Homecoming!: Mobile family wowed by their new "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" house

al.com - Birmingham, AL, USA - "Move...that...BUS!"

An estimated crowd of 3,500 chanted -- nay, shouted -- the demand Friday afternoon in Midtown Mobile.

The driver of the big cruising coach that has become iconic of the popular ABC television program "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" responded by moving his conveyance eastward down Baronne Street to reveal to Steve and Lydia Gaudet and their six children the new 3,500-square-foot-home that was built for them this week by community volunteers.

The Gaudets, their story and their new home will be featured in an episode of the ABC TV show that tentatively has been schedule to air on Sunday, March 23, according to the "Extreme Makeover" production crew.

"I'm hoping my daughter doesn't pass out," said Bill Smith, Lydia's father, a short while before the Gaudets saw their new home. "She has a tendency to do that when she gets excited."

When the bus moved, no one passed out, but the whole family jumped up and down as men and boys joined Lydia in wiping tears of joy from their eyes. Somebody from the crowd shouted, "Welcome home!"

Hugs were exchanged

between the Gaudets and builders Frank Lott III and Frank Lott Jr. of Mobile-based Heritage Homes, which oversaw the quick-paced construction of the five-bedroom, three-bathroom house in an incredible 106 hours.

There were hugs, too, for the TV show's celebrity designers, whose interior design choices for the family will not be revealed to the public until the program airs. Program host and designer Ty Pennington and designers Michael Moloney, Ed Sanders, Didiayer Synder and John Littlefield all worked their magic inside the home.

Then the Gaudets crossed the threshold of their new home for the first time. They disappeared behind the closed front door, as a TV production crew was expected to videotape them inside for several hours.