Habitat World Online

Texas: The Hester family celebrates from the very start
This could be a story about a family who was desperate to leave their apartment after a drunk driver crashed through their living room wall. That did happen, but this is not that story.

This could be a story about a family who wanted to leave an unsafe neighborhood after an angry man mistook the father of the family for someone else and stabbed him on Sunday afternoon. That also happened, but this is not that story.

This is a story about a birthday cake.

By the time Dennis and Marsha Hester applied for a house through Habitat for Humanity of Grayson County, they had already known about the organization for several years. Dennis’ aunt, Merrie Johnson, is the proud homeowner of a Habitat house built nearly 10 years ago. A walking advertisement for Habitat, Merrie encouraged Dennis and Marsha to make the phone call.

Despite quite a few bumps along the way, the Hesters were optimistic that all would be well, and the family looked forward to moving into their new home. Miranda was perhaps the most excited of all.

Looking ahead to Miranda’s birthday, Marsha asked her daughter what kind of party she wanted for her sixth birthday.

Miranda told her mother that the only thing she wanted was to have a birthday cake in her new house. “But our house isn’t finished yet,” said her mother. “There’s no furniture, no cabinets, and no heat.”

“It doesn’t matter. We could just sit on the floor,” said Miranda.

So on Miranda’s sixth birthday, the Hester family gathered in their chilly new house, sat in a circle on the concrete kitchen floor, sang “Happy Birthday” and ate birthday cake.

Since the Hester family moved in three years ago, there have been a few changes in the household. Dennis and Marsha are both back in school part-time, working on undergraduate degrees in engineering and business. Fourth-grader Miranda, second-grader DJ, and kindergartner Ivy all attend the same elementary school, just one carpool stop for Marsha.

Miranda definitely remembers her birthday party. “Oh, yes, I do,” she says now. “I made a wish, and I got my wish.”

By Laurie Mealy, executive director of Habitat Grayson County in Sherman, Texas