We manged to exceed our expectations on the construction, but were disappointed to not be able to finish all of the siding. The homeowner was very inspiring and left a lasting impression on all of us. The kids all worked very hard, made new friends and learned a lot.

We all had a great time!

We toured some parts of New Orleans where the damage was still found everywhere (as opposed to Slidell where many repairs had already been made). The buildings were marked with a code that told what had been searched and found (some of the messages were very grim). Some places had been cleared, some had trailers that people were living in, three years later. Some places had one house in the middle of a block repaired, surrounded by others that were vacant, badly damaged and overgrown. Many had lots with just a set of porch steps left.

We were responsible for keeping the place clean.


Jeff and Josh had their birthdays together on Tuesday - so they beat each other up (It's a guy thing, I guess)

The boys had to work on a scaffolding. I ran the saw. There was a lot of work on the inside, too. It was hot, and there was a lot of sweat involved!

Many of the residents are able to have their FEMA trailers on their property (as ours did) but for those that couldn't there was a trailer park. We went to visit with some of the residents and have dinner with them.