Family gets home of their own ahead of Christmas

LAUREL, Del. – One family in Laurel now has a completely renovated home right before the holidays, and the homeowner tells 47 ABC this is the best Christmas present she could ever dream of.

“It’s the best Christmas ever I just told the others it’s like Santa Claus came early you can’t even put this in a bow or a box, it’s unbelievable,” Ashley Scye, the new homeowner, said.

Scye and her family will spend their first Christmas in that home, all thanks to Sussex County Habitat for Humanity and countless volunteers. But getting the home move-in ready took a lot of work.

“We started in April so we’re in about a nine month renovation on the house, really took it all down to the studs, fixed some structural issues and then brought it back with a whole new life,” Kevin Gilmore, Executive Director of Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, said.

The renovation work was grueling, but Ashley says getting to this point was emotional work for her as well.

“With the economy going down, and sometimes with housing it’s really super expensive, just being told no is really hard, and finally being told that yes just turns everything around,” she said.

But the physical house means nothing without anyone inside.

“When their story begins, then they start a new chapter in that house, and it becomes alive, and it’s filled with laughter,” Mayor John Schwed said.

So at Wednesday’s dedication ceremony, Ashley and her two sons moved in, making the house on Oak Street their very own home. It’s a feeling that Scye says is indescribable.

“I can’t even, there’s too many words that are going through my head and I think just the reality of it has not even truly set in, I’m just so thankful and blessed,” Scye said.

So what’s next? Scye says lots of unpacking.

“My car is full, I’m going to empty out my car and then fill it back up, that’s it, lots of unpacking,” she said.