Have ya'll seen the ABC show called Extreme Home Makeover?  Well, Ty Pennington and his crew have been in Toledo this week.  They are doing a home for Jackie & Aaron Frisch who are raising 11 children, 8 or whom (I believe) were adopted.  I think I heard that one of them was adopted from the Toledo area and the rest are boys who were adopted from Haiti.

The ol' man went over on Wednesday evening to work on the HVAC installation with a lot of other volunteers.  They were suppose to begin work at 4pm, however the build was behind schedule and he was told not to show up until 7pm.  I called him at 10:30pm to say good-nite and luv you's and he told me that they still hadn't been into the house yet because things were behind but they were suppose to get in any minute.  He got home around 9:30am on Thursday.

He said it was very exciting and that it was like a little city.  Lot's of food and volunteers and there were huge lights up outside and you wouldn't even know it was night time out there.  He really enjoyed volunteering and helping out with such a huge project.

This isn't his first time working as a volunteer either.  He has helped work on at least 2 Habitat For Humanity homes.  He really enjoys helping people who really need the help and that appreciate what is being done for them.  And, as he says, it's good for our karma too.

In other news, Sammi was approved by the community manager to buy the single wide for $99.  Her deposit was a little more than we had hoped for, but her father is going to help her with it, Thank God.  I'm going today to buy some paint.  She closes on Saturday at 9:30am and she will receive the keys then.  We'll go right away and get started on painting.  There is no carpet anywhere in the home, they took it all out because the guy was such a heavy smoker and they said it really, really stank.

We're thinking about just putting linoleum tiles down in the kitchen and living room and then she can use some area rugs.  Then we could get some remnant carpet to use in the 2 bedrooms.  I know she'd really like to carpet it all, but even a cheap job is about $700 to carpet 3 rooms (45 sq. yards) and that is just too far out of her budget right now.  I wish I could give her about $1000 to use as she needs, but I just can't afford to.  However, I will paint, clean and do whatever else I can to help her out.

I've picked up a few things for her at the store.  Just little things that were on sale.  Mom also called me last night and said she found some really cute little lamps on sale on Wal-Mart and wanted to know if the set of table and chairs she had at the lake cottage would be something that Sam could use in her kitchen.  It's a round table about 30" across, but sits high like a bar and has two bar stools with it.  I said it would probably be just about perfect.  She also has a small little dresser, which is just what Sammi said she needs, that she can have. 

There is a little desk built into the front bedroom where she can put her computer.  I'm gonna give her my love-seat that pulls out into a bed for the front bedroom.  That way she can use it as a sitting room/guest room. 

I think she said her Dad told her she could have his old tv when he gets his new one.  So now all she needs is a full-size mattress set and frame, coffee & end tables, window coverings, linens and pots & pans.  LOL, yep, that's all.

I've been going to some of the re-sale shops and checking out what they have.  We could get a used mattress set at one place for about $80, but then sheesh, we may be able to find her a new set for around $200.  So it's kind of silly to buy a used set, but she needs it NOW and she just can't afford it right away.

Well, I've got some things to do around here before I go and buy the paint, so take it easy and have a wonderful weekend!

Jill Marie