Brennan Scurlock Needs Prayers For A Cure!

Brennan was diagnosed at 10 month with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma.

UPDATE AS OF APRIL 10, 2012:

Brennans scans showed what we feared.

Brennans sarcoma has progressed through our chemo. the 5mm leaion we found 2.5 weeks ago has grown and there.is a second lesion on.his brain. they have grown and has caused brennans brain to.bleed and cause pressure. every one of his sarcoma tumors have grown. the kidney one, his liver and lung tumors. Brennan cannot continue chemo anymore because its too risky with his hemorrhage. This was not supposed to happen to my son. my heart is shattered. we have chosen to not place a drain because brennan would be unable to move and his comfort would be compromised. ICU is not a place we want Brennan right now. He is comfortable and shows no signs of discomfort. Please pray for my love. 

ABOUT BRENNAN:

10 months later he was diagnosed with a secondary cancer which had already metastazised to his liver and lung, and newly his brain. They're calling his secondary cancer " Secondary tumor of highly aggressive Undifferentiated Sarcoma." Brennan is just currently shy of 2 years old and has spent almost exactly Half of his life, fighting for his life.

Brennan will turn 2 years old on May 26, 2012.

You can donate straight to Brennan from mccowen.net. There is a paypal donation button which you can donate through. The website will also give any information about ALL of Brennan's events as well as a link to download all of out event flyers. Please follow this link to make a donation:  http://mccowen.net/

Brennan was admitted to Texas Children's ER Thursday night, March 31, for an unidentified infection and low blood count. Later we found out there was a large tumor coming from his left Kidney, reaching to his left lung and back toward his spine.

We found out his symptoms were because of a bleed from the vein system inside the tumor.
Doctors say it is showing characteristics of being Neuroblastoma.

Our prayers are that when he makes it into surgery they are able to remove the kidney, tumor and surrounding lymph nodes that are affected.

Please check this site daily for new updates, leave encouraging words for his family and help us pray for this sweet baby.

We have set up an account under Cindy McCowen at Chase for donations for Brennan and family. They do not have paid medical leave to be by his side while he is battling cancer, all donations are appreciated to help pay bills while he is getting treatment, no amount is to small. You can make a deposit at any Chase bank account #965482987.

Thank you so much and God bless!

Please Visit Brennan at his Facebook Page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brennan-Scurlock/214491795231031

In Memory of Thomas Kinkade 1958 ~ 2012!

Thomas Kinkade was born in 1958 & grew up in Placerville Ca.
Artist Thomas Kinkade, whose brushwork paintings of idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches have been big sellers for dealers across the United States, died Friday, a family spokesman said. 

Kinkade, 54, died at his home in Los Gatos in the San Francisco Bay Area of what appeared to be natural causes, David Satterfield said.

Kinkade called himself the "Painter of Light," and his sentimental paintings, with their scenes of country gardens and churches in dewy morning light, were beloved by many but reviled by the art establishment.

He claimed to be the nation's most collected living artist, and his paintings and spin-off products were said to fetch some $100 million a year in sales, and to be in 10 million homes in the United States.

Those light-infused renderings are often prominently displayed in buildings, malls, and on products — generally depicting tranquil scenes with lush landscaping and streams running nearby. Many contain images from Bible passages.

"I'm a warrior for light," Kinkade, a self-described devout Christian, told the San Jose Mercury News in 2002, a reference to the medieval practice of using light to symbolize the divine. "With whatever talent and resources I have, I'm trying to bring light to penetrate the darkness many people feel."

Before Kinkade's Media Arts Group went private in the middle of the past decade, the company took in $32 million per quarter from 4,500 dealers across the country, according to the Mercury News. The cost of his paintings range from hundreds of dollars to more than $10,000.

According to his website, Kinkade's paintings have been reproduced in hand-signed lithographs, canvas prints, books, posters, calendars, magazine covers, cards, collector plates and figurines. The website touts his Disney collection and offers a gallery locator, where fans can find nearby dealers.

Its online store offers a wide range of works and products with Kinkade images including artworks, prints, and coffee mugs.

His artistic philosophy was not to express himself through his paintings like many artists, but rather to give the masses what they wanted: warm, positive images, Ken Raasch, who co-founded Kinkade's company with him, told the Mercury News.

"I'd see a tree as being green, and he would see it as 47 different shades of green," Raasch said. "He just saw the world in a much more detailed way than anyone I've ever seen."

A biography on the website said Kinkade rejected "the intellectual isolation of the artist" and instead, made "each of his works an intimate statement that resonates in the personal lives of his viewers."

"I share something in common with Norman Rockwell and, for that matter, with Walt Disney, in that I really like to make people happy," he said.

He called Rockwell his earliest hero. "I remember my mom had a big collection of copies of (Saturday Evening Post) magazines, and that was really my introduction to those great illustrators," he said.

Kinkade was born and raised in the Placerville, Calif. He studied at the University of California at Berkeley and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

He said art was a major outlet growing up.

"I was always the kid who could draw," he said. "I had this talent, and it was the one thing that gave me some kind of dignity in the midst of my personal environment."

As a young man, Kinkade traveled by boxcar from California to New York with fellow fledgling artist, James Gurney, sketching the American landscape along the way.

The site says that with these sketches in hand, the two were able to get published The Artist Guide to Sketching in 1982, a book that helped land him a job creating background art for animated films.

Also that year, he married his childhood sweetheart, Nanette, to whom he frequently paid tribute to by hiding her name and those of his four daughters within his paintings.

"Thom provided a wonderful life for his family," Nanette said in a statement. "We are shocked and saddened by his death."

There was no immediate word on an official cause of death. Calls to the coroner's office were not immediately returned.

The newspaper said friends and family on Friday began planning a private service and were weighing a public celebration for a later date.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/obit/story/2012-04-07/thomas-kinkade-painter-obituary/54088992/1 

Thomas Kinkade was America's most-collecteda living artist.
Combining realism with idealism, grand perspectives with minute details, his artworks reflect the love in his heart for God, for family, for Nature, and for simple idyllic life. In his paintings, we can see majestic mountains, winding rivers, lakes and forests, sea and lighthouses, cozy cottages and rustic chapels, beautiful gardens and peaceful Christmas night. Fresh and uplifting, they radiate with warmth and hope, in which one cannot fail to identify his longings for love,faith and a simple life close to God and Nature.

Thomas Kinkade was born in 1958. He grew up in the small town of Placerville in California.

In 1976, Kinkade attended the University of California and began to receive his formal art training at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He spends the summer after graduation on a sketching tour with college friend, James Gurney. Together the two produced the best-selling instructional book, The Artist's Guide to Sketching. The success of the book landed the two young artists at Ralph Bakshi Studios to create background art for the animated feature film Fire and Ice. It was also during this time that Kinkade began to explore light and imaginative worlds with abandon.

After the film, Thom earned his living as a painter, selling his originals in galleries throughout California.

In 1982, he married his childhood sweetheart, Nanette. Together they raised 4 daughters. Kinkade is a devoted husband and doting father at home. He creatively hid the letter "N" in his paintings as "love notes" to his wife, Nanette. His daughters also find their own messages of love from their father as their names and images often appear in his paintings.

Kinkade is a devout Christian. He credits the Lord for both the ability and the inspiration to create his paintings. His goal as an artist is to touch people of all faiths, and bring peace and joy into their lives through his art.

While admiring his paintings, we can't help feeling the call of love and Nature, and sometimes a nostalgic feeling for simpler life of faith in old time America.

Rest in peace, Mr. Kinkade, you will be missed by everyone and especially by your home town of Placerville, California.

In addition to his beautiful and famous paintings, Thomas Kinkade also created many very inspiring sculptures, ornaments, centerpieces and heirlooms that will be forever in the homes of millions of Americans and worldwide.

See More of Thomas Kinkade's Artworks

Prayers For Jasmine!

Jasmine is three years old with Cancer and needs our prayers.

A Facebook page and fund has been set up by her Grandmother, Debra Cimics David. Here are some words from Debra and the links to the pages. Please visit Jasmine at her pages and if you can please donate to her Cancer fund. Thank you.

From Debra, 

This page is dedicated to my grand-daughter Jasmine age 3, who is fighting cancer! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Prayers-For-Jasmine/177710882329258

Mission: 

To let people know about Jasmine and her battle with cancer!

Jasmine has recently been diagnosed with Cancer. This page will allow people to follow the progress of her treatment and how she is doing in general. Jasmine had kidney cancer that has spread, a 4lb Wilms Tumor had a crack in it that spread the Cancer to both of her lungs and small tumors have formed. Cancer cells have been spotted on the one kidney she has left. We have come close to losing her a few times. She has stage 4 cancer. She is fighting, and so are we!

Jasmine's Cancer Fund: 

This fundRazr is for my 3 year old grand-daughter Jasmine who is fighting cancer. My daughter Ann, Jasmines mother, is a single mom who is struggling emotionally and financially. This has been alot for my daughter Ann to bear. Jasmine's dad is not in the picture so my daughter has had to do it all. With Jasmine fighting cancer and her mom Ann, my daughter, having had a heart attack and stroke not long ago, it has been a lot for both of them. 

I am doing this for Jasmine to help bring donations to her cause. Any donations would be greatly appreciated. I hope that you can help a very worthwhile cause. All donations will go to my daughter for Jasmine. Please, if you are able to donate and find it in your heart, Jasmine and Ann would be very greatful. When cancer strikes it affects the whole family. Jasmine is currently under going radiation treatments which make her very ill and has months of chemo to go through. Thank you and God Bless everyone for any donations you can make!

Please see the link below to make a donation:

http://apps.facebook.com/fundrazr/activity/e2f1dbacd14e40b190528e1b23a07b21?type=endorsement

March 30th We Welcome Home Our Vietnam Veterans!

On March 30, 1973, all U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam.
There were no ticker-tape parades honoring the veterans, no triumphant marches or speeches as there at been at the end of each of the World Wars. America’s Vietnam veterans returned home to silence, or worse, in some cases to denigration for having served their country during a controversial war.

March 30, 2012, has been officially designated “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.”

The U.S. Senate resolution designating the day as one to provide overdue honor to the members of the armed services was introduced by Senator Richard Burr (R–North Carolina), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. This is the second consecutive year he has introduced such a resolution.

The text of the announcement of the resolution’s passage appears below.

Washington D.C – The U.S. Senate yesterday declared March 30th as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day,” agreeing unanimously to a resolution introduced by Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

On March 30, 1973, all U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. This March 30th, the Senate has encouraged Americans across the country to recognize Vietnam veterans for their sacrifice and demonstrate a warm welcome to these soldiers who returned from war to a politically divided country.

“I’m pleased that the Senate has agreed to set aside a day to give our Vietnam veterans a warm, long-overdue welcome home. I strongly encourage communities throughout North Carolina and across the country to observe this day with activities and events that honor these veterans for their service. It’s time they receive the recognition they have earned and deserve. This day also provides our nation with an important teaching moment. Never again should our men and women serving in the armed forces receive the same treatment as those returning from Vietnam,” said Senator Richard Burr.

Senator Burr introduced the resolution for the second consecutive year on February 16, 2011. Click here to read Senator Burr’s remarks on the introduction of the resolution.

The United States became involved in Vietnam because policy-makers believed that if South Vietnam fell to a communist government, communism would spread throughout the rest of Southeast Asia. The US Armed Forces began serving in an advisory role to the South Vietnamese in 1961, and in 1965, ground combat troops were sent into Vietnam. On March 30, 1973, after many years of combat, all US troops withdrew. More than 58,000 members of the United States Armed Forces lost their lives and more than 300,000 were wounded in Vietnam.

Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Thad Cochran (R-MS), James Inhofe (R-OK), and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Mike Johanns (R-NE) co-sponsored the legislation. The resolution now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

So on March 30, make a special effort to say, “Welcome Home.”

http://the-nightcrawler.com/2011/03/21/march-30%E2%80%93welcome-home-vietnam-veterans-day/