The LaCroix Family: March 2012

It has been one year since we first laid eyes on Zan Biao. I remember receiving the call from CCAI around telling us we had been matched with an 11 month old boy with a malformed right ear and hearing loss. We didn't know how severe the loss was. I sent Doug all the info we received from our agency. It didn't take long for us to decide. By that evening we were passing pictures of our new son.

Looking back we had no idea what our journey would look like. However long, hard and trying it has been.....he is worth it all! He needed a family and God chose the LaCroix's to be Zan Biao's before the foundation of the world. We feel extremely blessed to raise him in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory!

As I am posting this, Jack is in bed at our hotel. We are on our first beach trip with Jack. He is talking and singing in bed. How I love to hear my sweet boy sing and talk, feeling so secure with our love. We love you Jack!!!!

I know it has been a very long time since I blogged last, sorry for those who have been disappointed. Life has been very busy as we got through the holidays, vacation and starting school back up.

Jack enjoyed his first Christmas. He quickly learned the art of opening up gifts, following his big sisters and brothers example, he enjoyed it very much. He learned how to fellowship with family all day and share his toys with his younger cousins. He got to go to Grandma and Grandad's house for the first time Christmas Eve and loved it!

We had our annual Tahoe snow trip in early January with the LaCroix family. We had only been home 3 weeks before packing up for a long drive to Tahoe. We were a little nervous how Jack would react to sitting in a car seat for so long. He had just been introduced to being restrained by a car seat a few weeks earlier, now we were strapping him for a five hour drive. Yikes! What were we thinking? Not only that, how would Jack sleep in another new environment? He was sleeping well at home now and we were going to whisk him to a new place. Again, what were we thinking??? Well, all our worries were needless. Jack did as well as could be expected for a 21month in a car, whether new to car seats or not. He also slept great! Dark closets in the corner of a house do very well. Having lived in an orphanage, Jack did not see much. His short life had been very confined. We were opening up so much to him, Christmas, a family and snow! Wouldn't you know it, there was no snow in Tahoe. For the first time in 10 years of going to Tahoe, there was no snow!! Maybe next year Jack will be able to have the joy of playing in the snow. He still was introduced to God's beautiful creation, Tahoe is really beautiful without the snow too.

The biggest change for our family is homeschooling with a toddler again. Not a toddler who has been here from the beginning. One who is still a little unsure and who doesn't prefer to ever be alone. Jack is spending a lot of one on one time with each of his siblings taking turns playing with him throughout the school day. This way I can help whoever needs help and Jack is happily (most the time) playing with a sibling. The other kids enjoy the time too. We are chugging along, still trying to iron out some of the wrinkles, but we will get there.

We also were told that Jack was testing positive for Hep B and C. This was a complete shock to us. The B, we knew probably was a false positive because he had been vaccinated for Hep B. The C however was the concern. Well after a month of thinking he had the virus, we tested him again with a more conclusive test recommended by the specialist. We found out last week he does NOT have Hep C!! I cried tears of joy when I heard the great news. I know the Lord would sustain us through this if he had the virus. However, I am very thankful that he doesn't!! Praise God!!

Over the last several months Jack is understanding most of what I say and he has picked up some new words. Maybe not always identifiable to the untrained ear, but this mama understands. These are the words Jack can say:

mama

please

tractor

water

bottle

got you

poo poo

potty

vacuum

yes

dada

Casey