The Lucas Family
This week we're in Farmville, Virginia to meet the Lucas family: Michael, his wife Jean, and their two boys, Michael and Joe. Michael and Jean have been happily married for many years, and life has been going very well. Michael loves his country, and he enlisted in the National Guard. Then, lo and behold, he got the call and had to get up and go and leave his family behind.
The story this week is really about all of those parents, husbands, wives and children who are left behind when their loved ones go to fight for our country. Regardless of what's going on, or where they're at in their lives, they get up and go to defend us.
Jean stayed back with the two boys, and they stayed in a rental, and the rental was pretty rough, but they were making due because they knew one day they'd be in their dream house. She's pretty amazing herself; she never expected to be raising those two boys by herself, and when Michael left that was the reality. It's not easy raising two boys on your own.
Michael is a huge Civil War buff, and he found a piece of land that was actually historic, and he wanted to build his family a home there. He actually started and was well on his way when he got called away to Iraq. But, he had to pretty much leave everything the way it was. The foundation was okay, but the wood and the framing that were there were weathered and not really usable.
Together with our builder Ken Broadwater, from Ken Broadwater Homes, his team and this community, we will build a new house will finish Michael's dream. That's our goal this week.
This week I'm taking care of the common spaces: The living room, dining room, and the kitchen areas. My goal is to just follow what they love and give these people their dream. They love the traditional styling of the colonial homes from the period. So that's what they're gonna get.
I hope we were able to pay a fitting tribute to all the men and women like Michael who sign on that line and go to fight at any time. It doesn't matter what you believe in, we have to realize that there are people out there who will go and do that for us; for our freedoms so that we can do what we want to do in this country. I just think that it's an amazing testament for someone to say yes, I will go and I will leave my family and I will fight for this country.
