Merry Christmas 2018!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

from the Robison Family!

As this year comes to a close we pause to reflect. The year 2018 for us has been a year of joys and tears and trials and learning. Our year started with plenty of fun with new pets (bearded dragons), seeing the Midway Ice Castles, and seeing the All Star Monster Truck show. We also had the opportunity to go to Goblin Valley for spring break and we really enjoyed it.  We enjoyed some family history trips as well which included a day in Bern, Idaho. We were able to take a trip to New Mexico this fall to meet one of my two nieces who were born this summer.  We love exploring this beautiful world!

Kent is still enjoying being a Foreman with Midgley Construction. He has enjoyed working with the boy scouts and spending time with Braxton in scouting as well. They were able to go back to Moab and do some hiking this spring on an overnight campout and then spent a week together at summer camp up mirror lake highway. We are pretty lucky to have him as he takes good care of his family and friends.

I was busy this year with planning and putting together the ward girl’s camp in June and I was blessed to have Kent come help me with it thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Kunz who watched the kids. Just before girl’s camp I took a trip to Mobile, Alabama for my cousin Amelia’s wedding which was a delight. I was blessed a couple of months later to be able to go to North Carolina with my sister to meet our other new niece. Immediately following that trip I had the bittersweet opportunity to see many dear friends from high school as we came to celebrate the life of our dear friend Tia who passed away. I keep trying to keep up with this family of three boys and one great man. So far I feel I’ve done pretty well.

Braxton turned 12 this summer and started 7^th grade in the middle school. He has done really well keeping up with his studies and staying on top of assignments. We were able to attend a benefit choir concert they put on for ALS this fall. They sang Beatles songs and it was a blast! He also tried out for the school play and made the ensemble. Last spring he participated in the 6^th grade play and now this year we are looking forward to seeing all his hard work pay off on the stage of The Fiddler on the Roof in February. He’s really enjoying school as well as being a part of the boy scouts.

Cort started the 2^nd grade this year and he loves it. He keeps us thinking with his many animal riddles. He turned 8 last month and was baptized this month. We are so grateful for his decision to follow the Savior. He started cub scouts and he already loves it. We were able to enjoy watching him play soccer again this fall. He tried out playing goalie and did a pretty good job. It’s so great to watch his interests grow and develop.

Marshal started a preschool co-op with mom and a couple of neighbors this fall and he really loves it. He asks almost daily if it is a preschool day or not. He loves learning numbers and letters and spending time with his friends. He still loves trucks, tractors and trailers and prays for his red tractor and brown trailer that Santa brought him last year and never forgets to pray for his friends. He brings more fun to this family than we can handle sometimes but we are sure grateful for his light heart in our home.

We hope that 2018 has been a good year for you. We are so thankful for the blessing of family and friends in our lives. You bring us the most wealth! We are so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and the gift of his atonement! We know that all we have comes through His good grace. We hope this Christmas season brings you the light and peace that you desire and carries us all into the New Year!  

With Love,

    The Robison Family

November 2018

Cort 8th Birthday

Cort had a very happy birthday! We took three of this 

friends to see the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Thanksgiving Fun

For Thanksgiving we went to Grandma and Grandpa Kunz' house. The kids enjoyed 

whipped cream, pies and turkey. We also enjoyed counting our many blessings.

Life in November

November had all kinds of crazy messes, but a lot of that comes from raising kids.

Life at the Robison household is crazy and fun. The boys played dog pile. 

Marshal practiced his selfies & found a huge "bowl" for his cereal. 

Braxton made the honor roll his first term of 7th grade and we are very proud of him. 

Beautiful November

One morning I walked out to warm up the van to take Braxton to school and saw nothing too impressive and then moments later we walked out to go and the sky was lit up with these beautiful colors on the left here. I stopped to take a few snap shots, but by the time we pulled out of the driveway the colors were mostly gone. It felt like the most wonderful gift from the Lord.

November brought some of the most beautiful scenery. 

We feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place!

October 2018

Cort and Marshal 

Soccer

Cort was able to play on the same team as he played on last year. 

We really love his coach and enjoy the league that he plays with.

Cort really enjoyed playing goalie and did pretty well.

This was Marshal's first year playing a sport and while it was hard for him 

to be comfortable at first he really loved it by the end. 

Fall Leaves

We took our trip up to see the leaves this year and were met by a day of snow. 

It was beautiful to see the fall colors against the white snow. 

New Mexico Trip

Liesel and Jonathan blessed their sweet daughter Rachel and 

we were thrilled to head down to be there for the blessing and to meet Rachel.

She is such a sweet little girl! We love her! 

On our way down we stopped off at the Four Corners Monument 

since we had never been there before.

Saturday morning we went to Old Town Albuquerque and we were met

by fun decorations for Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead. 

It was fun to enjoy the traditions others have with Halloween. 

Marshal was excited to find a street that reminded him of the movie Coco! 

We found a few other fun places to take pictures in Old Town as well.

Liesel and Jonathan took us to this quirky little place called Tinkertown Museum. 

It was a lot of miniature towns and places this man built. It was oddly fascinating. 

I also really liked a lot of the collected saying they had. 

I liked this saying as well.

We took the kids up to the Sandia Mountains. It was very cold, but the kids 

had a fun time jumping off the rocks and playing in the snow.

One our way to and from New Mexico we saw the most beautiful trees and skies.

It felt good to enjoy the beauties of the earth.

Our Beautiful Fall World

My mums were beautiful this fall.

I don't think I realized just how beautiful the sky is this time of year!

Over and over I found times that I couldn't help but snap a picture of the beauty.

Marshal Selfies

Sometimes you come back to your phone to find that your son 

has had a photo session. He cracks me up.

Happy Halloween

For Halloween Braxton was a wolf again, Cort was a dementor from Harry Potter and Marshal dressed up as Marshal from Paw Patrol.

Life in October

We had a great time picking apples from Aunt Cheryl's tree 

and making them into applesauce. We also enjoyed Braxton's first 

middle school choir concert. It was a benefit concert for ALS 

and they sang all Beatles songs and entitled it BeatALS. 

It was a lot of fun!

Marshal had a lot of fun with friends at preschool and other times this month. 

I was able to help Ken Ivory get up signs for his state legislature campaign.

The kids built a fort with the wood left over from the new fence.

Marshal found a heart shaped rock like Tia used to look for with her kids. 

It felt like a reminder that my friend and God both love me.

The September That Changed My Life

For Labor Day Weekend Cheryl and I decided to take a trip to North Carolina to meet our new niece Florence. It was a wonderful trip that allowed me to see Erik and Mariel's home and both of us to meet our sweet niece. We were able to see our first sunrise over the ocean which was a cool experience. We enjoyed learning about the Bellamy Mansion and played in the Atlantic ocean as well.

The Bellamy Mansion

Beaches in Wilmington, North Carolina 

Sunrise at Wrightsville Beach

Afternoon playtime at Fort Fisher State Park

Meeting sweet baby Florence!

Beautiful sights and playing in Porter's pool.

Upon returning back home I was waiting to exit the plane and I turned on my phone to see quite possibly the worst text I have ever received. It was from my friend Becca asking me if I had seen that our dear friend Tia had committed suicide that morning. There is nothing so heart wrenching as seeing the word suicide attached to the name of someone you dearly love. I know that must have been hard for her learning of that tragedy and not being able to get a hold of me to talk through her emotions with me. We were blessed to be able to go to the viewing on Friday night as well as the funeral on Saturday and then we were able to enjoy some time with the family the following Sunday. I was very grateful to them for allowing us to spend more time celebrating their sister and daughters life with them. There was a lot of laughter that brought great healing!

Tia's Funeral

These two events really took over my September but they brought me a lot of joy as well as growth. In addition to these events Marshal & I started a co-op preschool with our friends. We take turns having class at our houses and being the teacher. It has reminded me just how much I do enjoy teaching and has helped me to realize that I would like to return to it when all of my boys are in school. We also enjoyed a month of watching Cort and Marshal playing soccer. This was Marshal's first season playing soccer.

Preschool Fun

Soccer Season

Kids Fun

Finally I wanted to share some of my creative works. For far too long I have not held myself in high regard. I have tried so hard to please others that I have lost my ability to give myself the joy of being me and really truly expressing who I am. In my pursuits to change that I have rediscovered my love for nature and photography and I have spent more time trying to capture the beautiful world I see around me. It has been a wonderful rediscovery of myself.

A World of Beauty

You Matter

A week ago I was in a spell of negative thoughts. They sounded like this...

'You don't matter.' 

'What you do doesn't make a difference.' 

'Nobody even listens to you.'

One week later I am so angry that I gave even a moment let alone a whole day of my life giving any measure of truth to those thoughts. I thought my problems were big and important. I talked with a friend who reminded me to count my blessings and let go of my worries. That evening I sat in the home of my local representative of the state house. This is what I heard...

Your efforts matter. 

This is how we win an election. 

It's through your efforts. 

Thank you for your efforts. 

This is how we make a difference.

I needed that message and I was so thankful to hear that I do make a difference.

I wish my friend had been sitting with me. I wish she had been there fighting for something she believed in. I'd even be happy if she'd been sitting in his opponent's house fighting for him. Perhaps she would have heard that her voice mattered and that she mattered. Perhaps she would still be here today fighting those voices that say that she doesn't matter. She's not. She's gone. Yesterday she lost her battle with those demons who didn't want her to do her good here on this earth. I wish she could have found a little more fight deep down. I miss her. I wish yesterday that we would have flooded her Facebook with the stories of love and acceptance that are flooding her Facebook today. I don't know if it would have saved her, but I wish we could have tried.

From now on when those negative voices start in on me I am going to remember what they are capable of. I am going to stop them in their tracks. They are not allowed to lie to me anymore. I am going to fight for my right to live. I am done with giving them a place in my mind. I am done with believing that I have no value just because I struggle to see it at the moment.

This world needs me! 

This world needs you too! 

Friend please fight with me. Fight for your right to be a force for good in this world. Believe me when I say that the world needs us both. We all need each other! I love you friend.

Tia, my dear friend, you will be missed more than you know!

August 2018

Tracy Aviary with Tia

It's always a pleasure to spend time with my friend Tia and her kids.

We spent the day taking the kids to the Tracy Avery and 

it was nice to spend some time with her!

Night Out Against Crime

Naylor Farms had a night out against crime barbecue where they invited officers and had a slip and slide. Cort and Marshal loved the giant slip and slide. Marshal took the funny picture on the top right when I wasn't looking. As funny as it is I kind of liked the artistic style of it. lol 

Hands on Family History

The Ezra and Vilda Kunz reunion was held in Bern, ID this year and I was so excited to take my youngest boys and go since Kent and Braxton were at scout camp. I loved being able to see where my ancestors settled. Top left picture is of Cort with the town of Bern, ID behind. The bottom left is one of the remaining corners of the homestead that Erza and Vilda lived in outside of Pescadero just north of Bern. The old shed was previously a milking barn used by David Kunz. We also stopped off in Grantsville at the cemetery while helping Kent's cousin Thomas move. Members of the Bectell family are buried there.

First Day of School

Braxton started middle school and entered the 7th grade this year. It was a big step for both of us. Cort is now in the 2nd grade and loves it although he got a little confused when we got home from taking Braxton to school and it wasn't time for him to go. I turned around and Cort was already at the bus stop an hour early. When I did finally get Cort to the bus I had forgotten that I had waffles on the iron and came home to find them burned. Marshal was so excited for his brothers that he had to have his picture taken too.

Being 100% Me

This summer has been a difficult one for me and but I have learned a lot about myself. One thing I have learned is that I need to live more authentically and be proud to be myself. I dug out my old works of art and realized that I do have great talents to keep working on and developing. I was also able to attend my dear friend Josh's wedding to Marie and realized that I am lucky enough to call the Wilson/Cornelius family a family of my own where I feel loved and safe to be me. It's good to have people like that around you.

One of the other things that I realized is that I need to spend more time seeing the beauty that surrounds me. I have always loved nature and even when I was a youth I recall one of my friends questioning me on why I take so many pictures without people in them. While I do enjoy having pictures of people one of my talents is seeing the beauty in the world and I shouldn't allow others thoughts to cloud my own good desires. Seeing the beauty in the world is one way I can be 100% me.

I am thankful for the beautiful world the Lord has provided us with!

Life in August

Top left: Cort drew this fun picture on the way to Grantsville. Marshal took some funny selfies. I took a cute picture of Cort. I also had to take some photos of our bearded dragons. The top right is the bearded dragons blending into our two different flooring surfaces. Finally the top left middle picture is of our new fence in the back yard. The two bottom right pictures are the lovely gash Kent gave himself while digging out a concrete post from the old fence. It made building the new fence a little rough because too much physical activity made his face hurt. 

My boys and I in the three pictures on the left and Marshal's dentist visit in the middle. I found a katydid in the garage and shared it with Marshal in the pictures on the right.