Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

This season on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, they are celebrating everyday heroes.  They are here in Lansing(Holt, to be specific) to help the family of a nurse who worked at Ingham Hospital.  He died earlier this year, leaving being a wife and three boys.  They lived in an 130 year old farm house that was in really, really bad shape.

When I heard that Extreme Makeover was coming to Holt, I really hoped that I could go and help.  They were asking for volunteers from the medical field, and my sister-in-law Lindsey is a nurse at Sparrow Hospital.  She was able to invite some family members, and she was kind enough to invite me.  :)    She also invited her mom and dad, Dave and Diana.

Everyone  met early Sunday morning at a parking lot near the house, which for you former Michigan residents, is on Eifert Road between Willoughby and Holt Road.  We were told that we might be helping pack the families belongings.  But I'd heard on the news the night before that this had already been done.   So we really didn't know what we would be doing.  And none of the people working at the gathering place didn't know either.  There was a lot of confusion.  All the medical workers wore their scrubs, and everyone else had to get a blue shirt, which ran out quickly.  We were told if you weren't wearing one of the two, you would not get to help at the house.  Dave had managed to get one blue shirt, and was very kind and gave it to me.  Dave and Diana ended up going home.  :(

They were taking people to the house by bus, and by the time Lindsey and I were able to get on one, they said they had enough people and that we could only be spectators.  But when we got to the house, we were told to go join the group of people that were getting ready to go the big march that you see at the beginning of the show!  

After doing a couple takes of the march, the big group made a circle around Ty Pennington, the designers and the home builder.  They did a scene that you couldn't really hear, but every once and a while you got the que that you were supposed to clap and cheer really loud.  After this, they send a group of people that were friends of the man who had died to "save"  some more important items from the house.  At this point, I really couldn't see a thing.   I was too far back in the crowd.  But, then Lindsey found me, and I went with her to a place were I could see everything, including Ty and the designers.  

This took quite a while, and after they were finished, they brought out a really big machine to tear down the house.  I can't believe how close they let us stand while they did it.  We were only 20 or 30 yards away.  It's amazing how something that took months to build came down in a matter of minutes.  

I had a great time, and am really grateful to Lindsey, and for all the people at church who helped out with the kids so I could have this opportunity.  It was so much fun, and I glad this family can have the help that they need.   I'm not sure when the episode is going to air, but I will keep you updated, so you can see my national TV debut!  Oh, and for you past members of the Holt Ward, keep an eye out for Kent Gleason!  He has a really good shot of getting on the show.  

I will try to get to the house this week so I can take some pictures of the new house.  In the meantime,  check out the next few posts for more details and pictures.  They are not as longwinded as this one is!

Pictures from the day

Me, Lindsey and Dave

Mom & Dad Miller

Sharlene & Kent Gleason

The doomed house

Lindsey in front of the carnage

The stars of the show

Ty Pennington.  As cute in person as he is on TV!

Michael, Paige and Ed

A newer designer named Rib

Michael and Paige

I did not get to meet any of the designers, but I did have a weird experience with one of them!   I was standing a couple row backs with the crowd in front of the house.  Michael, who I'm sure is quite gay, was standing in front of us.  I looked in his direction, and saw that he was looking at me.  I glanced around to make sure it really was me he was looking at.  When I looked back at him, he winked at me, and mouthed something.  Lindsey saw this exchanged and thought he had mouthed, "Hey Baby."  What the?????

Videos

This is a video  of the designers when they were just hanging around,  trying to beat each other up.  It's kind of loud, so you might want to turn down the volume a bit.

The designers, the monster machine used to demolish the house(I don't know that actual name of that machine), and Ty.

 This video is for those of you who have been in the Holt Ward.  If you watch carefully, you will see Kent Gleason carrying a tool chest.  Somehow, he got himself involved in the process of clearing some stuff out the house, and even got some camera time.  :)

My own little home makeover

Before

After

You can't really tell from the picture, but it is VERY blue.  Much bluer then I thought it would be!

I have wanted to paint our downstairs bathroom for the longest time.  I even had a color picked out for a while.  But, I was too apprehensive to actually start the project.   I have never really painted a room before.  I know, I'm a chicken.

Jordan decided he was tired of looking at the paint chip I had laying around.  So this weekend, he was kind enough to paint the bathroom for me, without being asked.  What a guy!  He also watched the kids on Saturday night AND cleaned the fish tank.  He wins Husband of the Year! 

It was 10 years ago this month...

I don't remember the specific date, because at the time I didn't know  the significance of that day.  

I had just graduated from high school, and one of my best friends, Miriam, was attending the LDS Business College in Salt Lake.  There was a dance being held at a church in the avenues, and Miriam invited me and some of our other friends to attend.  I got there, and while visiting with some friends outside, I saw this guy sitting on the stairs.  He had bleached blonde hair, and was wearing dark, 50's style glasses.   And he was grouchy.  Someone had ticked him off earlier in the evening, and he spent the rest of the time of the dance angry.  

Little did I know that a little more than a year later, I would be married to that grouchy guy!  I don't think I actually spoke to him at that dance, but I did get to know him afterwards.    He was so fun to be around.  For awhile, he was dating Melanie, the person who ticked him off the night of the dance.  She was a friend from high school, who also attended LDSBC.  They were even engaged for a short time.  But, luckily for me,(and for Melanie, she later found someone else) it didn't work out.  :)   Seven months after the night I first saw Jordan, we were dating.  Five months later we were engaged, and two months after that we were married.  

I'm so grateful for the turn of events that brought Jordan to Utah, and Miriam to LDSBC.  I am a lucky girl.  :)

I did it, I did it!!

For the first time in at least 15 years, and for only the second time in my life, I have won a video game!

It took a lot of wasted time, but it sure was fun!  :) 

Fun in the rain

This last weekend, Ike made his way up to our part of the country and it rained, and rained, and rained.  For almost two straight days.  While there are some issues with flooding around town, we have been fortunate not have any problems.

I love to listen to the rain, and I opened the back to so I could hear it.  Vance came over to the door, and I could tell he really wanted to get out there to play.  There was no lighting, and it was pretty warm outside, so I let him. Here are some pictures and a video of the fun Miles and Vance had playing in the rain.

Memories from my younger days

1. Did you date someone from your school?  Just casually.  I never had a boyfriend in high school.

2. What kind of car did you drive? A 1978 Buick LeSabre.  The thing was HUGE, but I loved it all the same.  It was white, so I called it White Trash.  

3. Were you a party animal? We didn't really have parties, but we sure did have some fun times.  And did stupid things that make me cringe when I think about it now!

4. Were you considered a flirt? I don't think so...

5. Were you in band, orchestra or choir?  All three.  My senior year, five out of eight classes were music classes.

It was real rough.  :)

6. Were you on any varsity teams? No.  I joined the tennis team for maybe two days.  

7. What was your school's full name? Cyprus High School

8. School mascot? A pirate

9. If you could go back and do it again, would you?  Just for the social aspect.  And maybe the music classes.

10. What do you remember most about graduation? Being so excited to finally be through with it all.  And the fact that a boy kind of ruined the whole day.   (Silly high school drama)

11. Were you in any clubs?  I was in the key club.  Oh and the composers club, which really existed long enough for us to get our picture in the year book.  :)

12. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion?   I just did.  It was a blast!

Feel free to play along!

Mason's first day of first grade, and how Mom ruined it!!

Can I really be old enough to have a child in first grade?!!!!!  Life sure goes fast.  Mason was quite ready to get back to school, and handled everything like a pro.  That is, until mom decided to step in and mess everything up...

Last year on the first day of school, it was really hot outside, and Mason (who has issues with motion sickness) threw up on the bus.  It was really hot again on Tuesday, and I was afraid we were going to have a repeat of last year.  So I called the school and told them that he would not be taking the bus and I would pick him up.  I went to the school, and waited for him by the library.  I finally see him walking down the hall, crying, with an adult from the school walking with him.  I was so concerned!  I rushed to him, and asked what was wrong, to which he replies(with many tears flowing) "I want to ride the bus!"  The lady who was with him said he'd been upset for a while.  I had NO idea this was going to happen!!  The bus had not left yet, and he was so distraught, that I decided to let him ride the bus.  He arrived home with no illness, and then reported that he had a great day of first grade!  For the most part.  :)

So grown up!

1st grade!

The lady in the dress is Mrs. Ripper, Mason's teacher.

Miles' first day of preschool!

Miles had his first day of preschool today.  He has been waiting for this for a long time!  He was so excited, and got really mad at me when we took Mason to the bus stop at eight this morning, and he still had to wait a whole hour before his school started.  What torture !!! (it was kind of a long hour.)

He went off to class with no problems at all, and had a great first day of school.  And I had a great time only having one child around for a couple hours!  =-)

What a handsome boy!

The lady in the blue shirt is Miles' teacher, Ms. Grabow.  Mason had her a couple years ago, and she was great!  The lady in the door is Diane Hill.  She is a good family friend, and I was glad she was there to help escort Miles into school.

Here he is after his first day!

Vance thought he should go to school.  Everytime we left the house, he wanted a backpack too! 

Wherever you may roam, this gnome will pray for you

It was Jordan's moms (Diana)  birthday on Tuesday.  We were wondering what we should get her, and Jordan said we should get a garden gnome.  I laughed, thinking he was really funny, and just joking.  But he wasn't.  He was quite serious, and on Monday  morning he went on an extensive search to find one.  One trip to St. Johns later, we have Arbuckle the garden gnome. (Jordan came up with the name.)

We loaded the kids in the van, and told them our mission was to hide Arbuckle and another yard decoration that Jordan bought without Grandma knowing, and then have Grandma look for them.  She spoiled our plans just a bit by being outside when we got there, but we still had fun hiding her gifts.  Of course, when Diana was looking for them later, Miles had to say, "It's over there Grandma!" 

We all had a good laugh over her unique gift, and Diana loves her gnome.  She placed him by the garage and said his job is to pray over Dave's comings and goings.  

This is the other yard decoration we got Diana.  She said that the top frog is definitely Vance!  He climbs everything!