Need help with connecting mpc to other equipment etc..

I just picked up a mpc2500 and i own a presonous firebox interface. I plan to record my stuff into my laptop into cubase once i have finished the beats on the mpc to master and errange them the i want them. I am not too clear on if i should get a mixer unit. also I want to know how i should set it all up, because it seems there are a thousand ways to hook these things together lol. Im tryin to hook up my laptop by firewire to my firebox, and hook the firebox to the mpc to record into the mpc, but there are midi ins and outs, which i dont know how to use. then there is a usb bus on the mpc which i could possibly hook up my laptop to, but then I'd have the laptop hooked up to the mpc thru the firebox and usb, im not sure what the I also have a motif es8 which id like to hook up too, but i just dont know how all of this is going to happen lol. Any reply would help me i guess, Im juss clueless. thanx