Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Gainesville

On December 7, Ty Pennington and his crew knocked on the door of a deserving Gainesville family and thus began the craziness that is Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

The volunteer coordinator is a MOPS moms so I was able to volunteer twice during the build. It truly is amazing all that goes into making the build happen. I was one of literally thousands of volunteers.

Rather than park on the roads around the house, we checked in and parked at the old Ford dealership then took a bus over to the site. I spent the first part of my Wednesday volunteer shift right here, helping to check people in. There was more constant work to do here...it really never slowed down, whereas at the site it was feast or famine when it came to work to do. And while I was at the check-in site, the mayor, Pegeen Hanrahan, checked in to go volunteer.

The check-in site.

Our friend, Kent, on the bus over to the build site. I couldn't take pictures the days I volunteered so the kids and I went over one day as spectators and Kent was volunteering that day.

This was Friday at about 10:30 am. When I left on Wednesday at noon, they were just starting to pour the foundation. It's amazing how much gets done. While we were there on Friday, they were finishing up installing the drywall.

Didi, one of the show's designers, came out while we were there, production crew in tow. Kent strolled on by...he's looking all ready to work with his tool belt.

Lots of cameras.

There she is.

Here's a wider shot of the house on Friday.

I volunteered the next day and they were pouring the walkway to the front door and the driveway. It was raining most of the time but somehow they still got it done. On Saturday, Didi was back, as was Eduardo, and I walked right by Paul while I was helping pick up trash in the house. (Ty was at another build site each time I was there so I didn't get to see him, ah, well).

Despite how it looks on TV, the house is really built by the local contractors so it was amazing to see the community come together to make this house happen. It was exciting to be a part of the process, even if it was in just a small way.