“My house will be a place of love and laughter. It will be a place where we can gather around the dinner table and share our day.”

Nicholas Lovelady and his wife, Wipaporn (aka Ede), are working to give their sons a forever home. The family of four has been living with Nicholas’ parent’s two-bedroom townhouse for the past 4 1/2 years. They are excited to have a place that they can call their own and watch their children grow.

The eldest brother, Addi, is 7 years old and and loves video games (especially Roblox), reading, and going to the jungle gym as an aspiring Ninja Warrior contestant. He is already on a 6th grade reading level and one of the top two students in the math class! His young brother, Alex, is is 2-years-old and loves dinosaurs, sea creatures, and any kind of bouncing ball. He enjoys going to the park and walking the trails looking for turtles, alligators, and armadillos.

The Lovelady family has experienced many hardships over the years. Nicholas had traveled to Thailand after college to teach English. There, he met his beautiful wife and he had his first son. However, upon returning home to the U.S. eight years later, he struggled with finding a job to support his family. In 2018, his second son, Alexander, was born with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as a rare hereditary bone disease which his father also has. This disease causes pain, mobility issues, and a lot of other complications that result in multiple surgeries. On top of all of the physical problems, the family shares one bedroom in Nicholas’ parents home and Addi has to sleep on a cot. The family is excited to have a space of their own that is less cramped and allows for a more comfortable sleeping environment. “My parents deserve some peace and quiet in their retirement years and we all want to finally have some much-needed privacy.”

After many challenging years, the Lovelady’s finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel when they got word that they were accepted into the Habitat program. ” When Jack, the vice president of the program, arrived at our house and presented us with our certificate of acceptance, we were beyond excited. At last, we could see ourselves moving forward and reaching our goal of having our own place to call home.” The boys are excited to have their own room and a yard to play in.

“Habitat for Humanity is such an awesome organization and truly an answer to our prayers. The path to homeownership is not a quick or easy one, and you have to be willing to work hard, but the staff is there to help, guide and support you every step of the way. We will forever be grateful for the opportunity to work towards owning our very first home.”

The Lovelady Family Home was dedicated on October 14th, 2021 and was sponsored in honor of Beach Bank.