Barbara shared how she and George started adopting their children. She said it started with an advertisement in the Tallahassee Democrat. George showed her a picture of a little girl and a notice of an informational meeting on overseas adoptions.

When asked why they adopted, Barbara said, “They needed a family.”

Family friend Trish Kurowski said Barbara and George were nearly finished raising their children.

“They have three grown sons,” Kurowski said. “They could have stopped at that.”

Instead, they adopted children with disabilities falling in line with Barbara’s profession as a special-education aide. She works at Kate Sullivan Elementary.

“They are extraordinary people,” Kurowski said. “They are the true definition of the word hero.

“If every kid had parents like Barbara and George, the world would be a much better place. They are the most selfless human beings.”

Kurowski didn’t sugarcoat George’s medical condition. “He’s deteriorating rapidly,” she said.

Barbara hopes to be able to stay close by the hospital until George can be released. It’s unclear whether the family will go away for a vacation — a norm for the show during the week that the family’s house is being renovated.

Myddelton Parker Builders have partnered with the show for the event. The company’s owners stood with Barbara as she met the community Friday morning.

“Thank you for what you all have done,” Myddelton Parker co-owner John Parker said.

Parker said he hopes his company will build a “great home of love” for the Kadzis family.

1:18 p.m.

The Kadzis family of Tallahassee is celebrating its selection for the ABC show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" under a cloud of uncertainty as George, the father, battles brain cancer.

George Kadzis was taken to the hospital Thursday night. His brain cancer is aggressive, and his wife says she is hoping physicians can relieve pressure from a tumor so he can return home soon.

Ty Pennington, star of the show, designers, builders and other crew members knocked on the Kadzis family door this morning at their home along Queen Anna Drive, which is off Chaires Cross Road.

Barbara Kadzis, the mother, was overwhelmed that her family had been chosen to receive a new house.

“I can’t say big enough thanks,” she told members of the media and others during an interview with the family. “(We know) if you give, it will be returned to you. But the amount of this giving at this time when people are losing their jobs, I can’t say a bigger thank you.”

11:13

Democrat Staff Writer Angeline J. Taylor is waiting with other members of the media to interview the Kadzis family at their home on Queen Anna Drive, which is off Chaires Cross Road.

Dozens of police cars, media trucks and other vehicles are lining the road to the house, and neighbors are milling about to take in the excitement.

A large charter bus, resembling the one seen on the hit TV show "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" is also along the street.

11:13

Democrat Staff Writer Angeline J. Taylor is waiting with other members of the media to interview the Kadzis family at their home on Queen Anna Drive, which is off Chaires Cross Road.

Dozens of police cars, media trucks and other vehicles are lining the road to the house, and neighbors are milling about to take in the excitement.

A large charter bus, resembling the one seen on the hit TV show "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" is also along the street.

10:19

Here is the news release from Extreme Makeover Home Edition:

In keeping with the show’s call to honor everyday heroes across America, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition travels to Tallahassee, Florida on February 20, 2009 to tell the Kadzis Family, which includes a father with cancer and five physically challenged children adopted from China, that their hurricane-damaged home will be rebuilt and modified in seven days to meet their special needs.

Extraordinary compassion led George Kadzis, a prison dentist, and Barbara Kadzis, a lifelong teacher who herself was adopted, to open their hearts and home to special-needs children adopted from orphanages in China. The Kadzis family faces major challenges in their cramped, hurricane-damaged home. It is especially difficult to navigate for daughter Melody, whom was born blind. The other adopted brothers and sisters also have significant physical challenges. Julia is deaf, Martin’s right arm and hand are deformed, and Phoenix and Celeste are now having their cleft palates repaired. Aileen lost her birth father to cancer and her birth mother fled after his death.

Because Barbara and George Kadzis couldn’t speak fluent Chinese, and several of their adopted children could barely communicate in any fashion, the family turned to the universal language of music as an instrument to heal, communicate and transform. Chris, Barbara and George’s biological son, and Martin play the guitar and piano; Aileen plays the flute; Melody plays the zither, and Julia dances like she’s listening to every note, despite her inability to hear.

In addition, George is now battling brain cancer and his diagnoses has taken time and energy away from his desire to modify his family’s home. Now it is up to Ty and his designers to take over and make a better home to accommodate the children’s special needs and create a peaceful space for George.

While Ty and the designers, the local builder MyddeltonParker Builders, and hundreds of volunteers and workers are rebuilding their home, the Kadzis family will go on vacation.