"In the Adoption Process, Waiting is the code word for FOREVER"--Kristi H, 2005

It is true. The waiting process is the hardest, and most usually, the longest part for an adoptive family to endure.

I have heard of people being as lucky as being matched with a birth mother 3 months after finalizing their paperwork, to couples going through social services waiting for up to 2 years before being matched.

A lot of things contribute to this wait:

• The method of adoption.
• The age and gender of child(ren) you select.
• Your social worker/agency.
• Having a good biography (life book).

In domestic adoption, one of the most common things I hear from other Hopefuls is that it takes months to match with a birth mother. Then, many times, those matches fail because either the birth mother backs out, or decides she likes another family better.

That has increased the trend of international adoption. In an international adoption, most generally, you are matched with a child, and once all paperwork is finished, you go over to the country, are given your child, sign paperwork, and then you go back home.

Even in International Adoption, however, the wait time can take awhile, because there is SO much more involved. You need birth certificates, passports, etc, and it is much more time consuming.

My husband and I had a delay in our homestudy being completed, however, our wait time APPEARS to be relatively short.

Our name has been submitted for 3 different groups (2 sibling groups and 1 individual child). Our state, Oklahoma, approves matches once a week on Thursday, so we could find out as quickly as this Thursday if we've been approved for one of our submissions.

We have only been in the process for the last 7 months...and even though time has flown...still, that's 7 months. For a foster child...an older one, at that.

Until Tonight,

Kristi