A Home of Hope

Thank you to those of you who journeyed with us in Elliott’s House Build Project! Those of us who had the chance to be there to build all agreed that WE were the blessed ones…WE were the honored ones…WE were the privileged ones.

And for those of you who so generously GAVE and so powerfully PRAYED…we hope that these pictures will give you a glimpse into the fruit that came BECAUSE OF YOU…a glimpse into the honor that it was to get to know this family and give them a home…because if it weren’t for YOU, this could have never been possible…

Here’s a time-lapse video of the entire house being built in 90 seconds!


Here are a few still shots from throughout the day…

Elliott the birthday builder boy, ready to build!
The Homes of Hope truck, rolling up to the job site!
The neighborhood
See this empty space between these two houses? It won't be empty for long...
The wood for the house
Brian's brother Kevin cutting the wood to size
Our nieces, Taylor and Hailey, painting the siding
Grandma Moberg painting siding
Chrystal and Angela building the roof!
Rayel painting trim with the girls
Working so hard...
Brian's sister Angela and sister-in-law Tabitha painting trim!
Getting the very first wall up!
"How do I use this, Dad?"
Grandpa Moberg teaching Elliott how to use a hammer.
Giezi and Angela carrying one of the trusses for the roof.
Josh building the roof!
Luis, Jonas, and Josh working on the roof!
Malene getting to know Wendy and Isabel and a friend of theirs.
Chrissy putting in the window
The girls taking a break in the back of the pick-up truck
Brian putting the door together
Taylor making sure everyone's putting the trim in correctly on the inside of the house

When the outside and the inside of the house were both completed, several people in our group went on a grocery shopping trip to stock them up with yummy, healthy food!! The rest of us stayed back and built their new beds, table, and chairs and installed their brand new stove.

Elliott helping put the bedding together
Their new beds and bedding!
Elliott helping me put together a chair for their new dining room table!
Their new dining room table, chairs, table cloth & stove! (Dishes and place mats not pictured.)

After all of the furniture was assembled and everything was ready, we closed the door and gathered outside in a circle.

We passed the keys to the house from person to person, and each one shared how meaningful it was to help build the home.

We presented Teresa and her two granddaughters, Isabel and Wendy, with a bible, a plaque commemorating the house, and, of course, the keys! While they walked inside, we all ran to the van to get the bags of groceries…

Look at all that food!!
Taylor knocked on the door...
And we all carried in the bags of food, one by one, and gathered in Teresa's new home to pray for her family and bless them.

 

Would you not agree with me, that…

'TIS MORE BLESSED...
TO GIVE...
...THAN TO RECEIVE.

God bless this home, and the hands that gave to make it happen.

 For more photos from the day, check out the House Build Gallery.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

As we worked, my mind flooded with all of the people who gave to make this possible. Because this whole project was about “WE.” There is no way that Brian and I could have done this alone. The two of us, in and of ourselves, don’t have the money or the manpower to pull something like this off. There are MANY who make up the “WE” that built this home, and we want to take a moment to acknowledge them…

First of all, I can’t write one more word without mentioning the McCabes. Kari McCabe is one of my best friends from elementary school–yes, that’s right, we’ve been dear friends for over 22 years!! Kari’s son, Quinn, is just 12 days younger than Elliott and they are true bosom buddies (but that’s for another blog post :)). Well, when Kari and her husband heard what we were doing for Elliott’s birthday, they decided to turn Quinn’s birthday into the same outward blessing. So they asked for all gifts/money that would have been given to Quinn be directed toward the house build. They even took up an offering at their church! Between the McCabes, their family and friends, and their church, they raised 1/3 of the money we needed to build the house!! We could have never done it without them, and Brian and I were continually overwhelmed at not only their generosity, but the way that they carried this burden with us. We are so grateful for the way they invested in this project with us!!

Next, Brian’s family! His entire family made the trek down here to build the home with us. They were all so eager to be here to celebrate Elliott in this unique way and to jump right in and get some dirt under their fingernails (and lots of paint all over their hands, ha!)! 🙂 We are so grateful that each one of them could be here.

Third, our newest friends, our DTS classmates. Ahh, how we love them. 🙂 They couldn’t have been more excited to jump in and build this house, and it was a tremendous joy to have them with us. They have all become so dear to us in the last three months!

And last, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST…to all the people who so generously GAVE towards this home. YOU were an ESSENTIAL part…

Jim & Jen A.
Dan & Donelle B.
Michael & Ana B.
Mike & Diane B.
Jim & Linda B.
Jordan & Danielle B.
Bryna B.
Marcus B.
Jason & Janna B.
Jason & Callie B.
Bruce & Paulette B.
Chrissy C.
Craig & Michelle C.
Ray & Debbie C.
Robert C.
Mima E.
Ron & Michelle F.
Kay G.
Eric & Margo H.
Mark & Korrin J.
Erika J.
Tommy & Bonnie L.
Jean L.
John & Helen M.
Jonathan & Jillian M.
Guy & Sue M.
Harry & Evie M.
Kyle & Ali M.
Trevor & Kari M.
Paul & Lisa M.
Ken & Kay M.
Kristin M.
Angela M.
Ken & Marilyn M.
Shane & Hilery M.
Trent & Kelly N.
Jeff & Barbie N.
Beth N.
Paul & Ashleigh O.
Nycki P.
Michael & Chris P.
Dave & Claudia P.
Alan P.
Mary Michael P.
River of Grace Church
Michelle R.
Rayel R.
Yuri & Julianna R.
Blair & Kappy S.
Biddy S.
Jeb & Eleanor S.
Preston & Helen S.
Adrienne W.
Sara W.
Keith & Nancy W.
Rick & Susan W.
Skip & Betty W.
Bill & Becky W.
 
 
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU…for joining with us and blessing this family with A HOME!!! (The magnitude of that statement still gets me every time…this dear family now has a HOME!!!!) We pray that you would be blessed tremendously as you have given so generously. Thank you, dear friends!!!!
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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