Monday, December 8, 2008

Day 1 on set of Extreme Makeover: Home edition is completed!








The Family
The Augustin family from Keller, TX is an amazing family. Their world was first shaken after their son, now age 4, was born ten weeks prematurely. Amber Augustin, a professional photographer, knew after those anguishing weeks in the NICU, her family would never be the same. They had a new purpose… a new goal.
The Augustins are a proud “March of Dimes” family dedicated to the survival of premature babies. Because some premature babies don’t survive, Amber created a foundation called “Tiny Works of Heart”. She takes pictures of families and their fragile babies. For many families these pictures are treasured memories of their babies who had very brief lives. The photos, often as many as 1,200 per family, are all free. Amber will not accept money for her mission.
With full support from her family, Amber began working to give families something they were unaware they might miss. Her husband, Peter, knew the first time he saw Amber in the NICU passionately photographing the babies, he needed to make Amber’s newly found mission a priority. He bought her a new camera and converted the garage into a photography studio.
The family’s world was shaken again on Father’s day last year, when their home was overrun with flood waters. The Augustins were notified that the home, uninhabitable, would need to be raised over a foot in order to meet code. Monetarily, it was simply impossible for them. Their first home, one they remodeled over a twelve year period and welcomed their three children into, sits vacant.
Another Hero in the Home Peter Augustin is a project leader for Habitat for Humanity. He won an award last year, the same year he lost his home, for his role in the charitable organization. He zealously built a home for someone else, while his family was homeless. Very few people knew his secret.
Tiny Works of Heart “My work is hard and emotional. But, it’s not about me. It’s about them – the families and the babies.” – Amber Augustin
Learn more about the Augustin family throughout the week, as their new home is being built!


My thanks to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Wall homes for allowing me to be apart of such an amazing project!