"Things have really settled down," Amanda Suggs said. "We went through the period of everything being new and getting to the point of it being home again."
A year ago, the ABC show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and thousands of volunteers built a house for the Suggs family: Amanda; her husband, Derrick; their children, Mason, 2, and Walker, 6; and Amanda's siblings, Jordan, 11, and Jacob, 18.
It was the second time the show, which travels the country building houses in a week for needy families, built a house in Horry County. In 2007, the show built a house for Renee Wilson of Longs.
The Suggs family was chosen for the show because Amanda and Derrick Suggs were struggling after they took in her siblings when the Department of Social Services threatened to put them in foster care. The Suggs didn't have enough space in their aging, roughly 1,000-square-foot house. The new house has about 3,500 square feet of space.
On Jan. 11, a year to the day that the Suggs family was surprised by the show, another South Carolina family, the Dickinson family of Beaufort, got a similar surprise. Crews have been working around the clock, with thousands of volunteers contributing to the effort despite cold temperatures, much like they did last year for the Suggs family. The Dickinson family will see their new house for the first time this week and move in to start the process the Suggs have just completed.
Derrick Suggs said the biggest gift the show gave them was peace of mind.
"You have a sense of worry that's not there anymore," he said. "The kids have a nice home they can be proud of. It's really been a blessing."
In the old house, which was poorly insulated and had asbestos problems, he was constantly concerned about the health and well-being of his family. Now he knows that they are safe and warm, especially this winter when it's been so cold, he said.
The hardest part of the experience for the family was having to watch the demolition their old house, which was built by Derrick Suggs' grandfather. While the family still misses the old house sometimes, the benefits of the new house make up for that, Amanda Suggs said.
"It's been a little strange being accustomed to such a nice home because we're humble people, we're not used to nice stuff," Derrick Suggs said.
Making a few changes
Mostly the family has been happy with the house, but they've made a few changes to make it a bit more livable.
The house looks much the same as it did when the show aired April 11, but Amanda Suggs has added family photographs and decorations, and a number of toys have found a home in the corner of the living room. Despite all the commotion in the house with so many children, the place is clean and toys are stacked neatly in their place unless they're being used.
They swapped out the white living room couches for brown ones, which don't show the dirt of young kids who love leaving handprints on the furniture, Amanda Suggs said. The family listed the old couches for sale on Craigslist touting that they were from the "Extreme Makeover" house.
They are also switching Mason's and Jordan's rooms so the young Mason can be closer and in sight of his parents' bedroom.
Mason plays in his room but still sleeps in his parents' bedroom, so moving him closer may help him make the transition, Amanda Suggs said.
The workout room built for Jacob, who has a passion for mixed martial arts, will eventually get some new roofing, insulation, heat and air so that it can be used as possible sleeping space for more kids that may move in, she said.
The room gets a lot of use, and most nights Derrick and the boys spend an hour lifting weights, working out and sparring. Even 2-year-old Mason gets in on the action and does some push ups.
The family has already used the extra space to take in some more kids, and they plan to either adopt more or bring in foster children now that they have the room to do it, they said.
Adam Roach, 18, and Dakota Young, 19, live at the Suggs house and share Jacob's room. Both had a hard time and needed a place to live so the Suggs took them in. The Suggs have regularly taken in kids they meet through the church youth group, like Young, or others that they meet who need a home.
"We just felt [they] belonged here," Amanda Suggs said.
Harry Dill, a partner at Sterling Homes, which built the Suggs house, said he's happy that the Suggs family has taken in more kids.
"It's kind of sort of what I've hoped for," he said.
Concerns dismissed
The family had some concerns at the beginning, such as whether the new house and celebrity would affect the kids at school and if there would be any incidents with gawkers, but neither turned out to be a problem.
At school, teachers and students acted like nothing had happened and the kids stayed on track, Amanda Suggs said.
There have been strangers who have come by to look at the house and most of the time they have been nice and it hasn't been a bother, they said.
"We're very social people. It didn't really bother us much," Derrick Suggs said, but he added that on occasion he worried a bit if Amanda Suggs was home alone.
They've had to remember that people feel like they know the family, Amanda Suggs said. A few chance meetings where they were recognized have led to interesting conversations and recently to a gift. The family met some volunteers on the house who came by and dropped off a framed T-shirt from the build and pictures they had taken as a gift to the family.
Wanda Jordan, a neighbor, said that even after the trucks and equipment of the show left, the neighborhood stayed busy. A lot of curious onlookers have driven by, creating some traffic, but it hasn't been a problem, she said.
The landscaping has proved a bit challenging, with many of the plants dying from frost, and the weeds in the backyard are hard to cut or kill, Amanda Suggs said. But those are minor problems, and some replanting in the front and maybe getting a few goats will solve them.
There are a few more bills with the new house: a water bill, because they no longer use well water, and a gas bill. But the expenses haven't been a problem, they said. The electric bill is about the same as it was for their much smaller old house because the new house is much better insulated.
Still appreciative
Derrick Suggs said that a year later the family hasn't forgotten the generosity and still feels blessed to have been given the house.
"We really appreciate everything everybody did. A year later we're still appreciative," he said.
Dill said he talks to the family occasionally and as he's gotten to know them, it's reinforced his belief that they deserve the house.
"You always hope that people are going to take a gift like that and do better for themselves with it, and that is in fact what they've done," Dill said. "The family has done really well since then and that is what we all hope for, that if we step out of our comfort zone to help someone, it does. We feel really good about it."
Looking back at the build, which meant long days and little sleep for Dill and many of the volunteers on the project, is a happy memory, Dill said. He also still keeps in close touch with Renee Wilson, whose house he also built. Dill also helped build a house in New Orleans for the show.
"I love doing that, just the experience of seeing that many people come together for a common cause and 99 percent of them not making a penny," he said.
Derrick and Amanda Suggs said they are grateful and thankful and have tried to make sure their kids are, too. This Christmas they only gave each kid a small gift and bought gifts for several other families in need.
"We didn't spend a whole lot for Christmas because they got so much this year," Derrick Suggs said. "We kind of wanted to have a reality check."
Amanda Suggs said Christmas was special in the new house because all the kids had room to open their gifts and they could all gather around the tree.
"It was really pretty at Christmas," she said. "I don't want to look back and say it was hard at the old house at Christmas, but it was hard."
Jacob said that the experience of getting the house and being on the show still doesn't feel real to him.
"Thinking about it, it feels like it didn't happen," he said. "It's such a big thing to happen in a week. Such a big thing doesn't usually happen in people's lifetimes."
Jordan said the community is also appreciative of being able to be a part of the experience.
"We've been real thankful they were able to receive it and enjoy," she said. "It was a wonderful experience for all of us. I think it brought the community closer."
Having the new house or the celebrity hasn't changed the family and they've made the best of it, Jordan said.
"They were always willing to help others and they still have," Jordan said.
Plenty of space, staying close
The family has a lot of space now, so tight quarters aren't forcing them to be close, but the family has stayed tightly knit.
One of the best parts of the house is the simplest - the concrete driveway at the front where the boys can ride bikes and skateboards, Amanda Suggs said.
There's also plenty of space inside to play and run around. This week, as Derrick and Amanda reflected on the year, Mason drove around the living room on a battery-operated four-wheeler, the teenagers made protein shakes and Walker and Jordan played in their rooms.
The teenagers are living across the house and not a thin wall away like in the old house where she could hear everything, Amanda Suggs said.
"I wonder how did we sleep, how did we do anything. We heard everything," she said. "I guess you just get used to whatever you have."
Despite all that space, the family will often gather in Derrick and Amanda Suggs' bedroom in the evenings or after church on Sundays.
"We've got this big huge house, and we confine ourselves to this small space without thinking about it," Amanda Suggs said.
All that extra space seems to have brought the family even closer, said Tammy Suggs, Derrick Suggs' mother, who lives next door. Now they can all watch a movie or eat a meal together, which they couldn't do in the old house.
She said that she's seen a change in the family this past year.
"They're just more relaxed," she said. "They don't have to worry about their kids getting hurt or getting sick."
In the old house there was little room for the kids to play and they were squeezed into rooms together, Tammy Suggs said. Now, they all have their own space and are less stressed and happier than they were before.
"The kids - they didn't have hardly any space to play - would get kind of irritable," she said. "They love having their own rooms. It's just been great for them."
The family even enjoys doing the laundry now, because the washer and dryer are large enough for all the clothes and the laundry area is heated. To some that may sound strange, Tammy Suggs said, but for the family it's enjoyable because they remember how it used to be.
"I'm so thankful they were blessed with the house," she said. "'Extreme Makeover' is just terrific. I wish that they had the means where even more people could benefit. There are so many people that are in the same position."
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