Kira has Bells Palsey

Wow, I was just sitting here thinking that finally my life is getting back to normal. Jose's affairs are taken care of, the kids are back in school and now I can just go to work and not worry about anything. I just got a call from Kira, for anyone who might not know, Kira (my oldest daughter) is the artistic one. She fell in love with music at a very young age and in sixth grade she was introduced to the oboe. She has excelled so well with the oboe that it paid for her way through college all the way to a masters degree at the University of Florida. She now plays in several orchestra's and teaches a number of students. In other words, her oboe is her life. So this morning she pulls out her oboe and goes to practice it but she can't get her mouth to grip the reed. This of course was a bit disconcerting so Justin quickly hauls her in to see the doctor and to make a long story short, she has "Bells Palsey". You can check the link for more info but basically, her face is partially paralyzed. It is usually caused by an infection and is aggravated by stress. Since Kira and Justin are moving to Canada this summer she has been very stressed. We are hoping that it will quickly pass but meanwhile she is missing her last big performances since she can't play. I'm sure Kira will appreciate any prayers and kinds words you can give her.

Dark Blue

Today was more like a normal day. This last week has been a whirl wind of emotions. I spent most of the day trying to clean out my garage. It's has been too long since I have been able to park my car in there. Alex has a volleyball tournament, they won third place. That means that they are the third best team in North San Diego. This afternoon Sarah played in her piano recital. The video clip shows her playing her latest favorite song, "Dark Blue". My video camera limits me to 15 seconds when I copy to a card, some day I'll take the time to learn how to down load videos but right now I don't have nearly enough time in the day to figure it out. I apologize but you only get to listen to 15 seconds of her beautiful song. If you take a look at the time stamp you will see that it is after 2:00 AM. We watched a movie and I'm going to regret it in the morning. I'm sure glad we have late church right now.

today we buried Jose

Today we buried Jose. Lisa helped plan the funeral and it went very well. The family asked me to give the opening prayer and they asked Lisa to give one of the eulogies. She did a very good job. Since it was actually Kira and Claudia who introduced our families Lisa called Kira and half of Lisa's eulogy was Kira's memories and the other half was her own. Many people told her how wonderful she did (I was the first to do so) and one man even told her it was the best eulogy he has ever heard. In the picture, Alex is the big boy in the middle, Claudia is on Alex's left and Rosario is on his right. The cemetery was beautiful and Lisa and I are thinking that maybe this is where they can bury us when the time comes. I always figured that I would be buried in the Leavitt plot in Cardston but after living here for sixteen years this has become home.

The Temple Robes

Today I helped dress Jose in his temple robes. For members of our faith it is considered an honor to be able to be buried in the ceremonial robes that we wear in the temple and it was a great honor to me when Jose's family asked if I would help dress his body in the temple robes. I have watched Jose's large and strong body wither away over the last few years (and especially the last few months) until his passing on Wednesday morning at which point he was little more than skin and bones. This morning, however, as we dressed him in his white clothing and put upon him his robes it seemed as if his body took on his former majesty and he was now ready to go and meet his God.
I consider this experience one of the greatest I have been able to have in this life. Because of the distance I lived from home I wasn't able to help dress my own father but I do hope that when the time comes, my own boys will be able to perform this service for me.

Jose Luis Lincoln

I lost a good friend today. I know he isn't really lost but it feels like it. We met Jose and Rosario about 15 years ago when Kira was in the sixth grade. Their oldest daughter, Claudia became good friends with Kira and from there our families came to become good friends as well. In October of 2003 Jose was diagnosed with cancer. It was all through his body and he was given 3 to 6 months to live. Through the prayers of many and through the faith of Jose and his family he was granted four extra years. He was able to see his son graduate from high school and Claudia graduate from college. He was also able to encourage Rosario through the very difficult process of becoming a certified dentist here in the US. Rosario was a dentist in Mexico and as of last month she is now practicing here in San Diego. This morning Jose passed peacefully on to the next life and even though we know he is in a better place we sure do miss him.

i'm joining the trend

I've thought about starting a blog for some time now but since two of my children are now blogging I decided it is time to begin. Who knows how often I will actually do this but it doesn't hurt to try does it? For this first blog I think I will just introduce myself and my family. This year I will turn 50. I've never been fazed by the big milestones in the past (you know 30, 40 etc) but 50 is a bit different. I'm half a century old now and at this age you can't help but ask yourself what you've accomplished? I suppose my biggest accomplishment is in that picture to the left. I have nine wonderful children. Six that my wife gave birth to and three that have married the ones that we raised. I must apologize to Sharley since she isn't actually in the picture. Sorry, I will get a more recent picture. I think I'm going to keep the blogs short and try and do them more frequently.