Extreme Makeover Home Edition S05E08 The Swenson Lee Family

0:00 [Music] yeah I'm K Pon this is our 100th episode this week we're in Minnesota and the renovation starts right now [Music] w [Music] Paul Michael Tracy and Paige guys we're headed to minaka Minnesota and it's our 100th episode God you believe me how amazing

0:47 has it been I mean you know it's wild I mean we we we've met so many families been touched by their stories they've definitely let an impact in my life but you know we've we've met a hundred families and we've met 100 communities and they're the ones who really pull it together I mean somebody come to mind like the the cabina family down in Texas those little Ts that how was she doing how are the girls good they're both doing better what the cabina family went through with those two little girls having cancer at the same time they just had that light in their eyes that that you you knew that that they were going to make it you remember the ginyard family when we when you yelled on the bullhorn and they came flying out the front door they all piled on top of each other she have gone through domestic AB she knew she was in a bad situation she moved all those kids out that's a really strong woman do you guys remember there

1:32 were Pierce family in in Rondo Beach Christina was the police officer who was shot she was such a competitor and such an athlete it's people like that that keep you doing what you do yep speaking of family hello congratulations order yeah Oliver was season two and then season five we've got this one coming awesome I love that like your family is growing as as we're meeting more families you so here's the cool thing is this week hopefully we're going to meet some of those families that we really helped out but right now it's really time to focus on the H hundredth family we're actually helping um guys I want you to meet the swinston Lee family these guys have been through a lot of tragedy and basically it's two families becoming one take a look at this tape and you'll see why we're here hi ABC we're Theon Le family I'm

2:24 Eric the dad and a football coach I'm Vicki I'm the mom and a volleyball coach I'm Taylor and I'm 13 I'm Tyler and I'm 10 I'm Samantha and I'm 10 I'm Trevor and I'm nine I'm terara and I'm seven and these are 20mon old twins Stella and Olivia and number 10 is on the way Welcome to our home a few years ago Vicki and Eric Swinson were living a comfortable life with their three children in a house they were renovating to make perfect for their family now unfortunately life wasn't as easy for Vicky's sister Terry Lee and her four kids it was 5 years ago when they dad passed away my sister's kids at the time were 1 3 5 and 7 uh Taylor being the 7-year-old um she was in the car and with her dad in the car

3:11 accident and I was in the front seene with him and I was sleeping he was driving and all I remember is that the car was rolling over and then I went into the ambulance this just all like a blur after the accident Terry eventually moved on and even started dating again but things soon went bad in her new relationship and when she broke up with her boyfriend Steven he became violent and threatened her life Harry's life had been attempted on July 29th he broke into her home and attacked her with two butcher knives and the neighbor saw his car and called the police why'd you bring those knives there I was just there's no reason why I brought them um they had uh mostly to maybe straighten her out I have to kill you okay I told him I

4:00 had four children would already lost their father and that needed a mom yeah after Steven was released on bail he began stalking Terry and her kids so she took out a no contact order installed alarm system and instructed her kids to call the police if they ever saw him her new boyfriend Tim was even staying at the house at night to protect him but it wasn't enough we went backed to bed and I could not sleep I just had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and so I went to sleep in my mom's room next to her and then at 2:00 in the morning something very bad happened my mom's ex-boyfriend came in

4:48 with a gun and he shot both Tim and my mom I what emergency I got shot fired next to our neighbor's house I have her two daughters are right here basically their mom's been shot she's on the ground H how many times was your mom shot I know one time in the stomach and one time in the hand I don't know about the other one he got my mom's boyfriend too I think he's dead there's another victim there as well uh-huh he was just whacking bullet he killed both Terry and Tam Tyler's first comment is this can't be and he said I'm not over my dad's death it's hard those four kids lost a lot m mom

5:34 was really nice and caring always making sure we were happy and safe I put them in my pocket sometimes for Mom and him um to be with me all the time I was the first one to see my dad die after the car accident and I was the first one who saw my mom dad after she got shot on that horrible night Terry's sister Vicki and her husband Eric stepped in to pick up the pieces they immediately took in the four Le children and they brought them into their three-bedroom home they moved in with us just traumatized the horror and the grief that you that you see these kids go through it's so unfair they left

6:21 their school their friends and literally within a 24-hour period had to start over with a brand new life so here's the thing their house is actually pretty nice Vicki and Eric did a complete renovation about 4 years ago and built a perfect house for their growing family but they never imagined that their family would grow so big so fast this is where Samantha Taylor and Tera sleep and as you can see it truly is a bed room a bigger house I believe would give everybody here a space to call their own and to provide that sense of belonging and that sense of comfort and ownership what's amazing about Vicki and her family is they took this tragedy and they turned it into an opportunity to protect other women and children from domestic violence Vicki has become a

7:07 spokesperson for women and even helped write two Minnesota state bills I'm Governor Tim pente from Minnesota and I first became aware of the tragedy involving Vicki's sister and Vicky's family more broadly through news accounts but since then I've had a chance to visit with her and to see how she's promoting legislation that will improve our laws regarding domestic violence and getting the pictures of perpetrators on our criminal records and that's going to be signed into law here shortly in Minnesota and it's a result of Vicki's work it's our job to continue to fight for other women and children who are impacted by domestic violence our top priority is to give her four kids a loving home and um a place that is safe with lots of family around them and so they

7:54 know that they're cared for and I know you can help us do that goodness this week we can get these guys in a house that's going to be big enough for this huge family that they have now which I think is exactly what they need to survive what they've been through so what do you say can we do this let's bring it together for the h hundredth time are you with me then let's do it 100 let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go good good morning squint and Lee family Eric Vicky Taylor Ty Tara Trevor Stella Samantha and

8:45 [Applause] Olivia we have had the honor to meet and help and build homes for 100 families but this week is about so much more than just giving a family a home it's about giving a voice to domestic violence so that Terry did not have to die in vain what's the last 12 months been like for you guys a lot of ups and downs it's one thing to lose a parent but it's another thing to lose them in such a senseless violent way Taylor You've basically become an adult really quickly how has the last couple years been for you insane sad happy

9:31 it's pretty much every M that you can ever count Taylor's now 13 years old here's a girl that has seen enough death More Death than any any 12 13 year-old should ever have to see they lost their mother a year ago it's something you don't get over they'll never get over that these kids are traumatized we're hoping that by building this family a bigger home that that uh that that'll help so here's the cool thing while we're actually working on your house you guys are going on vacation you guys want to know where you're going on vacation yeah you guys are going to Disneyland all right here's the thing we don't have a lot of time so let's find out what you guys need around here sound

10:19 good great all right show me the house [Applause] okay this is our multi-purpose room I can see there's a lot of multi-purpose going on here yeah we um when we moved my sister's four kids in um we started putting away our own things just to get room and more space for people when I walked into the house with uh VI Eric first thing you realize is like even though the house may look like it's in decent shape it doesn't have the room it needs for everybody who now lives in it you know they've got nine people they're about to have 10 people living in this house they desperately need more space we didn't just move four kids into our home um we moved four kids in who are severely traumatized I don't even know

11:04 how Taylor you know functions with what she's been through you know when you think about it she has watched both of her parents die in front of her own eyes and then you look at what she accomplishes during her day she's a straight A student um she participates in the choir she's on student council I learn from her every day about strength and how to be resilient they need this in more ways than we can imagine because not only do they need a house that everyone can fit in they really need a place to heal they've been carrying a huge load and uh what I'm really glad is that we can help these guys out this week what are some of the things that your mom taught you she taught me to swing a bat what

11:50 else did she teach you football how to throw it and hockey how to shoot thinking about her kind of makes us sad but we can get through it a lot and how do you get through it just let it all out just let it all out if you could make one one wish in the world what would it be uh bring her back to life my mom back to life and bring Tim back too I'm sorry boys Tyler's 10 and Trevor's eight they lost their mother a year ago all the building in the world is not going to bring that back it's frustrating for me because you don't know what to say you don't know what to do to ease their pain it's tough for them and it's going to be tough for them so I think for them to have a room

12:35 together is a great idea I want to make sure that I take care of you this week I mean what what do you want for you what do you think you would like I really like France and I think I'd want a canopy bed I wanted one of those my whole life you sound like a big romantic France is my thing I'm going to go to France one day and I'm going to have experience and you deserve it now I hear that you're busy teaching other people about domestic violence tell me about that it affects everyone yeah in some sort of way and that should stop just I miss my mom so much her hugs her

13:21 smile she was always taking care of us making sure we were okay I love my siblings and I look after them as much as I can but sometimes I just I want to go back to being a little kid just I'm so thankful that we're together we're so blessed to have what we have to have a home even if we don't offit what can we give you this week I think right now the most important thing would be a dining room table having a meal together is like family bonding and if you can't all do that together then there's no connection really Taylor is 13 years old and what an incredible

14:08 little girl this little girl together with her aunt they're going out to change the world Taylor wants to make sure that this does not happen to any other children they're speaking against domestic violence and this week we're doing the same even if we just stop one family from experiencing this we'll have done our jobs coming up next they had a great mom and they had Tim who was a great man and then they're both taken from [Music] them we're here to help your family are also here to help domes [Music] violence since it's our 100th episode I actually got in touch with some of the families we've held before flew them here to kind of make it even more

14:54 special it's like a family reunion this is a very special episode for us this is our 100th build these are the families that we helped change their lives domestic violence is prevalent and unless somebody says we're going to do something about it it's going to continue to go on Expert can you come on over and give me some help over here please hello hello congratulations on your 100th home and helping 100 families is wonderful to be able to give that happily ever after that everything will be okay feeling back to another family that was the greatest thing in the world and later a tribute to the 100 families we've helped along the

15:45 way you guys like Elmo who's that Elmo who's this El Stella and Olivia are the cutest little things and I get to do Stella and Olivia's room which I am so excited about and they're very into Elmo And I think that it's definitely the direction to go they have love and joy and happiness and a whole lot of Elmo this is our bedroom oh my goodness you guys don't have much room at all can I sit down that is the largest bed I've ever seen oh my gosh it's just continuous it's 1 2 and three so this was your room before right mhm so how do

16:30 you guys feel about living together it's like sleepover every single night what's the worst part like if we're in a fight we'll both St off to our beds and just be like get away and what do you all like to do I like volleyball like it's like the best Samantha went from being an only child to being a family of 10 it's got to be hard for her I'm working on Samantha's room and Samantha loves volleyball so there's certainly going to be a volleyball element to Samantha's room so Tara that's your bed yeah so can I gather that you like pink NOP I do too you're in good you're in good hands Tara has so much energy and she likes pink I think I've got that handled this week I going to give Tara the perfect pink

17:17 room so now you guys have got a fairly decent house here MH do you mind if we give away some of the things to people who could use it I would feel a lot better knowing that our appliances or our windows or any anything that be stripped from this house could be reused again I would feel a lot better I think a new house is going to be huge for you guys CU you need the space but I also think a new beginning MH could really be helpful for these kids so tell me about the night that you lost your sister I still struggle with did this really happen I wake up every morning and I think this is just a bad dream and it's going to go away I think my first reaction was denial no it really didn't happen and my mom kept

18:06 screaming yes it did I just kept screaming for those four kids do you remember what you said to them I'm so sorry it was the same thing we said when they lost their dad how do you explain this to little kids who had finally started to accept the fact that life isn't fair and it hurts sometimes but you're still going to be okay and they were okay they had a great mom and they had Tim who was a great man and life was starting to finally be

18:51 okay and then they're both taken from them I was supposed to girl old with her you know and laugh about becoming grandmas and I feel like everybody got ripped off my parents got ripped off um certainly these kids and now because of laws you've passed every life you save is is kind of terar isn't it yeah yeah and she's somebody's daughter and somebody's mom and somebody's sister and we can prevent this I I believe that wholeheartedly that we can prevent

19:38 this this week isn't just about building a house for a family that needs more room it's about telling a story of domestic violence and letting people realize what that is and who it affects it affects their kids and anyone who comes in contact with those kids and anyone who has to like deal with what they've been through that's what this this week is about bye have [Music] fun okay so there's just a few things left this is good that carpet goes this is kitchen stuff kitchen boxes that can go right here you guys let's go people

20:24 come on let's go come on out of [Applause] here we inside aome okay so these guys are from the local church and here's what I'm thinking okay this is uh it's a decent house it just isn't big enough for the family but we got decent doors windows appliances sinks you name it so what do you guys say we actually kind of recycle Salvage and give it to the families who can really use it Sal out the swon Lee family house was actually in pretty good shape they did a remodel about 4 years ago and we didn't want to just demolish the house we thought that we could Salvage everything in the house cupboards and windows and molding and wood flooring everything you can think of went to help other families

21:11 in need [Music] ready all right we're good to go now we got to build a house all right all [Music] right [Applause] team I'd like you to meet Tom and Jason from tjb

21:57 homes so here's the thing man this family's been through a lot but they don't really know how big this is so what do you say should we let them know what's about to [Applause] [Music] happen go the manorn guys hello squin Lee family hi today's a very big day today's a day where we're tell your old house and start building you a new one but to do that we're going to need a lot of people from Minnesota and they're all here to say hi say hi everybody oh my go our Builders this week are actually uh Tom and Jason from

22:42 tjb homes anything you guys want to say to the family before we do this well guys we're really happy and you know we know the situation and that's kind of what led us to this uh you know to give you a helping hand to help the kids you know it's not just the family we're helping out this is reaching out on a second cause which is of course domestic violence you can see the ribbons that we got we're handing those out as well too and this is going to reach out it's going to touch a lot of people out there we're here to help your family we also here to help domestic violence nice well guys you heard it man this week we're doing a lot not only we working on your house we're also spreading the word about domestic violence and everybody here is aware of why we're here so guys we've got a big week what do you say who's ready to do some demo

23:30 [Applause] okay once and Le family I tell you what man take a look at what your house looks like now we have gutted everything and the cool thing is we're going to give it to people who really need it I'm talking Windows gone flooring gone and now it's time to take this sucker down all right let's do this people hit it w it's full of the Bal wow I'm just tearing that thing apart oh my God it looks like dinosaur is just chewing that thing to pieces and it's not toys that are laying

24:18 on the ground it's house pieces hit the deck oh yeah I love you to give byebye okay family I know the last 12 months have really been hard you guys have been through so much that mess behind me siize hopefully the end of that now we going to get rid of that build you guys a new house a new beginning and a new start guys have a great time on vacation and we'll see you when you get back and hopefully be able to show you a new house that'll be big enough for all of you [Applause] guys [Music] if you or someone you know deserves a

25:05 home makeover go to abc.com keyword hom makeover to apply to be on the [Music] show Good morning it is the morning of day three and check it out we got a house well underway 5600 ft three floors seven bedrooms five baths these guys are making awesome progress they filled all the holes around the well not necessarily all the holes have been filled [Music] yet all right so for Trevor and Tyler's bed here what we're going to be doing is there going to be steel bunks they boys that are tough void they're going to be running around banging things so what better way to have their their bunk beds that they'll be able to climb all over

25:51 hang stuff off of than have it out of [Music] steel you need some pizza man oh yeah want a couple take a couple I asked Tera what she loves and it was pink pink pink pink pink so that's what she's going to get every shade of pink that you can imagine that is exactly what she's going to get in her room and this is kind of my inspiration well I mean let's face it this is my inspiration I love pink I wear pink all the time but this right here I'm thinking the wall these great big flowers on the wall I mean I think for a 7-year-old who loves pink this is going to be perfect [Music]

26:38 since it's our 100th episode I wanted to surprise the design team so without them knowing it I actually got in touch with some of the families we help before flew them here to kind of make it even more [Applause] special I mean you had the wford uh rotti Pierce Christina and her baby Jordan the ginyard family Veronica and her kids I seen a burn I see the pesta was the kigan Scotts the Johnson family you the cabinas from Texas so great to see everyone everyone was healthy and these families is so cool that they want to pay it forward and really help out another family it's like a family reunion yeah big family yeah so guys I don't know if you guys remember of these guys but this is Brian wford this guy now since the show he's

27:26 actually lost 180 lbs when we arrived I relived everything from the tragedy of my wife passing away to the joy that this show is brought my family my children I wanted to come here for the main reason to set an example for my children hey Ben what's happening buddy good to see youy what's happening how are you good good to see you look you you've actually grown from the day that Ty knocked on that door and said Burns family uh life has definitely been different you know with Benjamin's brle bone disease uh he's limited you know things that he can do we don't have to worry

28:11 about Benjamin anytime he's in the house I have a wonderful house I want somebody else to have a wonderful house too I like the little goatee man I know you're looking like me I love that yeah you're looking good well thank you you know my dreams came true when extreme homeover came in and said we had a house they have given us so many good memories by making it a lot easier to deal with the loss of our daughter when she deployed to Iraq 100 families have been able to have their lives just totally changed in a positive way here's the cool thing you guys are all here because you're part of the 100th episode which means we're helping our 100th

28:56 family so give yourselves a hand man thanks to [Applause] after losing my parents so many things hit all at once fear anger sadness for me to be here to be able to give that happily ever after that everything will be okay feeling back to another family it's Priceless I would not trade this experience for anything in the world so what you about to see uh this is the Swinson Lee family these guys have been through a lot in the last uh 12 months and now they're a family of n nine people soon to be 10 so check out their story hi ABC we're family Extreme Makeover has

29:45 totally given me a voice to help others with domestic violence because I got out of my situation and I bought a little teeny house but after a while things started to fall apart I couldn't have missed this opportunity to say thank you again because my is shaming completely I emergency yeah I got shots fired next to our neighbor's house I have her two daughters AR ra here their mom's been shot down the ground was a police officer you feel a personal connection to it I think as soon as you hear gunshots because you deal with domestic violence situations all the time this guy shouldn't have been out you know walking around unfortunately the guy that shot me his rap sheet he shouldn't have been out you

30:30 know when I saw the story I was it was tragic it was very tragic it was really sad and I know you can help us do that pretty amazing story right wow Veronica that probably hits home a little bit huh you got believe it does they're doing a wonderful thing for that child to have seen all that and to be the the Tower of strength that she's been for her brothers and sisters oh man yeah they're doing a good thing it's a it's a huge huge huge job because domestic violence is prevalent and it's out there and it's every day and unless somebody says we're going to do something about it it's going to continue to go on cuz I work for it every day I know what that's all about domestic violence shouldn't happen

31:17 to anyone so senseless I got out I got away thank God but she didn't I'm mad about that so what do you say you guys help us out let's do it let's go bring it in here people are you with me yeah well then let's do [Music] [Applause] it grab your lemonade there you go okay Samantha here is all about volleyball she loves volleyball and she's a very very good player so what I'm going to do is I'm going to actually use these photos and then they will be a series of

32:02 of like a drop shadow along the wall here where where she's this way all the way up from from the digging to the spiking now this is the bed for Taylor's room now just imagine this right here in the middle this will go up on the ceiling this great big piece but it's not going to look like this at the end it's going to look covered in this fabric one of the things that Taylor said she really wanted was a canopy bat she loves culture and she loves France so I'm going to give her a room that makes her feel like she's walking into

32:48 France hey guys hey uh take a break for a minute I want to tell you guys something okay so you guys all know it's our 100th episode right well I tell you what because of that I brought in a little bit of surprise actually got in touch with eight families we've helped in the past are you fames they're here helping already they're actually working why don't you guys go find them so excited to see you guys okay I'm on it so Ty gave us some great news he is bringing in some of the families we've helped in the past to help us this week to help us celebrate our 100th episode but also we're going to put them in blue shirts and they're going to help build this house for the snon Le [Applause] [Music] family the Johnson family from Kansas City hey guys good to see you guys how's

33:33 it going how are you how you doing I'm doing fantastic I'm Steven Johnson is phenomenal this guy's a hero he uh jumped in during a gunfight to save a paramedic life and he's also a hero because the man continues to adopt children who need to be adopted how long has it been 2 years two years and what's changed in your lives in two years I got a new one you what's your name Chris Chris you just keep adopting kids you gave me a house to do it it's so great to see all of our families pitching in and helping out got to hang out with the wafford and the pesta was I mean kak and Scott family helped Tracy and I put together the nursery Furniture it's pretty amazing when you you realize what a difference a home can make in

34:21 somebody's life hello hiy oh my go the cabina family really is a family that changed my life they fought cancer and they won and so far clean Bella of health and it's just it's exactly what we wanted for this family did you guys hear the story of this family oh yeah yeah heartbreaking losing their parents one thing being there to witness it is another and in such a violent way this is something that you can actually do something about or prevent you know and it's needless it's a good point needless we're so excited just to be able to help a family I am so happy that they're going to get this house cuz they can't bring her mom back but this will change their life in

35:07 a way that will make it easier for them to move on and to just be a family all the family other families that are with us all of our lives have been changed in such a positive way and to know that y'all are responsible for that I can't even imagine oh y Are [Applause] Family hey guys welcome back ABC come on in before extreme aover came we were weary we've been fighting that cancer so long our lives were changed so dramatically for the better they just gave us our own little Paradise is what they did hey Sarah look who's here hi ABC I love my room cuz it's so pretty Sarah has been

35:55 in remission 5 years Tara she had the transplant and she is doing wonderful happy 100th episode ABC thank you from the bottom of her heart bye bye bye bye [Applause] [Music] [Applause] guys it's the morning of day four check this place out it's all been seat Rock the vibe I'm going for here is the Young Loft feeling a little bit of a New York Vibe there's more than enough room for 10 people in this [Music]

36:41 house okay so my project this week is is a gigantic playroom for the whole family and these kids are going to need lots of stores so they can put their games and their toys right in this cubby the only drawback is now I'm going to need like seven more of these now it's time to start thinking outside the [Music] box your Steve yeah I'm Steve all right hey I'm Michael hi Michael understand you're Tim's brother yeah Tim was my big brother he passed away protecting Terry you sure did it's been a real difficult year for us I can imagine yeah one of the volunteers we've had with us this week is Steve and he's Tim's brother who passed away trying to protect Terry

37:27 during that tragedy I I think it's important that we create a place for the children to remember their mother and have a place to reflect as well as her boyfriend Tim so I've come up with an idea to create a memorial in the backyard it'll always be there and it'll be there when they need it I think it's a very appropriate tribute to the two of them [Applause] [Music] fantastic so I doing Stella and Olivia's room the cute little twins and they love Elmo so I want their room to be all about Elmo and I could really use some expertise expert can you come on over and give me some help over here please hello hello so happy you're here I can really use your help oh good good good well what do you want I'm going to do

38:14 okay so there's two little girls Stella and Olivia and they love you so much so I thought it would be fun to maybe have pictures of you on the wall oh that would be cool would that be cool so maybe we could have one jumping oh yeah yeah jumping like this let me see okay like this with the open okay okay and then we need one more because they're two little girls oh yeah well we could use one cuz Elma loves reading maybe we can do one reading oh that's a great idea so one jumping and even to cover Elmo with that wonderful red fur right there that's right is that so cool yay Elmo came up with some great ideas about putting pictures of himself on the wall and and maybe make them

39:00 furry and then he could record his voice so it would say hello Stella Hello Olivia and he was very very helpful okay so should we get started then oh let's go okay let's go let's [Music] go so I met the ginyard family for a little shopping trip I'll tell you a trick when you're shopping for a family of nine take a family of nine with you make it a whole lot easier all right let's do some shopping no they're going to need a lot of them just on top how do you do it with nine kids it's not e okay guys we're trying to stop here I'm

39:45 tired much you like this one but I I I like this one 10 people right yeah so what do you say we get both two SE two washers two dryers Veronica ginyard is a special lady she knows all about domestic VI this one's really close to her heart you're the lucky one yes yes this this this lady didn't get out she didn't get away that could have been you absolutely right it happens every day and that story just touches my heart it really touches my heart the fact that the Aunt Vicki yeah yeah she's a great woman she's awesome she's she's going to help us all do what we need to do for this domestic violence thing because we need stronger laws we need people like us to

40:30 that really care about this situation my situation gave me a voice and I'm no longer a victim I'm an advocate and I work towards it every day we all know it's important what we're doing it feels like I'm not in this fight by myself you know there are other people that have voices and they intend to use them this is great we need all the good people on our [Music] side [Music] hi ABC how are you come on in my whole Extreme Makeover has completely changed my life forever no more worrying about my house or my kids or

41:15 safety that leaves room for me worrying about just my eight kids that's wonderful that is wonderful this is my bedroom suite by the way I'm writing a book concerning all that domestic violence and I'm very passionate about that thank you ABC because if it had not been for you I wouldn't have had a voice congratulations on helping your 100th family Extreme Makeover it's important work you do come back and see us anytime [Music] by don't roll the credit we're not even finished yet where is

42:04 everybody where' everybody go we haven't even finished the house yet God I feel like a feel like a Geral I need more hamster power this isn't going to we'll never make it this way a little bit of help would be nice everybody give got one more so don't know the credit ow now our 100th episode continues good morning squint and Lee Family come on out a family torn apart by two tragedies I was the first one to see my dad die

42:50 after the car accident and I was the first one who saw my mom dad after she got shot how many times was your mom shot um I know one time in the stomach and one time in the hand he got my mom's boyfriend too I think he's dead a heroic ant takes in her sisters orphans and wages a war against domestic violence and now because of the laws you've passed every life you saved is is kind of tear isn't it yeah we can prevent this I I believe that wholeheartedly this week is about so much more than just giving a family a home it's about giving a voice to domestic violence so that Terry did not have to die in vain tonight it's like a family reunion eight families who have had their own extreme

43:37 makeovers returned to pay it forward what you guys do and what this show does is give a lot of us a new hope this is a very special episode for us this is our 100th build these are the families that we've helped change their lives let's do it congratulations on your 100th home and helping 100 families we help them give them a safe place where they can heal and hopefully some of those memories will go away and some of those nightmares will turn into dreams that the greatest thing in the world and later a special tribute to our 100 families you won't want to [Applause] miss thank you for changing our

44:25 l [Music] [Applause] okay it's the morning of day five tell you what man we're making huge progress we've already got Landscaping going in and that's going to be a huge process this house three stories 5600 s ft seven bedrooms five bathrooms you got to see what's going on [Music] inside [Music] well hello Burns family how you doing this is a very special episode for us this is our 100th build through this

45:11 we have had children of our own 100 of them that's what these families are like to us they're like our own flesh and blood Ben Burns and one of the few diseases that I can say is osteogenesis imperfecta it's a brittle bone disease and I'll never forget that osteogenesis imperfecta it's an awful to see a little boy who uh falls down and can break a bone that easily how many times have been broken bones before the makeover yes roughly 25 25 and and how's it been since uh three the house none of them at the house these are the families that we've helped change their lives we can't cure cancer we can't bring the dead back but we can put 2x4s together and and and shingle the roof and and give somebody a

45:56 a a warm place to sleep at night and uh that that's what we know how to do and and that's what we we do I plan on being here for the 200 show I wouldn't miss that I will see you then and I will see you at the 200 show all right you take care take care of [Music] yourself spin for you so try to remember domestic violence people be watching out for that how's it going thank you oh it's going great what are you guys doing we're handing some pins out right now what is this these are the pins for domestic violence we're trying to make an awareness of this to the public there's been some laws passed here in Minnesota to help this what I love about these guys from tjv homes is that they knew it was more than just about building a house it was about bringing the subject of domestic violence into

46:42 the forefronts of people's minds they want everyone to know the dangers of domestic violence got one left it's going right here on the lapel hello hello Swinson Lee family who am I talking to Trevor Trevor how are you man how's the vacation going good we've gone on pretty much every single ride well tell you what I'm about to send you on something you guys have never been on you guys are going on Finding Nemo's submarine Voyage sounds pretty good right yeah all right you guys have fun and I'll talk to you soon okay TR okay bye hi n we had never taken a vacation

47:30 together as a family of nine so this was a whole new experience for us I think part of moving forward is to have those shared experiences and this was above and beyond anything we could dream of where are you Nemo who's Nemo I was so excited that we got to go on the Finding Nemo ride to see Nemo and then the Sharks just pop out at you it was so cool he wants to go again come on [Music] heyy ABC welcome back as you can see not a whole lot of things have changed since you guys did the house 3 years ago the house itself changed our life in such a

48:18 way that we don't have to worry about the house and Benjamin getting hurt and all that we can concentrate on other things like just being a family and having a good times hey what's up babyc well everything's awesome I still got my picture of Mr T I'd like to thank ABC for my home the other 99 homes that they've done tyeing the designers you guys are wonderful happy 100s Extreme Makeover come back anytime thanks for coming [Music] goodbye [Music] Trevor and Tyler love everything there

49:05 is to love about Minnesota sports so my first stop the Minnesota Wild to make Trevor and Tyler's room the best possible room it can be I'm going to have to go visit all these franchises that's the Timberwolves the twins the Wild and the Vikings so uh that's where I'm going to be going hey look at this yeah a Paul for Paul yeah a paw for Paul perfect oh yes what else hat do we have any hats yet looks like I'm in the right place Paul De Mayo hey Paul Fred hyberg nice to meet you okay this is an autograph basketball by Cory Brewer is now was this used right here in the arena that was used in the arena 1 hi Dave thanks so much for having me all these teams were so supportive of

49:50 the Swenson Lee family so in the end I I got bobbleheads I got twins baseballs I got twins bats I got twins jerseys I got hockey putts I got hockey sticks I got jerseys from the wild I got jerseys from the Timberwolves very very cool Trevor and Tyler's room it's going to be it's going to be the Hall of famous sports touchdown Minnesota [Music] [Applause] Vikings there you go you want get here in the corner you have to get yeah get here in the corner that's it hey guys how are Grand how are you fine how are you doing so good to see you police officer CHR Ina Rapa from Rondo Beach California was shot and paralyzed from the waist down in the line of duty this disrupted her entire life and her relationship with

50:36 her little baby girl we showed up and made a difference we built them a home that was accessible and gave Christina her independence back all the families that have been on the receiving end of this have been put in a situation where something you know pretty tragic or you know difficult has happened to them in their lives and well you guys do and what this show does is give a lot of us A New Hope and what you're going to provide for this family this is going to make stuff a lot easier as it has with each and every family that you've helped so it's just really an amazing remarkable thing thank you we love you guys oh thank you we love you guys

51:23 [Music] too you get that these are those Elmos that we're going to put on the wall Stella and Olivia are going to be able to go up to these Elmo on their wall and push the button and they will talk back to them this one's going to say I love you and that tickles so now all I have to do is really just put all the pieces [Music] together okay this is looking good now this is for for for Taylor's France room and when you hold this up hope we lift this this is actually going to be the side of the bed so it's these great Rich colors and it's going to be so beautiful and so French so yay thank you girls I'm

52:09 inspired I'm inspired to do something French what's French how about the can can can can can can come here come here come here ready ready I don't know this is what I really think that you'll appreciate maybe you can help me grab one of the uh ends of this oh wow it's got the two te's I think this circle is really poignant cuz it kind of ties it all together yeah it does one of the volunteers that was helping this week was Steve and he is Tim's brother I think it's really important to him that his brother's not forgotten either and he was really touched he was touched we thought of that and thought of them and I think he was honored and and grateful to be a part of it Tim and Terry are smiling right now because I think they

52:55 would like this it's beautiful isn't it it really is what do you say we uh grabb a shovel okay and let's put some of these beautiful flowers we can just uh take a few holes here and make it even more [Music] [Applause] beautiful hi ABC welcome back to our home we're the Watford family and we're glad to have you here we lived in this little 1300t home and all of a sudden we're living in this Grand and exquisite Palace it's afforded us so many uh Comforts that we wouldn't have had well we're grateful for it it's it's a great place to be this is the most talked about thing in our home all the surf

53:40 boards we get emails we get all types of stuff compliments aren't you the guy with the surf boards in the house that's us this show is what America is all about ABC Extreme Makeover home Edition happy 100th episode you've done a great job thanks [Music] com it's the morning of day six and uh when it's time to lay some grass you know it's a really good sign because that means the Landscaping is almost done awesome your security right yes I

54:26 am I'm so glad you're here here's the thing this is my secret project downstairs okay so I need you to pretty much make sure nobody goes down there I'm talking volunteers designers I put a cop to keep people out but with the design team especially people like Michael it's like they just don't get it you know I mean I can put the National Guard there and they still try and get in they really need kind of their own thing just got to tell them something come on let me come on no no no n you got to get back sir sir you got got to get back God you're so bossy look at this room oh oh look there all the squiggly lines in the piano oh

55:11 there's Dorothy just like in elma's World boy brella and Olivia's going to love this yay wow cool Excuse Me Elmo what are you doing we El giving everyone a sneak preview but we're not finished yet Elmo we still have a lot of work to do well that is true there's no beds no beds no curtains no curtains and no duvet definitely no duvet and absolutely no toys I know so we have a lot of work to do yeah we have to do it let's go Miss Tracy let's do [Music] it okay guys for 34s we've been doing really good now it's a push to finish

55:57 this fourth quarter all right let's go out and win this game 1 2 3 Emma can help put CL in the closet oh good okay here you go let's load [Applause] furn I got both football team and I got the volleyball team Mommy czy I found this picture in the family's old home and I had it blown up and I I think it's awesome I think it represents who they are that'll be the first thing they see when they come through the

56:45 front door Miss Tracy that's enough oh [Music] boy all right here it's the day before the family comes home the house really finally came together uh we got all the furniture in the place and I find out that the families that we've invited back um have invited us to uh like a little barbecue right down the street at this park they just wanted to thank us for letting them be involved in this project congratulations on your 100th home and helping 100 families you do a glorious and wonderful thing God bless you all we love you thank you man this awesome all right let's e able to thank the designers and the volunteers with the barbecue was just

57:30 the most awesome thing the most wonderful thing that we could have done because we know how affected Our Lives had been and we wanted to give something back it's never been the same it never will be the same and we are so grateful for that what what can I help with nothing this is our treat to you guys this is our way thanks for doing you want to put it in my hair okay you fix my [Music] hair I mean coming it up it's like a real family reunion when I look around these families and seeing how they've changed and how much love they have for not only us but each other and the unity that we have as a family that's when you

58:17 realize you're not alone I really do um have a bigger family than I thought this is pretty incredible uh the fact that you guys are here you came to help out another family it's really really special that you guys did this for us um but I wanted to let you know that uh our friends at se want to make sure that you guys got wish cards so basically anything you guys wish for your house you can go get it so oh my God it was great seeing these folks it was great hearing new stories about you know life since then it's great hearing that uh you know you've made you made a difference in somebody's life no matter what we say no matter what we uh set out

59:02 to do it can change in an instant we we've seen what what is family you know this is this is our families we we started something 5 years ago and we didn't know what we were doing this guy is crazy you know all of a sudden we're tearing down homes and building them up in seven days we just keep making them so uh I'm I'm just happy to be part of part of all of your guys family [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] love hi ABC welcome back the new house

59:53 changed our lives instantly especially for me being able to get around it was wide open everything was so easy for me to get to and access I would have never ever imagined you know being on the receiving end of such an amazing gift as we go down the hall you can see all the great pictures they took of us when we were down in Cabo happy 100th episode ABC you guys have done an amazing job and you've changed a lot of people's lives a lot of people love you for it ABC thanks for coming [Music] by Paige I'm so excited to be helping

1:00:42 these kids great I'm so excited you're here we were putting the finishing touches on the house and I stopped in to see the family you know we knew they were coming home in just a little while but we had such big news that we just couldn't wait hey guys brought my friend Bill Austin from the starky hearing Foundation who's been a friend of the show for years and he's got some very special news that he wants to share with you guys you guys are the best to you know to to take on this expanded family and and take such good care of them and they're going to be the future of our world and they need to go to school and what I have is a a scholarship fund that I wanted to start oh for the family and uh I want to change this because there's twice as

1:01:28 many children as I thought there would be that need to go to school and need scholarships so I'm going to I'm going to really just change this to two 100,000 one of my first thoughts when we were getting settled as a family was oh my gosh how do you put eight kids through college and when bill came in and generously gave us that $200,000 it was the biggest relief I felt so incredibly happy I'm I don't know what to say except thank you you're welcome they're really bright and they work really hard and they will do well and this is just an incredible gift for

1:02:15 them let's BR home that's what the let's home [Applause] welcome home wi Lee [Applause] family are you guys the anticipation of coming home was amazing we come rolling around and it's just it's hard to describe I mean the sound wash is over you the emotion

1:03:01 washes over you you just know that your life is going to change you know that and seeing all those people there that are sharing that moment with you is is pretty magical to say the least what I find amazing is is that you guys have really done something phenomenal giving these guys uh a new start but you haven't given up you've changed laws so that what's happening with domestic violence won't happen to anyone again you really are an inspiration man and the one thing you gave a lot of was love but what you didn't have a lot of was space and room I promise you this what's behind this bus is a lot more room so are you ready to see what's behind this bus you guys really [Music] ready say it with

1:03:47 me move that [Applause] oh my God oh my [Applause] God oh my God beautiful when we moved in my sister's four kids they moved into our house and now it belongs to all nine of us and everybody has a sense of belonging and when you think about just basic human needs that's a

1:04:33 big one to have a sense of belonging so you guys do you like the house love the house love the house we couldn't have done it without I tell you what some people that work just non-stop I'm talking Tom and uh Jason binsky and the guys from tjb homes man these guys Inc oh it's incredible so we get this one chance in a lifetime to really show what we can do bringing a community together to build a house for a family actually it's not just a house you know it's not the sticks it's not the bricks there's a bonding agent in that house that doesn't exist in a lot of homes and it's called

1:05:19 love these guys did it it was a labor of love this house is for you guys hopefully it's going to be a new start you can put some of the the bad things behind you and get on with the good and I'm hoping when you walk through that door you're going to feel nothing but good so swon Le family go check out your new house all right all right oh my go I oh my [Applause] gosh go check out your new house thank you oh my gosh oh look at our picture oh my

1:06:06 gosh oh my God it's beautiful look at this oh my goodness oh my goodness look at where you guys can eat look when I first walk through the door you know I was so happy like my eyes just went oh my gosh I was just so overwhelmed we have definitely been on a journey and we have something you know more than good to look forward to we have something you know awesome to look forward to it's like this is going to be great so guys what do you think of your house how you your shoes on oh my gosh it's the most beautiful unbelievable I want to show you around because now I know you guys wanted to have a big space where you could kind of see but this is the great room check out the photo you

1:06:52 guys remember that oh my gosh that is the greatest thing in this room love that photo you guys look so happy it's so cool I really like the picture in there on the mantle that's probably the number one thing I mean it's just a it's such a great picture it really shows us it's not your classic you know everyone's stiff and smiling and standing I mean it's going crazy which is what people do and what kids do so I love that in there I think it's just great so check this out now before you guys had a room that was just completely cluttered these are brand new wash and dryers from Sears I know how much laundry you guys do as a family with this many kids well these guys can run all day and all night and the coolest thing is not only do you have these but you've also got more upstairs oh my we do anywhere from 18 to 21 22 loads of

1:07:39 laundry each week and to see the washer and dryer and the space to actually do laundry I felt like wow this is going to work for a family of 10 now Taylor come with me for a minute okay now I know before you mentioned that the one thing you only want me to make sure that you your family had was this dining table Yeah well what do you think of this you think there's enough room for everybody yeah now why was this so important to you well we couldn't all fit at our table before and I think that eating meals is a good family bonding time but if we weren't all together how is that bonding and now we can all fit we can be a family I remember when we got the news that neither my mom or Tim made it

1:08:28 I just I started sobbing you know who we going to live with where are we going to go where are we going to be okay but my Aunt Vicky cleric they opened their hearts in their home and they took us it just annoying that we have family like that so loving that is the greatest thing in the world so guys you've got an awfully big house would you like to see some more of your house well guys go check out the rest of your [Applause] [Music] house oh my God so look at this oh look at that it's

1:09:15 round oh my oh my gosh that is you oh wow my new room is so amazing and it has just the right amount of space and it's just me you know volleyball that's that's what I love W this is cool oh my gosh dude a bat sign by m look at the chairs they Timber woles Ty there's sign baseballs up here I got a lot of autographs in my bedroom and I got a Vikings jersey that said my name on the back and I was really happy to see all that oh my gosh it's so pink look at this Sarah I love pink it's so pink

1:10:01 Taylor my new room it's like all pink and stuff it's huge it's exciting that I have my own room now I really really love it oh my Elmo Elmo Elmo Elmo El I think there's a few Elmo ELO Elmo Elmo ELO L Olivia oh my gosh so pretty it's amazing this room means the world to me you know it's my little space to go when

1:10:46 I want to be like alone or something it doesn't have to have a sign that says Samantha Taylor Tara it's just Taylor it's mine you know it's not anybody else it's just my special little you know dream come [Music] true oh my gosh oh wow wow look at that oh my gosh it's just for us it is it's beautiful look at the bed all nine of us gave up a lot when we combined our families and the one thing that Eric and I lost was some privacy to see our master bedroom room it was unbelievable I felt like I was in a

1:11:31 retreat this special private place just for Eric and I and it's beautiful what do you guys think of the real this is it's cool right is so amazing I got to get a thesaurus out cuz I keep saying unbelievable words I think it's fun you know have colors you guys your own space you can shut the door get away from the kids there's also one other feature I want to show you in here that I think you'll find pretty important this is security cams set up all over your house the front door you can see who's in the backyard you can basically see who's around your house and who's in your house that's amazing so you can keep an eye on your family that is so great so great I thought that would give you some peace of mind absolutely now this has been a pretty special week for us it's our 100th show uh you guys are 100 family and because of that we've kind of

1:12:17 been celebrating all week and actually a few other families that we've helped in the past actually came here and helped us and um well they were pretty touched and actually well wanted you to see something so uh let me show you this all right hi Swinson Lee family my name is Veronica ginyard um I'd like to say Vicky you are an extraordinary person and we need people like you to help us fight the struggle thank you for the being there for us just enjoy this experience it is one that you will never have again and you're going to cherish it for the rest of your lives hey Eric hey Vicki my name is Steven Johnson I'm from Kansas City Missouri hey I'd like to congratulate you guys on your new home and welcome you to the extreme makeover a family and I commend you guys on taking in your kids you know going from a small family to a big family now

1:13:03 you have the room to do it enjoy it you know hey hang in there I'm Jennifer from the cattigan Scott family and I just want to say I know you guys have been going through some rough times but now that you have your new home everything will be great congratulations and welcome home you could feel the warmth of all these people you know who had had their lives changed and were welcoming us into that family if we're the 100th episode uh 99 other you know families have gone through this and um It's a Wonderful shared experience oh that's so nice wow great people yeah I just thought it was really cool that they wanted to say a few things to you guys absolutely precious and people have said welcome to the family and you really get that sense from all of you well you guys definitely have a great family um which

1:13:48 reminds me guys were not done yet follow me okay parents like Vicky and Eric make you realize really what but good parenting is these guys have showed you how you survive something as horrible as domestic violence it can scar you for the rest of your life but all scars have to have time to heal what I love about this week is that we help them give them a safe place where they can heal and hopefully some of those memories will go away and some of those nightmares will turn into dreams well I know that um since this is one big family and I know you guys lost a few memories and I know how important they are well Michael want to do a stone that uh had a symbol on it Terry and Tim that kind of means a lot it's a place for the whole

1:14:35 family to gather I really think it turned out pretty cool that's pretty cool it means a lot to me that you know the design team thought of this Memorial to put in our new home we have that spot to go to to remember and to have you know even sad thoughts or happy thoughts after this whole tragedy with my mom I just lost both my parents I'm not going to say that I won't recover and not you know be happy again because I will I have been happy again but I'm never going to forget my parents I'm never going to forget what great people they are I love you love you more no

1:15:22 way for my secret project this week I actually decided to give you guys the perfect playroom it's going to be a place for fun for kids of all ages guys go downstairs and check it out go downstairs oh now you want to go oh my God oh my go oh my God oh my gosh oh my gosh oh wow this is so fun oh it's adorable T's secret project was amazing it means so much to my family to have a room like that and like be together and it's like

1:16:08 again it's family bonding and family bonding is really important and that's a great room to do it in you guys like the playroom downstairs yeah it's a place to have fun right well you guys also like to play outside don't you well then you're going to love this follow me oh my [Applause] God [Applause] all at this you see so much happen in the world and so many bad things so many tragic things and how you deal with it how you respond to that really defines the

1:16:54 person that you are and for the Swinson Lee family their character shines through they're still giving they're still loving they're they're going out and making a difference in this world and I think everyone can learn from that I know that you are not going to stop until lots of laws have been changed to make sure something what what happened to your sister never happens to anyone else I think she's very proud of her kids they're good people they treat other people with respect and um I think she's proud of all of us as a whole family time is a really good thing for healing and our new home really gives us that opportunity to heal and to be alone when you want to be

1:17:40 alone but to be together when you need to be together and I am so thankful the compassion and the sincerity is so felt from each of you and um just know that it's very much appreciated we feel the love big time well I tell you what I guess there's just one thing left to say welcome home snon Lee family welcome home high high five people high five so what do you say you guys want to play some volleyball play some volleyball I can't believe we actually just finished our 100th episode uh helped out our H 100th family I'd just like to say thank you to anyone who's ever been involved in the Extreme Makeover home Edition because of

1:18:28 what you guys have done 100 fames sleep Sounder healthier and safer I tell you what that's something to be proud of it just shows you that you know what if you give a little of yourself you really can make a difference because of you guys we've helped out a 100 families let's hope we can help a 100 more bring it in your people let's make it happen are you with me yeah well then let's do [Applause] 100 families 100 new homes then has it been a long trip and we're not going to stop until the job is done hello New

1:19:14 York good morning come black man with [Music] [Applause] black I tell you what you people are are

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