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Jan. 21, 2009

The Ruiz family reacts to sight of their new home on Monday. From left are Maria Ruiz, son Jesus Jr., daughter Elizabeth, and husband Jesus.

Jesus and Maria Ruiz and their children Elizabeth and Jesus Jr. were welcomed by thousands of screaming spectators to their new home on Monday, constructed in a matter of days for an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Coming back from a week-long vacation in the Bahamas, the Ruiz family pulled up in a white stretch limousine. The limo pulled up alongside a custom tour bus that, for the moment, blocked the view of the new two-story, tiled-roof home.

After greeting and hugging "Extreme Makeover" host Ty Pennington and other members of the show's crew, the Ruiz family joined spectators in chanting "Move that Bus! Move that Bus!"

The Ruiz home before ....
... and after.

As the bus pulled away to reveal the home, Jesus Ruiz threw his arms up into the air in celebration, and Maria Ruiz began to wipe away tears. Elizabeth, a UTEP freshman, smiled wide and wrapped her arms around her father and brother.

The Ruiz family's home was selected for a makeover to honor the family's charitable work with needy families in Juárez. Maria Ruiz was recently honored as a Top 10 CNN Hero for her volunteer work.

"Your support, El Paso, was great. I thank you for everything," Maria Ruiz said during a press conference on Tuesday.

The episode featuring the Ruiz family's home makeover will air on ABC on March 15. Maria Ruiz said the episode will reveal "special" rooms for each family member.

"My special room is the kitchen," Ruiz said with a smile. "When you see the show, you'll see why."

-- story by David Peregrino; photos by J.R. Hernandez

Jan. 15, 2009

"Extreme Makeover" host Ty Pennington describes the action as a massive Caterpillar excavator rips down the home of Maria and Jesus Ruiz.

The home of Maria and Jesus Ruiz was razed to the ground on Wednesday for the ABC television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Maria and Jesus' daughter, Elizabeth Ruiz, is a freshman pre-business student at TheUniversity of Texas at El Paso. The Ruiz's home in the Lower Valley was selected for a makeover in honor of the family's charitablework helping impoverished children living in El Paso's sister city of Ciudad Juárez.

Pennington
Little

"Extreme Makeover" host Ty Pennington led a "Braveheart" march of hundreds of volunteers to the home on Wednesday morning to begin the demolition. While the crew got ready to bring in the heavy equipment, Pennington welcomed a special guest: fitness celebrity Tony Little, known for his over-the-top infomercials for the Gazelle elliptical trainer.

Pennington and Little performed a parody commercial skit for a do-it-all sledgehammer, the Sledge-o-Nator 3000. As the volunteers cheered them on, Pennington and Little smashed a variety of appliances for the cameras.

With that comedy routine out of the way, a monstrous Caterpillar 325BL Excavator roared onto the scene to begin the teardown of the two-story brick home.

In a matter of minutes, the machine's articulated arm pulverized the home into a pile of bricks, sticks and shattered glass.

Crews will now work around the clock to construct a new home for the Ruiz family. The goal is to be finished by Monday, when the family returns from a network-paid vacation in the Bahamas.

--Story, photos and video by David Peregrino