alright, boy scout! be prepared!

Government agencies work on their own timetables and rarely get things done as quickly as we'd like.

Y
ou're toodling along, marking things off your 'to do' list and generally kicking adoption paperwork butt when...
BAM!
Something comes up to put you on hold.
It is SO frustrating! But unfortunately, it happens to just about everyone.
U.S. and foreign government agencies work on their own timetables and rarely get things done as quickly as we'd like. You can get all of your dossier paperwork gathered in record time, but you can't force any government to get their stuff any more quickly. Some parts of this process are out of your control.
The best thing to do is to follow that Boy Scout motto and - be prepared.
While you're waiting, get to work on other things...like shopping for baby, painting the nursery/bedroom, learning your child's native language. Anything you can do to move things along at ANY level.
It will not only help cut the frustration...
It will mark some things off that 'to do' list for later in the process when instead of getting anything accomplished, you'd rather be thinking about that new little one! :)