Angels In Voice

These past couple of days have been busy for us.  Candice is feeling better, thank you all for praying.  Last Thursday our dad came down with a stomach bug and was sick in bed all day.   He felt a little better on Friday but was still really tired. He still doesn't have his appetite back yet.  We are praying that the rest of us don't get this.  We didn't accomplish much of anything last week and we didn't practice because Candice didn't feel up to singing.  Candice and I spent most the day Saturday cleaning out our closet and drawers trying to figure out what we're going to wear to the HPS conference.  I think we agreed that it would be best to bring warmer clothes.  Last years trip got off to a bad start.  We got off the shuttle and were headed into the airport and I noticed that one of our suitcases was missing.  Apparently, somebody had grabbed it right as we were trying to get off the shuttle.  It ended up being our parents clothes and shoes that were taken.  Our stolen luggage was never found.  It was very disappointing.  Our mom was able to get our flight changed to an afternoon flight.  So we came back home for mom and dad to go shopping for some new things.  We went back to the airport and made it on to the airplane with no complications.  It is a little over a four hour flight from Arizona to New York.  I believe it was a little before midnight when we arrived there.  After a long day, it was nice when we finally made it to the Marriott Hotel.  The next day it started snowing in New York.  We were caught in the blizzard of 2006.  Since we don't have snow here in Phoenix, we enjoyed seeing how beautiful it was when it fell onto the ground.  I believe they had about 22 inches of snow.  It was really awesome!!  The airport was closed so our Sunday flight was canceled, and we were able to get a flight out Monday.  It was nice because it allowed us the opportunity to stay an extra night and hang out with all our HPS friends.  This year we are praying for a safe trip and better weather.

We spent some time practicing yesterday for the HPS conference.  Candice and I have the honor of singing there every year.  Our theme this year is Life Is A Journey. Our theme song is "At the Beginning" from the Disney movie "Anastasia".  The song has great meaning that we can relate to.  How we started out on a journey with HPS, never dreaming that we'd meet so many amazing people.  We've all been through so much together and we still have a long way to go in this journey to finding a cure.  We are all so excited about it and are looking forward to seeing our HPS family again.  We want to leave you with the lyrics to this song. 

At the beginning

We were strangers
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me
I was going to find you
Unexpected
What you did to my heart
When I lost hope
You were there to remind me
This is the start

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

We were strangers
On a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
How our dreams would come true
Now here we stand
Unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

I knew there was somebody somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart

Repeat Chorus twice 

After a wonderful Friday night.  Candice woke up on Saturday not feeling very well.  She felt like she was getting a cold. She had a sinus headache and sounded really congested.  She was coughing and sneezing all day and her lungs felt tight.  We got up and taught a couple of voice lessons.  Neither one of us got much sleep because of being up so late.  We were both really tired when we got home, so we ate lunch and then took an hour and a half nap.  We had planned on going to church Sunday morning, but when the alarm went off at 6:30am we were just too tired and Candice was still not feeling well.  It was very cold that day.  I think the high was only 48 here and that is very cold for us.  Candice ran a fever off and on that day and was still coughing quite a bit.  Whatever she was coming down with was triggering her asthma so she started using the nebulizer.  Monday morning she woke up feeling very tired and with a sinus headache.  She stayed in bed most of the morning and around two that afternoon she started running a fever again.  It was 101, so mom called the doctor and we got an appointment with Dr. Burger at five that afternoon.  He said she had a virus and gave her a prescription for antibiotics to prevent it from going into a bacterial infection.  She started the antibiotics last night and this morning she felt a little bit better.  She is still coughing quite a bit and still pretty congested.  This afternoon she ran a low grade fever and spent most of the day resting on the couch.  We are flying to New York two weeks from this Friday for the Hermansky-Pudlak conference.  Candice and I have the honor of singing there every year.  We look forward to seeing our HPS friends again.  Please pray that she will get better so that we can start practicing for it.  

On a higher note.  Our dad received some wonderful news yesterday.  He went for his bladder scope and the doctor told him he was all clear.  The five chemo treatments he had back in Oct-Nov were effective.  Praise God! He will go for another bladder scope in three months to make sure he is still clear.  Thanks to you all for praying for our family as 2006 was a rough year for us.  We pray that 2007 will be a much better year.

We had the honor of singing a couple of songs last night at the Dartts Concert. They opened the concert with a couple of songs and then Tracy introduced us to come up and sing.  We picked two of our favorite upbeat songs to perform, "Days of Elijah" and "The River is Here/Let the River Flow." We also shared our testimony.  We invited some friends of ours to come as well.  It was exciting for the two of us to be a part of their concert.  What an opportunity it was.  We  enjoyed hearing the Dartts perform again.  They are so kind and we are in awe of their talents. The Lord has truly blessed their ministry, we love their music.  At the end of the concert Tracy Dartt gave a message on Salvation, he told us there were five that came to know the Lord.  That was wonderful to hear.  The concert lasted close to two hours, and when it was over we had a time of fellowship.  It was a joy filled evening and we thank the Dartt's again for inviting us.  Check out the Dartts Link, Click on image to enlarge: 

I had my appointment with Dr. Marschke at the Mayo Clinic yesterday.  He is a hematologist/oncologist and he along with a team of doctors have started a new protocol for patients with the type of cancer I have.  Dr Marschke was very nice, he had already reviewed my case before seeing me.  As you all know there are NO treatments for my type of cancer, other than the removal of tumors as they appear.  I do have stage four Hepatocellular carcinoma.  It started off as stage three, but once it matastasis or spreads to another area.  It is considered stage four.  I think hearing this from him was a little shocking for all of us.  He explained that the new protocol is not yet FDA approved.  It's like Dr Gahl's Perfenidone protocol except in this case you wouldn't have the chance of getting a placebo.  This would only be considered as a last option.  If it gets to the point where I have multiple tumors and they can no longer treat them with previous treatments.  We are trusting God for continued healing.  We know he doesn't give us anymore than we can handle.  I keep reminding myself that God is so much bigger than HPS or cancer.  He is our creator, it would be so easy for him to take it all away.  

It is God's Will for You to be healed  

Mathew 8:1-4  

1. As Jesus came down the mountain, he was followed by large crowds. 2. Suddenly a man with leprosy ^[a] came and knelt in front of Jesus. He said, "Lord, you have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to." 3. Jesus put his hand on the man and said, "I want to! Now you are well." At once the man's leprosy disappeared. 4. Jesus told him, "Don't tell anyone about this, but go and show the priest that you are well. Then take a gift to the temple just as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed." ^[b]

We went to church yesterday and were blessed to have the Dartts with us.  They are a southern gospel group, but they sing various styles of music.  B.J. Speer travels along with them.  Tracy Dartt, his wife Sharon and son Stone Mountain make up the Dartts.  They performed four songs in the morning service and gave a concert in the evening.  It was wonderful hearing them again.  It is a tradition for our church to have them come every January.  They write all their own music, Tracy Dartt wrote the very well known song "God on the Mountain."  They tour nationwide and this Friday they will be performing at First Baptist Bible Church in Glendale.  Candice and I have the honor of opening their concert.  What an opportunity this is.  We feel so blessed that they would invite us to come open for them.  Please check out their website.  We added it to our links.  It is  www.darttmusic.com

Also, Candice has an appointment to see Dr Marschke an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic.  He along with a group of doctors have started a protocol for a whole body treatment for her type of cancer.  Candice is going to be evaluated and she will decide if this is something she would be interested in doing.  We are praying that God would give us divine wisdom as we seek out some more medical help.  Candice is open to trying anything that may prolong her life and she knows that she is in the Lord's hands.  We will let you know how the appointment goes.  Please continue to keep us in prayer.  God has brought us through so many trials this past year.  We just keep believing and trusting him to help us to keep going.  Thanks so much!