Remember the Woodhouse Family on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition?

UPDATE: The YouTube videos previously listed in this post have been removed, so we've removed the links. Sorry for the inconvenience.




We are big fans of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition so last year when we learned that a writer's family had been chosen, we were ecstatic. I knew Kimberley Woodhouse through American Christian Fiction Writers, so it seemed more personal than usual.





Now Kimberley has written a book about her family's experience and we're helping her celebrate by spreading the word! (We're giving away TWO COPIES of her book - see details below.)





Welcome Home: Our Family's Journey to Extreme Joy is an inside look at the family's life before they were chosen for the Makeover and the entire Makeover process (including photos of their new home.) Kim writes with honesty and vulnerability, which allows us to feel their pain as they struggle to keep daughter Kayla alive, keep a roof over their heads, and try to maintain a "normal" life. In fact, Kim's view of normal - described early in the book - influences the attitude of the whole family, and they are an inspiration to millions. You'll laugh, cry, and cheer from cover to cover - just be sure to keep a box of tissues nearby for tears of sorrow and of joy!





The official release date of the book isn't until September, but you can pre-order your copy at a discount, so order today. (They'd also make great gifts for your family, friends, and libraries, so order more than one! It's possible they'll begin shipping early, too.)


About the book:

Thanks to being featured on the hit TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the Woodhouse family of Colorado Springs is known across the country. Their poignant, heart-touching story of having a child with a rare medical disorder, which led to a mountain of hospital bills and the loss of their home—and their need for a home that would be safe for daughter Kayla—has put them in the public spotlight and kept them there. The theme that carries through Welcome Home is James 1:2-4. We’re all a work in progress, and it can be “Pure Joy” to be a parent. But, how does joy evolve out of a potentially devastating reality? Kimberley’s candid stories of both failures and successes, and the ultimate resource—the Bible, will point readers in the right direction for establishing JOY in their homes.


From the back cover:


Overwhelming trials . . . met with overcoming joy. Kayla Woodhouse is not your typical twelve-year-old. Due to a rare medical disorder, she feels no pain, doesn’t sweat, and needs protective cooling gear just to go outside. With her restrictive lifestyle; countless hospitalizations, including brain surgery; and the resulting mountain of hospital bills, what’s a family to do?

How the Woodhouse family has faced seemingly impossible challenges is a story that has captured the hearts of America. Millions of people have experienced glimpses of their lives on Discovery’s Mystery ER, The Montel Williams Show, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (recently voted one of the show’s all-time best episodes!).


Now Kayla’s mom, Kimberley, takes readers behind the cameras to reveal their family’s journey as never before told. From medical sleuthing to cross-country moves, from freak fires to battles with insurance companies, Welcome Home proves that truth really is stranger than fiction. This candid life story reveals both success and failure and demonstrates how, even during tough circumstances, to shift your life from heartbreak to extreme joy.


Peek inside the Woodhouse family’s life (and their famous house) with a 16-page photo insert.


About the Author:


Kimberley Woodhouse is a wife, mother, author, and musician. She maintains a quick wit and positive outlook even while enduring difficult circumstances. A popular speaker, she has shared at more than 600 venues across the country. The story about Kimberley and her family has garnered national media attention for many years, but recently the Woodhouse clan has been featured on ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "The Montel Williams Show," and Discovery Health channel's "Mystery ER." Millions of viewers around the world have seen these shows and recognize the Woodhouse family as friends. She and her husband, Jeremy, school their two children in a truly "extreme" Colorado home.


Read the first chapter here.




TRACY HERE:


Please continue to pray for this family. The house is a blessing beyond measure, and helps them in ways most of us can't imagine, but they still need our prayers, because Kayla's condition is still very much a part of their daily lives.


Woodhouse Family - thank you for sharing your journey with us. May God continue to use you in tremendous ways and may hearts and lives be changed because of your testimony.



And now - a CONTEST!


I'll give away TWO COPIES of Kim's book to one winner at the end of the month - one copy for the winner, and one copy for the winner's public library OR church library.


Here's how to enter:


Share in the comments how YOU shared about this book. Did you tell your sister? neighbor? friend? Did you tweet about it? Share it on your blog? Tell your church? Share the videos with your cousins? Talk about it at the water cooler at work? Share it with your Sunday School class?


No links required - just share with us. Be sure I have a way to contact you if you're chosen winner.


All comments should be made by Friday, August 28th (you can enter as many times as you talk about the book). The winner will be announced on Monday, August 31st.