After more than two years of planning and nearly five months of living in a temporary residence, a Palm Beach Gardens family with seven special needs adopted children-suffering from things like HIV, cerebral palsy, and blindness-finally had a dream come true-a 'new' home especially designed for them that is spacious, handicap accessible, and where special needs can be addressed.

Their 'old' home was run down and not easy for the handicapped children to get around, Bedrooms were small, shared and crowded. Because the home was originally designed as a duplex, it contained a lot of wasted space due to having duplicate kitchens, as well as two separate plumbing, electrical and air conditioning systems. That's not the case anymore. Their renovated home now looks like something you'd find in a glossy home design magazine and there is a surprise behind every door.

"I am completely overwhelmed. It's so much more than I ever dreamed it would be. It is absolutely beautiful. Most importantly, it addresses every single need of our family," said Rita Gorenflo. She added, "We are so very, very grateful."

As the family made their way through the house, a camera followed them from room to room to allow the crowd of more than 100 people outside watch and hear as it unfolded on a projection screen.

In addition to a spacious central living area, modern laundry room, four bathrooms, including one designed with a lift to accommodate the handicapped children, and a secure pharmacy that allows Rita to safely store the many medications required in the household, each of the children received their own room designed in a theme that they helped select. Special touches were evident everywhere, ranging from a 56-inch flat screen television set in the living room, to new bicycles and toys in the children's rooms, and a barbeque grill, patio furniture and basketball court lined with new pavers and tropical landscaping in the backyard.

Their neighborhood and the volunteers who worked on the home renovation shared in the Gorenflo's joy. As the family pulled up to the house, smiles, cheers and applause welcomed them home.

The project was spearheaded by Susan Lemieux, the director of community outreach at The Weiss School. She met the Gorenflo's more than four years ago when her school adopted the family for the holidays, providing them much needed gifts and groceries. During her visits to the home, Lemieux witnessed the disrepair of the crowded home. She decided something needed to be done and contacted the television show Home Extreme Makeover to solicit its help. After a flurry of e-mails and promising telephone calls, communication suddenly stopped, but that didn't deter Lemieux. She told the disappointed Gorenflo's, not to lose faith, that she would find a way to give them a much needed makeover.

Lemieux contacted her brother, Chris Kennedy, a vice president at Suffolk Construction, and asked for his help. Chris met the family, received backing from his company, and then enlisted the help of subcontractors.

"We had a planning meeting at the house. Initially the intent was to do some upgrades without moving walls. At the end of the meeting, the subcontractors told me they'd only be in if we did it right. That meant knocking down walls, gutting the entire house and essentially rebuilding it," remarked Kennedy. He added, "Most of the vendors signed up for this project when the economy was booming. Amazingly, even in this challenged market, none of them backed out. They are unbelievable."

More than two years of planning, five months of construction, 60 subcontractors and suppliers, 5,000 hours of donated labor, and more than $150,000 in in-kind donations, money, materials, services and goods made the home renovation possible.

For more information about the project, visit www.GorenfloMakeover.com.