(12/29)  Talk about a Christmas present!

Lisa Wease and her daughter Ryleigh Scheetz received their Christmas present a bit early on Dec. 16, but it's just a bit hard to get a two-bedroom house delivered on time.

Volunteers with Frederick County Habitat for Humanity built the house on Blue Mountain Road in Thurmont.

Wease, who spent Saturday mornings working on the house along with about two dozen other volunteers, "This is something Ryleigh and I never thought would happen."

Besides Wease, her sisters, Carla Howell and Terri Wease have also volunteered. They have accumulated some of the 300 hours of sweat equity Wease needed before becoming the homeowner. Habitat policy allows relatives and friends of the prospective homeowner to contribute up to 40 percent of the required sweat equity hours.

Wease said moving to the country from her apartment in Frederick City is a bit scary and different. "I just found out there's a rooster nearby," Wease said. "That will be a bit of a change."

Dozens of people showed up for the dedication on Saturday morning, spilling out of the house into the front yard.

"What nicer day can you have for home dedication," said Executive Director David Ozag. "It's simply a wonderful day."

Following remarks by some of the key people involved with the project, candle lighting ceremony and prayer, Construction Supervisor Bill Wivell presented Wease with "the two most-important things for a home." He handed Wease a Bible and the keys to the house.

The Wease home has been under construction since Aug. 19. "Good weather and a regular crew of volunteers on Saturdays kept us on schedule," Wivell said.

A number of businesses contributed to the home. Sunrise Lawns and Landscapes will grade and seed the lot and landscape it. Budget Blinds of Frederick provided the blinds; the Taney Corporation, Taneytown, donated the basement stairs; employees from Home Depot paid for and built a deck; Holtzople Heating and Air Conditioning, Emmitsburg, donated and installed the heating and cooling system; and Gutters for Less of Frederick contributed the gutters. After settlement, JK Moving and Storage of Sterling, Va., will move the family from its present home in Frederick to Thurmont free of charge as a Christmas present.

Frederick County Commissioner Charles Jenkins said the business support Habitat for Humanity receives is "a wonderful example of how businesses can benefit the community we live in."

The Thurmont home is the second Habitat of Frederick home built this year and the 25th since 1993.

"Doesn't seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but to the families it means everything," Ozag said. "It gives them a new life, a new beginning."