Memorial to My Dad

Obituary for Richard Lyle Dalzell, Jr.
Feb. 1, 1939—Feb. 15, 2009

Richard Lyle “Dick” Dalzell, Jr., 70, of Meridian, Idaho crossed over from this life to Heaven on Feb. 15, 2009. He passed over with his wife, Sue, and brother, Ron, near his side.

Dick was born Feb. 1, 1939 in Portland, Oregon, the first son of Lyle and Gertrude Dalzell. As the son of a preacher, his family moved often and he attended grade school in Weiser, ID, Jr. High in Seattle, WA, and graduated from Caldwell H.S. (ID) in 1957. He was baptized in June of 1951 in Seattle. He entered Abilene Christian College in 1957, came back to Idaho to attend Magic Valley Christian College in Albion for a year, and then returned to Abilene where he graduated with a BA in applied music, summa cum laude, in 1961. He received a Master of Music degree in voice and choral performance from the U. of Idaho in 1964. He did further studies under such well-known choral conductors as John Finley Williamson, Robert Shaw, Norman Luboff, Helmut Rilling, and Eric Ericson. In 1976 Dick was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities stipend in early American Music, which led to a summer spent in Lawrence, Kansas at KU.

Dick met a young lady named Sue in the fall of 1957. Sue was one of the Idaho kids – she was from Lewiston – that rode together down to Abilene. Apparently, there was a girls’ car and a guys’ car traveling together, but the guys’ car had too many people so somehow Dick managed to volunteer to ride with the girls. By March of that year they were dating and then Dick “recruited” her to come with him back to Idaho to attend the newly opened Magic Valley Christian College for their sophomore year. It wasn’t long before he was showing her around to family as his fiancée! Dick wed Margaret Sue Bauder on March 25, 1959 at the Church of Christ in Twin Falls, ID. They would have celebrated their 50th anniversary this March.

He preached for the Church of Christ in Lewiston and then Nampa, ID before beginning a long (34+ year) career as a choral director and music educator. He taught at Ontario H.S. from 1965-67 and at Treasure Valley C.C. from 1967-79 where he served as the head of the music department. In Portland, OR, he was professor of choral & vocal music from 1979-93 at Columbia Christian College where his groups appeared numerous times at state and regional conventions. At Columbia, he mentored many young music education majors as well as nurturing the spiritual lives of perhaps hundreds of students. The Dalzell home was always packed full of students for Wednesday night Bible studies and many other nights for games and fun. In 1993 he received the Columbia Christian College Arête Award in recognition of excellence and achievement and the Carolyn Farris Service Award in appreciation of dedication and outstanding service to the students of CCC.

After Columbia closed, he became choral director at North Salem H.S. (OR) from 1993-2001. He received the Music Educator of the Year award in 2001 from the Oregon Symphony Association of Salem.

An active member of the Oregon Music Educators Association, the American Choral Directors Association, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing, he served in many leadership positions, including terms as the Oregon and the Northwest ACDA President. He was on the OMEA State Board of Control for eighteen years, including terms as District IX Chairman, Collegiate Membership Chairman, and OSAA Liaison. He was a frequent choral & vocal adjudicator and directed over 30 honor choir festivals throughout his career. After retiring and moving to Meridian, he directed the Mountain States Tumor Institutes “MSTI Melodies,” a choral group of cancer survivors, caregivers, and MSTI staff. Throughout his lifetime he has been active as a leader at church, serving stints as an elder at the Central Church of Christ in Portland and at the Boise Church of Christ. He most recently served on the boards of the Biblical Studies Center and Camp Ivydale.

He is survived by his wife, Sue; his two sons, Dan (& Lani) of Gresham, OR, and Randy (& Charlene) of Portland, OR; three brothers, Ron (& Cathy) of Oxnard, CA, Dave (& Joyce) of Abilene, TX, and Doug of Birmingham, AL; seven grandchildren, Hannah, Micah, Caleb, Levi, Allison, DJ, and Matthew; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

A memorial service was held at the Boise Church of Christ, 2000 N Eldorado St., Boise, ID, 83704 at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Biblical Studies Center or Camp Ivydale (c/o the Boise Church of Christ).
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Memories & Lessons from my Dad

(I read this -- as best I could -- at his memorial service.)
If you ever set off walking with my dad, you know he walked fast! I remember as a young boy having to almost run to keep up. Walking across campus at Columbia, you’d find yourself huffing and puffing to keep up. Even just last year when we went to the ACDA NW Convention in Vancouver, BC, I recall having to walk fast to keep with his pace.

More about dad’s walking later, but allow me for a minute to just recall some of the special and perhaps unique things about my dad. . .

Colorful ties! Oh yeah, you all remember the wild colors and patterns. Christmas ties, scripture ties, Jerry Garcia ties, music ties. I guess it’s fitting that the Dalzell tartan tie is a bright pattern. And did you know he wore colorful socks too? I only realized this two weeks ago when I was here for his 70th birthday. I went to look in his dress socks drawer for a plain dark pair of socks and all I could find were all these plaids and argyles and such – not a solid color to be found!

Popcorn! Sunday nights were always popcorn night (& sometimes other nights too). Now when we were little, after church we’d take an empty gallon jug to the Red Steer Drive-in in Ontario and get it refilled with root beer. Then we’d take it home to have with our popcorn. Later dad started buying his popcorn by the 50 lb. bag from the Crookham Co. in Caldwell! He’d go through one of those in about a year. After we moved to Portland, he’d buy a bag whenever he was on a trip over this way. He even had my friend Phill Hurley, who’s from Caldwell, pick it up for him a couple of times.

Cooking. Dad liked to cook – especially on holidays, but other times too. He exposed Randy and I to things like homemade Chinese food – egg foo yung and chop suey. He made overnight refrigerator rolls. I can hardly remember a holiday for quite some time that he didn’t make those. And things on the grill, most notably salmon. Whenever my family has salmon now, we almost always think of “grandpa”.

Jam in little jars. This was mostly in the last decade or so. He made a bunch of different kinds of jams & jellies each year and then at Christmas time, family member would each get a box full of the various varieties, all with neat little labels telling what kind and when it was made.

Singing in church – loudly! Whether sitting right next to my folks as a kid, or across the auditorium in later years, you could always hear dad (& mom too!) above the rest of the congregation.

Some other memories from my younger days. . . Dad staying up late each Christmas Eve to play Santa. And often he might be out in the garage or shop making something. Randy mentioned the ping pong matches, but I also remember him shooting baskets with us at Alameda Elementary school after work. Those were some special times.

And then there are the many times you’d find him watching the late news, or most often sitting in a recliner with his eyes closed and his mouth wide open. This must be genetic, because I do that too!

There are other things I do like him to. There are many things he taught me.
The love of singing! He was my constant example. His was the voice I heard as a boy and tried to copy as a young man. He was my first voice teacher and my favorite choir director. Some choral directors don’t make it very enjoyable for you as a singer, but dad was nearly always fun to sing for. The expectations were high and we worked hard, but the performances were always exciting.

Then there was the joy of building things and doing home improvement projects. My whole life I saw him remodeling a room, or fixing things, or even building his own home. Dad was the total do-it-yourself home handyman. And each house I’ve lived in, he came and helped me repair and remodel. With his example and instruction, I’ve learned to be a total home handyman too.

There were some things that dad did that most of my friends’ dads didn’t – I mean besides singing and directing choirs! Dad did a lot of the grocery shopping and, as we’ve recalled, liked to cook too! The ladies – which is pretty much everyone – at the elementary school I work at think it’s odd that I like to do the grocery shopping for my family and often cook dinner. They don’t know that I’m just being like my dad.
Dad was a God-loving, spiritual man. He served God with the gifts he was given and claimed God’s grace for the times he missed the mark. I think I’ve tried to follow that too.

So, remember how I talked about how fast my dad walked? Well, that’s kind of how he taught me and Randy and many of you too. He led by example. He set a fast pace. He put the bar up high. He showed often that he could do something and inspired each of us to try it too. I learned from my dad to not just do a job, but to do it to the best of my ability. I learned to pay attention to the fine details. I’m thankful for the many experiences and lessons learned from him. Dad was not a perfect man, but he was a man who aimed higher than most and did well at what he set out to do. I’m going to miss him a lot, but he lives on in all of us. So when I stay up late on Christmas Eve, or lead others in singing, or tear into something on my house, or go grocery shopping, or just try to walk faster, I’m going to remember my dad and be thankful for his example and the time with him.
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A Celebration Service of Christian Hope for
Richard L. Dalzell, Jr.

Saturday, February 21, 2009  3:00pm

Welcome & Scripture Reading – led by Kevin Skidmore

Opening Prayer – led by Stan Kilpatrick

Congregational Song– led by Scott Shappard
“To God Be the Glory”
Special Group Song – “Blessed Be Your Name”
Joe & Pam Burris, Kent & Kim Hamilton, Rob & Nancy Quick, Phill Hurley, Kathy Stanley

Obituary – read by David Dalzell

Congregational Song– led by Scott Shappard
“Wonderful Grace of Jesus”
Special Music Solo – Phill Hurley
“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”

Sons’ Reflections – Randy and Dan Dalzell

Special Group Song – “There’s a Stirring”

Eulogy – from Kevin Skidmore

Special Music Solo – Bonnie Salewski (of MSTI Melodies)
“Great is Thy Faithfulness”

Visual Memorybook – prepared by Marsha Strange

Congregational Song– led by Scott Shappard
“How Great Thou Art”

Remembrances / Open Mic Time – led by Kevin Skidmore

Closing Prayer – led by Rudy Morrow

Dan & Lani's December Letter

I always like to write a "Christmas Letter", but this year it just didn't get done by then. So here I am on New Year's Eve with a letter finally written and just getting ready to mail it out. I thought if I posted it here, some friends would get a chance to hear what we've been up to. So here it is:
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Dear Friends and Family,

What a busy year we’ve had! And then this last few weeks were especially crazy with record wintery weather, lots of days off of school, relatives staying with us, and concerns about Dan’s dad’s health.

This year we have five different school schedules to keep track of! Hannah is a freshman at Chapman University in Orange, CA, Micah is a junior at Gresham H.S., Caleb is a sixth grader at Clear Creek M.S., Levi is a fourth grader at Hollydale Elementary (where Dan teaches music), and Lani still teaches TAG students in the David Douglas Schools.

Here’s a bit about each of us: Hannah graduated from Gresham H.S. and is now a music major at Chapman. She’s doing well there, but we miss her since she’s far from home. She’ll be going on choir tour with their University Choir in early January.

Lani & I drove her down to school in August in a combined trip with our good friends, Paul & Linda McDonald, who were taking their son, Ian, to Pepperdine. We also got to stay with Troy & Shauna Wagner for a couple of days in San Diego where they had just moved as Troy began preaching for the La Mesa Church of Christ. On the same trip we stayed with good friends Rex & Jennifer Hamilton in Huson, CA and Keith & Kimberly Cox in Campbell, CA. It was a fun trip with friends, even if it was hard for both families to drop their child off at college.

Micah is enjoying a very busy junior year. He’s in Concert Choir and the Overtones vocal ensemble, the Symphonic Band, and was also a part of the school musical and is doing other theatre productions. He has made some good friends and they can often be found in our family room playing their favorite video games. If you haven’t seen Micah in awhile, you might be surprised to know that he is about 6’5”!

Caleb, who is now over 5’8”, is doing very well in academics and activities as a middle schooler. He is playing baritone horn in band and was recently honored for receiving all A’s on his report card! He also loves playing video games and is quite an avid reader too!

Levi is now in a 4th-5th looping classroom at Hollydale Elementary. He and Dan walk over to school each day. Levi is singing in choir and is also a “Nature Habitat Leader” (helping care for the school gardens and animals). Like his older brothers, he also (surprise!) likes playing video games and he enjoys the Cartoon Network.

Lani is teaching 2nd-5th grade TAG students again and enjoys the special projects and activities she gets to plan. She has been involved in a ladies’ Bible study and some special singing activities at church. It seems like she ends up doing a lot of extra things to keep up with all of our kids and their activities (like sewing costumes, going to practices, etc.).

Dan is in his third year of teaching elementary music and is taking classes for his Administrator’s License. He’s also still singing in the Portland Symphonic Choir and in a small group called “Offering”.

Dan’s dad, Dick, is struggling right now with cancer and pneumonia, so please keep him in your prayers. We hope this letter finds all of you blessed by God. May you enjoy His peace and joy this new year!

Dan & Lani, Hannah, Micah, Caleb, & Levi Dalzell


503-492-6405 home - 503-927-2210 Dan’s cell - 503-927-2211 Lani’s cell
And you can find Dan, Lani, Hannah, & Micah on Facebook!
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Here are a few recent pictures too:

Christmas Singing

December is my favorite time for singing! Our course, it's always a busy time -- too busy really -- so I don't do things like just go caroling with friends or have friends over to sing in our living room (things I've done in the past, but seem to have let get squeezed out the last few years).

However, I am singing with two groups in the Portland area and here are the details:
Portland Symphonic Choir presents our "WinterSong" concerts on Saturday, Dec. 13 and Sunday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 pm at St. Mary's Cathedral (near 18th and Burnside). We asked a guest high school choir to join us this year and it just happens to be the Gresham H.S. choir that Micah sings in! You can check out the Portland Symphonic Choir website (and even order tickets!) at: http://www.pschoir.org/

"Offering", the six-member male acappella group that I sing in with my friend Phill Hurley, sings twice this Sunday, Dec. 7. First is at 4:00 pm at the new Happy Valley City offices (160th & Sunnyside Rd). The mayor speaks, then we sing for 30 minutes, then Santa appears, then the Clackamas H.S. choir sings. Should be fun (& free!). Later that same night we sing at the Grotto's Festival of Lights at 9:00 pm. It's always a treat to sing in the reverberant chapel at the Grotto. See their website for details: http://www.thegrotto.org/events/lights.htm
"Offering" also sings for two morning services on Dec. 14 at Portland's First Christian Church in downtown PDX.

Of course, I've got school performances with my kids at Hollydale Elementary. The 2nd & 3rd graders present a musical, "December in Our Town" on Dec. 11 and my 4th & 5th grade choir will sing that night also. The choir also sings at Pioneer Place (downtown PDX) on Dec. 17 at 11:00 am.

Here's one other fun thing. I'm putting together caroling groups to sing for all nine of Abundant Life Church's Christmas Services (on Dec. 20, 21, 23, & 24). These groups will just sing carols in the lobby before and after each service. If you're reading this and intered in singing with us, let me know. You can learn more about our church at: http://coolchurch.com/site/index.php?option=com_frontpage

Prayers for my dad

I called my folks home last night just to see how they were doing and found out that dad is in the hospital. His cancer treatments (both the radiation and chemo) have really wiped him out. His immune system is down to almost nothing and he's been in a lot of pain. He went to a regular appointment with the radiologist yesterday morning and that doctor called in his oncologist. Together they both agreed that he needed to go into the hospital. He has had pretty strong pain in his chest and esophagus and this makes it really hard for him to eat anything. In addition, he started getting some pretty serious sores in his mouth.

Basically, they want him in the hospital to monitor how he's doing, work on adjusting some medications for him, help ease his pain (he's getting morphine now), and make sure he gets enough nutrition to not lose any more weight.

If you live near the Boise area, he's in St. Luke's Hospital and can see visitors (if you're not at all sick yourself). He'll be in there at least through this whole weekend.

Thanks for joining us in prayers for his healing and comfort. They have decided not to do any more chemo until at least January now and are hoping to just let his body recover from these treatments. They're calling it a "holiday break". We're hoping he gets well enough to be able to travel at Christmas time, or at least have family come visit him.

Oct. 22 Updates

OK, here's some personal news and also an update on my dad's cancer:

Monday & Tuesday this week I got to serve as the substitute principal at West Gresham Elementary School! I'm currently working on my Initial Administrator's License through Concordia University and I'm also part of an "Aspiring Administrators" group in my school district. As a part of this district group, I can be asked to fill in for an administrator when they are out on leave. I had a very good experience and hope I get more opportunities in the future. It was nice to see how things run in another building, to get to observe several classrooms, to process student referals (OK, that's not the funnest part of the job!), and generally just feel what it's like to be a principal.

At home, I've been trying to finish up some trim work and painting on the floor to ceiling bookcases I've built in our family room, and then also finish painting and doing the tile work on our family room fireplace. We have new carpet coming within about two weeks, so there's a timeline for getting a bunch of little things done throughout the house!

Thanks for your prayers about my dad's lung cancer (& lymphoma too). He's had a pretty trying experience with his radiation treatments, but finally had his last one earlier this week. They weren't able to ever start any chemo, because his blood counts (white cells, red cells, etc.) have been too low. Hopefully they will start two types of chemo next week, as long as his counts go back up. So there's something you can join us in praying for!

Last Day of Summer Updates!

OK, so today - Sept. 21 - is the official last day of Summer. And we've certainly had a nice one this year! Now for the cool, damp days of Fall. . .

Prayer updates:
My dad is three weeks into his cancer treatments. He has only been able to have one chemo. treatment, because his blood component counts have not been high enough. They gave him drugs this week to boost his counts and we're praying that he can receive chemo. tomorrow. He has been getting the regular radiation therapy. Thanks for your prayers on his behalf.

Please join in praying for Hadley Fox and her family. You can read her story and get updates about her condition at: www.hadleyfox.com (this will direct you to her Caring Bridge site). Make sure you scroll down to read Angela's most recent journal entries. At this point it sounds like Hadley just has a week or two to live.

Family news:
Levi and Caleb are both playing soccer, so it's the time of year where we have lawn chairs in each vehicle (and umbrella's soon!). Levi's team has won three and tied one, while Caleb's has two wins and one loss, I believe.

Micah is in Concert Choir, Overtones (select vocal ensemble), Symphonic Band, and has a little part in the musical (they're doing "Beauty and the Beast"). He'll be plenty busy this year!!!

Lani's TAG students started coming to her this week. She only had students three days a week last year, but now has groups all five days. This will be a lot tougher year for her!

I've begun my Initial Administrator License program through Concordia. The cohort I'm with seems like a great bunch of people and I'm feeling good about the chance to do this. I'm sure there will be some big challenges this year with trying to get the assignments done while doing the rest of life! I did get asked this week by my district to do my first admin. sub job! I'm going to do two days as principal at West Gresham Elementary.

Asking for your prayers

Dear friends (or anyone who comes across this blog),

Tomorrow my dad (Dick Dalzell) begins 6-7 weeks of chemo and radiation treatments for lung cancer. Please join in praying for his healing and for strength for his body and spirit during this time.

Earlier this summer, while doing more routine scans to check his lymphoma, they discovered a growth in the upper part of his right lung. About three weeks ago they went in to try to take it out, but found that it was bigger than anticipated and had spread into the lymph nodes outside the lung. So they decided right then that it would be better not to try to cut it all out, but to go with chemo and radiation.

God is our healer and an ever-present help in times of trouble. Thanks for joining us in prayer.

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Other quick notes:
Hannah is two weeks into school down at Chapman University.
School starts tomorrow for all the rest of us (except Micah starts Wed.)
I begin an administrator's license program through Concordia Univ. next week.
This year we have one in elementary school (Levi), one in middle school (Caleb), one in HS (Micah), and one in college (Hannah); plus Lani and I work in two separate districts. That's a lot of calendars to keep up with!

Time flies!

Once again, I've gotten busy and not posted to my blog for awhile. So, lots to update. . .

Hannah graduated on June 5. We had lots of family and friends celebrate with her that night and weekend. We're proud of all that she has done and are now getting ready for her to head off to college. We plan to take her down to Chapman Univ. around August 17; she can move into the dorms on Aug. 19.

We realized that next year (and the year after that) we will have one in college (Hannah), one in high school (Micah), one in middle school (Caleb), and one in elementary school (Levi)!!! Wow!

Micah got his first real job; he's a courtesy clerk at Safeway.

Hannah is currently at the Oregon Bach Festival Youth Choral Academy. It's a very select, 12-day choral program in Eugene, OR. Micah and I drove down and heard them perform Thursday night and they were really good. Hannah had a solo too, so I was really glad we were there. They wrap up tomorrow night (July 6) with a performance of the Bach Magnificat, so we will drive back down for that.

Lani, Caleb, and Levi have been at a challenge course camp all week at Camp Yamhill (bro-in-law, Troy, is the director). They sound like they're having a great time and get back today.

PRAYER ALERT: Please pray for my dad's health and healing. He found out this week that he has a ping-pong ball sized growth in his upper right lung. They will biopsy it this coming Tuesday to find out exactly what it is. His bloodwork also shows that he needs treatment again for his lymphoma. I'm sure he and my mom have found this news difficult. Thanks for joining us in prayer for God's comfort and healing.

Lani took this picture in our front yard in May.


Here is Hannah right after graduation with my mom, Sue, and Lani's mom, Gladys.

Hannah updates

Today we sent off all the documents confirming that Hannah will attend Chapman University next Fall (along with the first two of many checks $$$). That also means we sent "not coming" letters to George Fox and Pacific Lutheran. It has been tough trying to help her decide. All are quality schools with great music departments (she plans to be a music ed. major, but may also pursue music performance). I probably would have liked to have her at one of the closer universities, but she got set on Chapman.

Now starts the beginning of "how do we pay for all of this?" There's no way to do this without Hannah and us taking out student loans. We'll do all we can and see what happens. . .

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Hannah ended up 12th at State (out of about 36 mezzo soprano contestants that made it that far). She was quite disappointed to not finish higher. I think I was too, because I really thought she was better than that (I'm NOT biased or anything!). She has improved a lot over the last year or so and we're proud of her!

Senior Prom Snow!

Last night Lani & I "chaperoned" or "chauffered" Hannah & her date and another couple for their Prom. We dropped them off for dinner at a nice place in downtown Portland's "Brewery Blocks/Pearl District" called "Henry's Tavern", then we strolled around the Pearl District on foot, stopping to eat at a small Mediteranean restaurant. Then we drove them up around and through Washington Park, letting them enjoy the lovely older homes and the incredible gardens. Their prom was in the buildings at the Oregon Zoo, so we went over the hill to drop them off. The parking lot was full of limos, party buses, kids' cars, and quite a few parent-driven rigs like us! We met another parent friend, Des, and she got in our car to hand with us. We had popcorn, cookies, and a laptop to watch movies (we watched "Amazing Grace", which I can now highly recommend).
The coolest part was that around 11:30 p.m. when the kids were all coming out, it started snowing these big, thick flakes! It was gorgeous and memorable! I'll bet they've never had another prom where it snowed on them.

In follow-up news:
I ended up calling AT & T about the cell-phone charges. After much hassle and speaking to a couple different people, they took $250 off the phone bill and made us pledge not to let our son do that again. Of course, they tried to sell me an "internet access" plan, but I told them we didn't want that. I also found out that you can't turn off the internet features, if you still want to be able to text message (which we do; we have a family-unlimited plan for this). All in all it was a hard lesson learned for my son and all of us.

Hannah now has about two weeks to make her college decision. She is going to try to do a music scholarship audition this week at George Fox, but if that doesn't come through in a BIG way, then she wants to go to Chapman and then PLU in that order. We still may need to check with Chapman about actual costs and any other possible aid.

Hannah sings at the Oregon State Solo Contest (held at Lewis & Clark College) this coming Saturday. I know she can do quite well if she's rested and healthy. The following weekend, she and Micah sing in the Gresham Concert Choir at the State Choir Contest (which is held at George Fox). These will be some busy and important weekends!

Ah. . . Spring!

So on Friday (Apr. 11) Spring finally, really arrived here! It was sunny and got up to about 70 and then yesterday it topped out at about 78 (at the Portland Airport; on our Yukon's thermometer it read 84 at one point while we were driving around).
Today it started out still sunny and nice -- I think getting into the mid-60's -- but then it has cooled and marine air and clouds have returned and are supposed to be around for the rest of the week. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted! I took a run yesterday evening while it was still about 70 (did my favorite run up to Butler Creek Park) and then this afternoon Lani, Levi, Caleb, & I went on a bike ride on the Springwater Trail.

Hannah is now trying to decide (along with our advice & concerns) about where to go to college next year. She's been accepted to Pacific Lutheran U., George Fox U., and Chapman U. All are quality schools with excellent music departments. Chapman is in L.A., while PLU is in Tacoma, WA and Geo. Fox is nearby in Newberg, OR. Fox is the most expensive option since they seem to provide way less financial aid (at least for us as we compare their offers); Chapman & PLU will cost us about the same, although travel and expenses in the L.A. area would be higher. We have to let the schools know whether Hannah is accepting or declining their offers by May 1st, so something must be decided soon. We appreciate your prayer-support in this matter.

One of my kids ran up a HUGE bill on a cell-phone, apparently not knowing that our family plan does not include any internet access. We have unlimited messaging and way more voice minutes than we ever use, but no coverage for internet use. We just discovered this tonight as I was checking out some bill payments (our cell plan payment is an auto-pay right from our checking account, so I often don't even open the statement when it comes). What would you do?

Sunday night buzz

So, this marks the third Sunday in a row that I've found some time to post on my blog. Maybe I should make this my goal to regularly post on Sundays.

Tonight "Men in Black" sang at the Hinson Memorial Baptist Church Talent Show (yeah, really big-time! About 75 or so in attendance). It was our first non-Christmas performance. We're still trying to learn some more arrangements so that we can get out and sing more. Here's a picture of the group from back when we sang on Christmas Eve at Abundant Life.



Hannah got home today from the Oregon State Thespian's Conference in Medford. Sounded like the Gresham kids did well and had a nice time.

Here's a prayer request: my mom had to have a second surgery on her eye (which was severely injured a few months back). They removed scar tissue, reattached the retina, and had to put silicone oil in it for now. We're praying for healing in the eye and that she may eventually regain sight in this eye. God is faithful and able to heal! Thanks for joining us in prayer.

Spring (?) Break

What a strange week here! Today marks either the fifth or sixth day in a row that we've seen snowflakes! And it's the second to last day of March! We've only had a shower or two that dropped enough to slightly whiten the ground, but still, it's just been weird to see snowflakes every day. You'd think this was Christmas Break instead of Spring Break!

It's also been a little odd with Hannah & Micah gone to NYC on choir tour. They left early Wed. morning and don't get back until tomorrow night. From what we hear, they're having a great time!

Easter Day post

Happy Easter! I hope you all find a great hope in the resurrection of Jesus!

Wow. . . I haven't posted on my blog since Christmas Day! Life has been busy, to say the least. Here are some of the big events:

Micah was baptized on Feb. 3!



And then Levi was baptized on March 2! I had the great joy and privilege of baptizing both of them at Abundant Life Church.



Micah and Hannah have both been very busy with choir and other performing. Hannah got 2nd in the District Solo Contest as a Mezzo Soprano and will compete in the State Solo Contest on Saturday, April 26. We're very proud of her!
She has also been busy with college apps and has been accepted at three schools; hopefully we'll get the right scholarships and student aid and make a decision soon about where she goes next year.

I coached both Levi's and Caleb's YMCA basketball teams. We just finished up their seasons last weekend.

We are on Spring Break this week! Woo-hoo! No big plans. . . clean out the garage, do some serious house cleaning and small projects, rest, go running, etc.

Hannah & Micah leave early Wednesday morning for a six-day choir tour to New York!

This morning I sang on a praise team in our "Traditions" 8:30 service at ALC and then went over to a small church (Living Streams Church of Christ) and led worship. It was a rare opportunity to be involved as a worship leader. Later we enjoyed a nice Easter dinner in our home with the Wagners (my in-laws) and Linda McDonald. I even snuck in a little time watching NCAA basketball! All-in-all in great day.

OK, hopefully my next entry won't be until Summer break or the 4th of July!

A Rare Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

We had snow in the Portland area today!!! For a couple of hours, at least, it was snowing heavily across the whole metro region. The Oregonian says that the last time there was measurable snowfall on Christmas Day in Portland was 1937. Wow!
They say it may snow a couple of inches overnight, but we'll just wait and see.

Another rare thing on Christmas for us was that we got to be with Lani's mom (& her brother Brian's and sister Shauna's families) and later the same day with my parents too. We had a nice time opening presents in the morning with our kids, had a nice Christmas feast (shared with the Maki & Wagner families) and played cards tonight with the three grandparents all here. It was a blessed day!

Last night I sang with "Men in Black" for Christmas Eve services at Abundant Life Church (www.coolchurch.com). It was lovely. . . some acappella singing, candlelight, harp, a nice message. We also did the same thing in four services on Sunday. It made for a busy last couple of days (what with my last-minute shopping & wrapping to do to), but it was nice to be included there. Maybe we'll get to do it again sometime.

Blessings on you all!

A couple of pics from this week

Here are a couple of pictures from this week. The first is from last Saturday when we went to cut a Christmas tree (Finally! We're usually doing this on Thanksgiving weekend!)

The second is of "Tucker", the labradoodle boy puppy that we're still selling. Here he is on a red background on his 9-week birthday. He's all ready to go home with someone for Christmas!

Singing Opportunities!

Here are some fun singing opportunites I have coming up. Maybe you'd like to come hear one of these groups!

"Men in Black" just found out that we'll be singing on 104.1 "The Fish" for their Christmas show next Thursday, Dec. 20. We're the kick-off group at 6:00 a.m. (and have to be there at 5:30 -- whew!), so get up and tune in early to hear us sing. I think we get to do three songs on air!

Later that evening, we're singing a second time at the Grotto's "Festival of Lights". We got some rave reviews from our first performance there and they had an opening that they needed filled. One cool thing is that Hannah & Micah will be singing there right before us with the Gresham H.S. choirs. They sing at 8:00 p.m. and we sing at 9:00.

This weekend, Dec. 15 & 16, I'm singing with the Portland Symphonic Choir. This is our annual "Wintersong" concert and should be a great one to watch and hear (and I do have a solo in one piece!). You can get tickets at www.pschoir.org
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In other news, we sold two more puppies today and now just have one cute little guy left. He's a really nice one too, so I'll be surprised if he doesn't sell pretty quickly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are my big thanks for this year:
Caleb's healing as his cancer was discovered and is now in remission!
Celebrating 20 years of marriage to my sweetheart, Lani!!!
Lani getting a full-time job (she has a great job as a TAG teacher!).
Singing opportunites -- with Portland Symphonic Choir & Men in Black.
Healthy, blessed children.
A nice job that I love.
Blessings of good friends and extended family.
Puppies! And my running partner and now mama dog, Molly.
And for the enduring love & mercy & care of God.

Labradoodle Puppy Pictures are Up!

Check out labradoodlesoregon.blogspot.com to see the pictures of my labradoodle puppies.

These puppies are Available for adoption to their new homes as soon as Dec. 7 (eight weeks old) or any time later in December including pick up on Christmas Eve!

Keywords: labradoodles, labradoodle, puppies for sale, Christmas puppies, Portland, Oregon, F1b labradoodles, labradoodle puppies

Christmas Labradoodle Puppies

Our labradoodle puppies will make great Christmas presents! If you know someone who'd like one, let us know.

I'll be posting individual pictures of the puppies this weekend. You can see them all at www.labradoodlesoregon.blogspot.com

In other news. . . Hannah & Micah are in the Gresham High School production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". Opening show last night went well. Next shows are tomorrow night (Sat.) and then Sunday afternoon; next week again on Thursday & Saturday nights and again on Sunday afternoon. Hannah is a "Narrator" and gets to sing quite a few solo parts! Micah is an Ishmealite (sp?) and wears a cool costume, long beard, and glasses.

Molly had her puppies!

Our beloved labradoodle, Molly, had seven healthy puppies last Friday night!

I've started a blog about her and her puppies at labradoodlesoregon.blogspot.com

I'll be posting info there about the puppies, pictures, etc. We hope to sell several of them in December.

Lots of singing!

Besides singing a lot every day with my elementary music classes, I'm also singing with the Portland Symphonic Choir and with a six-member ensemble we call "Men in Black". Monday nights it's PSC and Tuesdays it's MIB.

Last night the MIB group really started to sound like it's coming together. We're rehearsing a bunch a different stuff right now for December singing. We've got some pop, jazz, barbershop, and classical arrangements -- just a lot of variety and a lot of fun singing. So, if you're available on the Wednesday night after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28), come hear us at the Grotto's Festival of Lights. We're the 6:00 p.m. group that night!

As I've mentioned on here before, you can check out the Portland Symphonic Choir (view our performance schedule, buy tickets, or even find out how to join) at www.pschoir.org

Getting into the Fall season

OK, now we're all getting settled into our back-in-school, Fall schedules.

Lani and I are both teaching full-time, two kids are in high school, two go with me to Hollydale -- everyone is back to their own school/work routine.

I'm singing in two groups this year. Still a staff singer with the Portland Symphonic Choir (see www.pschoir.org) and singing in a small group we're calling "Men in Black". My good friend, Phill Hurley, actually started up this group awhile back to sing a couple of times at church; toward the end of Summer he asked several of us if we'd be interested in singing together and so the group was resurrected. We currently have six guys singing, but may look to add a couple more. We are booked to sing at the Grotto's "Festival of Lights" at 6:00 p.m. on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

Caleb and Levi were both playing Gresham Youth Football, but Caleb had to drop out after his skin got some kind of infection/condition. His dermatologist thinks it's something different than the cancer, and is trying to clear it up with a steroid cream (and it looks WAY better since he began using the cream and stopped football about 10 days ago). Levi is working hard in his first year of tackle football, practicing three days a week and then playing games on Saturdays.

Hannah and Micah both tried out for the musical at Gresham HS. Lani and I were surprised that Micah tried out! He's coming out of his shell! Neither one got the big parts that they might have liked, but both have small roles. They'll be performing in November in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".

So, there's a little update on our current activities!

Summer's over. . .

Summer is over for Lani and me. Today we both returned to our teaching jobs and went through inservice activities and getting our rooms ready. Lani found out that she'll teach TAG three days per week (2nd, 3rd, and a mixed 4th/5th group) and have two days to "prep" (I told her she has a GREAT job!).

Now to get used to going to bed earlier and getting up on time! Ugh. . .
Summer is definitely over.

I'm probably feeling more tired because we were awakened during the middle of the night to see the lunar eclipse (Hannah and three friends were up watching it and their voices woke both Lani and I). I got up around 3:00 and took a look. Kind of interesting, but not worth staying up most of the night to see was my thought. I noticed that two neighbors were outside across the street watching it too.

Fishing (but no catching!)

Caleb & Levi went fishing with me on Thursday. We tried several locations all over the Mt. Hood Forest, but never caught a single fish. We first headed for the Barlow Crossing campground on the White River (heading up Hwy 26, then on 35, then on Forest Service road 48). I've had some luck there in the past (years ago), but we found the water to be really murky with silt and sand and so we left and headed for Timothy Lake. However, not knowing any better, we detoured a bit and checked out Clear Lake. I'm not sure if they catch much there or not, but we had a hard time fishing from the banks (we did see two boats of fishermen out in the middle). So, on to Timothy Lake. I had read on the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife site that this is a top option for sure-fire trout fishing in the state, and they even pointed us toward the south shore and the dam. So we parked by the dam and tried our luck for a couple of hours, but again didn't ever even get a nibble. BTW, we had to pay to park anywhere near the dam too! Well, I really prefer stream fishing to lake-bank fishing, so we headed down the gravel road from Timothy, following the Oak Grove branch of the Clackamas River. Here we stopped several times to try nice-looking holes. Finally we had some action! This water was clear and cold -- coming right out of the lake -- and this should be good for trout. We found some holes where our bait finally got struck! This was fun, but yielded no catches. Either we were poor catchers or rather what I suspect is that there were a lot of little fish just striking our bait, but none big enough to gulp it down. Eventually we gave up there and headed down to where we ran into Hwy 224 and joined the main Clackamas River. We stopped at a really promising stretch of water with deep holes and put in our lines, but never had any action. So. . . lots of nice water, gorgeous scenery, but no fish! Still, you know what they say, "A day fishing -- even with no fish -- is better than a day someplace else." As we left our last spot on the Clackamas, both boys were asking if we could come right back here the next time!
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Other news:
Today is Caleb's 11th birthday! Tomorrow we're having a party for him at the Gresham HS pool. Should be a fun time with a bunch of boys!

Caleb's lightbox treatments continue to be going well, as far as we know. We're looking forward to meeting with his doctor on Sept. 6.

Caleb & Levi are both playing football for the first time. They're working hard (four practices a week for 2+ hours each time). Both are linemen, of course!

Lani & I are counting the last few days of our Summer vacations. We both officially report back on Tuesday, Aug. 29 (though I'm sure we'll be in our rooms before then).

Cool Computers

Have you seen the new iMac? Yesterday Apple announced their latest iMac models and a very-nicely revised set of applications called "iLife '08" I've been taking tech classes all this week (offered free through my school district) and so there was quite a buzz there as these products were announced by Steve Jobs in Cupertino yesterday.

I've taken classes in digital storytelling/portfolios, an overview of the iLife package, a class in "web authoring", and today 8 hours of iMovie. Tomorrow I take an Excell class. The coolest thing is that not only are these offered free by my district's tech department, but they also offer incentive points based on how many classes you take; these points can then be redeemed for cool products like digital cameras, DV recorders, iPods, projectors, SmartBoards, etc. I'm going to have enough points to get a video iPod!

Levi and Caleb are in their second week of football conditioning/practice. Tomorrow and Friday they find out which team they are on (and whether they are on the same team with any friends!). They're some of the biggest guys in their age groups, but not very aggressive -- yet!

Caleb's UV treatments are still going, of course. We don't see the doctor again until Sept. 6, but we think things are progressing well. After that appointment we may know if it seems to be in "remission", whether we continue three-times-a-week treatments, etc. Thanks for all the prayers on his behalf.

End of July update

Wow, it's hard to believe that July is nearly over! Of course, this means that Summer is 2/3 over too!

Caleb's UV treatments seem to be going well. Dr. Kang is encouraged that the spots appear to be responding and is optimistic that the cancer will be in remission by the time school starts. PTL!

Caleb and Levi went to "Rip City Basketball Camp" last week at Concordia University. It's run by Brad Barbarick, Concordia's head coach and someone I played college ball with. They had a good week. This week they have swimming lessons and start football conditioning camp on Wednesday.

Hannah and Micah are at Houseboats Camp all week down in Northern California on Lake Shasta. It sounds like a great experience!

And I'm building a deck for a guy this week. It's going to be a nice, TimberTech (composite) deck going around a hot tub. Not huge (18x20), but made with really nice materials.

Caleb update & more of life

Here's a picture of Caleb (in the foreground) along with Levi & Micah and some of his cousins. This was taken on our recent trip to Glacier Park in Montana.

So, last week he started his UV light treatments. He is treated three times per week. The treatments themselves are really quick! He started at about 30 seconds of exposure and they've upped it a few seconds each time; I think by the end it may get up to 10 minutes or more. It takes alot longer to get ready (strip down, rub on a skin lotion EVERYWHERE, put sunblock on his face, put on goggles, etc.) than the actual treatments. They also did some blood work this week to establish a baseline of where he's at with the mycosis fungoides.

Thanks for all the prayers offered in Caleb's behalf. We trust God to be at work through all this and have already seen His blessings.

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This last week was really busy for all of us. My good friend, Paul McDonald, reroofed his house and I ended up helping him nearly every day. First we did a complete tear-off of three layers and then put new tar-paper and composition shingles. Of course, we had the hottest week of the year with record highs twice and temps cracking 100 two or three times! Whew!!! My nephews, Orion and Jaden Maki, were over here all week from Montana and so we had extra kids and activities all week. Then my folks came over from Meridian, Idaho on Wednesday. We had a memorial service and family dinner on Friday for my great aunt, Louetta Humble. Lani's mom came over from Missoula on Thursday and went back home today (with Orion and Jaden). Oh yeah, we also bought a new (to us, anyway) fridge on Craigslist and then moved it one hot afternoon; Saturday I spent several hours - with help from my dad - running a line for the ice-maker (working up in my hot attic!). Today. . . I rested. Church, lunch at Chevy's, and then just taking it easy the rest of the day.

There you have it. Just a busy summer week!
This next week we have VBS at church. It's "Avalanche Ranch", a popular one all over this year. Our church is planning for about about 1000 kids and Lani & I are just two of over 450 volunteers! I'm also helping my brother paint his house and Micah is at band camp.

Oh, I almost forgot another blessing! Lani got offered another 1/2 time TAG job, so now she is a full-time TAG teacher for this coming year!

Snowballs in July!

Today I had snowballs thrown at me by Levi & Caleb! In July!!!

We are in Montana for the 4th of July week and went up to visit Glacier National Park -- see their website here. What beautiful country we saw today! It was fantastic weather (just a few fluffy clouds here and there and highs up in the mountains just over 70) and it was the first full day that the "Going to the Sun Highway" through Glacier was fully open. We saw one scenic vista after another and at the top of the pass we walked up a mile or so on a trail and were actually on glacial snow and ice.

We went with Lani's mom and her brother, Brian, and his two boys, Orion and Jaden (we also have my nephew, Cole Wagner, with us too). We got six disposable cameras and gave my three boys plus the three nephews each a camera to photograph whatever they wanted. That was fun! Besides snowy peaks, glacial valleys, pristine lakes, and cascading rivers, we saw a bunch of deer, several mountain goats, chipmunks, and even one badger!
We'll have to post some pictures later!
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Here are some pics I'm adding the next day. For a bunch more photos from our trip, click on my flickr.com photo bar on the right side of my blog.

Here is a shot I took in the clearing above the Logan Pass Visitors' Center.

And this is Lani in that same beautiful clearing.
And here is our family group at a scenic viewpoint along the way.

Check out the rest of the pictures; there are some awesome scenes.

Mycosis Fungoides

Unless you know someone with this condition, you're probably thinking, "What???"

Yesterday we learned that our son, Caleb (who is 10), has a rare cancer called "mycosis fungoides". He's had skin irritation, rash, and occasional infections for 2-3 years, but only now has a doctor figured out what it is. He will begin ultraviolet light treatments 3x-a-week starting on July 9 and they hope to have it in "remission" before school starts.

Here are some praises to go with this prayer request:
First, the median time from first skin symptoms until diagnosis is six years. While we could be frustrated that our pediatricians over the last 2-3 years never figured out what this was, the dermatologist we're working with now, Dr. Kang, told us that most pediatricians would never see a case of this in children and it would be normal to just treat the symptoms. So, we're thankful that this was identified in less than half the typical time.

How did they find it? Well, that's another praise. We were blessed to get referred to Dr. Kang, a dermatologist with Kaiser Permanente, who also participates one day a week with a group of doctors at Oregon Health Sciences University. After Dr. Kang did a biopsy from a patch on Caleb's back and then wasn't sure about the test results, he set us up to bring Caleb to OHSU to a weekly consultation/study group in which he participates. Caleb (and Lani) went there last Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. and had about 40 doctors and specialists examine him in groups of about four at a time. Out of that collaboration came the diagnosis. This is not only a rare cancer, but is exceedingly rare in children. So again, we're thankful that this has now been identified and treatment can begin.

Dr. Kang warned us to be careful about reading about mycosis fungoides on the web because he knew that it sounds very dire out there. He is quite hopeful that with this early detection and with Caleb's age, that this can be quickly put in remission. Still, there is a lot that we don't know about it yet. We've written out a bunch of questions to ask the doctors when we do our "orientation" appointment week after next.

Here are some sites that provide information about mycosis fungoides. Be warned that this sounds really bad. We don't know yet what all this means in Caleb's case.
rarediseases.about.com/od/rarediseases1/a/101004.htm
emedicine.com/med/topic1541.htm
answers.com/topic/mycosis-fungoides?cat+health
webbmd.com (search results for "mycosis fungoides")
clfoundation.org

Please lift us all up in your prayers. I feel like we just started a journey down a long and unknown road. I know God will be with us all the way, but I just don't know where we're going! (Isn't that true about all of life!)