Starting the pre-adopt class

I guess we are on our way to adoption, although it really doesn't feel like it. We are working with an agency called Plan Loving Adoptions out of McMinnville, Oregon. So far we really like the people we have spoken with, although at this point we really haven't had too much contact with anyone.
So, the process goes something like this:

Mail in an application and wait to be approved to continue (give them a little $)
Take a pre-adopt class (learn about the difference between families joined through adoption vs childbirth)
Contract with the agency (give them lots of $$$)
Have a homestudy done - a social worker meets with us 4 times to determine if we get approved for adoption
Put a dossier together for China - lots of paperwork, dealing with the government, and more $$$
Receive an assignment of a child - decide whether to accept the assignment
Go to China to pick up new family member
Come back to US and meet with social worker more times
Live happily ever after :-)

Currently we are in the pre-adopt class stage. We are required to read 2 books and a manual and then answer a TON of questions. Most of the questions are short answer or essay, so I expect this will take us some time to complete. We can't even get started on the next step until we finish the course. Everything just feels so slow. I'm hoping we can finish up the course by the end of September........ Is it just wishful thinking?

The books are pretty interesting, especially one titled 20 things your adopted child wished you knew (or something like that). There is so much good food for thought in the book, mainly about how adoption loss effects even those children adopted as infants. Can you imagine being ripped away from the only human you have a connection with as soon as you enter this world? Your only comfort is the mother who carried you for 9 months and already she is gone. I wish that our child didn't have to go through that pain before coming to us.