I'm Starting to Detect a Trend!

Now that we have been officially waiting for a referral for over 5 months, I have become an avid adoption blog stalker! If you haven't noticed, I have linked a list of Ethiopian adoption blogs to my own blog, and this is where the blog stalking has commenced. I have perused most of the over 1,000 blogs and have found that the people who are waiting for their referrals for about as much time as we have, have not gotten them! One family adopting through the same agency we are using has been waiting for over 6 months, and they are quickly approaching their 7 month mark. So much for our agency's quoted "average wait time" of 4 to 6 months! It appears that all is quiet on the referral front. It makes me wonder what is going on over there in Ethiopia! Will the referrals be released all at once? Is there an unofficial wait list? I think the most frustrating thing about this phase of the adoption is that I don't know what's happening! There is no way to get any information! Our agency doesn't know anything because the orphanage board who matches children to parents does not share any information with them for some reason. I'm hoping that the trend of a referral drought will end shortly. It's time to move forward here people! Let's get those children matched so they can come home to their forever families! Moving forward with the business of making referrals is better for the children because they deserve a family of their own, is better for the families because they can be united with their children, and is better for the orphanage because they can house and care for more children in need once the referred children are adopted and brought home. It's an "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" situation; mutually beneficial for everyone!