Blitz Build May 25th-June 8th

Meet the Holland

Crystal and Troy Holland have been married for twelve years. Up until 3 years ago the family lived in Central Florida near Troy's family and where Codi, Nikki, Nathan and Tyler were born. But, Crystal had grown up in the Town of Alfred and wanted the children to experience the benefits of the schools and small town values of her hometown.

After moving back to Maine, Crystal completed training and is now a Certified Nursing Assistant employed at River Ridge in Kennebunk. Troy, an ex Navy man, is experienced in building maintenance. He is currently the stay at home parent filling the role of homemaker with expertise and enthusiasm.

They are thrilled to be the selected family partner for the home being constructed during Blitz Build 2008 through the partnership with the Home Builders Association of Maine. Security, safety, and livable conditions for the children with areas to play safely outdoors lead the list of stated objectives for this young family.

To Habitat For Humanity,
Hi, we are the Holland family. It is really hard to express what our home means without telling you all a little about ourselves. Well, our family is quite large, consisting of Troy 35 (dad), Crystal 29 (mom), son Codi who is 11, Nikki 10, Nathan 7 and our youngest, Tyler, who is 6. We are a close knit family who likes to spend any extra time we have in family activities, and we take pictures of all our adventures. Troy and Crystal married when Troy was 22 and Crystal, 17. Not long after Codi was born we moved to Florida for about a year and then moved back to Maine as we were having a hard time making it. Nikki was born in 1998 and we lived with Crystal's parents in Lebanon for awhile before moving back to Florida where Nathan and Tyler were born. For the 8 years we lived in Florida we struggled to make it, as child care was too expensive and it was hard for both of us to work. So we would take turns working, and we found ourselves moving around a lot. During this period, we would hit hard times and have to move in with a family member until we saved up enough money to get our own place again. In 2005, we sat down and talked and decided to move back to Maine, initially into a very rough part of town in Springvale, and then into several other rental apartments before finding a 2 bedroom house on a car lot on the main road in Alfred. We were so happy to find a house in the same town where Crystal had grown up, but nowhere did we ever find a place with a safe place for the kids to play.
So, receiving this home out in the beauty of the woods is such a blessing. It means the world to our family. Codi says that, “yeah this means we don't have to move anymore and switch schools either”. Nikki loves how she can actually have friends and not have to worry about leaving and having to make new friends. Nathan, well he loves the outdoors and the woods. This little boy is so happy that he has somewhere to ride his bicycle and with trees to climb without getting himself in trouble around some vehicle sitting in the car lot. Tyler likes how mommy and daddy made a fire pit in the yard and we can have camp fires and roast marshmallows. Mom is proud to have a home where she can plant gardens and grow food "yes Rich the green beans were so tasty", something actually grew and we were able to eat them.. Crystal is also happy that she has a home to clean and make honey do lists. Troy loves being able to have a yard to mow, trees to cut, rocks to move and what ever else of a honey do list mom makes up for him. We could go on and on, on what this home means to us but think we should stop now. We would just like to say Thank You once again to all the volunteers and Habitat for Humanity, Douston, and Patco. Oh my we can't name them all but thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for making our American dream come true. We hope to be able to help make this dream come true for many more families.
Thank You— The Hollands

May 25th, 2008

 

The Blitz Build begins in earnest....

 

 

 

 

Dodging raindrops...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The End of Day One....check out more photos of the Holland Build!

Almost there...

Holland Family and their new home!

View more picture of the Blitz Build