The Grand Opening

A sweet thank you

It finally happened. If you hadn't heard or gotten an invite (or two) I finally set a date and followed through on having the grand opening party at the house to signify the end of this major project. Sure there are a few minor things left hanging out there, but whose house doesn't have those kind of issues? Mine for al intents and purposes is done in regards to asking throngs of people for help. I chose June 6th, 2009 for the final date making it two and a half years and one day from beginning to end. What an amazing ride it's been.

Two days before things were looking a bit hopeless. I think it was another example of me biting off WAY more than I could chew and another example of the people around me saving my bacon. I had spent two weeks busting tail trying to get things prepped and completed from having a garage sale and laying mulch in the back flower beds to starting to go through the MOUNTAINS of boxes in the third floor and hanging some pictures. I have to admit though that despite all my efforts to push and push and push, I was near the end of my rope and really needed help this time. I sent out an email and I was once again humbled by the response of help by friends and family. I had a onslaught of help from Elisha, Ryan, Shana, Dan J, his daughter, Lola K, Neil O, Randa D, Mary, Dan, my Brother Sean, Mom, Russ, Caryn, Case, Helen, Ron, Kirby, Kirby's friend Michael, Mark S, Uncle Al and I'm sure one or two more that I'm forgetting this late at night. I wish I had captured them all in pictures, but alas I didn't know where my camera was in the whole confusion. The night before the big party the crew and I were up past midnight putting on a final coat of paint in the third floor and cleaning like fiends. It was as much a dash for the finish line as I've ever known. I heard a few times from a few that were at the house less than 48 hours before the open and then at the open that the house was a completely different house for the Open and I completely agree. One of the coolest improvements and one that was nagging at my 'metal list' for some time was the completion of the wet bar and the basement bathroom plumbing. The first is now ready for service and the latter has already been tested with great success. Uncle Al was determined to get the sink in the bar hooked up come hell or high water and wouldn't you know that as the first guests were arriving Al cried out victoiuosly and with great pride put out the 'It's 5 O' Clock Somewhere' sign and we were truly ready for a party. I would have never have been anywhere close without the help of these folks and many, many others as well as all of the prayers that I know were being sent up.
Randa splits hostas/Lola sifts out rocks & weeds

Randa, Mary, Shana & Lola work hard for their ibuprofen

Shana waters the new plants/Completed new beds

Lola preps a bit more/Ed & Joyce let the light in!

Ed & Joyce cleaned ALL the windows/Ryan starts the 3rd floor bedroom paint

Sean takes on plumbing/Lola cuts the 3rd floor play room

Lola cuts in more/I lend a hand in painting

Dan J and his daughter help out LATE Friday

Believe it or not - the mess 24 hrs to go...


Even with all of this great help and support, I once again received an amazing gift on the last day that I still shake my head in disbelief of the generosity of the peole that surround me and the grace of the Lord. While I was to be out the afternoon of Friday, I happen to be around as some guys pulled up to the yard to install some sod. Huh - I hadn't ordered any sod and probably wasn't going until the following week. Turns out that My frined Mike M who (along with his two brothers Andrew and Nathan had helped install the sprinker system) had ordered - and paid for - the sod to be installed on the north side of the house where the dumpsters had made their mark for nearly 18 months! I was nearly brought to tears - seriously in a manly way of course - because it's one of those little details that to me makes a huge difference and really would make the open house a finished product. I still can't believe the surprise and generosity - thank you Mike.
The surprise crew starts up/Both sides of the driveway and front bed

That's A LOT of sod/Mike @ Andrew fix a few things

Making things smooth/Almost done with the fix

Back and forth/and then do it again to be sure

Completed beds look better with sod!

Oh did I mention the mulch in the last 72 hrs? - 30 cu/yd!



On to the main event - Open House 2009

The day started out a bit soggy and I was worried. THe Lord was in charge as always and had it completely under control. I had enough food, tables, chairs and gifts for nearly 300 people. It was a time where I really hoped folks would come back to see what the fruits of their labor helped to create, not at all for myself, but because I wanted to show them that I put to good use their time, efforts and gifts. It's not often that you get to see the finished product when you volunteer for a project and when it is possible it seems to wrap things up. I know a lot of people had taken great joy and pride in making my house so fabulous and I wanted to share that with them.

I could really go on forever saying how grateful I am for everyone's generosity and I'm trying to fight the urge to do so to keep everyone from boredom of reading the same thing over and over again. In my effort to try and reveal new information or ways that I see the Lord working in my life (or the world around me) I'd like to tell of a short story I heard over the past couple of days. My disclaimer is the usual that I in no way claim responsibility or credit, I am only a part of the picture and enjoy witnessing how wonderful it is to see the Lord work in everyday life. I recently heard that one of the young people that have worked at my house and in this case this person worked A TON at my house, decided that of all the fields of study to choose from in today's collegiate system, he'd like to look into architecture. While that's not amazing, what strikes me is that he chose to do so in part because of what he learned and experienced here at the O'Bannon Project. Working along side myself, others and his father, Kirby has found a new path in working with structures and building things that are both useful and works of art. I think that fits his personality and talents as there are many of both here at my home and many are due to his contributions. I have talked a little before in the blog about Kirby and his dad, and specifically the relationship between them that has grown over the past two years. In many ways their time together reminds me of the relationship I had grown with my father in college just before he died four months after my graduation. I was so fortunate to come to see my father as a friend and as a man that was my 'equal'. My dad and I had spent much of my teenage years bucking horns and I'm sure many around us thought that the day we came to respect each other as equals would have been decades in the future if ever at all. Yes, you might say I got his hard-headedness in spades and a lot of that was directed at him for many years. By the Lord's knowing and loving hand though, we moved through that and were able to come together as friends and I believe I loved my father far more when he died than I ever could have imagined because we had made that transition into knowing each other more deeply than just rule-setter/enforcer and rule-breaker/young buck. Not that I'm saying Kirby is me at that age, but I see that those two men are seeing each other more as equals in manhood and respect is a two-way street that often comes from God working on people's hearts, egos and tempers - at least that's what it took for my father and I. I guess in a very long and drawn out way, I guess I'm saying that God has allowed me to see another father-son relationship grow and because I know how much it meant to me to lose mine, it means that much more to see others gain it for themselves. God gives those kind of blessings and it buoys me more times than I think I allow others to know. Okay huge diversion from the point so I'll get back to it after these pictures.
Eating good food/then playing

Ellie with Big Uncle Jonny/Little ones eat too

Signing the book/Chatting it up and telling stories

Mom chats it up/The small group talks about what they worked on

friends, friends... and more friends

..and more friends...

..and more friends...

..and more friends...

..and more friends...

..and more friends...

..and more friends...

..and more friends. Seriously, I AM blessed.

It feels so good to be 'finished'. I was asked if there were any other things left on the list and I think there are really only two must-do items and one nice-to-have item. The have-to-do is residing the kitchen bump out - formerly known as the eat-in nook as there is a 3" gap between the existing siding and foundation not to mention holes where the windows used to be and the doors are now and the other is a new roof. Both are not horribly difficult as I've done more roofs than I care to count and the siding I've never done, but I'm sure is similar to a roof, just vertical. Yeah, I know a oversimplification I'm sure, but really not. If anyone out there knows how or better yet wants to show me how to install the siding - maybe a shake siding I'd love to talk with you. The nice-to-have is to extend the garage in the back where the concrete slab already exists and I'd just need to create the walls and roof for a 'shed' for the mower and such as I can only park one vehicle in the garage right now and am constantly tripping over things when I'm trying to find whatever it is I need at the moment. So not critical, but definitely a high nice-to-have that has a lot of function! I'm thinking to take a week or so before I dive into the next item of wiring the garage from the box, but I'm itching already to get that finished up.

Although I sent out a couple hundred invites and had only 150 or so people, I know many more helped and I would really like to extend my most heartfelt thank you to them. For many years I will be asked about this project and I will be thanking folks well into Ellie's middle school years and that still won't cover it all. If I run into you in the mall or at church or at the supermarket, I would really like to give you one of the measuring tapes or hammers that I had engraved to say thank you. I can vouch that you can never have too many good hammers or tape measures around the house. As I experienced (and even commented about in this blog a few times;-) throughout this project I would misplace or at least not be able to locate for a while my tape measures and hammers and having 'just one more' would've never been a bad idea. Plus, they're just really cool tools that all the losers want and the cool people have. So please stop me and ask me about them as I will have a box of them in my car for quite a while so that as I track you down I have one on the ready for you.

Happy Birthday Leslie - The Big 3-0

Her favorite - angel food cake with fresh strawberries.

Today was a really tough day, it was supposed to be a day of surprise, joy and lots of calories. Alas, it was just another day pushing forward to a deadline, one that really can't come fast enough. It's here in (now) five days and I'm so freaking far from being ready it makes my head hurt.

I started the day rolling out of bed and trying to get Ellie to school so that I could take the car to the dealership to repair the front bumper and misc pieces after a deer decided to hop in front of me shortly after having it's breakfast a week ago. Chunks of chewed grass and spit hit the windshield and the ever-aware Ellie asked from the back seat 'Is that the deer's blood daddy?" "No, Ellie, it's most likely parts of its breakfast. We didn't kill the deer Ellie, we just hurt it really bad," I said. Then the obvious next question came out,"Is is going to be okay Daddy?" and so went the conversation for the next 10 minutes as we rolled in to see the doctor at the Saturday clinic to treat Ellie's UTI that hadn't been fixed for almost 2 weeks - and for those ladies out there it had been a ROUGH two weeks at the O'Bannon household. Anyway, back to the present, I wanted to get there first thing so I could get on to the LONG list, but alas getting a four-year-old out the door i the morning is like moving a wet noodle in the boiling water - tricky at best. I arrive at 8:30 and drop it off without too much trouble and it's raining. NO umbrella - sweet. So set the tone for the day.

Five years ago Leslie surprised me in December with most of my friends being at my house and catching me off guard with a surprise birthday party. She was pregnant with Ellie at the time and the weather was horrible as we'd just had a recent snowfall. I had gotten up that day and done the usual early morning snow shoveling - lots of ice melt on the 50-degree-incline-driveway and set out for the day. It was near Christmas so the luminaries were out and all was festive, and I of course had no clue what the day had in store for me five years ago. It wasn't so much memorable until the party. I came home from someplace that made me sweaty or dirty or both - I can't remember which, but I do remember being completely surprised and feeling WAY underdressed for the occasion and then running upstairs to change for the guests. She got me good that day and I immediately thought to myself I looked forward to the day that I would get to return the favor of a surprise party. Of course I had plan of going big and bold as usual, but I hadn't really thought it all out, but just knew I was going to really enjoy seeing the look on her face and feeling great that I had gotten her back.

That was supposed to be today, or at least a day around today. Maybe a day early or a day late, but it would have been planed for near the 1st of June, 2009 - thirty years after the Lord had placed her hear with all of us. Unfortunately that day never happened the way we all thought it would. That day - today - didn't play out anything like I thought it would.

It was a day where Ellie started a new 'class' at her daycare - the transition to the Mozarts from the Bachs Room (from the 3 yr olds to the 4s) and I cried as I left. Sucks seeing Ellie grow up right in front of me and I feel alone in cherishing these moments. I'm choosing what pictures go up on the walls and which ones stay packed away and it doesn't feel right to make the decisions alone. I'm crossing that bridge I dreaded so long ago about what things stay in the house and what goes. Fucking sucks. Sorry to finally make this blog 'R' rated but the wound is open and I don't know how to close the damn thing. I feel torn in eight different directions, trying to cover all the bases, working my ass off to do all the things needed to keep the boat floating and really feeling like it's either a lost cause, not worth fighting for or just too damn tired to care anymore.

The Lord has sustained me throughout this whole mess and I pray that he continues to do so because I'm sure it's not by my power that I'll make it. This past weekend was 'Celebration Sunday' at my church and it was all about praising God for the many blessings our church has done, has received and has given - all in the name of God. It was inspirational, it was uplifting, it made me want to jump out of my seat and give a tearful testament to God for all of the things he has given me in the last 2 and half years since my life was blown apart. That day seems so far away, yet it's only 36 hours past. Life is definitely a ride of hills and valleys and I know that the Lord is my driver and I try to be the best co-pilot I can, but I'm tellg you what, sometimes it would be great to be able to climb on to the back and just put my head out the window and watch it all go by while I feel the wind in my hair and smell the flowers in my nose. But that's not possible and the map needs to be read and the course plotted for tomorrow, for the next transition, for the next birthday.

Happy Birthday Leslie, the big three oh.

Nicaragua Easter Birthday

What a wonderful gift

A day at el Canyon was a great way to end the traveling portion of our trip, now on to a slower pace to finish out. We awake to another bright, wonderful day and a relatively 'slow' schedule. All that we have to achieve is to go to the market to get a pinata, a couple of gifts for Ellie and the host family and hang a little with Jahzell (pronounced Ha Sell). We roll out of bed and into the luke warm shower, change band-aids and get dressed in another super cute, brand new outfit and we're off.

Jahzell isn't quite ready so we go to the bank, car wash and then pick her up so we can go to the market. It turns out that waiting for Jahzell was well worth it as everyone in the market is more Nicaraguan-friendly than US friendly when it comes to quoting prices and bartering. We knockout getting the prized Tinkerbelle pinata, party hats and a few more toys in a few minutes. We return to buy soccer jerseys for all the kids at the house (9 total) as a thank you from Jon and I for being such great hosts to the both of us as well as making sure that Ellie isn't the only child getting gifts at her party on the 12th - the BIG FOUR! Eventually we find a handmade bowl for the family that I think would make a great gift and we move on to lunch and a nap for the little one. Below is a video of Ellie playing beautician on my hair that happened a few days back that I forgot to upload and thought it sorta fit here.

Nicaragua Haircut

The rest proved to be invaluable and we met up with Jahzell again for dinner and a movie. All in all a perfectly paced day and yet we achieved all of the things on our list that needed to be done. We get back from the movie and put Ellie to bed. It was too hot and there was too much on my mind, so Jon and I stayed up until about midnight talking outside the casita on the patio. It is amazing how God uses every discussion, every day to work his plan and love into our lives. Thank you Jon for being so open, honest and for the time this week.

Sunday morning begins much like Saturday except church starts at 8:00 and I for some reason think it was to start at 9:00. So shifting into high gear to take showers and get into the Easter dress we head off to church 15 minutes late. Thankfully the Latin American culture is very 'forgiving' of deadlines and we arrive just in time for church to begin. A great and uplifting service was followed by a potluck lunch (which we of course again forgot to bring anything for so only Ellie ate). Walking around the school grounds for the last time, it was nice to see again what has been Jon's world for nearly three years. When we first arrived, we didn't really 'tour' the place and it hadn't sunk in just what I was looking at. Now, seven days later, I had a better perspective of what I was looking at, the people I was talking to and the lives Jonathan has been a part of. One thing though too was the first stage of the school expansion for a creative arts wing had been completed over the past two years and they were looking forwarding to moving ahead on the next stage. That creative arts wind was what many folks back here had given money towards in memory of Leslie shortly after her accident. I took a somewhat deliberate stroll around the building of the first stage and tried to picture what some of the classes were like since it had been built and maybe some of the classes that were to come. It was obvious which parts of the building were new, which windows were fully functional, which doors hadn't been worn a bit by the weather and use. Although I knew that the donations were only a part of what I was looking at, it felt really good to see those dollars put to use in a real world. For those of your readers that donated money for this school, I saw the outcome with my own eyes and I met the real people that get to use that building. It was a great feeling to be a part of something bigger than just one or two people. This school will affect hundreds and hopefully thousands of children that will go and make a bigger impact on this world than any of us could imagine. It was a good 'tour' to have taken on Easter Sunday, the day that the Lord gave it all to us, it was good to see how we sometimes give in small ways in return that the Lord tends to use in bigger ways than we could ever imagine. Truly a loves and fishes moment in my life.
Church greetings/Our Easter dress is sparkling!

In line for brunch/Very happy to eat

Jahzell helps out Ellie/MMMM lunch

Fresh fruit/These capture the 'ellie' cheeks and eyes

Jon looking coy/Then talking with friends

Another Ellie fan/The usual fun times


We get back to the casita and it's time to put Ellie down and get to work for the big party. One of the boys in the compound had spent a few hours trimming back the trees and bushes in the yard preparing for us a space large enough for the pinata so that we wouldn't run into things and even raked the dirt so there wasn't trash, limbs or leaves in the way of the expected fallen candy. We started blowing up balloons and hanging Tinkerbelle our candy-laden pinata. As was typical the entire week, it was super hot, but Sunday seemed to be the worst - hot AND muggy. Although hampered by profuse sweating, we managed to get everything in place in time and went to awake Ellie. It took no time at all for her to shake off the cobwebs and run outside with the pretty Easter/Birthday dress on looking for the festivities to begin. All of the children of the compound were anxiously awaiting her arrival as well.

We began with an idea I had to bring a bit of U.S. traditions to Nicaragua by coloring some eggs and then hiding them and having an Easter Egg hunt in the yard. THe children didn't really know what to think of it, but as they usually do, they rolled with the punches and fully embraced the fun of turning their fingers blue, pink and green of the food coloring dye. We had an excellent support team consisting of the family's housekeeper, Margarita, (that gave up a day off to come and help) and Jahzell (who by the way is completely afraid of blowing up balloons because the potential of them popping freaks her out). Once again us men were saved by the women as Margarita was a pro at running these kid get-togethers and I bet could corral a thousand cats if ever challenged to do so.
The family helps prepare/We start coloring eggs

Ellie is party-ready/Everyone gets into the coloring

Ellie chats up the girls/While we hide eggs

A successful hunt/The anticipation grows


Next was the main event of the pinata. What great fun it is to give a kid a bat and watch him/her beat the crap out of one of their cartoon friends only to have loads of candy come spilling out of its belly. A bit weird when you think about it and put it into those terms, but a lot of fun when you partake in the gamesmanship of raising/lowering the pinata and the cat-and-mouse aspect of tricking the blind-folded child to swing in mid-air at nothing. Everyone tries their hardest to get in a solid swing with contact, but usually it's a glancing blow that merely injures a limb. Getting to the big kids the swings becoming longer swooshes of power and eventually limbs come apart and it's amazing to see the frothing at the mouth that suddenly appears on every child's face. One hit finally loosens a piece of candy and all things come to a halt as the single piece of hard candy is fought over and retrieved. We go through the rest of the children and no one has been able to finish the job. In steps Uncle Jon and a real bat. Oh how the temptation was pulling at me to yank on the rope and have him swing at air without making contact, but the wolves were frothing for too long already. With two solid blows and explosion of Laffy Taffy, gum balls, butterscotch pieces and other hard candy filled the air. A flurry of small legs and hands scurried about trying to grab any and all pieces that they could shove into their rolled shirts while simultaneously unwrapping the first few catches and shoving them into the mouths. It was expected, but hard to believe as Ellie stood by most of the action and needed a gentle push to get into the mix, lest she come away from this bedlam without any candy for the birthday girl.
Ellie gets to take the first couple of whacks (see video)

Then everyone else/While Ellie watches closely

Then Gabriella (video)/Uncle Jon finishes the job

Total bedlam ensues without any injuries!

Cleanup for the birthday/What a cake!



The final scraps were picked up and counted, we brought out the cake next with orange pop to wash it down. I'm sure you're wondering if I was out of my mind to let that much sugar be ingested by 10 little people in a relatively confined space. To that I say, "Heck, you only turn four on vacation with friends you had just recently met once, so live it up!" A beautiful cake made by Joni and the perfect birthday was complete - oh wait, there were presents too - and LOTS of presents. For folks that don't have a lot for themselves, they went beyond the measure of being welcoming in their gifts to Ellie. There were sandals, shirts, books, crayons and all kinds of games that were wrapped beautifully for Ellie and it really showed how great these people are. We were only there for 7 days and they gave as though we were family. I can't say thank you enough. As mentioned before we also had a gift for all of the kids to show our appreciation. The soccer jerseys were a complete success and were covering their existing shirts in a manner of seconds after receiving them. The soccer ball was fetched and we finished off the afternoon playing in the yard and getting completely dirty chasing each other around. It was a great Easter celebration, one that I won't soon forget.
Singing of "Happy Birthday"(video)/Great gifts

A great hair salon kit/Gifts for everyone else

What a great way to end the party

We played into the dark and until we could see no more. Everyone's clothes filthy from having fun and becoming true friends. We said a few goodbyes as Ellie and I had to leave early the next morning and headed of to get some sleep before our very early wakeup call. This was an amazing trip and although it came together in a very short period of time, my memories and experiences there will be remembered for many years to come.