Waiting: to be taken away from the abuse and the neglect.

Waiting: to belong to a home, a family.

Waiting: through the court dates, the meetings, the legal hurdles.

And then it happened. Last year, teenagers Chris and Isaac Martinez finally were adopted.

Their wait is common. More than 600 children are available for adoption in of Florida. But the boys' final adoption -- after being in the system from birth, after being adopted into a family that abused and neglected them, after reentering the system as older kids -- is not as common.

The Waiting exhibit, opening Saturday at the Miami Children's Museum, aims to bring attention to foster kids like Chris and Isaac who spent years waiting for a family.

The project, now in its sixth year, features the faces of older children available for adoption. Organized by the Miami Beach nonprofit, Fotomission, professional photographers donate their time to take portraits of the kids, who are the most difficult to place in what advocates call ``forever homes.''

``You need to expose the children's profile and their need for family in as many ways as possible. A photograph and a profile of the child is a wonderful way to share that story and that need,'' said Jean Caceres-Gonzalez, founder and executive director of His House Children's Home. The nonprofit residential and child-placing agency helps out with the annual exhibit.

For Chris and Isaac, the hardest part -- the wait -- is finally over. Last year, they joined a family of 10 kids (two biological, eight adopted) headed by Sergio Martinez, 43, and Daily Martinez, 42. They live in West Miami-Dade.

``The wait was worth it,'' said Chris, now 16.

``Yes,'' Isaac, now 14, agreed.

Black-and-white photos of the boys, who were featured in last year's exhibit, now hang on the deep blue walls of their new room. In the photos, the word ``joy'' is painted across Isaac's forehead, and a smirk pulls at the corners of his mouth. Chris sports the word ``soul'' painted down his arm. His chin rests in his hands, and he wears a slight smile.

``Those pictures are beautiful,'' said Daily Martinez, who had met the children at His House before last year's exhibit. ``They really talk. You can see the expression in the eyes.''

This year's exhibit features 30 children who will stand beside their pictures on opening day. Chendo Pérez, exhibit organizer for Fotomission, met and photographed four of the children in a park. He said it's important for him to get to know the kids, instead of just posing them for pictures.

``First we try to talk to the kids to see what they're like,'' said Pérez, a commercial photographer for 30 years. ``We want to portray the kids as they want to be seen.''

Sometimes they just want to smile. Others want to run and jump. This year, one boy wanted to look like he was flying in his picture. So Pérez snapped a shot of him jumping, arms outstretched across the sky, a smile on his face.

Pérez said the fact that a third of the children featured in the Fotomission portraits over the years eventually have been adopted is proof of the power of the photos.

Daily Martinez hopes the photos will convince more families to adopt.

``It brings hope and it brings life,'' she said. ``You bring an end to waiting, and a start to a forever family.''

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