Frank and Tracy Slaughter often watch ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” overcome with emotion as the design team and home builders make a deserving family’s dream house.

Now they are that deserving family receiving attention from the popular television show that airs on Sunday nights.

LET’S GET FIRED UP—The Montgomery & Rust Inc. contractors team surround the Slaughter family of Penn Hills prior to the start of their “Extreme Home Makeover.”

“It’s surreal,” a smiling Tracy Slaughter said. She was still overwhelmed by the “Good morning, Slaughter Family,” announcement made in her front yard by show host Ty Pennington and his design team.

“You believe it can happen but...” she said.  “I can’t believe it’s happening. It’s overwhelming. It’s such a blessing.”

The Slaughters lived in a two-bedroom house on Grandview Avenue, a cul-de-sac nestled a couple blocks off of Frankstown Avenue in Penn Hills. Their five children, who range in age from two to 15, share one room. Ten-year-old Michael is separated from his four sisters by only a curtain. The house suffered wind and water damage in recent years. Among the problems that followed were structural damage and mold.

Frank Slaughter, a self-proclaimed handyman who erected the brick support that held up the old house’s roof, said many of the problems were beyond his expertise.

“It’s bad,” he said before the family headed to Disney World in Florida while a demolition crew knocked their old house to the ground. Within an hour, all of the debris was removed and an empty lot was being prepared for the house the family would be returning to in five days.

“It just needs a lot of work,” Frank Slaughter said. “I can’t wait to see what they do. I’m really excited.”

The design team and local developers Montgomery & Rust Inc. promised to build a house that would be safe and provide the Slaughters more space for the family and for the children Tracy Slaughter mentors. They assembled a team of about 2,000 people, including many volunteers, to help them get the job done.

“This is exciting,” said Mark Rust of Montgomery & Rust. “We have a lot of work to do in 106 hours, but we have a lot of help. They’re a great family. They do deserve this.”

In September, Frank and Tracy Slaughter were notified that they were one of five finalists being considered for the makeover. Producers from the television show contacted neighbors to find out if the Slaughters were deserving of the honor. Call after call the producers got the same response... “The Slaughters are more than deserving.”

Neighbor Diane Gentile has only known the Slaughter family a short time. But like other neighbors, Gentile doesn’t mind the show’s recreational vehicles, trailers and tents in her driveway because the lady who always offers “a big smile and a ‘God bless you’” and her family are reaping what they’ve sown.

“(Tracy) is just wonderful,” Gentile said. “She’s a very nice person. It’s very exciting. I’m very happy for them.”

Sharieda Patterson, who lives across the street from the Slaughters and endearingly calls Tracy Slaughter her twin, has known Tracy for about nine years. They have children the same ages.

“I think they’re more than deserving,” Patterson said. “It’s when you have a family that’s good to others overall, who goes above and beyond for everybody, that you’re excited when good things happen to them.”

 “It’s a big sacrifice for everybody,” said Patterson, mentioning how streets are blocked off and yards are filled with television production and construction trucks. “But nobody has complained. They are a great family. You can tell the kind of people you live around when something like this happens.”

Neighbor Tracy Cleveland called Frank and Tracy Slaughter a loving couple who chooses to put God first in their lives and share their Christian faith with others. She said Tracy is the mother of all the kids who come around her.

“She tries to teach them to do right and she shares the Bible with them,” Cleveland said. “She’s bringing them up right, to respect themselves and others. I know they have the favor of God on their side. It couldn’t have happened to a better family. Everybody’s excited for them.

As a teenager, Frank Slaughter found himself in trouble with the law, ending up at the Allegheny County Jail for fighting. After finding his way to church and to God, he turned his life around and is now a correctional officer at the same jail. He often shares his turnaround with inmates and even helps them secure jobs when released.

“That’s the least I can do after what God did for me,” Frank Slaughter, who attends Ekklesia Church with his family.

In addition to being a second mother for dozens of children, Tracy Slaughter also mentors single mothers and opens her doors to senior citizens and homeless individuals. Her house often becomes a makeshift community center. The Navy veteran said she simply wants to what God called her to do.

“I don’t know anything else to do,” Tracy said.