To those of you following this crazy journey, you won't be surprised by the next sentence. Things once again have taken a bit longer than expected. But here's the surprise: We are going to be done this week!!! Instead of a little over 100 hours, it looks like when we are done with this week, it will be over 150. There is just so much going on in a couple of the songs, that it really takes a lot of attention to detail to get just right.

So what is our timeframe? Lendell and I still have a couple of things to tie up this Wednesday or Thursday. Then on Friday if everything is ready, we will head down to Conway to finish the electric guitar work, and finalize the mix.

Okay, so for all of you pre-ordered, when can you expect your album? While we will have the final version in our hands, we are still waiting on a little bit more funding to come in so we can get it duplicated. I will keep you posted on the status of this as it develops.

In just 24 hours, Mark will be sending us a rough version of the record. This will be the first I've heard any of it, and am ecstatic. We will see how things go, but don't be surprised if a new song or two magically appears here on the site... Thanks for sticking with us. It's been a long haul, and we are so incredibly close. You guys rock!

First off, sorry for not posting this update sooner! About a week and a half ago, we received the new mix of the record. After a bunch of thought, and listening, we have decided to take the mixing in a little different direction.

It may take a few weeks before I have something ready, however, as our other vehicle has now decided to bite the dust. Hannah can get to work and back, but that is what we are limited to at the moment. As soon as we figure something out, I will be able to travel daily down to Lendell's studio and finish up.

Fortunately we are going to be able to use almost all of what has been done thus far to finish it out. What we do have is sounding amazing, and I look forward to sharing it here on the site. We have been surprised by just how much adversity there has been along this journey, but we know this will make it even more exciting. Thank you for the prayer and support. We are almost there!

First off, I have some wonderful music updates, but will save them for another day.

Around 1AM last night as I was finishing up some work, Hannah rushed into my office and told me that the neighbors house across the street was on fire. We rushed outside to find the mother and father of the family screaming for help. He was yelling that his 5 kids were upstairs. Apparently that is where the fire originated. He attempted to go back in, but there was no way through the smoke and flames.

As soon as Hannah and I heard there were children upstairs, my heart sank. We called 911 and began to pray, but there was nothing else we could really do yet. Seeing a father and mother in agony while their children are trapped in their burning house. There are just not words to describe how helpless we felt. So we cannot even imagine how painful it was for them. Fire trucks began arriving, and very soon there were 6, as well as 4 ambulances and countless police cars. By this time you could not even see the house through the smoke.

By 2:00 they had begun to get it under control. We saw them take away the parents, but didn't see any stretchers leaving. It was all just so very sad. We were able to give a blanket to the mother, who was not wearing much, but that is the extent of the help we could offer.

By 4:00 the coroner had arrived, so we knew what the outcome most likely was. This morning the news confirmed that all five of their children, daughters between 5-13 years of age, had been killed. I've witnessed a reasonable number of tragedies in my life, but this way maybe the most difficult to see. To KNOW there was nothing we could do...

The news crews have been combing the neighborhood all day, and they are setting up again for the 10 o'clock news. I was interviewed on the local stations, and will post up a link of the full newcasts when they are made available.

Having lived here for less than a year, we know them but not incredibly well, but we did see them a lot. The girls were often running around outside and having fun. They came over on Halloween all dressed up and we gave them candy.

We know the Lord is in control and will work through this, but at this point I don't know what else to say. Please keep the Fraziers in your prayers during this time, as understandably they are taking this very hard.

This evening was the visitation for the Frazier family mentioned in my last entry. It was a very emotional time, but we were encouraged to see how many people came out. Their family and friends are coming around them to support them in this difficult time. Many of you wrote me after hearing about this, and for both Hannah and I, I would like to thank you all for caring so much and for your prayers. I will keep you updated on the situation.

Now onto music... We are closer than ever to finishing the CD. This extra time has allowed us to flesh out a few more things, and it is sounding absolutely phenomenal. While it has been difficult to experience so many delays, we truly are close.

We still have a few financial needs, so your prayers will continue to be appreciated. In the meantime I have been working a few different jobs. A local computer shop has hired me for part-time work, both in the shop, and for web design. This is keeping me quite busy, and I am even looking at picking up a couple other things here and there.

This is taking care of all of our needs, and we are so thankful! I look forward to soon sharing our finalized timeframe for completion, and deeply appreciate your patience. We are almost there!

I have to head out to work here in a sec, so this will be brief. But next week I will be working with Lendell at his studio to resume work. We now have what we need to finish the mixing, so things should move pretty quickly from here on out. I am so excited about finally finishing this, and am so ready to have this finalized and in your hands!

You've likely noticed by now that I write many of my entries late at night; this one being no exception. I've been working at a couple of jobs now, and it is keeping me quite busy, but it is helping us get caught up. On the transportation side of things, we FINALLY have two vehicles again! Awhile back we determined the radiator cap was bad on our Sidekick, and that it has a leak somewhere. So replacing this and keeping it filled up has been working wonderfully.

My Honda has been quite a different story, however. Turns out the distributor was shot. Our great friend, Ralph, has been so helpful, as he is an incredible mechanic. With his expertise, we fixed the distributor. I drove around for a day, amazed at how nice it was to once again have two cars! Went out the next morning to start it up, as I was beginning a new job, turned the key, and nothing! This time it was the starter. Or so I thought...

A week later and the cost of a new starter, turned the key, and.... Nothing! The starter WAS bad, but there was another electrical issue. I gave up on trying to do things the "proper" way, and ran a wire from the starter. To start it, all I have to do now is make sure the car is not in gear, pop the hood, and touch the wire to the battery terminal.

This is not a permanent solution, but will get us by for the time being. With this car being a manual, I deeply hope I do not happen to stall it.

So why am I still up tonight? I've been reading and learning so much about the process of mixing. Lendell and I have been making great headway on the final mix, and I am trying to learn all that I can in a short time. I know how I want it to sound, and want to learn how to actually accomplish it.

Each step of the way this project has turned into something larger. A sheer level of complexity was added when we decided to use a full band across the record. As a result, we have found things that needed to change, parts redone, etc. Everything is almost set in stone now, and it is such a great feeling. I'll keep you all posted on how everything is progressing.