The Almons in a Nutshell

Welcome to Kerioth Cherie's Page!

Kerioth Cherie Almon
Born November 29, 2000
Into Our Arms January 22, 2003
Out of Our Arms March 13, 2003 (failed adoption)

Wednesday, January 22, 2003
What an awesome God we serve! We've been waiting almost 2 years and then received a beautiful phone call about an hour ago. Our caseworker called about 2:50pm (CST) to let me know they had a little girl that they wanted to place with us. I got a few details and then promised to call them right back as soon as I got Russell home to hear the details and so he could be in on the call.

Courtney (not sure if this is the correct spelling, but I'll know soon) is a 26 month old little girl. She is half hispanic/half anglo. Her parental rights have been terminated and she is legally free to be adopted. She has no health/medical concerns. She was removed from her parents and has not been with them since the age of 6 months. She is being removed from the current foster home because of an administrative situation.

Courtney will be coming to our home in the matter of a couple of hours. She will be placed with us as a foster placement for 3 months. At the end of the three months, if we wish to adopt her, she is ours to adopt. When we adopt her, we will be changing her name to Kerioth Cherie Almon.

I'm in a complete state of shock. I've been making phone calls to share with family and friends and now I'm going to get the living room straightened up and get Courtney's bed ready. Please pray for us as we adjust, Damaris as she adjusts to having a sister, and Courtney as she adjusts (especially the fact that she's been in daycare and she won't be here and also her adjustment to us from leaving the other home). I'll get pictures of our new daughter as soon as I can. I'll share more details as I have them.

Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Our new daughter is here!!! She arrived about 7:15pm (about 1 1/4 hours ago). She is a beautiful little girl. Her previous foster parents were not calling her Courtney so we've decided to go ahead and call her Kerioth from the get-go. She should adjust to it pretty quickly.

We played for awhile and she warmed up to us rather quickly. She already is calling us Mommy and Daddy :) Her birthday is November 29, 2000.

The girls are 13 months apart. Damaris is 3 years 3 months and Kerioth is 2 years 2 months.
How to pronounce Kerioth - keer (like beer) - ith (like with minus the w).
The meaning of Kerioth's name:
Kerioth (it's a biblical name in Joshua 15:25; Jeremiah 48:24, 41; and Amos 2:2 - all our kids have bibilical first names - Jordan, Damaris, and Micah) - means Dark-Haired and Diligent
Cherie (my middle name) - means Sweetheart and Valuable

Thursday, January 23, 2003
Good morning. I didn't get much sleep last night (I've been up since 3:45 am!!!) but Damaris and Kerioth slept good once they finally went to sleep. They wanted to talk and play and even figured out how to get toys into bed without getting out of bed!!!! They are sitting in their high chairs now eating breakfast and watching "The Wiggles" on the Disney channel. We have some errands to run today. Kerioth didn't come with much stuff (although the caseworker said we should get more in the next few days) so I need to go get her a toothbrush and such. She was a bit confused when she woke up this morning, but she seems to remember now where she is. She keeps peering around the corner of the kitchen wall to see me sitting on the couch and then smiles :) The girls are sharing a room. Currently Damaris is in a full bed and Kerioth is in the crib, but when we get our tax refund, we plan to sell Damaris' bed and get either two twin size beds or a bunkbed (got to check and see if that is allowed by the state). Oh, the previous foster parents were calling her Shaylee (we still can't figure that one out and neither can her caseworker). Here's a funny - her current name is Courtney Cox. LOL OK, I'm working on Kerioth's page on our website and need to get a shower before Russ leaves for work and then we need to run errands. Talk to yall later.

Wednesday, February 5, 2003
We're having alot of problems with Kerioth. She is showing signs of having been abused recently. She is scared of Russ. We found out that the previous foster father had a beard, so Russ shaved his beard off last night (and this is a big deal for him because he's had his beard for the last 6 years). Kerioth is a bit more accepting of him, but not much. The caseworkers said there is nothing we can really do at this point. They are looking into our allegations, but she has been removed from the other home and so thus doesn't face the possiblity of being abused by them again (thank God for that).

In the mean time though, Kerioth has bonded very well with Damaris and I. With me, it's to the point of clinging to me almost all the time because she is afraid of Russ. I talked to a counselor this morning and he said for us not to push things with Kerioth and Russ, that it will just take time. This is stressing out Russ alot. He thinks he should have an instant bond with her and is having a hard time grasping that it's going to take awhile for them to bond, especially since he physically reminds her of the past perpitrator.

Monday, March 10, 2003
Despite the heartache it's causing, our foster daughter (whom we hoped to adopt) Kerioth Cherie is leaving us. There have been some problems between her and Russ. She is terrified of him to the point of where she screams whenever he enters the room that she is in. We believe this is due to previous abuse before she entered our home and she is associating Russ with the man who abused her because he looks like the perpetrator.

I am in so much pain as is Russ and Damaris. Damaris keeps saying "don't let them take my sister". We do not intend to try to foster/adopt again. The pain is just too great after so many losses.

We have requested that the state remove Kerioth from our home by Thursday. It is not fair to her or us for her to remain here when we and she know she will be leaving. If they do not follow through as they are supposed too, we plan to take her to the caseworker's office on Friday and then they will have to find somewhere for her as we will not bring her back home.

I feel like my heart has been torn out of my chest and run over. We have lost other children due to miscarriage so we know the pain of losing a child. This pain is so horrible. This is something I would not wish on my worst enemy.

Please keep us in your prayers. I don't know how I will survive this pain.

1997-2008, C.C. Almon