Amanda and Tammy G.-E. and their daughter, Heaven-Lee Angel, listen as Central Oklahoma Habitat Chair/CEO Ann Felton Gilliland welcomes them to the Habitat family.

Family Finds Better Days at Cornerstone Creek After Moving Into ‘Forever Home’

If an award existed for overcoming enormous odds, Amanda and Tammy G.-E. might walk away with the trophy. After 20 years of marriage and numerous hardships, the couple celebrated purchasing their new home during a Jan. 10, 2025, dedication at Cornerstone Creek.

Homeownership once seemed out of reach after Amanda and Tammy experienced separate, devastating crashes on the same day in 2010.

Amanda hit black ice and crashed into a concrete barrier, unknowingly suffering a fluid leak around her brain. She called Tammy, who was dropping off their children at day care. When Tammy arrived, a car traveling 55 mph struck her and pinned her between two vehicles. The impact then caused Amanda’s truck to pivot and run over Tammy’s legs. Both women were rushed to OU Medical Center.

Doctors told Amanda that Tammy would never walk again and would need both legs amputated.

“I fought for her not to lose her legs,” Amanda said.

Determined, Tammy regained her mobility after 18 months, although she continued living with a permanent disability. Amanda also experienced long-term complications, sending the family’s finances into turmoil.

“We lost everything,” Amanda said.

Over the years, the couple also dealt with unreliable landlords, rising rents and neighborhood crime.

In 2024, Tammy was diagnosed with leukemia. While researching chemotherapy late one night, she discovered Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity’s (COHFH) new Cornerstone Creek development.

“God’s calling is that we need a forever home,” Tammy told her family.

Tammy said Habitat made the homebuying process seamless from the beginning. Although initially nervous about construction, she and Amanda learned from COHFH’s construction crew while helping build their own and other families’ homes. Relatives also helped them complete the program’s required sweat-equity hours.

After the dedication of their new, energy-efficient and affordable home, Amanda shared her gratitude online.

“Thank you, Habitat, for blessing our beautiful family with a home,” she wrote. “From foundation to framing, writing prayers on the walls — it’s been an amazing journey.”