Deeds Family

Kat Deeds has been through a lot in her life already. With daughter Chloe, who just stared kindergarten, son Ethan, 2 1/2, and another daughter due in January she has somehow managed to work (at night as a caregiver, so she can bring her kids), go to school, take care of the kids during the day AND complete all her sweat equity hours.

Kat has a plan. And that gets her through. And it gets her kids through. And soon she will complete one more step of that plan when she moves into her Habitat home.

Pehringer Family

Darla has always worked so hard, cleaning other people's homes, in order to provide a good life for her daughter Sarah. In just a few months, however, she will be moving into her own home!

Darla and Sarah are currently working on completing their sweat equity requirements so they can move in when their half of the duplex is complete!

Murphy Family

Chuck and Jennifer are looking foward to moving into their new six bedroom house to accomodate them and their five children (three of the children were with relatives when I took the photo).

While the home is being kept affordable because of the small size of each room (the house is a total of 2200 sq ft), it will offer privacy and comfort they currently dream of (the have a sizeable entryway in their current home, so one person sleeps there).

With R-44 in the ceiling, R-21 in the basement walls and a tankless water heater, it will also mean much lower utility bill than for their current trailer and more money for other needs!

Carisa

Carisa has moved into her home! We received the certificate of occupancy at the end of October and she will get to have her first Thanksgiving as a Habitat homeowner!

Carisa has multiple sclerosis and is managing it well with medications. But due to the likelihood that she will eventually be in a wheelchair, her home was built to ADA specifications and she also has a garage so that she can get in and out of a vehicle even during the winter snows.

Thanksgiving

Apple tree after an early hard frost

It's been almost three years since I've celebrated Thanksgiving, but it there has hardly been a day that I haven't gotten to see thankfulness.

In Nicaragua, water, electricity, a tin roof, nothing could be taken for granted. And here in the US there is hardly a group that can show gratitude better than Habitat homeowners.

After surviving illnesses, bad marriages that began when they were too young to know better, addictions, disabilities and other obstacles, they are often able to see blessings more clearly than those of us who have been given so much more.

Prayer

At Devil's Tower

Seasons

I like the idea of home. I've spent a lot of time liking it for others.

But I don't have a home of my own. Someday, when I have a home, I will have seasonal flowers and other changing accoutrements.

In the meantime, I have my blog header.