The process........
The result........
Gabe discoved his photography skills. Not that he didn't understand that once a picture was taken you can immediately see it on the camera and boy does he ALWAYS want to see it right away! But, he discovered when he took the picture he was capturing what was in front of him....which happened to be mom and dad.....on his way to a great career!
1st try
A little better....
Way to go!
Yes! Extreme Makeover Home Edition came to Peoria! (well not actually Peoria....Pekin, but that is like the difference between Sandy and Draper :)). It was really exciting on many fronts....seeing the community come together for a cause, watching the whole production, being part of it, etc. The slideshow shows some pictures and sorry they are small...I actually didn't bring my camera (because they said we couldn't) so I got these off the website and they are obviously very small! Here are some of the highlights...
1. I was one of 300 general volunteers (of 4000 that applied!) and my shift was the last day, so I got to see the family come home to see their new home!
2. The family chosen had 7 children (combination of natural and adopted) and have fostered 250 kids in 25 years!
3. Jake their youngest was adopted and has a syndrome where he doesn't grow. He is 8 yrs old and the size of an 18 month old, but super smart.
4. The house is 7 bedrooms, 4 bath with an elevator and the entire house is equipped so that Jake can do things on his own. I cried when I recieved an e-mail from Jake's sister just after they moved in telling us that Jake went to the bathroom on his own for the first time in his life!
5. The production was crazy! Total Hollywood :). It took 8 takes to do the "move that bus" sceen, which happened long before the family ever arrived :). It was awesome to see their faces though when the bus actually moved and they saw their new house! It also took 5 tries to get them walking in the front door. Those people have to become instant actors! They had 5 blocks blocked off and three streets were full of trailers, tents, etc. I have no idea how they got all those people to be OK with all the ruckus that goes on that week.
6. Unfortunately I didn't get to see inside the house because my shift was on the last day from 12-4 and they were due to arrive at 2, so the only people that were in the house were the cleaners and designers rushing to get everything finished up. I got to serve food to the crew :).
7. Yes, I got to see Ty! Probably about 5 times, but he is a mover and doesn't stick around in one place for very long, so there wasn't any "hi's" or pic opps with him for anyone really.
8. The most impactful was to see the builder and other skilled construction people work so hard and long to put this house together! Of course they worked around the clock as they didn't let any of the general volunteers do the building (for obvious reasons!). The show itself doesn't pay for anything, it is the community donating time, money and materials, so you can imagine the super fundraiser that went on!
All in all it was a super exciting and fun experience and I can't wait to see it on TV! It is scheduled to show in January, I will let you know when it is supposed to air :)
Hi all!
Sorry it has been a good many weeks since I have posted anything....I will catch up soon, but in the mean time here are some Halloween pictures!
"Tackle ball" player! (gabe's word for "football")
We had chili with family and friends on Halloween....who's hungry?!
Trick or Treating at Woody's (our neighbor) house!
Davis (builder bob) and Gabe!
Emma (Dorothy) and Gabe!
Brooke (lady bug) and Gabe
