extreme makeover

Yesterday Abby and I had the opportunity to travel to a small town just eight miles from us to experience a little piece of the Extreme Makeover Home Edition (EMHE). It was the last day of a nearly two-week process of demolishing a home which was falling apart and then rebuilding a beautiful, new home for a well-deserving family. What a cool experience! For Abby, I believe the highlights of the day were riding a charter bus to and then a school bus from the site and chanting "move that bus!"

Throughout the day we saw the celebrity host, Ty Pennington, and the design team come and go and volunteers diligently wrapping up the last minute details. Finally, after six hours of waiting, we saw the big "reveal." The family was escorted in by limo, parked behind the huge bus and laid eyes on their new home for the very first time after the famous "move that bus" chant by the crowd of onlookers and volunteers.

I was blown away by the outpouring of community support from our area and even the entire region of Central Illinois. Hundreds of volunteers. Thousands of dollars raised. Tons of food donated to the local mission for which the husband of the family works. A unique experience!