"A Day Of Caring"

Yes, that's what we called this day...the title of the flier that went out, to unite people in coming together for an important cause. I had a few other titles, like "Our Ticket To Heaven", "Paying It Forward", "The Power of Love" or "Taking a Ride on the Good Karma Train". But, whatever you call it, it was an amazing day/weekend accomplishing quite a task! We managed to pull off our own version of "Extreme Home Makeover". Many people came together to make this happen & I can't even begin to tell you what a good feeling it was to be a part of it! We have the most incredible support group ever...I feel real fortunate to be a part of this group (our Bonko Family), who put this together. Much credit to Suzanne, the instigator who worked hard to put it together! God Bless her for all she does!! I won't lie, it was exhausting & honestly, we were running on pure adrenaline due to not a lot of sleep; but, all worth it!! This home makeover was for our dear friends, The Moultons, who have just had a rough go the past while & could really use a fresh start & a push to new beginnings. You've heard me talk about their son, poor little Jacob, who is continuing to hang in there with his liver cancer, while he waits for a match to get his much needed transplant. This has all happened so fast, and it's been an overwhelming month for them! And now with the amount of medical bills coming in, fixing up their house was probably the last thing on the list right now. But, it needed to be done...so, that's where we came in.

So, the 1st part of this started on Friday night, our Bonko night. Megan had a great idea of using the prize $ to get material to make quilts for each bed, and that's exactly what we did instead of playing the game for a night. Mind you, only 2-3 of the 12 actually had a clue on quilting, so it wasn't such an easy task. I have to admit it was hilarious to watch us try & figure it out, and our different personalities clashing when it came to how it should be done (but, all good...nothing but love, just some who needed them to be perfectly straight, and others who didn't think it mattered so much :}). I have to admit, they were probably the least professional quilts ever made; but, they were quilts made with the most love one could ask for, so that makes them wonderful anyway! :}

Suz was on a mission! We decided she'd do real well on "The Apprentice" :}

"You can do it girls! Don't give up!" :}

Tired Julie seeing how comfy it was....and she's out!We were having a little fun testing them out on her. This is also when we decided all the hard tasks she was going to be assigned to the next morning! :}
Finally, at 2 am, we were done with 3 of them (not bad for one night of novice quilters!), guess the other two will just have to wait! And since we were meeting only hours after that, we got a bit of sleep before we met again to begin the hard work ahead of us.

Let the gutting begin...

It was pretty nice of everyone to let me document, despite all of us in our grubs & gettin' dirty! Of course, they just smiled & pretended not to be bugged by me & my camera! :}

Jules & Moni were such troopers as they were there 1st thing and there 'til the end.

I guess it's only fair they get me too! :}

It was nice to have the handy men, like Hank, who knew what they were doing!
Chris' sister, Lisa Jeff & Lisa's husband, Kenny, were HUGE in the major projects...couldn't have done it without them!
We had to empty it all out 1st. Deanna's son, Jared, here, was so kind to come & help too!
It was fun to meet Chris' brother, Steve, too. He, unfortunately, lost his wife to cancer just 6 months ago. I'm sure this is even harder on him, with it all being so fresh still. She sounded like a wonderful lady. I hope he also felt all the love around him this day & can be at some ease, knowing his little sister is being taken care of!
It was also very generous to have people from the ward also come out & help, like Kirk here. It was fun getting to know Patty a little more, who is a long time employee of Principal. She started not long before I left (and hard to believe it's been 11 years since then!). She is such a sweetheart & it was awesome she would be willing to come help too! Jared helping to take on the task of redoing the bathroomDeanna's nephew, Ryan, also came to help. Good thing he was real tall & could get the high parts of the ceiling for me! :}
Tiff scrubbing away
Kathleen wondering if she ever actually went to bed (Bonko was at her house & she got all the clean up after we left, poor thing! Thanks Kathleen! :})

Deanna's brother, Todd, was also a huge help.

Tina & Char scrubbing away as Steve removes the blinds
Deanna, myself & Moni taking a quick break outside, after finishing emptying out the house.

Lunch break, kindly donated by Little Caesars

It was so nice of Deanna's family to come help out, and in a big way, for someone they didn't even know! I thought that was very impressive!

Ryan certainly deserved a break after working very hard at tearing out a wall/sub flooring & redoing a whole bathroom unexpectedly...good job Ryan! :}

These two sisters are angels! I just love the goodness in their hearts!! :}

Doug getting to play with the circular saw as they begin to lay the new flooring

We finally get to see some progress in the changes ahead...

Rock on Doug, Rock on!
As I peek through the window, I love what I see....a team working well together & "gettin' her done!" :}
Meanwhile, the crew outside was scrubbing down all the items in the "Keep Pile"
"Oh, look how well rested you look Julie!" Ha Ha :}

Cindy & Gary Hatch also saved the day by joining us to help lay the carpet. This wasn't their plan; but, they showed up on the drop of a dime, after we didn't have our official carpet layer there. I also worked with Cindy years ago. They are such good people, it was great to see her again! The men working on the sub-flooring that needed to be replaced. We were Lowe's favorite customers this day I'm sure!Deanna's friend, Dave, showed up to help us lay the carpet too.

Jules' daughter, Kim, showed up with all kinds of generous donations to the furnishing of the home. This was amazing too...just how much was donated, without a doubt, it really couldn't have happened without all those! And the relief society took Suzanne to the DI to pick out what things we weren't able to get, like all new mattresses, a brand new dresser for the girls, and more. They really stepped up with this. It was nice to be able to combine efforts like that!

Proud Grandpa Jeff

OK, seriously, are those boys (and mama) not the cutest?!! :}

Finally, we get to begin putting the rooms back together

The boys room. Though we still need to do Jacob's quilt, we were able to give them a nice space to share together. We came back the next day to do final touches on decorating, like some posters & bulletin boards full of pictures of our many happy times together over the years.

So, like I said, we still have Jacob's quilt to do...but, at least he has a nice new comfy bed to come home to! (and we ARE counting on him coming home to it!!)

It was nice to give them a desk, feel like they have thier own space a little.
The girls room was fun too. We were excited for them to see thier new bunk beds.

We had to go back home to get Kaley, as she insisted she was part of this makeover! And she wanted to be sure to have some say in the girl's room! :}
They even have thier own nice organized walk in closet

The church donations from the DI, also included a new kitchen table. I hope this gives them a chance to have more family dinners together, as I think that's important in keeping a tight family bond! And right now, especially, it's important that they do that, as they need to have each other's support at this difficult time.
We did come across a couple obstacles that we weren't planning on, like fixing a leaking pipe & having to re-do the extra bathroom; but, at least we had the handy men to do it! :}

Again, we still have Chris & Tony's comforter to do, and a bed frame that fits the mattress (hey, we thought we had it right :}); but, glad they have their own comfortable space at least

The new master bathroom

OK, so another slight hiccup with problems with the shower, so unfortunately they are out temporarily; but, will have a new one real soon! :}

Amongst the many generous donations was a new oven/stove & fridge.

Getting the final touches done for their arrival. It was like the show, "While You Were Out", in that we were still working to the last minute of their arrival.

We did it! Now ready for their arrival any minute!

They knew something was up when we told them they couldn't come home until we told them they could. And since it took much longer than planned, they finally were allowed to come home about 11:45 pm. I suppose we could have thought about moving all our cars so they had somewhere to park! :}
I believe the reaction was just pure shock! They were overwhelmed to see all that had been done to their place in just a day! We hope they know it was all out of pure love for them & their family!!
Maddy was crashed! We tried to wake her up to see her new room; but, she wasn't having that! So we cuddled her up in her new blanky (OK, that's really Bailey's; but, that's where she got put & we weren't about to move her) & wished her a nice restful sleep!

Bailey was asleep on arrival; but, quickly woke up to the wonderful surprise! She was so excited to have a new room!
I think Kaley was actually more excited as she was the one jumping up & down! (Bailey was still trying to wake up here :})
What a powerful thing to be a part of! To see the outpouring of love & caring for this family was incredible. I hope they truly know we are here for them always! Again, I couldn't ask for a more amazing group of friends to surround myself with...for that I know I/we are truly blessed!