PLEASANT GROVE — The children cheered, the parents wept and the story that began in May with a devastating fire came to a triumphant end that was nothing short of miraculous.

After nearly three months of living on the road, with relatives and in motels, Greg and Holly Richardson and their 20 children were welcomed back to the home that was damaged by fire on May 14 and then restored by an inspired community.

"We knew they were going to work on (the house), but we didn't know they were going to do all of this," Greg Richardson said. "We had no idea it was going to be this big."

"All of this" would include a freshly landscaped back yard, complete with a waterfall, playground and barbecue pit — with room for 22. Inside the house, it would include five new computers, new appliances, new furnishings, new beds and six bedrooms professionally designed to the tastes of the rooms' inhabitants. There are also ramps and a chairlift for the four children with physical handicaps.

It also includes a check for more than $26,000, donated by community members through Bank of American Fork, and a gift from the bank of $500 per child.

"All of this" may take a few days to fully sink in, but the family was already overwhelmed with gratitude Wednesday night.

"I don't know how we can live here and not know how loved we are in this community," Holly Richardson said. "We know there's a God, and we know that when you give your best, there's others in the community who give their best back."

For the Richardson children, returning to the remade home was like Christmas in August. When the family was taken into the back yard, the children squealed and ran to the trampoline and playground.

Once inside the house, they scampered from room to room, pointing out all the additions and giving tours to their friends.

"This is a cool house!" shouted Kerry Richardson, 7, as he toured the new kitchen area. "I haven't seen this house forever!"

The family was given a royal welcome. Pleasant Grove High School's marching band led the procession, and the limo bus in which the family arrived had a police escort. When the Richardsons piled out of the bus, they were greeted by hundreds of people, many of whom volunteered on the project.

Tiffany Berg, one of the project's coordinators, welcomed the family.

"This has been a community coming together," she said. "There might be other productions out there who have more money than we do, more people than we do or more talent than we do, but . . . this is the house that love built."

Berg said the renovation ended up bigger and more successful than the small group that planned it had ever imagined. "We showed up every day and said 'What do we need to pray for today?'" she said. "And the amazing thing is that every day we had a miracle."

Berg said the project wouldn't have happened without the donations that poured in from local businesses. C&A Construction coordinated the building side, offering labor and bringing in the needed subcontractors. The firm even offered a job to Aaron Richardson, 18, the family's eldest child.

Other groups donated furniture, designers, computers, appliances, landscaping, toys and anything else the family could need. The list of donating businesses could go on for pages.

But just as important, Berg said, were the nameless volunteers who showed up and offered whatever help they could, often working late into the night.

"There was one gal who just walked up one day and said 'I know how to paint, can I help?' " Berg said. "I walked through three days later and she was still here. Then yesterday, she walked through with her children and explained to them how she got to be a part of this."

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Berg said the appraised value of the house went from $275,000 to more than $900,000. The entire project was completed Wednesday, with volunteers scrambling to the last minute to put the finishing touches on the house.

Ultimately, Berg said, she thinks the community response was so overwhelming because people wanted to help the Richardson children. Sixteen of them were adopted, and many of them came from severely troubled pasts and face ongoing physical and emotional challenges.

"I think that's why the community gave 100 percent, because when this house was burned and these children had to leave, it was like they were robbed of security twice," she said.


E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com

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