Family Surprised with Home Makeover

MCLEAN - Kim Lauterbach can barely recognize her own home.

"When I first walked in I was just amazed. I was almost in tears."

Last week, Kim and her family vacationed in Hawaii. The trip was all expenses paid, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Her son, Weston, recently had open heart surgery and is a Make-A-Wish recipient.

While they were away, local community members decided the family's home needed a makeover. Sunday, the Lauterbach returned to surprise they are still having trouble believing.   

"The curtains are new. Those two photographs are new. The clock is new," said Kim Lauterbach while walking in her renovated living room. "I knew that they might be replacing some of the flooring, and possibly the cabinet, but I didn't think whole house."             

Now, this mother of two feels like she's in a brand new home. The walls are repainted. The volunteers donated multiple pieces of furniture. The kid's bedrooms have a little more flare. Her son, Liam, can now look at lighthouses--his favorite thing--every night before bed, because they are painted on his wall.            

Lauterbach says her kitchen was falling apart when she left for vacation. Now, she has new wooden cabinets, flooring, stove and a microwave.  

Lauterbach and her husband have wanted to make changes around the house for years. But he suffers from multiple sclerosis, and with Weston's heart problems, hopes of renovations were pushed aside.

Now, they have the home she always dreamed of.

"I can't express how much this has meant to us," she said.

The makeover was made possible by local community members.  It was not a part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Lauterbach's say they are so thankful for their new home, that they want to pay it forward and help another family.