Now That We're Set to Private

Now that this blog is set to private I'd like to give a little more info about the difficulty we are having with our adoption process for Steven. I'll just copy the messages from our wonderful facilitator Nastya. She and her husband Alexey work with Oleg.

On Tues Jan 27 19:36 , 'Ovsyanik - A' sent:
Hello Joy,
We have been getting your e-mails and answered all of them. Please, confirm you receive this one. I will also copy Oleg on this one and he can send it to you again. We haven't had the hearing yet. Today in mail we received written request from court asking for extra copies of your dossier. Alexey will take care of these tomorrow. Inspector tells we got a very slow and overcautious judge. It has been frustrating to deal with this court but we are fighting your case.

On Thu Jan 29 11:34 , 'Ovsyanik - A' sent:
Hello Joy,
I wanted to warn you that court has been extremely difficult (and I don't say that usually), every day with them is a huge struggle for everybody. Finally after lots of fighting and fixing unneccesary things for them, we have the first hearing (only for Alexey as a POA) for February 12th. I do see it as good news, at least we are moving forward, maybe not as fast as we would want. Please, hang on in there some more. Things should get easier after court.

February 12
Hello Joy,
The judge we got is very difficult and the court did not go too well. She asked for few more papers that we need to get ready by next Monday - a letter from US Embassy stating that the child will have same civil rights as the child born in the USA and a letter stating that secretary of state has authority to issue apostille. Needless to say neither the Embassy, nor us have never heard about the second letter, but will try to come up with something. Court also needs a letter from me that I have not worked anywhere before I became a private entrepreneur. Another stupid thing, but what can we do? I also have to redo all translations for your dossier, because I put a sign "#" and should have put the word "number" in apostilles.
I will be doing that tomorrow. We would also ask you to write two letters, get them notarized and apostilled and sent back to us. The next hearing Alexey will go to is Monday, and then February 26. Until then I will need to get these two letters from you. The first one should say that you cannot be present at the preliminary hearing and ask to hear the case in your absence and promise to be there for the final hearing. The second one should explain why you have decided to adopt a child with DS, the judge finds it very suspicious.
The whole thing was so ridiculous, that both inspector and prosecutor openly laughed. I know Roman is the person we all should fight for, he simply doesn't deserve to be left in a place he is in right now just because we won't fight too hard, so we promise to fight until the end. But we have to warn it will not be easy. I have consulted with lawyers and my mom (she is a judge as well) and know what to do and what to say during next hearings, next Monday and February 26. So, please, be patient, pray, and think about the letter why you want a child with DS. I will give you sample for the first letter tomorrow or on week-end.
Best wishes, Nastya

On Wed Feb 18 3:01 , 'Ovsyanik - A' sent:
Hello Joy,
Now our Internet is not doing well. It is on and off and I need to make sure I catch the right time to send any letters. Alexey got all papers from court. The judge returned the papers to fix the apostilles (I told you). The plan for now is trying to get a different judge. We have talked to some people that might be able to help and are working on it right now. Please, hold on to those letters for a few days, maybe they won't be needed if we get a better judge.
Please, hold on, we are doing the best we can,
Nastya

I have so appreciated all your prayers and encouragement.