More waiting

Evidently, the Haitian government need another copy of our driver's licenses before they can send our stuff over to the US Embassy. They only have 8 lbs of paperwork on us already...including scans of our passports. Looks like this hold up will cost our boys another 4-6 weeks.

Benin

The Portuguese first explored the coast of Benin in 1472 but did not begin trading there until 1553. During the 17th century the Dutch, English, French, and other Europeans also entered the trade. The principal export before the mid-19th century was always slaves. The volume of slave exports was at first small, but it increased rapidly in the second half of the 17th century, when this area became known to Europeans as the “Slave Coast,” and remained high until the 1840s. The principal centre for the trade was the coastal kingdom of Ouidah (Whydah), which was originally a tributary of Allada but had become an independent state by the 1680s. The slaves exported were predominantly war captives and were drawn from the entire area of modern Benin, including northern peoples such as the Bariba as well as communities near the coast. The Atlantic slave trade had a substantial and deleterious impact in Benin, causing the depopulation of certain areas as well as a general militarization of society. The prominence of slaves from this area in the transatlantic trade is reflected in the survival of elements of its culture in black communities of the New World, especially in the “voodoo” religion of Haiti, which incorporates many spirit cults and deities of the Ewe-speaking peoples.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/60879/Benin/55088/The-slave-trade

Little suits

I'm getting really excited about my boys coming home! It's feeling real, now. Today, I bought them little suits for our meeting with their birth parents. Little vests, little clip on ties. So cute!!!
We also got more pictures of them today, and Erickson is actually smiling! It's getting so close!

Haitian Zanmi

Last night, we had our Haitian Creole tutor, Rose over for dinner. Her 3 kids and another kid that is living with them came over. Her kids are Mackens, 15, Misla, 13, Jonathan, 10 and the friend, Fabrize, 12. As soon as we finished eating, Violet and Fabrize started running around the house. Misla joined in. They were laughing and screaming. It was so great!!! Violet took them to the back yard and they ran and ran. It was just wonderful to see. It assured me that when Erickson and Lovekender get here, they'll be playing in no time. Kids are kids, whether they speak the same language or not. It just made me feel sorry for Violet a little bit. She is soooo bored with me most of the time. She just wants to PLAY with other KIDS. She needs her brothers so badly!! I can't wait to see those three kidos running around my house!!! And, our Haitian-American friends promised to come over frequently and play! It will be reassuring for the boys to hear Creole and have fun with some older Haitian kids.