How long does a foster child stay with you?

You all don't know how much I appreciate you all taking the time to answer all of my questions. I know I can ask my cw all these questions but I want to go in prepared. I don't know if I told you all this or yet (on another thread) but the same CW that did my homestudy for my son will be doing my homestudy this time as well. So that makes it nice. She can be hardcore but at the same time she is really helpful and nice. I feel comfortable with her. She scared me to death the first time I was in her office though..we went in thinking she is gonna think we are the greatest people on tthe earth cause we were adopting our nephew..next thing I know she's hammering me about my past I felt like the FBI had stepped in and i'd committed a horrible sin lol..I wasn't expecting any of that..Needless to say it all went well and 5 years later our son is happy as can be doing his best to see how many times he can gross or scare mommy in one day lol.. This foster to adopt and fostering is SO dif then what we went through with him. I seen the CW twice. Once in her office and once at my home. Then we went to court and wa la we were parents to a 4th child. I have started gathering documents but she said I can't do the physical or cpr classes ect. til after my appt due to the fact that I have to take forms to each. So now my waiting game begins. Did I mention I'm not patient when it comes to certain things..I can be patient with the kids like you wouldn't beleive..I could have a houseful of kids and all blaring music runnin around talking laughin ect..doesn't bother me..but tell me I have to wait to find something out..drives me insane lol..like christmas..I am horrible..My husband gets mad cause I sneak and tell the kids what i've bought them..cause i can't stand the waiting..lol..i'm gettin better on that one though.. Now back to fostering questions. When the kids come to your home do they come with their clothes and things or do you have to buy them those kind of things? At what point should I start buying highchairs and certain things. Should I go ahead and pick up things here and there now or wait til I've completed my homestudy. If I have an infant placed with me, does the DFC provide a babybed and things or will that be required of me. I know i'm getting ahead of myself here but I can't imagine them not licensing me. Considering i've been through alot of this process before..Don't get me wrong I know things can happen. But I just don't forsee anything going wrong in that aspect. I"m so nervous about all of this lol..can you tell. I"m so excited but nervous and anxious as well. I've wanted to be a foster parent and foster to adopt since I was 15 years old and my best friend was a foster parent. I can still remember telling her that someday I'd be a FP and I'd give a good home to someone like her so they'd never have to feel unsafe again. (She was abused in a foster home as well by her bio mom) I have so much I feel I can give to children, mine, FP, the kids friends. I just love kids. Even when they push my buttons and I want to yank my own hair out I love them. Cause I understand what they have been through.I know why they feel insecure, why they get angry, why the don't understand. Cause I too was sexually abused from the age of 5 on..i too was physically abused (by an ex), I too was abandoned by a parent (my mom). And I got through it just as they will and learned that I can't change what happened, but I can change how I let it affect the rest of my life. I can choose to not go on and let it affect me or I can choose to heal and spend the rest of my life giving love being loved and being happy. OK..I've rambled enough lol..