I sincerely apologize for the length of time it's taken to post an update. This time post-referral has been an emotional rollercoaster of wading through political and governmental red tape. Nonetheless, we continue to make progress and hope that the # of months to go is rapidly diminishing. Here's a quick wrap-up of the steps we've completed to-date:

• June 2016 - We began researching adoption seriously, talking with agencies, adoption pediatricians, etc.
• June 2017 - We officially started the process, kicking off our home study, and completing the substantial amount of paperwork required.
• Dec 2017 - Our file was officially filed in Burkina Faso, meaning we were officially on the list of potential families to be matched with a child. 
• Sep 2018 - We received a call and were told we had been matched with twin girls!  At that time, they were just over a year old.  No pictures yet, but we quickly accepted the referral and began moving forward with the next step, which involved getting the US approval (I-800 approval).
• Dec 2018 - Our I-800 is (finally!) approved -- now our file is sent back to Burkina Faso. Also, we finally received pictures of our girls!
• Jan 2018  - Our file was formally filed with the court in Burkina Faso.
• Feb 2018 - We got to FaceTime with the girls and see them on video for the first time!
  
•  Apr 2018 - We were informed that our file had been held up due to a notary strike, but it was resolved in early April. We were then informed just before Easter that the pre-court judge had scheduled a meeting with the prosecutor and orphanage to review our file.  Thereafter, it would be sent to the prosecutor to approve and then a court date would be set.  Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the attorneys in Burkina Faso went on strike, so that meeting never happened.
  

Which takes us up to today - rumors are that the strike has finally been resolved and court proceedings are starting to kick up again. We are hopeful that we may get our file reviewed before the holiday break (which happens in July/August and lasts approximaly a month), so that we can be looking at a court date before summer's end. Once our court date is set, we believe we'll have a better idea of when we may travel, although, ultimately, our understanding is we'll still only get a couple weeks notice of our travel dates.  

In the meantime, we've been keeping busy by prepping the house (it LOOKS like toddlers should live here, except that it's probably staying cleaner) and trying to pre-occupy ourselves so that we don't email our adoption agency every day for an update. Fingers crossed that we are getting closer -- our girls are turning 2 soon and, while we won't be traveling before their birthday, we're hoping we aren't waiting too long thereafter.  We are ready to meet them, bring them home and begin life as a family of 5 (Jake, Lindsey, Blue and the little ladies!).  

As always, thank you for your thoughts and support as we continue making our way through this process.  It's been quite a journey, but we are thrilled to be where we are at today!

Cheers,

Jake & Lindsey