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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Both Hands Project






Dear JT

I just wanted to tell you what happened yesterday. We performed a service project for a woman named April who is a widow. Both Hands Foundation and Lifesong for Orphans helped us organize this project so that we could fund-raise to help save up money for the adoption fees we need to bring you home. Friends and family of our both hands team members sponsored each of us so that we could do this project and raise some funds. Those people did that because they love you, and because they believe in us and what we are doing. Some of the people on our team that worked on April's house yesterday you will know very well soon and I want to tell you what they did yesterday.


Your Uncle Todd was the last to pull out of April's driveway last night. Besides being the project foreman, organizer, and primary sponsor of materials and acquirer of project materials, he redid April's flooring to give her wheelchair more access in her house. Your uncle todd loves you so much his sweat and endurance yesterday not just in the flooring but being a part of every single project we performed, and teaching every single person how to do what they were doing. Your uncle todd was the real hero yesterday and he loves you very much.



Your PopPop was so excited to come and do this project for April and for you. He has been so excited about you since the moment he knew about you. I won't forget the day he called me with excitement in his voice when he realized that your birthmom might already be pregnant with you. And that you might already be conceived, living in her belly and waiting to come home to our family. You see, he already loves you. And yesterday your pop-pop came out and worked from 9 in the morning until after 7 at night to show that love for you. Despite his recent shoulder injury he spent the day cutting wood, drilling, swinging hammers, and in the end he built a wheelchair ramp for April, rebuilt her aged railings, and built a mini ramp in a hole her wheelchair kept falling into. He also helped install a sliding glass screen behind April's sliding glass doors. Your popop loves you very much.



Your Uncle Mohammad came out yesterday with your Pop-pop and he worked all day long with your pop-pop on building the ramps and the railings. He also installed a new fan on April's porch and always seemed to be lending a hand to someone doing something yesterday. Your uncle Mohammad loves you very much.


Your cousin Brage came out yesterday and was there all day sweating, lugging, laughing, and busting his butt. He organized and performed the re-screening of the back porch. Even by the end of the day your big hearted cousin was laughing and working as hard as he could to get things done, and get things done well. Brage also helped with landscaping, carrying heavy things, ripping out the old railings, and seemed to be a little bit of every project we did yesterday. Your cousin Brage loves you very much.


Your buddy Aaron was also among the last to leave. He spent the day helping Brage redo the screening in the back, assisted with the ramp rebuild, and organized the landscaping efforts. Aaron is a 14 year old entrepreneur and even brought all of his equipment to help with weeding and cleaning up the yard. Aaron loves you very much.


Our bff Susan was a big part of this project. Susan has been helping me to organize it from the very beginning. She contacted all the potential widows, helped me track them down, interview them, and select one. She helped me organize the projects, the team, the meetings, and even was responsible for getting the oven donation for April from Habitat for Humanity, picked it up in her truck, and brought her whole family out yesterday to help. She and her family, Katie, Kara, Kip, and CJ, helped with all the projects. Susan also helped with making a screen from a kit for April's window and scrubbing the new used oven donation we got for April. Katie photographed the whole day and helped everyone anytime someone needed help. Kara videotaped and helped with other projects as well. Kip ripped up the old flooring. CJ was a huge help in carrying things out to the project and taking out the old railway. The Thompsons love you very much.


There are few people as excited about you coming to the family as the Watsons. Arlene has been my inspiration, role model, and bff for years now. She and Lauren came down yesterday and busted their butts all day helping with anything anyone asked of them. Arlene as also helped me plan and organize things for the whole project and hosted one of the meetings at her home in Sarasota. Her family was also responsible for a bulk of the sponsorships that came in for the project because of letters they sent their friends and family. Arlene and Lauren helped with landscaping, oven cleaning, bathroom door knob replacement, screen building, rail building, and anything else anyone needed a hand with. The Watsons love you very much.


Matt came out yesterday because he loves you so much. He is so excited to meet you and has been excited about Both Hands since he found out. Matt is an awesome friend and I can't wait for him to teach you things and join us on mission trips in the future. Matt was also responsible for a bulk of the sponsorships that came in and he busted his butt, as usual yesterday. Matt is a superhard worker and we saw him doing everything from tearing down rails, pulling weeds, raking, carrying things, helping with screening, and anything anyone asked for help with. Matt taught me long ago that nothing says love like Pancho Villa, and Matthias loves you very much.


Laura and Jeremy came out yesterday despite being in the middle of exam week and helped out with a number of things. They ripped out the old screening on the porch, helped start the rescreening, and helped install a new fan on the back porch. They also helped out with the new flag installation - hooa or something - and were a huge help with a number of other tasks. Laura and Jeremy love you very much.


Your daddy and I worked on all of the projects and have been working on this project behind the scenes for months. Your dad also came very close to an electrocution yesterday, but thank the Lord that didn't quite happen despite playing with live high power cables before they were shut off. Lesson for you, baby boy, don't play with electricity. I hope that our actions will always show you, but I also want to tell you that we love you very much.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Completed Tasks

I can't believe how much we got done!

We replaced a fan outside that didn't work.

 

We replaced her old flag with a new one


We fixed her flooring problems


We weeded her plants



We replaced her oven that didnt work with a newer working one!


We built a screen for her bedroom window


We fixed her glass sliders and installed a new screen slider




We re-screened her porch so animals would stop coming in






You see these wood bricks next to the hole with bushes? Her wheelchair would sometimes fall in there when she was trying to get out. We built a mini ramp so that wouldn't happen anymore.




There was a dropoff outside her door that she couldn't get over, and sometimes fell in so we built a wheelchair ramp here. We also rebuilt her aged railings.





April was overwhelmed with emotion by what happened on Saturday. She couldn't believe how much we did and how hard everyone worked. She said this will change her life.





working on organizing pictures and video from yesterday... and im overwhelmed.. so many people came out to help April and JT yesterday and i am overwhelmed. more later...

Monday, October 25, 2010

Basket

I made a little basket for April today. Just some girly stuffs and some oven mitts for her new oven. :) Oh and of course some kitty treats for her kitties.