“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is Oklahoma Bound!

I understand the Larry Ward family of Oklahoma City has already been nominated and I write in support of choosing them for a home make over. This is a fine family. I have known them for over 30 years. The needs of others have always come before their own. Larry and Debbie have five grown children. Two of those children have Down Syndrome and are markedly challenged. Larry and Debbie have been remarkable parents to all five of their children and have been supported by a caring and loving family. I highly recommend they be chosen for an Extreme Home Makeover.
Billie Lee, RNC, MDiv

Jennifer and Charles Lance from Warr Acres, OK have been nominated. Jennifer has a nonprofit call Critter Tales. She takes animals all over Oklahoma to educate children about the importance of wildlife and the difficulties they face trying to find good habitat and food. Charles, Jennifer, and their three sons are involved in volunteering and missions. We think they are a good choice for the home makeover.
Lee and Debbie Gosset, Oklahoma City, OK

Sherry Fleming needs this home make over. She is strong and reising 5 kids in a house that is falling apart but none the less the familey love makes it a home. It would be a great blessing for them to be chosen for an Extreme HomeMakeover.

Roy Green is a hard working devoted father that trys his best everyday to make ends meet. He and his fiance raise thier 2 children together and also take care of his deaf cousin. They bought a home to call it thier own and it needs alot of repairs. Roy is very young and head strong at 22 years old.im nominating him because no matter the circumstance he would give you the shirt off his back even if it was his last one. He does’nt like to ask for help but i think he deserves it. If selected i think it would releive a great amount of stress he would no longer need to worry about the roof leaking or the floors falling through it would a gift from above to be chosen by the Extreme HomeMakeover

Deanna and Randy Pope and their 3 childern really need this extreme makeover. The reason is their youngest child sleeps in a den not even a room,very open,my brother can hardly have a bunkbed without it taking most of his room,his room is really cluttered from the space his closetis tiny that only a rack of clothes and a tobox. My sister really has no space for anything,theres always spiders in her clothes when I am there.my littlest sister’s room is in a den. I think my Aunt and her family deserve this thing.Their house is very small and CLUTTERED!!My Aunt is my hero because everything shes gone through just to support her family inspires me to nominate them.

I would like to nominate my own family for the Extreme Home Makeover. Several years ago our house had over $30,000 of damage when pipes froze in the floor and there was a lot of water damage. The house was never fixed properly and needs major work. John is currently an unemployed Spanish teacher(who has taught Spanish for over 16 years in the Tulsa area) and he and his wife, Rode, a Mexican nationa,have three children: Sarah age 10, Hannah age 8 and Grace age 5.

Grace has not had her own bedroom or place to sleep because tthe house has three bedrooms; etc. The bathrooms need major repair and there has been watering filling the vents that are on the floor from time to time. The kitchen needs repair as well and there are many things that the house needs major work on. John and Rode have not been able to get those things fixed because of the lack of finances; etc. A few years ago the furnace had to be replaced, the air conditioner and the water heater all in the same year. In other words, having their house fixed would be a tremendous blessing to them during this time of transition. John is fluent in Spanish and has taught Spanish for 16 years. He also is waiting for his results from going through the National Board’s Teacher Certification process. As you can imagine, the stress to be struggling to pay the monthly bills takes a toll and the “Extreme Makeover” for their home would be a great blessing to them!

Thanks for your attention to this submission to be considered to be a candidate for the “Extreme Home Makeover!”

Gracias!

Respectfully submitted to you,

John M. Benson
4718 South 85th East Avenue
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74145
(918) 628-0813

my name is trisha webb i would like to nomanate my best friends family the Hicks family let me tell you about these amazingpeople mary is 40,abby is 16 &chris is 13 .mary was serverly electricuted 8 years ago her childern had to go live with family members while mary got better at that familys memers house she found out her childern were being molisted she took her childern back abby complained abuot her legs hurting went drs found out she has uning sarcoma(bone cancer) thy have removed ribs,hip replecement she has went threw every expamental study trying to get better& nowshe is termal cancer threwout her body&dosnt have long she mad abucket list &onthis list she would like to go home to gore but there home is not assable to get abby in or out .this amazing mom mary never thinks of her self always think of what she can help any one in need while going threw this ginormasbattle with her son &dieing daughter please make over there home it would be a dream come true. we have been trying to finish the viedo but abby is in the hosp so much please help us sencerly yours trisha webb 512lawrence muskogee ok 74403 1918-441-8891

cont.mary &her childern live off marys soc/serc due due to being serverly electicuted she also lost her buisness when she got electcuted the familys home needs so much repairs &they cant aford to fix it or get help to fix it so abby can go home and spend what littel time she has before she dies.THIS FAMLEY has touched so many people in 3 communities as in keffton OK,muskogee OK,Gore OK, Tulsa,OK

Chickasha Ok. Elks Lodge nominated Michelle Watson family this past summer.There were over 5000 signatures on petitions,1000 man hours volunteered by members of the Elks, letters from home builders, plumbers, dirt and concrete co., as well as a video portraying the extreme need of this very heroic family. There are also volunteers from the 3 state area willing to come here to donate their help.

Michelle became paralyzed during the ice storm of 2007, while she and her father(suffering cancer), were helping a neighbor carry water to his farm animals, since his own water had frozen. a tree branch cracked, which Michelle heard and looked up and pushed her father out of the way, thus saving his life. The branch struck her on top of the head,she landed on the concrete porch, with a crushed spine and blinded for a week. Today Michelle and her 2 children are living with her parents in a very small,home in much need of more space. she has an 11 yr. old son and a 7 yr. old daughter sharing one bedroom, sharing a very small area.
Michelle’s room is so small things have to be moved arround to get her out of bed and do therapy and some equipment is in the living room. You would have to see all this family goes through every day to appreciate what a new, spacious home would for this most worthy family.
At the time of Michelle’s tragedy, her middle Kendra was undergoing treatment for breast cancer and still took Michelle’s children along with her own 4 children during Michelle’s lengthy hospital stay. This family takes care of their own, and not asking anything from anyone for themselves, always helping a friend, neighbor or church member. Michelle has maintained 3 jobs at a time and helped other children with 4-H animals as helping with her childrens show animals. She is pretty much house bound as the soil in the area is sandy and not much concrete around the property for her to get outside. The doors are not wide enough for her to get in the childrens room for her to read to them or tuck them in bed at night. PLEASE, PLEASE GIVE THEM A NEW HOME, IT WOULD MEAN SO MUCH AND GIVE MICHELLE AND HER CHILDREN A FUTURE THAT IS BRIGHT AND HAPPY!
LIZ CRAIG, NINNEKAH, OK.

I would like to nominate my sister, Sherry Fleming, and her husband Ernie. They are raising their six grandkids who deserve more than what they have. There are 4 girls, Nikki age 8, Heaven age 7, Johnathan age 6, Roger age 4, Shaunessy age 2, and Kiara age 1. The 4 girls share a bedroom as do the boys. It would be a tremendous blessing for them to receive the home make-over. Both Sherry and Ernie have done so much for these children. I was recently reunited with Sherry after about a 20 year separation and would love to see joy in their lives. Just knowing that the children are very much loved is alot but to know that they have a better home to grow up in would be an absolutely wonderful feeling. I love my sister and her family very much and what them to have every benefit possible.

continued-I really did not go into greater detail as to why I think Ernie and Sherry Fleming deserve the make-over. As a child, Sherry and her sister Yvette,my half sisters, were denied a mother’s love. Their mother, Bonnie Jean Acree, passed away after giving birth to Yvette. Sherry was only 2 at the time. She has not had an easy life but she still manages to have so much love and compassion in her heart. We were never allowed to be close as sister’s should be but even so, I know that my big sis loves me as if we were raised together. Sadly I never got to know Yvette, she passed away in 1994 but Sherry was always there for her. It would mean so much for this family that is so full of love and understanding to receive the home make-over. They deserve so much more than what they have. If it was in my power I would give them the world but all I have to give them is all my love and hopefully this chance. No matter what happens, Sherry and her family already have what is important, each other and a sister who loves them unconditionally. Thank you for this opportunity to hopefully bring some sunshine into their lives.

I met Misti at work. She was a rep and I was a manager for Best Buy. I admired how she came to work so happy all the time and just assumed she had a happy perfect life because she was always smiling and laughing and having fun at work. One day we were talking and she mentioned how her “handicapped” son had been in the ER and was having medical trouble. I had no idea. So we talked that day and I learned about her family. Her ex husband was in and out of their lives as a drug addict and never paid child support. Hayden was the same age as my son and she had an older daughter and 4 year old twins. I had 2 healthy kids and was a single mom and could not imagine how she could possibly be pulling this off. Then I found out she had taken in foreign exchange students and was their primary caregiver as well. She never complained. She never thought of her family as “not normal”. She put a smile on her face and tried to improve the lives of others. I remember her digging for change to feed the kids. Trying to stretch meals further than they should go. Over the years Misti’s challenges seem to have increased. Her twins have been diagnosed with learning disabilities and other health issues. Hayden has grown so much Misti can not lift him anymore. She refuses to put him in a home even though thats what most people tell her to do. She loves her kids more than anything. She would never be able to do that. Ryan is a teen who should be out doing fun things but is needed at home to help care for the others so her parents can work.
Misti is the best person I have ever known and when I think I have things bad I always think about her. How would she handle it? One thing Misiti told me that will always stand out in my mind is I asked her if she ever wished Hayden was normal. She told me that Hayden is normal for him and if I meant able to run and play then no she didnt wish for that. She said changing that could change everything. What if she wished him to walk and he did and ran in the street and got hit by a car? She loves him just the way he is and is so happy she has him in her life exactly as he is. WOW! That opened my eyes in a way I never thought of. To a mothers love, courage, passion, and will to take care of her family unconditionally and always.She probably wont even remember it or think it was very profound because thats just the way she is. She always gives more than she takes out of life and I think that may be what keeps the beautiful smile on her face and happiness in her heart.
I have never in my life seen someone get knocked down so many times and get back up and go in for more. She will let nothing stand in her way of taking care of her family and being happy. I have never known how she does it so if you dont chose her I know she will be okay but you would miss the best story and the strongest girl with the most amazing family. She finally made the decision to buy a bigger house to fit her family and have a special space for Hayden. She and her kids and husband have spent every minute since that purchase gutting the house and trying to make it a home that was safe for Hayden and the rest of the family. The house is a never ending project. A little like The Money Pit movie:) When they arent working they are fixing. Now they face the house falling into the creek behind their home within the next few years. Seriously? How much can one family take? Many of us wish for our children to stay young but Hayden will forever be a 6 month old in an adults body. (Misti will continue happily mushing up organic fruits and veggies for him) The twins are growing and in need of time to do things that other kids do but they cant because its so hard to get Hayden around in places we take forgranted. Ryan needs to have more freedom. Misti and Kevin need a break! They deserve a chance to have a few less worries and a safe place to live. Meet this family and you will be changed forever in a positive way.

Misti Wriston has applied for your show as well but she will not tell you why SHE deserves to be picked.

14 years ago her and her husband owned a business, she was going to school for engineering, she lived in a big beautiful home and then her world changed when her severely handicapped son, Hayden (now 14) was born with no explanation for why or what was wrong with him. They did not think he would leave the hospital. He came home and spent the better part of a year in and out of the hospital with surgeries and testing, still no one could tell them anything, only that he had multiple anomalies. Her and her husband split up when Hayden was one and a half and she was now single, with no way to earn income due to taking care of Hayden and his older sister Ryan (now 16) and living in a tiny single wide trailer on a dirt (or mud) road. She had to turn to the welfare system and her Church to care for her family and made small money balancing people’s check books from home. She became home bound due to Hayden’s severe intolerance to the chemicals in the world around her. She spent hours daily with a dictionary, medical dictionary, medical books and a spiral trying desperately to find something to help her very sick baby. His skin blistered and bled from head to toe, he began to have grand mal seizures turning blue and no one could help him. He was not developing and could not tolerate any formula they tried. He threw up daily. The meds they usually give made his symptoms worse.
Then she came across something that seemed to call to her about a child that could only digest raw fats such as avocados and raw Nubian goat milk so she went to a feed store, found a person with goats. She bought a gallon and 48 hours later, his multiple seizures a day STOPPED. A week or so later, he began to follow objects with his eyes, he had previously been thought to be deaf and blind. The doctors could not explain but she did not give up. Rather than start tube feeding him she went with prayer and mothers intuition and continued the raw goat milk. At $10 a gallon, she had no way to pay for the milk, so she borrowed the money and bought two goats. She milked these goats every morning and night, rain or shine to feed this baby and his progress was nothing short of miraculous.

Her ex-spouse and her tried to reconcile a year or so later but he simply could not deal with the disabilities and the limits on their lifestyle that went with it so he left. Shortly after she found out she was pregnant with his twins. A few months later Aaron and Adrian (now 9, one partially blind and one learning disabled) were born and she was a single mother with 3 in diapers, 2 nursing, a handicapped child on a bottle, 3 that could not walk and her daughter Ryan, at age 8 got called to duty to help in every way she could to keep that family together.
Hayden kept getting stronger with her turning more natural and he got strong enough to enter a special school program in 2004 and Ryan began public school in 6th grade. Misti could then work outside the home with daycare assistance for the twins.

And once she started, she didn’t stop. In the past 5 years she went from total dependence on welfare to financial independence as the owner of an insurance agency. All the while she has helped everyone along the way that she could. When she could afford a better car, she gave her old Taurus to a neighbor that needed it. She donates anything she can to various organizations, March of Dimes, Parkinsons, Breast Cancer,Oklahoma Foundation for the Disabled. She recycles and composts. She helped a friend with a down payment on a house, an employee buy a car, she drove to Texas on a moments notice to babysit for a friend with 6 children who was having a crisis, she helped another friend financially and physically open a new salon, she has let a friend and her daughter move into their home as ‘they needed a place to stay’, Misti always wants to help others because of the help she received those years. Even when those of us around her think she should occasionally be more selfish.
Last year, she got married to a man that may be the greatest man on Earth. He does for my grandson what many parents would not be able to handle doing for their own flesh and blood and he does it with this incredible, smile and bright blue eyes and Hayden loves him. Hayden can not tell us but if you see him get a glimpse of Kevin or Misti, you will see what love is in the purest form.

They have moved to a bigger home that really looks like a great home for their family and spent the last few years trying to make it work for their crew BUT IT IS ABOUT TO FALL INTO THE CREEK. Not tomorrow, or next week but the erosion is very visible year to year and it will be less than 2-5 years if something drastic isn’t done. They can either cut off the master bed and bath so that the edge of the home will not be so close to the cliff leading to the creek or they can build some elaborate retaining wall system that would require draining the pond and creek, stopping the water flow, tens of thousands in labor and materials to build the retaining wall and even if they did that, the house does not work for the growing young man who will live there forever. Hayden is confined to his room unless Kevin is home to move him around, the outdoors area he can be in isn’t much better. Misti can move him but it is difficult and dangerous. Her ceiling in her master bed room, or what she uses as a master flooded due to a humidifier line freezing last winter, they got it repaired and then it happened again. Her ceiling looks like it could collapse any minute. The plumbing in their house needs to be replaced all the time due to the hard water build up as their softener cannot handle the load. Their septic system is too close to the drop off where the erosion is and now it is open which isn’t only dangerous but stinks. They spend a lot of time at home with the kids, which they enjoy, the boys ride the four wheelers and skateboard on the driveway but they don’t have a nice place to play outside nor do mom and dad have a place to relax.

They just need a do over. They need a new house that is done, that doesn’t represent an unimaginable work load so they can take care of the kids, do things with the kids and make Hayden a bigger place to live. He is only going to get bigger and heavier as time goes on.

Misti needs something that is nice for her. Kevin needs a medal but at the very least he needs a day off. He works six days a week on a walking postal route and his one day off is spent fixing the squeakiest wheel of the house for that week. They did the kids rooms to the nines and have unfinished concrete floors and a half collapsed ceiling in their room. They even moved the master bedroom into what was to be a living room because they saw no reason to spend money on the room closest to the drop off/erosion. So now their master bedroom has the door to the garage in and traffic running through it as the kids come and go.

Please pick this family. She has worked so hard to get them to this point and to literally save her sons life, now they need a little reward for all that they do.

I watched your show help many families restart their lives, and right now, I need help to keep my family together and revitalize some hope and stability in three children’s lives. I nominated my family because my baby sister was murdered leaving three children, my family was robbed of closure and a proper grieving period. Since her demise my family have been faced with several life altering situations. We are living a nightmare filled with replayed agony, fear and unexplainable sorrow. I worry daily that someone will come and take my sister’s children away from our family.

On Sept 13th, 2009, my beautiful sister Nakketa Smith 31 was murdered by her ex-husband. Before he killed Nakketa he stoked, raped, and harrased her. For 16 horrific days my family, along with Texas Eqqu-Search, many volunteers, realtors, police and local Media, searched weeded areas, abandon apartments hoping to find her alive. Regretably, Nakketa’s future was stolen and our lives forever changed. Nakketa’s children was placed into DHS custody and Foster Care system. The children asked if they could live with me, and they didnt want to be split from one another? I immediately said yes, but now I had to meet Foster Care bed requirements. I relocated from my 1 bedroom condo into a larger house. Since Nakketa’s death, her children and I had to relocate three times in one year. Once because he killed my beautiful sister in her 5 bedroom home. Although our family shared a lot of good memories in her home, I have a hard time accepting he shot my sister especially someone as caring as Kita, and now it’s unbearably depressing to look at or ever live in that house again. Because I was not financially prepared to care for three additional children, and pay two mortgage payments, the bank foreclosured on my sister’s house.

Recently, Nakketa’s 16 yr old daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer. At this point, in order to take care of her, I knew I had to make a decision to relocate again and combine my two families into one house. I dont understand why God have allowed us to endure so much pain in such a short time, but I know I’m standing on legs borrowed from God, because I want to give up every day. It’s devastating to helplessly watch my niece go through losing her mother and best friend, now suffer in pain with this illness and sink into deeper depression. My sister April moved from Dallas to help me take care of our niece.
Unfortunately, April’s job didn’t extend her FMLA, now she and her daughter live with us too, until she find a job.

These unexpected tragic life changes, come along with increased responsibilties thats very overwhelming and stressfull for all of us. I try but I have a difficult time being productive as a Realtor because, I cant stand to hear a phone ring, that sound takes me back to thc day my husband and people called to say my sister’s house was being taped off by police. For a year now my family, and I have had to spend our time in court getting father’s to release their parental rights, for guardianship, court dates for that killer, probate court, and adoption procedures. I dont know when or how we will be able to grieve our loss and get closure.

My sister’s children miss their mother, Nakketa was a very happy loving fun mother, who loved her life and family. She was our families fashion Diva, who would have a different hairstyle over night. Nakketa had every thing good to live for, all of her children are very talented. My niece was a sprital dancer, her eleven yr old son use to sing at church and school talent shows, both of the children performed at her funeral. Nakketa’s 6yr old refused to go to his mother’s funeral. Her 6 yr old son cries all the time because he was extremely close to her. Nakketa’s 11 yr old son have a hard time accepting this because he wanted to touch her soft skin one more time, he said. But her body was decomposed, he didn’t get closure. While at the funeral home, Nakketa’ eleven year old son asked the funeral director, if his mother had clothes on her body? He replied, “No…we wrapped her in fabric like a mummy.” Her son cried, he wanted to see his mother again.

Nakketa’ life ended to soon, my son’s and I was not suppose to carry my baby sister’s casket and leave her in a grave.

Please help us stop domestic violence. I plan to start a foundation in honor of Nakketa(Kita), named Kids In Their Aunts House Foundation. Kita, was Nakketa nick name.

My mother loss a daughter and friend, my 3 son’s and daughter loss a caring aunt, I loss a sister bond who loved unconditional, encouraged everyone, she completed my life. With such a loss, its hard daily to move on, but I hear her words of encouragement.

Please select my family for an extreme home makeover, our 3bd Rm home is extremely crowded with 9 people and our lives are disarray? My family realize we have many unplanned challenges to overcome, but we are overwhelmed with sorrow, anger, embrassed, and frustrated that we’re forced in such a vulnerable position to need help, but we are appreciative for everyone.

PLEASE EMAIL CASTINGOKLAHOMA@GMAIL.COM

I am the casting producer and I haven’t received most of these submissions that are just left as comments here.

Thanks,

Ashton Ramsey

I would like to nominate keenan meaders in tulsa as the Makeover family. This family is the most giving family that i know. Keenan is a police officer in tulsa. They have several kids, most of which have grown, but they all pitch in to help Keenan’s wife Sherry. Sherry has m.s. and has lost a most of her mobility. she is in a wheelchair and their house is not wheelchair accessable. The doors are too narrow for the chair to go through, because of this she can’t even get to the bathroom to take care of personal needs. I don’t know how much to share with you, I know that they are a humble family that don’t ask for anyhing, but they will help anyone that is in need. Therefore they don’t have the money to refit their own home. I don’t know how much it would take to modify their home but living on a police officer’s salery, the money doesn’t go far. I know that a Makeover would be a blessing for them.I know that there is a lot of families out there that are in need, but I’m asking you to Makeover this family and Thank you for at least concidering them.