A Visit with the Porters {Home Depot Gift of Good}

Normally, I go to Home Depot to buy something for myself – a gallon or two of paint, 2x4s for a project or wooden curtain rods for my bedroom.  It’s seldom that I visit my favorite store to buy something for someone else.

But last Wednesday, my family and I did just that.  We visited the Home Depot to buy $500 worth of holiday decorations for my nominee for the Home Depot Gift of Good, the Porter Family from Killeen, Texas.  We certainly had a great time spending that gift card!

In our basket, we placed tons of white indoor and outdoor lights, pre-lit Christmas trees for the Porter’s front porch, a fresh evergreen wreath, a beautiful fresh rosemary tree, ornaments and tree decorations galore.  You are welcome to join us on our shopping trip – and see the last item that Zack thought the Porter children just *HAD* to have.

I opted for a red, silver and baby blue color scheme – perfectly patriotic for our deserving military family.  I also left enough money on the gift card for the Porters to select their own Christmas tree.  The choice between real and artificial is an inherently personal decision, and I wanted to make sure that they could make the best decision for their family.

We loaded the decorations into the back of my SUV and made our way to Killeen.  When we arrived on the Porter’s street, we saw some of the children playing in their front yard.  In order to surprise them, we parked around the corner so they wouldn’t see us coming.

We piled the decorations into a wagon that we brought along, carried some things in our arms, donned Santa hats and started walking up the street.  Suddenly, the kids saw us and started saying, “Wow!  What is that?”

“Are you the Porter family?” I yelled (and totally felt like Ty Pennington a la Extreme Makeover: Home Edition).  “Yes!” they exclaimed.  “Go inside and get your Mom!  We’ve got a surprise for you!” I called out.

I’ve never seen a group of children move so quickly.  Within seconds, mom Tina and all of her children were standing in their front yard.  The kids were cheering and Tina was almost speechless.  I wish I could have gotten photos and video of their faces, but there was so much excitement that we were just living in the moment.

We rolled the decorations into their home and the kids immediately began decorating, putting the decorations in different spots around the house.  It was a really neat sight, and their excitement was energizing.  Zack helped them rip into the Santa Express so that it could be set up.

Tina said they had just picked up a few modest Christmas decorations and figured they’d just leave it at that this year.  Not if I can help it!  The Porters now have more holiday decor than they probably know what to do with.

I love this shot of the family, with the younger kids holding some of the decorations.  They are so stinking cute!

Now, it’s YOUR turn to give the Porters a Christmas of a lifetime.  By simply visiting the Home Depot Facebook page and voting for them, you will be putting them one step closer to winning the $20,000 home makeover.  There are only 9 families in the running, so the Porters have a great chance of winning the grand prize!

You can vote each day, and I encourage you to do so.  I want nothing more than for them to be able to live comfortably in their home.  Click HERE to visit the Home Depot Facebook page, click the GIFT OF GOOD tab on the left hand side of the page, and vote for the Porters!  Voting for the Porter Family is the simplest thing you can do this holiday season, and you don’t have to enter a store or even change out of your pajamas to do so. 

Can we count on your vote?