A few things I don't agree with...
1) wanting to adopt because 'so many children need a home'. The list of people who want to adopt internationally and nationally is very long. That's why it takes several months or years to have a child... The children you can adopt there don't need a home right now, because there are more families waiting to adopt them than there are children available - unless you are open to special needs. The reason so many kids stay in orphanages is because the system sucks, not from lack of adoptive homes. If you really want to find a child that needs a home, look in the US foster system, but be warned that those kids will often have emotional baggage. Healthy babies and kids will be adopted fast, no matter what country they come from.
2) It's totally possible to lose a baby in domestic adoption, even if the birthmother has signed her termination of parental rights and the revocation is over... You take their word of who the father is. And if they lied, the father can get the baby back (happened to someone on a forum I go to a couple months ago).
3) transracial adoption - most people need to be educated about it. Kids need role models of their race, parents who will know how to deal with racism and prepare their kids for it etc... it's not as easy as saying 'race doesn't matter'.
4) domestic adoption totally sucks and needs to be reformed. If you go that way, don't accept to pay a lot in birthmother expenses. You can lose a LOT of money that way, and unfortunately it's totally legal in most states for them to say they want to place, make you pay for their rent and whatnot, then decide to keep the baby.
5) Tanya, having adopted... I have to say that your dad is spot on LOL. Seriously, it's a huge pain in the ass, they ask you very personal questions, it costs a lot of money, and it's extra stressful. And yes in the end you give a child a good loving home... but let's be honest, in 90% of the cases, the child would have found another good loving home too. There are really a lot of people who want to adopt out there.