OREM — The tears started when Cayce and John Thill stepped out of the limousine with their 14 adopted, foster and biological children to lay eyes on their fully remodeled home and newly landscaped yard, a $200,000 gift inspired by $10,000 donated through the show, "Oprah's Big Give," and ABC 4 News.
"We had no idea that they were going to do this much," Cayce Thill said. "We kept getting e-mails (from friends) that said 'wow' and that's all."
The family left Tuesday for a four-day trip, expecting to find only a new dining room with a table big enough for their whole family when they returned, but the founders of Heart 2 Home, a Utah nonprofit organization asked to head the project, decided a dining room wasn't enough.
"When we came to do the meet-and-greet Monday, we thought we can't just walk away," Connie Perrett, a volunteer with Heart 2 Home, said. "We can't just do an addition and that's it. My plan was to find a volunteer to head up each of the bedrooms."
Volunteers turned makeshift bedrooms in the garage into an island paradise for one of the girls and a sports mecca for three boys, ages 7 to 9.
Lauri Walker headed the project for the boys' room. She coordinated with an Orem High School shop teacher and students to build a new triple bunk bed for the room. Other volunteers gave up football jerseys and hockey equipment to decorate.
"I saw (the bedroom) I started with, and this renovation is huge," Walker said as tears spiraled down her cheeks. "There is a saying that says, 'with great love always comes miracles' hanging in the bathroom. I think that is what this is all about."
The Thills and those who know them are no strangers to miracles of love. The family has welcomed 35 foster children into their home.
Dayna Chadwick, a 22-year-old single mom, is one who has benefited from the Thills' dedication to children in need of foster care.
Chadwick said she began using meth for the first time when she experienced postpartum depression after the birth of her baby girl, Addison. She used heavily for six months until last April when she came home to find her daughter in a coma due to meth ingestion.
The baby was in a coma for three days and diagnosed as developmentally delayed by two months after she was released. Addison was put into the Thills' care by the Utah Foster Care Foundation until Chadwick could get her life in order. Today, Chadwick and the Thills are fast friends.
"When Addison came into care with the Thills, it was the best thing that ever happened to me," Chadwick said. "If it wasn't for them being so supportive, I wouldn't have my daughter back. They were non-judgmental and they listened to me. They went above and beyond what they had to do."
Cayce Thill attended all of Chadwick's court cases, picked Chadwick up so she could visit her daughter and took Addison to all of her doctor's appointments.
Chadwick credits the Thills with her daughter's progress. Addison, now 19 months old, is on track developmentally.
The Thills' devotion to foster children in Utah doesn't stop there.
Four years ago, John Thill created a retreat for foster families at Aspen Grove, where he works as a chef. The camp has allowed families to bond and helped inspire couples to renew their foster parent licenses. Zions Bank, ABC 4 News and "Oprah's Big Give" donated $10,000 to the retreat.
The Thills' hard work is what made the Utah Foster Care Foundation nominate the family to be the recipients of "Oprah's Big Give."
"They're just such a wonderful family," Deborah Lindner, the director of the foundation, said. "They have been willing to do what we ask foster families to do: reunite children with their biological parents; adopt children."
The Thills' work has touched their own children's lives in a profound way.
"I think my parents really deserves this," Josh Thill, 14, said. "I was amazed when I saw the house. It's just amazing because everyone is so happy."
E-mail: lriddle@desnews.com