Extreme Makeover - Home Edition: It's even more interesting to watch in person!

Last night I had the opportunity to visit the construction site of home being built for the Augustin family of Keller, TX. What was interesting about the experience is that the home is being built as part of ABC TV's Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Those of you familiar with the show know that they select a deserving family and demolish, build and furnish a new home for them in roughly a week's period of time.

The Peter and Amber Augustin are remarkable people. You'll have to watch the show when it airs to learn their full story (or check it out here), but Amber, who is a photographer, created a foundation called "Tiny Works of Heart" that provides photographs of families with premature babies to them as precious keepsakes. These often have special significance since many of the babies born prematurely do not survive for very long. Peter is a project leader for Habitat for Humanity. The Augustin Family lost their home last Father's Day to a flood in North Texas and to make it habitable once again, the home would need to be raised over a foot!

Last night, agents from our office were invited to a reception to see the Augustin's new home being built. We were there for less than an hour and yet it was amazing to watch the massive number of workers building the home and the high level of coordination they have in getting this monumental task accomplished. It was very surreal for me because having watched homes being built where in a week's time often you notice little progress, in under an hour the roofing and masonry progress on this home was very evident! The army of workers and volunteers in their blue shirts were seemingly everywhere on the home all at once. See for yourself...

These first 2 shots were only about 10 minutes apart, but look at the difference in the front brick height:

Check out the guy (below) throwing roofing trim pieces from the ground up to the guy on the 2X8! They did this several times and it was so very well coordinated:

I was fascinated with it all. If only it went this quickly for our clients who are building new homes!

My only disappointment was not getting to meet Ty! Maybe our paths will cross another time, but I would have loved to get a picture of he and I together!

The reveal is Monday afternoon. I bet the Augustin Family will LOVE it!

I am not certain of the airing date of this episode, but be sure to watch for it... and if it's like any of their episodes, be sure to have a spare tissue around. The stories tug at your heartstrings in a way that always leave me happy and sad all at once!