I posted this all over on Facebook, but thought I'd share it with my faithful xanga readers as well. =)

Since many keep asking me to talk about the whole Extreme Makeover experience, I thought I'd do it in one fell swoop. Read on...

Like many of you, I've followed EMHE for quite a while and always thought it would be cool to actually volunteer on a build-site. My favorite people on the show are Paul (DiMeo) & Ed (Sanders). They just seem awesome. ;) What an amazing thing to see a group of people give so much for one family and work together to do it. I'm reminded of how much more beautiful it is to give rather than to receive.

Just about 3 weeks before the door-knock, I happened upon an email that my mom showed me mentioning a group that was trying to volunteer together on-site in... YUUUUSSSS! EMHE was coming to Indy!!
I immediately signed up to volunteer online, figuring I was too late. A few days later, I got my shift assignment! Do I hear another...YuuuuusssSSSSS!!! I was pumped. Thursday morning, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eight hours. Yes. I can do it.
I also had a photography conference the same week- OSP Indy, Mon-Wed. A friend there asked if I was shooting for EMHE, which of course, I wasn't, but I asked who I could contact to see if they needed anyone else. She gave me the lady's email address, and next thing I know, I'm signed up to shoot from 6-10 a.m.!! Could it get any better??

I arrived at the sign-in station about 5:45 and signed my life away, put on my XL blue volunteer t-shirt and met up with the other shooter, my friend Polina. When we arrived on-site, we were issued hard hats and all-access passes. YUUUssssss! That means we can pretty much go anywhere. ;)

It was still dark out when we arrived, but the entire site was well-lit and people were hard at work.
I shot away, capturing the build as it happened. Polina and I finally went to breakfast part-way thru the shift and that's where I met Paul. He just walked into the dining/volunteer tent with his breakfast burrito and sat across from another lady (thought she was just another volunteer). I was almost done with breakfast, so of course took the opportunity to go over and get my picture and talk to him a bit. I found him very kind and down-to-earth. There was no "Hollywood-ishness" about him save his goofy glasses. I ended up taking pictures of several other people with him and Polina got me with him. Yay!!

(dig my hard-hat hair)

Ed & Michael were around a lot while we shot and while I volunteered. There were crews around them- directors, cameras, etc. and we were mainly to kinda stay out of their way. When I put my camera away and started my volunteer shift, a lot more spectators started showing up. I was lugging flooring up the stairs inside the house with several others and Michael was shooting a clip on the roof outside the upstairs window where I was dropping off the flooring. A few of us ended up helping him through the window once he finished shooting. It was rather, um awkward, but hilarious. =) He was pretty nice. He ended up being around quite a bit while I was working inside.

I ended up working part of the time with a neat lady in the kitchen cleaning out cabinets. We ate lunch together and a bunch of the crew from EMHE ended up sitting at our table. I talked with a couple sitting next to me for a while (the wife was the one that Paul sat with at breakfast) and found out they were part of the "Art World" crew. This was the 5th house they've worked on and do it all volunteer. They had gotten to know all of the cast and crew pretty well and both confirmed that Ed and Paul were the two most down-to-earth of the whole crew. They were the two that did a lot of their own work- building special projects.
Art World is the affectionate name for the tent where they do all the special projects- i.e. headboards, cutouts, bookshelves, special cabinets, etc. I got up to leave and told the kind couple it was great talking and asked if we could get a picture before I left. They said, "Why don't you just come on over to the tent?" Suhweeet. My cabinet cleaning friend and I followed them over and found Ed and Michael and much of the camera crew and directors back there. Ed was working on a round table he was building (beautiful) but soon got called away to go shoot some clips.
Next thing I know, Mr. Hollywood Director came over and asked 3 of us to come help him with something. ??? We followed him into an adjoining tent where he told us to look busy in the background while they shot Ed explaining a project he was working on for Courtney- an executive desk. We're gonna be on TV!!! We picked up boards that didn't need to be picked up and rolled up extension cords that didn't need to be rolled and were quite the good little actors.

Keep in mind that this is at the end of my shift and I look pretty much nasty. HA! Makes it all more authentic, eh? Ed was crazy funny. It took about 5 or 6 takes to get the clip, then we got our pictures with him. As I got my picture, I told him, "You and Paul are my favorites, but don't tell Ty." To which he replied (in his great accent), "You've got good taste, m'dear." I know. Can't help it.

So that's how Vanessa got on TV and met Paul, Ed and Michael. Watch the episode on May 17th, ABC. It's also the season finale so will be 2 hours.

If you'd like to read the story of the incredible McFarland family, now owners of the new home and library, go to: www.estridgeextremedream.com. Big shout-out to Estridge Builders. What an amazing company and incredible team they have! I am impressed with their testimony as followers of Christ and with their extreme generosity.

And if you're still reading, you're stellar. Or you don't have ADD...if I were you, I'd be done a long time ago

Check out more pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=238846&id=722185243&l=428fe960a3

and also: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=239010&id=722185243&l=61e8d78643

I THINK the public links to the albums will work okay...if not, join Facebook and be my friend. ;)  Thank you, Lord for the opportunity to serve and meet new people that You love.