YAY, DECORATING! :)

Sooo... today we were in Walmart buying stuff the kids need for school (and a desk for my bedroom... since my office does not have a door, it can't block out kids and/or noise..... so, I'm going to try having my room set up as a study area. :-) ). Anyway, while wandering thru Wally-World, I noticed all these fall decorations they have already set out. It suddenly dawned on me...."Heeeeyyyyyyyyyyy............. I have a HOUSE now! I'm "allowed" to actually...*gasp!*DECORATE!!!" :-) So, I bought one pack of fake fall leaves, and have scattered them throughout the house on end-tables and such, and taped them to the door frames between the living room & the kitchen, and the living room & the hall to the kids' rooms. It looks like they are "falling" down the door frames. Or at least, that's the idea. :-) Next (sometime in late september or early October) I wanna get a couple of the little scarecrow guys (they are like $6.97 each) to put on my front porch - one on either side of the door. And I saw some other neat fall decoration things, too. :-)

I know, you're over there going, "Hey, it's still summer - it's AUGUST!" (not to mention, it's 100 degrees here in GA, still) BUT...the kids went back to school on August 1, and I start college tomorrow night, 8/20. If we are all back in school, that can only mean one thing: IT'S FALL, DARN IT! :) Regardless of what the calendar or the temps say - school = fall. :) So there. :)

oh goody...and after fall... CHRISTMAS! I get to decorate our very own real house for CHRISTMAS!!!!

Where should we put the tree? HMMMMMMMMM.........

14 years ago.... and six months ago

Fourteen years ago TODAY, my first kid was born after a brief six hours of labor (who is currently in a full-fledged teenage SNIT because she wants something or other, haha).

Six months ago TODAY, we got the surprise of our lives when we got our new home, which is almost perfect in every way, and our family made its first (and LAST!) national TV debut, hahaha! :)

Hope y'all are having a good day, too. Mine would be great... if only the kids would stop fighting.

Calgon, take me AWAY!!!!!

From our Local Paper

From the Loganville Tribune...

'HomeTeam’ show watched with emotion

By Sharon Swanepoel The Loganville Tribune

Published March 9, 2007

LOGANVILLE — The long-awaited showing of the HomeTeam’s episode where the Orr family received their new home in Loganville again brought tears and laughter from those who turned out for the viewing party Saturday.

“I was bawling when it happened and I was bawling all over again when I watched it,” said Kathy “Kat” Orr at her new home in Loganville where the first viewing party was held.

The episode was supposed to air on WGN at noon last Saturday but due to a scheduling conflict it will air instead at noon tomorrow.

But since viewing parties had already been arranged for Saturday at the Orr’s new home in Loganville and at their church Sunday, the HomeTeam overnighted the family an advanced copy of the program so the parties could go ahead as planned.

The 70 hours of filming had been cut down to just an hour and that included advertisements, but the show still managed to capture the outpouring of support the Orr family gives to the troops and the love and support their dedication drew from the community.

The episode is narrated mainly by Troy McLain of “The Apprentice” fame with the portions giving the more intimate details of the Orr family narrated by Robert Stokely, father of fallen soldier Michael Stokely, Ben Cathey, the pastor of The Orchard Church, and various close friends of the Orrs.

The home in Loganville was again crowded Saturday as many of the people who had been in on the secret, including several members of the Patriot Guard Riders, turned out to watch the episode with the family for the first time. It was the first time the Orrs got to see all the people working on the home with the “HomeTeam” and also the first time the workers got to see Kat Orr’s reaction when she first realized they were receiving the home.

“You tricked me,” she said to the cameraman in the car with her when she first caught sight of the “HomeTeam” truck in front of the house.

The ruse had been that the Patriot Guard Riders were the focus of the documentary and she was just traveling in the car with the cameraman to give commentary on the riders.

The Orrs had been chosen after Jim Scott, of the Shepherd Staff in Loganville had nominated them. He said the Shepherd Staff had been contacted by the “HomeTeam” asking if there was any deserving family in the area that was in need of a home and Kat and Jeff Orr immediately came to mind.

The show aired on WXIA at 12:30 a.m. Monday and will air in the Atlanta area again at noon tomorrow on WGN out of Chicago — everyone is advised to check the local listings.

A "HomeTeam" kinda weekend!

Hello out there in blog-world!!! Sorry I haven’t been around much… life has been hectic to say the least! I am alive & well and all that icky pneumonia has completely disappeared, so life is good.

This past weekend was FABULOUS. As you know, the HomeTeam show aired over the weekend. It did NOT air on WGN Saturday like it was (we thought) supposed to…however, it appears that it WILL air next Saturday on WGN – I think that station runs about a week behind the various local affiliates or something. Anyway, luckily for us, we had a dvd of “our” episode that the producer sent us!!!!

Saturday (in anticipation of the show coming on at noon) we had a viewing party at my house. MANY Patriot Guard Riders invaded my neighborhood again, hehehehe. Guess my neighbors better get used to it, haha!!! We had several PGRs, a few local friends and one or two fellow church members watching with us. I had done a lot of baking (I’d made about 3 dozen sugar cookies, a chocolate cake, baked macaroni & cheese (from scratch), a salad, a vegetable tray, and potato chips) and others brought stuff as well: Sodas, lasagna, chilled shrimp for an appetizer, and probably other stuff as well that I can’t remember. (by the end of the afternoon, there wasn’t much left!). Another very special guest was Marcia Kincaid, mom of fallen soldier Aaron Kincaid. She had done a lot of work on my house as well, together with Robert Stokely and about a gazillion other awesome people. Oh, and how could I forget?! One of my “babies,” Sgt. C (the one I inadvertently told about the soldier he knew who died in Iraq!), was there too, with his daughter and grandma!!!!! Yay!!!!

Anyway, we all watched the DVD and totally bawled our eyes out. They did a FABULOUS job with the show… it was just fantastic. I wish it could have been a 3-hour show, hahaha, cuz there are a lot of little things that I would have loved to have seen in there… but really they did a GREAT job. I totally can’t wait till the show sends me copies of the DVD so I can send it out to my “babies” in the Sandbox!!! :-)

Later that evening, hubby and I took Marcia to The Blue Willow Inn for dinner. As I’d suspected would be the case, she LOVED it. The place is so gorgeous (a 1910 mansion, renovated to a restaurant) and the food is SOOOOO good! We all ate till we just about POPPED! The sweetest moment of the evening came when we got the check. Not only did they give us Marcia’s meal FOR FREE, they also gave hubby and I $5 off of each of our dinners, charging us the lunch price instead of the dinner price. I think they did that just in case we hadn’t cried enough already that day…hehehe… Based on prior experience, I was not surprised they gave Marcia hers for free – but was totally shocked to find “our” discount, as well. If you are ever in GA, you MUST eat at the lue Willow Inn. Not only is the food fabulous, they are good people who take care of our Heroes – our soldiers and their families.

Sunday, we went to church as usual. Our church (which was featured heavily in the show – many, if not most, of the people working on the home in the show, were from our church) had a viewing party immediately following service, so we got to see it all over again. And I STILL totally cried my eyes out, even tho I’ve seen it before. I’ll probably always cry every time I watch it!

Anyway, that was our awesome, emotional weekend over here. I’m way behind on my schoolwork from everything that is going on. My second anthropology test netted another very disappointing “C.” ACK! I can’t wait till this semester is OVER cuz I really, really need a good long break!!!

Gotta run – will be posting more soon, I hope!

HOMETEAM update/airinig schedule

From the HomeTeam Website:

Recipients: Kathy and Jeff Orr
Atlanta, GA
Original Air Date: March 2007

With 'top secret' emails flying and confidential messages being posted on internet bulletin boards to rally support, HomeTeam witnessed one of its most exceptional turnouts ever: hundreds of people volunteered to renovate a first home for Atlanta residents Kathy and Jeff Orr. And somehow, despite the buzz and massive involvement from the community, it all remained a surprise - right up until Kathy saw the HomeTeam bus parked in front of what must be her new home. Continue reading (and see pictures!) here: http://www.ht-tv.com/three.php?content=show&subContent=season&season=Two

HOMETEAM: Airing Schedule

Dish Network

(WGNSAT) Channel 239
Sat 3/3 12:00 PM

(WGNSAT) Channel 881
Sat 3/3 12:00 PM

(WXIA) Channel 5731
Mon 3/5 12:35 AM

(WXIA) Channel 8302
Mon 3/5 12:35 AM

(WABC) Channel 8100
Mon 3/5 1:35 AM


Bellsouth Cable

(WGNSAT) Channel 13
Sat 3/3 12:00 PM

(WXIA) Channel 6
Mon 3/5 12:35 AM

Comcast (Winder)

(WGNSAT) Channel 24
Sat 3/3 12:00 PM

(WXIA) Channel 11
Mon 3/5 12:35 AM

Direct TV

(WGNSAT) Channel 307
Sat 3/3 12:00 PM

(WXIA) Channel 11 Channel 982
Mon 3/5 12:35 AM

(WABCDT) Channel 86
Mon 3/5 1:35 AM

(WABC) Channel 386
Mon 3/5 1:35 AM

Sorry I've been non-existant lately -- been slammed at work and at home and going nuts...

HOME SWEET HOME!

Well, folks, there it is -- our brand-new home!!!! Isn't it GOREGOUS?! I think it is -- especially so because this isn't just any ole house ~ my Soldiers, Robert Stokely, Marcia Kincaid (mother of fallen Hero Aaron Kincaid), several Patriot Guard Riders, multitudes of people from my church and multitudes of people from our community worked VERY hard on this house...they literally poured their heart & soul into this home for me. Knowing that my soldiers (and friends) did so much for me... well, it's an awesome, humbling thing. I am still shocked and in a daze!!!! What nobody knew is that for MONTHS I've been SECRETLY praying that God would make a way for us to own a home... I knew it would take a miracle... but I never in a million years expected THIS!!!! GOD IS SOOO GOOD! :)

I don't have time to post the whole story from my personal point of view (won't have internet at home until Tuesday), so for now, I'll have to share the Walton Tribune's story - this article came out yesterday. Then I'll try to share some more pictures (some of which you may have seen already -forgive me, if so!)

Television show rewards patriot for work
By Robbie Schwartz

The Walton Tribune

Published February 7, 2007LOGANVILLE — There was no shortage of those willing to help. There was a shortage, though, of tissues when it was all said and done. Last week, a crew from the nationally syndicated
television show “HomeTeam” descended on the town to turn one resident’s dream into a reality. With an outpouring of support from the local community, the American dream came to fruition for Kathy and Jeff Orr as they were given the keys to their first house. “I’ve never seen something this incredible in my ife,” Jeff Orr said to the crowd gathered on his front lawn Sunday. Kathy Orr as too overwhelmed to offer words immediately to the hundreds that had gathered.

Beginning on Wednesday, the crew from “HomeTeam” descended on a house on XXXXXXXX and hit the ground running. The show is dedicated to helping a deserving family get a leg up on life by renovating and furnishing a house as well as paying for the closing costs and the first year’s mortgage for the family. They solicit help from friends and family, and in this particular case overwhelmed by a community who wanted to do their part for the Orrs. “Can I talk while I paint?” asked Sharon Fenneran Saturday morning while working on painting a door frame. “They have been giving so much out, now they are getting back 10-fold,” Fenneran said as to why she was volunteering. “This is such a great opportunity for them.”

The sentiment of a deserving family echoed throughout the house. Kathy Orr, or “Mama Kat” as she is affectionately known, is well known for her efforts to collect cards — be it for whatever holiday — to send to troops overseas. For Christmas she collected more than 19,000 cards to send overseas. Orr is also actively involved in soldier “adoption” programs to write and send e-mails to soldiers overseas. Working full time and going to school, as well as a mother of four, Kathy Orr spends what little spare time she has sending weekly letters and care packages. “They don’t call her Mama Kat for nothing,” said Patriot Guard rider Todd Walker. “This woman has love that is literally felt in every corner of the world. I’m so excited for her and her family. I can’t think of anyone who needs or is more deserving of a step up than Kat.”

In addition, both Kathy and Jeff Orr came to the aid of a neighbor who is
a veteran and was having a tough time making ends meet. Jeff Orr continually pays the veteran a visit as he works to become a child advocate.

All of this and more is a testament to the good nature of one family, and all the cause the producers of “HomeTeam” selected the Orrs. “It is really an amazing story. What we were really impressed with was what she does for the soldiers and still does so much for her community,” said Enae Boone, vice president of production for “HomeTeam.” “At the end of the day, we know that we helped someone. This is very rewarding television. And the level of support that this community has shown, I am hard-pressed to think of any other location where we have been where we have seen this much support.” [emphasis added by me! Yay Loganville!]

Despite hundreds of people helping and messages being posted and e-mails sent to rally support, the best-kept secret in town remained a secret right up until the last minute. Under the guise of taking part in a documentary being done on the Patriot Guard, the Orrs piled in their car Sunday for what they thought was just another ride. Stepping out of the car, Kathy Orr was overcome with emotion. Little did she know waiting patiently down the street were the huddled masses, many who helped work on the house and others there to show their support for the newest Loganville residents. “I can’t wait to see their faces,” said Jean Malcom, who with her husband Ben and many others from The Orchard Church, volunteered their time to support members of their congregation. “Kathy and Jeff are such giving people and are such a great part of the community. They give so much to their community, now the community was able to give something back to them.”

Once inside the house for a tour, those who gathered down the street moved to the front lawn and gathered around a flagpole in the front yard. When the door opened and the family stepped outside, they did so to a resounding yell of, “Welcome home!”In addition to the fanfare, the Orrs were also presented with a ceremonial key to the city.

But with all of the emotions involved in the whole ordeal, the penultimate experience came when Robert Stokely, father of Loganville soldier Michael Stokely, who was killed in Iraq in 2005, had a special dedication ceremony. Orr’s dedication to soldiers, and in particular to the young Stokely, was recognized as the father of the fallen soldier opened up a small bag and sprinkled among the rocks of the flagpole sand taken from the road in Iraq where the soldier was killed.

“This day, this community, HomeTeam and all of those who had a hand in this, we cannot say enough to thank you,” Orr said. For everyone involved, it was their way of saying thank you to the Orrs for what they do. And much like the Orrs, there was no need of gratitude in return. The show is slated to air [locally] at noon [check local listings for time in your area] on [the week of February 24 on WGN]. Those interested are asked to check their local listings.