikes again!! I just loved the idea of this adorable outfit!! She calls it Hearts of Two Countries. Now how appropriate is that!!We are almost packed and ready to go though my heart already misses my boys!! I will feel very lost without my 2 shadows. Tomorrow they will get haircuts so they will be ready when we get back for the first Lapp family reunion that we all are sooooo excited about. I hope Lila can just roll with it, but that is alot to expect from her. We plan to be able to post while in China so keep an eye on us and our final leg of this journey to Lila!!
Plane leaves Wed @12:31 PM !!!

Cade's 5th Birthday Party!!!

We decided to have Cade's birthday party a week early since we leave for China in 10 days!!!! So we gathered up some friends, slip-n-slide,water ballons, water guns and had a water party. The kids and Scott had a blast. As you would guess it rained on and off but didn't seem to dampen the mood. Scott is the best at entertaining the kids he always wrestles with them and chases them around. They all love Mr Scott. Cade had such a great time and we were happy to be able to have his party before we take the big trip!!!

Have our CA !!! Flights booked !!

We recieved our CA which means the US Consulate appt has been made for July 9th. We have to go through the US Consultae to get all her immigration papers ready for her to be a US Citizen when her tiny feet hit US soil. We have decided that Scott will come back a few days early on July 7th to be with the boys then Lila and I will be home Friday the 11th at 7:36PM.That will be a day to remember for a long time to come. So here is our tentative schedule for China:
Fly to China on June 25th @ 12:31 PM
Arrive in Beijing on 26th
Fly to Shaanxi Province on 29th
Get our little beauty on the 30th
Finalize her adoption on July 1st
We hang out a few days for all the paperwork to be complete
July 5th head to Guanghou for the Consulate appt
Now we get her physical,visa and passport in order
July 9th we have our Consulate appt
We take a group oath on July 10th
Fly home on July 11 @ 6:30PM (direct flight will be 13hr 6min)
Hug my boys until my arms fall off!!!!! I have such meixed emotions about leaving my boys but they will be in the capable hand on Pop-pop, Gigi & Grandma while we're away and I know they love them as much as I do!!!So once again LILA you will be in our arms in 16 days!! Someone pinch me!!

TA!!!Hang on Lila we're coming for you!!!

WE GOT OUR TA!!!!!! We will be going to China June 25, 2008 and getting Lila AiLing Monday the 30th!!!! I almost can't believe that there is an end to this adoption and now we finally get to know our daughter!!!! What a beautiful journey though stressful, depressing, anxiety ridden ... I could go on but I will stop myself but here is nothing like the up side of it all!!!

More confirmation that TA's are in the air!!

A girl in my agency's yahoo group just spoke with the travel dept and here is what she was told:

y'all didn't hear this from me, but a friend with a 5/20 LOA (different
agency) just got a call that said CCAA 'loaded' their TAs on their
site...SO, I called Sheri and asked...

WE ARE GOING TO CHINA BABY!!!!!

oops, didn't mean to scream (sort of)...Sheri told me TAs are 'in the mail' to arrive hopefully tomorrow (Thursday) but probably on Friday. Oh -- huge admonision NOT to buy plane tickets, but she said our timing should work out just fine (29 Jun travel, 14 Jul Consulate appt).

Did I mention that WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!


I am so excited to hear the real news when they are here and will post ASAP!!

And the days drag on!!!!

Well, I e-mailed my agency to milk them for any info on our TA's and here is the response:

It does look like your travel approvals have been issued but it is very hard to determine when they will arrive in our office as the information is not always accurate. We do request consulate appointments the same day the travel approvals arrive. We drop everything when they arrive to be able to request an appointment as soon as possible.

I know our TA should be here any day and that is what is killingme I should say us because even Scott is getting very anxious as well. We are in limbo with so much to plan and can not do a thing until we get our appts settled. So once again we are waiting for that single sheet of paper inviting us to come and get our daughter!! Ugggg... I feel like time is standing still!!! Next time I post it will be with some good news!!!

Got a call from the agency......

Well about 4 I got a call from CCAI Travel Dept and no they don't have any word yet about our TA just wanted to make sure everything was ready for travel. China is very secretive about this whole process and doesn't let you know until they are ready to, but I think we should here next week about our TA. So the agency hopes we will leave June 26th and come back around the 10th( the standard 14 days stay). That sounds good to me.So lets keep hope alive and who knows tomorrow might be the beloved day of the TA. Hang on Lila we are in the home stretch now!!

Lila Update!!!

My agency just e-mailed me Lila girls current measurments YEAH!!!

Age 2 yrs 6 mos
WT 28lbs.
Head 18.9 in
Chest 19.29 in
Height 33.86 in
Feet are 5.9 inches
She has 16 teeth and Healthy
Now I will go through all the clothes I bought her to make sure they will fit her! Now I will have to bring my measuring tape to the shoe store!!! I wish I had received new photos but not yet!Well I am happy to hear anything at this point they must be sending my TA soon!!

Goodbye Kindergarten ..Hello First Grade!!!!

Yet another Stark has graced the graduation stage. We are so honored and proud to annouce that Jake Thomas Stark has completed Kindergarten!! For those of you who know us you know what a big deal this was and as always our son has gone way beyond our expectations. He did so well and his fantastic teachers, Ms Beamer and her assistant Ms Smith, just loved him to pieces. Jake has grown up to be a good reader, follow directions and stay in line! Now I don't know about you, but what else do you need to succeed in life. The Kindergarten program was last night and was just adorable! Jake was singing so loud we could hear him over the crowd of 90 Kindergarteners! I think Scott and I shed a few tears of pride over our boy's stellar performace. Unfortunatley, the still pics didn't come out that great, but Scott is going to download some video for all to enjoy.The first bad pic is Jake accepting his certificate from Principal Jenkins and the next one is Jake and Trent at the reception.
As all of you know Jake is an exceptional person and rest assured you will never meet another kid like him. His heart is pure gold and doesn't have a mean or hurtful bone in his body. Jake has made us better people and has shown us that a strong will can overcome any limitation placed upon you. I can only wish everyone could experience the beautiful gifts our son Jake has given to us. How lucky are we, Jake Rules!!!!

Can you really blame me????

I mean come on how could I let this sassy number escape me! And lets not forget I am helping Mia Hope to come home. This one is called Springtime in Paris and it is just adorable! Robin, the master creator, said that her daughter loves to twirl in this dress. I have to put myself on restriction from her sight, but I don't know if I have that kind of will power. Oh on another note we recieved our Travel Visas back today,so it looks as if my stalking is over early. I hope we hear about travel dates this week because now we are ready to go!!! Tonight is Jake's class program and I will be sure sure to let you know how our little showman does!!