Introducing Andrew-Aleksandar Thomas Santor!!

We have just received word this evening that the Bulgarian court has approved our adoption. He is officially our son!!! We had been checking our email ALL day, knowing that our case was being heard today, and had finally given up on hearing anything. Jen checked one last time around 6:30 while we were heating up dinner and getting ready for the college home group we host. There was the email! We all started screaming and kissing. We've been wired ever since. You can imagine how difficult it was to put the kids to bed tonight!

We are told that the actual court decree will take another two weeks. After that the Bulgarian agency will work on getting his new birth certificate and paperwork required by the Hague convention. We will not know our travel dates until this happens, but we are expecting no later than early September.

Money for the remaining amount continues to trickle in. On Monday night, our 3yr. old niece emptied her piggy bank into our donation jar that sits on the counter. We've learned to thank God for every penny of provision and not discard even the smallest gift.

We are still needing over $9,000 to finally bring our son home. This amount includes air fare, agency fees, medical exit exam and a weeks worth of accommodations while we travel. If you would like to be a part of bringing Andrew home please click on one of the fundraisers listed on the sides of this post. Just in the last few weeks we've received $40 from a friend at church, $10 for a loaf of Jen's bread, the piggy bank money from our niece, and even a $10 donation via the "Donate" button on this page.

Another friend from church is offering a photography class. The cost of the class will be donated to our adoption fund. Just to have someone help by taking up our cause is a tremendous blessing and we are so grateful.

God has provided every cost upfront from the first $550 application fee. So we are in no position to doubt his provision now. This is His story and He will be faithful to finish what He started.

On a side note:

Two weekends ago Jen suddenly felt the urgent need (nesting?)to make sure everything was in place for Andrew's homecoming, even though we had no news. We needed two dressers for the boys and wanted bookshelves to organize our home (specifically the home school materials that had accumulated in piles throughout the house).

We decided to take a trip to IKEA to see what we could find. We found two solid wood dresser within our budget, but were not sure if the dimensions would fit so we decided to go home and check the measurements. On our way out the door we notice the "As Is" section. There we discovered two 4' w X 6'h solid wood bookshelves. $62 a piece, marked down from $250! We grabbed them.

When they were assembled at home they not only fit all of our home school supplies but also all of Aaron's books that have been sitting in boxes in our attic for the past 7yrs. We took some measurements and realized that it would not be difficult to build in a corner desk between the bookshelves. Jen's mom and dad eagerly planned the whole thing out so that once we had the money we could finish it off.

The following weekend we returned to pick up the two dressers that we now knew would fit; however, this weekend there was only one on the shelf. As we spoke with a service guy in the "As Is" section, Jen's dad noticed two solid wood dressers already loaded on a cart, bigger and better than the two we were trying to buy. $49 a piece, marked down from $200!

Jen's dad was determined to make our desk happen now and suggested quickly looking down an aisle for desk tops. We found an exact sized piece of wood for the desk and the shelf above only $20 a piece, so now we wouldn't have to wait. The very next day her parents came and worked until 1a.m. to finish the desk.

Altogether we bought 2 brand new, solid wood dressers, 2 brand new, solid wood bookshelves and a custom built, solid wood desk for only $328!! Again God provides.