The Robbins Family

Where has the time gone?

2010-11-11T10:30:00.007-07:00

I know that life goes quickly for everyone. I usually am thinking, "Where does the time go?" But October was different for me. For some reason I truly feel like I skipped October. Even November so far feels much slower, I'm actually surprised that it's only November 11th. I'm not sure why October disappeared this year. It wasn't quite as busy as September was, so if anybody knows where it is, I would appreciate getting it back.......

In my previous post, I posted back to school pictures, but I guess I hadn't uploaded these ones of Brigham yet. He started preschool a couple of weeks after the girls school started. Thought I'd share these adorable pictures.

Always have to have a goofy pic. Can you tell he's excited?

In front of his preschool and sitting at his table.

He really is such a cute, funny kid!

I Love Fall! (Usually)

2010-10-07T23:06:00.003-06:00

There are so many things I have always loved about Fall.

I love the weather cooling off.

I love the change of colors.

I love General Conference.

I love the return of schedules.

I love the rain storms.

I love opening the windows in the house in the mornings and evenings.

I love changing out my regular home decor for Fall decor.

I love sitting on the back porch, just enjoying the weather.

I love the kids returning to school.

I love my alone time with my younger kids.

(That I got to enjoy with my older kids when they were little.)

I love watching my kids play their soccer games.

I love the thunderstorms.

I love Fall.

First day of school. Look at these cutenesses! Too bad Corbin was asleep!

Macy starting 3rd grade.
Kamryn starting 6th grade.

Kinsie started Junior High. (Seriously?)

I love this picture, it definitely shows their personalities. Kinsie, taking care of everybody. Kamryn, posing/doing some cheer/tumbling move. Macy, independent, sure of herself. Brigham, macho, stud dude. Love it!!!

Now, to address the Usually part in my title. This Fall, for me, is all about feeling overwhelmed. Not really loving the schedule and structure this season. It's all been too much. But then along comes one of my favorite parts of Fall, General Conference. I felt like so many talks were specifically for me. I still feel overwhelmed, tired, etc., etc. But I now feel hope, I feel that I am not the only one, that truly I can do this.

Thank Heavens for Fall!

Chocolate

2010-09-28T10:10:00.002-06:00

I am always telling my kids that they are so cute, I could just eat them up, nibble on them, etc. My older kids don't really like being told that anymore, but the younger ones start to giggle as soon as I say it. It usually means some tickling and even a bit of nibbling.

The other day, I said this to Brigham, approaching with my hands ready to attack. His response, amidst giggles, "Don't you feel like chocolate today, Mom?", pointing at Corbin who was right behind me. Unfortunately for Brigham, he doesn't realize, that I'm not too picky when it comes to chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate .........

doesn't really matter, I love them both.

Addendum to "Do you ever feel this way?"

2010-09-22T23:41:00.004-06:00

Because my life is so encompassed with feeling overwhelmed right now, this whole subject has been on my mind a lot! So I just kept thinking about a couple of things that I wanted to add to my previous post.

First, I hope that nobody read my previous post and had thoughts like, "man, I must be lazy, I don't do half that stuff." or "she doesn't have a clue what busy is, she should look at my life." I think as women we tend to compare ourselves WAY too much. One thing I have truly learned over the last couple of years is that there is no way to compare. We all have different circumstances that make our lives easier or harder. And there is no way we can understand what someone else is going through because we have not lived in their shoes.

Second, I felt like I left out a lot of church things I know most of us that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ do, ie attending church each Sunday, going to the temple, receiving my visiting teachers in my home, going visiting teaching, having Family Home Evening, etc. Just wanted you to know that these things are priorities in my life. Don't know why I didn't mention them.

Third, there are times in our lives that we don't feel like we are being helped, yet we feel like we need that help so badly. I wonder about that a lot, why? Well for me when my health was declining daily, literally we felt like we could watch it diminish each day. I was so desperate for help. I prayed constantly. Yet, the inspiration didn't come. I felt so alone, felt like my prayers were going unheard. At the time I felt like I couldn't go on anymore. I kept thinking about the promise in the scriptures that we would not be given more trials than we could handle. I didn't think I could handle what I was going through and I needed it taken away.

So, why is it that sometimes we truly feel the daily help that I'm feeling right now in my life, but other times in our lives we go through times and feel so alone?

Well, for me it was all about learning and growing. Humbling myself to the will of the Lord. (I'm not good at the humbling part, too independent and proud!)

And when the inspiration came that there was another child meant for my family, I said "OK". Because I had come to that point in my life, because I had "made" it through those impossible times. And look what I have been truly blessed with. Man, I love this little cuteness!

Do you ever feel this way?

2010-09-16T23:58:00.002-06:00

Do you ever feel like you can't handle one more thing on top of everything else? I've been feeling that way. With my dumb Fibromylgia everything is harder than it used to be. It takes longer to do things, some things I just can't do anymore, which makes me sad. And it's difficult always living in pain. Then you add 5 kids, 1 being an active little cutie that is starting to get into everything. Then you start school, which includes soccer practices and games. Piano practice and lessons. Cheer carpool, school chorus. Young Womens & Activity Days. Don't forget homework (Ugh, I still hate homework & it's not even mine!). Making sure that the kids get their daily chores done and they are reading every day. Trying to make daily family prayers, morning and night, a habit. Oh and my church calling (which is actually pretty easy) Activity Day Leader. I volunteer to make food for a funeral (because we're supposed to, right?). It's canning season and we are out of all sorts of stuff. So far I've canned salsa, pears, & pickles. Spaghetti sauce is on the list (hope I get to it before those tomatoes in the garage go bad!). Then there's the stuff that never goes away: housecleaning, laundry, making dinner, dishes, etc. etc. Normally I would be doing yardwork, but that doesn't happen much anymore with this body. I have been trying to clean out closets, etc. My sister, Marianne, & I have a yard sale scheduled next Saturday. Then there's paying bills and balancing the check book. I also do that at the car lot and for my parent's while they are on their mission. Oh and I almost forgot, working from home about 20 hours a week. In betweeen I try to squeeze in reading the scriptures, exercising, and reading a good book. Needless to say, there is no room for anything extra. I have been heard to say over the last couple of weeks, "I don't think I can do this anymore." (Anybody else feeling tired, just reading all of that?)

But what is interesting about life, is that when you are truly maxed out, the Lord steps in. I truly have felt that there isn't a free second. Yet when we all get a little sick and I'm getting calls from school, I AM able to do it. How? Surely not by myself. Remember I can't do it anymore. The day that I was already driving cheer carpool without a second to spare, I get a call from the family picking up, asking if I can pick up. In my mind I'm thinking, "there is no way". But I say yes, and guess what I was actually able to do it. Me, by myself? I think not.

I am inspired by so many people who keep going, even when life is hard. Probably my #1 inspiration (blogwise) is NieNie. I look at her and how hard everything must be for her, yet she keeps moving forward. I came across another blog where a young mother recently lost her daughter. Her motto is "I CAN DO HARD THINGS". I have been saying this to myself recently when I'm having an extra hard day.

But the #1 thing that I have to remember is that when I feel like I can no longer do ANYTHING, there is someone who can and will pick up the slack, I just have to ask.

Summer Re-cap #6 - Final Installment

2010-09-02T20:31:00.002-06:00

We finally took the kids to Lagoon for the first time. Kinsie & Kamryn have felt so deprived that they have never been before. I'm glad we made it before their demise. I haven't been to Lagoon in 16 years, shortly before I started dating Ty. A lot has changed. We had a really great time. Our #1 reason for not going to Lagoon is the price, the day we went was buy 1 get 1 free, so that made it much more affordable, but it felt a bit crowded, hard to compare when it's been so long since I've been there. We got there when it opened and left about an hour before it closed. The kids had a blast.

Right before they got on the bat.

Waiting in line.

Ty & Brigham on the bat. He cried when it was over because it was waaaayyy too short of a ride.

Corbin was an angel baby. He only took 2 - 1/2 hour naps the entire day, yet he was so good. I think everything was so interesting, he was never bored. Isn't he so cute?

I think it's funny that they guy next to Kinsie looked at me & smiled. Does he really think I was talking to him when I said, "Girls, look over here, smile!"?

We had so much fun, definitely will have to budget it in for next year. It was a great way to end our summer.

Summer Re-cap #6

2010-08-31T23:14:00.004-06:00

Lake Powell: Definition: A little piece of Heaven on earth.

We LOVE Lake Powell. Ty & I both grew up going there during our summers and we love taking our kids there. Our kids love it too. We had a great trip this year. A little hard with a baby, but Corbin did really good and we all had lots of fun.

Corbin's first time in Lake Powell. He loves water and thought it was great.

Kamryn in the houseboat.
Macy caught this little frog. She wanted to bring it home as a pet, unfortunately it didn't survive more than a day on the houseboat.
Kinsie on the back of the houseboat, reading. Is she my daughter or what?

Brigham, being goofy. He was in heaven on the boat. All day, he would say, "Can we go on another boat ride?"

We found this great beach, I don't have a good picture, but we would dig in the sand and swim. We went every day because it was the perfect spot for the kids to just play and enjoy Lake Powell. I got really sunburned the first day. I had put sunblock on everybody else's back, but nobody got mine. Brigham and I were digging tunnels in the sand for a long time and my back was directly facing the sun. Ouch!

Here's Corbin and Ty on the beach. Look at that smile on Corbin's face! Isn't that the cutest?

Lake Powell wouldn't be complete without a hike up to the indian ruins.

Corbin was a little weary of boat rides at first. He would look at me with this expression of confusion, trying to figure out what was going on. By the end of the trip, he loved it. He was always kind of mellow, the boat seemed to be calming to him.

We had lots of fun and really enjoyed taking Corbin for his first time to one of our favorite places. Hopefully there will be lots more trips to come!

Summer Re-cap #5

2010-08-27T21:20:00.003-06:00

Some friends, the Magleby's, invited us to be in the Spanish Fork parade with FSA, Families Supporting Adoption. It was fun to interact with other adoptive families.Corbin was such a good baby and eventually konked. Isn't he adorable?

It was a fun experience and the kids loved throwing out candy and waving at the crowd. Towards the end they pulled out our spray bottle and began spraying everybody to help them cool off, it was a hot day.

Summer Re-cap #4

2010-08-25T20:59:00.002-06:00

This is The Place Monument

The Robbins clan, minus the men, all went to This is The Place Monument in Salt Lake. We had never been there before. They have a lot of fun things and the kids had lots of fun.

All 12 Robbins grandkids with Nana.

They have a little play area with this train. It's so fun to watch these cousins all play and interact together. They really have so much fun together.

They got to go on horse rides,

pan for gold,

and go for a train ride.

We had a really great time together.

Summer Re-cap #3: Macy's 8th Birthday

2010-08-22T21:01:00.004-06:00

Macy turned 8 on July 5th. She had a pajama party with about 20 of her friends. They had lots of fun. They got their hair and nails done, played night games and of course cupcakes & ice cream and presents.

She chose Pirate Island for her birthday dinner. Isn't she a cutie?

And of course her baptism. She really had a wonderful fun filled week. She is growing up to be such a beautiful, wonderful girl. She keeps us laughing and loves to be goofy. She is smart and extremely creative. She has an amazing imagination and comes up with all sorts of things. What a great girl who always wants to do what is right.

Summer Re-cap #2

2010-08-17T21:35:00.003-06:00

Every year we go on a camping trip with my family. We look forward to it every year. I wasn't able to go for very long because I had training that week. But we still had a good time. It's fun for the cousins to just play together and the adults to visit with each other. Plus we all enjoy the beautiful mountains. I love this picture of my brother-in-law Brent holding Corbin while my nephew, Tanner makes Corbin smile and laugh.

Kamryn with her cousins, Susanna & Breanne.

Kinsie with Breanne goofing around in the background.

We celebrated Macy's Birthday up there, she got lots of fun presents and money.

One of our family's favorite things to do every summer. Another year, another success. My older brother, Keith wasn't able to come and of course with my parents serving a mission, we missed them, but otherwise we had a great time!

Summer Re-cap #1

2010-08-14T23:54:00.003-06:00

We at the Robbins' household love sports. So summer always involves sports. We started out with a little softball and T-ball. Macy opted out this year, she's so good, I was sad, but supported her decision nonetheless. Through sporting events this summer, we found out Corbin loves grass. To pull, to eat, to lay on, and then to eat some more.
Brigham took his first year of T-ball very serious. So serious, that I thought we might have a fight on the T-ball field. One game another kid ran out and grabbed the ball Brigs was about to pick up. Next thing I know, Brigham was in his face. I asked him later what he had said to the kid. And he told me, "I told him, 'Hey, that was my ball'". He was also telling all the other kids (on both teams) where they were supposed to be and when they needed to run, he would give them a friendly push in the back if they were not paying attention. It definitely suits his macho, ALL boy side. He was so fun to watch. He LOVED it!

Kinsie & Kamryn played on the same softball team this year. Their team had a rough start, but ended up getting 2nd place. It was really fun to see them work together and make a come back. Of course, I forgot my camera to every game except the last one and with running back and forth to their game and other commitments, I missed catching Kamryn up to bat, so only a picture of Kinsie. But they both did so awesome. I am amazed at how good they are at every sport they play. Love these girls!

Aren't they adorable? And beautiful? Man we are in trouble...

A Special Day

2010-08-02T21:09:00.003-06:00

July 10th was a special day for our family, we were able to combine Macy's Baptism and Corbin's Blessing. It was a beautiful, tear filled day. Oh how I love the blessings that come from living the Gospel. I love days like these where you feel that you are making good choices and doing what you are supposed to in this life. There is a sense of fulfillment. And to know that these beautiful children have extra help. I want to protect and shield them, and I know no other better way then to provide them with Priesthood Blessings. Truly, a wonderful, beautiful, special day.

Hello Blogging World

2010-07-26T21:08:00.003-06:00

I have missed the blogging world for the last 2 months. I have had to take a hiatus. Due to the ridiculous expense of adopting (but sooooooo worth it!), I got a job! I'm really lucky, it's a data entry job I can do from home. But for 4 weeks in June, I had to do my training outside the home. It was a hard adjustment for us, but my kids were exceptional! And my mother-in-law stepped in when I thought we might not survive, thank you Cynthia. I missed my kids so much. After those 4 weeks, I started working from home. The first couple of weeks were even worse because my kids were so happy to have me home, they were interupting my work every couple of minutes. I felt like it took all day long to get 4 or 5 hours of work done, but things are starting to shape up. We are figuring it out. And it truly is a blessing to have that extra income and still be able to stay home. But, blogging had to take a back seat. At first I would read updates quickly, but never comment. Then I just had to drop it all together. So if you have missed my comments, I am sorry (I KNOW you have all missed my comments so much!).

Here are some fun pictures of cute Corbin who is now 8 months old and has 6 teeth, with a couple more poking through. He is figuring out crawling and can definitely get around the room, time for a little baby proofing. He is still the cutest, happiest little guy around and such a joy to have in our family. I know, I too can not get enough of those cheeks. I promise you that they are getting kissed and smooched on constantly. We love this little guy so much.

I have had fun catching up with everybody's blogs, but I doubt I could comment on everybody's updates. So just know that I have enjoyed the pictures and commentary. And would have said something very witty if I had the time and energy!

My dear friend, Jen @ http://bjdentonfamily.blogspot.com/ I have not had a chance to catch up, but plan to, you know how much I love you and your blog. And for anybody else needing a great blog to read, you may want to check her out, she's becoming quite popular.

Corbin's Day in Court!

2010-05-28T12:48:00.005-06:00

Today was a great day, because we are officially Corbin's family. I say officially because to us and in our hearts, he's been our son and baby brother since he was born. Here's some cute pics of him recently and pictures from court today.

Judge Davis was great and let each of the kids put on his robe and hold his gavel and sit in his chair. It was a great day, emotional, but beautiful. We are so happy and love this little boy so much.

Proud Mama

2010-05-26T21:06:00.004-06:00

This week has been a really fun week to be the mom of my two oldest girls. I am one proud mama.

It started out on Sunday, Kinsie was put in as the 2nd counselor in her Beehive class presidency. Being a Beehive for only 6 months, she wasn't sure what this all entailed, but was really excited about it after we talked for a while. Then Monday morning, Kinsie received the Hope of America award at her school. I remember being devastated in 6th grade when I didn't receive that award. So proud of her! This award is for the student who excels in academics, leadership, fellowship, etc. Kinsie is such a great girl.

Then on Tuesday, we found out that Kamryn had made student council for next year. We were extra excited because she had tried out last year with no success. But she went for it again and it paid off. Tuesday evening we had Kinsie and Kamryn's piano recital, I am amazed at how much they have learned over the years.

So this post is my bragging rights as their mom, I'm so proud of these two girls who are also great friends. When I found out that I was going to have two girls 17 months apart, I worried that they would continually fight and maybe not get along. Well, I truly was wrong, they really get along and are such great friends.

At the dance festival today, they announced the names of the student council members, there's our Kamryn. Kinsie receiving her Hope of America award.

Kinsie and Kamryn with their teacher, Emily, at the piano recital.

Great friends, these two cuties!

BYU Football Spring Practice Game

2010-05-13T12:48:00.002-06:00

Ty took the 4 oldest to the BYU football Spring practice game. If you arrive early, the kids can run through some drills and meet the players. They had so much fun. I think Brigham was by far the most excited to go. Driving down, he told Macy, "When I'm on the field, you have to cheer really loud for me."

Kinsie running a drill. (For you Robbins', notice her tongue? Anybody else that reminds you of?)

Kamryn muscling it up with a football player.

Macy running her drill. Can you tell how fast she is? Look at that hair!

Brigham wearing his BYU football uni. (notice the shoulder pads?) The funny thing is that you are supposed to run between the blue things. He ran on top. But with that smile, who cares?
It was a fun day for all. I'm not sure if the kids or Ty enjoyed it more. Okay, of course Ty enjoyed it the most!

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-26T10:58:00.004-06:00

The Sunday before Easter we had my entire family (except my parents who are serving a mission and my sister Julie's family who live in Spokane) over for an Easter egg hunt. There were 40 of us and we had about 350 eggs hidden in the back yard. We had a yummy dinner of Honey Baked Ham and funeral potatoes. Then it was time to enter the backyard and watch the kids find easter eggs.

Kids waiting their turn for the hunt on the back porch.

Corbin with Uncle Duane Brigham
Macy Kamryn KinsieChecking out their stash.

The weather was great and we had a really fun time. With it being such an early Easter this year, the yard sure doesn't look so pretty for an Easter egg hunt, but the kids don't seem to notice. We've only found 2 eggs so far that were missed. I'm sure we'll find a few more when I get around to doing some yard work.

Happy Easter from the Robbins Kids

2010-04-10T20:24:00.000-06:00

Corbin is 4 months old!

2010-03-26T12:42:00.003-06:00

Corbin is getting so big. At his 4 month check he weighed 14 lbs and was 24 inches long. He is still not the best sleeper, but we are making progress. When he is awake, he is the best baby ever. He only cries 3 times during his awake times. First, when he wakes up and you are taking an extra 10 seconds to get the bottle in his mouth. Second, when the bottle is taken from his mouth, empty. And third, when he is ready to take his next nap. Usually though it's just fussiness because he is tired. We laugh at the crying when he is finished with his bottle. He truly screams hysterically for about 20-30 seconds and then he is fine. I guess it just really upsets him when he has to push away from the table. I honestly think that if we gave him 20 oz, he would do the same thing at the end of the feeding. His soft, curly hair is falling out (Boo Hoo!). From what we have been told, it will grow back course hair. We love to play with his soft hair. He loves toys and reaches for anything in front of him. Which includes my face, I love that moment, when a baby reaches out and touches your face while smiling. Pure love. He "talks" a lot and loves being social. I also love when he hears my voice, he starts looking for me and the minute his eyes meet mine, he grins from ear to ear and is so excited.

Here is Kinsie feeding him.

Corbin taking a bath. Corbin is ready for the BYU Basketball game. He takes his BYU sports seriously, like his dad.He has begun sucking on his fingers with a vengeance. It's actually pretty cute, it's typically the 2 fingers you see here. And here he is so excited that I am talking to him, he can hardly contain himself. Oh how we love this little guy!(Cami, recognize the cute brown & orange jammies you gave him for Christmas? They are so cute on him!)

St. George

2010-02-17T12:18:00.003-07:00

We decided to use the long weekend to get away to the sunny, blue skies of St. George. Wow, did I ever need that. We had a great trip. Corbin was an angel and slept the entire drive down and the entire drive home. We played pretty hard on this trip. We went swimming twice, went hiking twice, went to the park to play soccer twice, and went to our favorite park with water features twice. Notice a trend here? Of course I forgot to charge the camera battery, so we didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but here are the few we did get.Ty took the 4 oldest and Toby on a hike, my cousin recommended this trail and they seemed to have a good time. I enjoyed staying home reading a book while Corbin napped.

This is a hike Ty did as a kid. They named it "the short and scary hike". It's a MUST for our kids, every time we go to St. George. The kids climb through basically a crack in the rock, while the larger, unable to fit parents climb around to the top. Here's the kids coming out of the crack at the top.

Corbin got to hike up with mom and dad.

It was so nice to see blue skies the entire time, no inversion! I even got a little sun on my face. We really had a great trip, I was worried with travelling with a baby again, but Corbin has truly redeemed himself. What a great baby! The only thing missing was my mom. I got a little home sick for her while we were down there. The kids and I kept mentioning places she likes to go and things we have done with her down there. But they have passed their hump day and are on the home stretch of their mission. 8 & 1/2 months to go and you can bet next winter we will be taking a trip to St. George with Grandma! (Don't think I'm leaving my dad out of the equation, he doesn't enjoy the heat and truly doesn't know how to relax, so St. George isn't his kind of place.)

Robbins Kids

2010-02-08T20:57:00.002-07:00

I took pictures of the kids on Saturday. It was a bit of a last minute decision, but I think we got some good ones. Corbin wouldn't smile for any of the group shots and spit up 5 or 6 times during the whole process. But all in all, I was happy with the pictures I got. I updated all of their pictures on the side, except Corbin's. These are some other cute ones, love the goofy pic!

The Beauty of being Different

2010-01-22T14:56:00.003-07:00

I love looking at my children and seeing how different they are from each other, from me, from Ty. Yet we have similarities too. I can see similar characteristics that my children have to me, to each other, to Ty. I have always appreciated the differences of my children, but I have never appreciated the beauty of those differences . . . . . until now.

Corbin is Smiling!

2010-01-18T14:18:00.004-07:00

At about 4 & 1/2 weeks old, I spotted my first Corbin smile. I thought to myself surely not, he's too little. But the next day, I spotted another. Then Ty spotted one and he has continued smiling more and more each day. We have moved on to giggles and cooing. Oh how I love a baby's smile. Have you ever seen anything as cute or sweet? Just a minute ago he was having some awake time in his swing and I looked over at him and he had this huge smile on his face!

Corbin's beautiful smile.

Corbin giggling.

Adoption

2010-01-09T13:44:00.003-07:00

Ty spoke with our friend, Beth that works for Heart to Heart Adoptions today. She told him that they have been crazy busy lately. So much so, that they need families desperately. I know that September was a record month for Heart to Heart. They placed 13 babies. Then October beat out September with 16 babies placed. November (when we adopted Corbin) tied with October, they place another 16 babies.

So if any of you have ever thought about adopting, now is the time. We had a really good experience with them. My only real complaint is that I would have liked better communication. I think part of the problem was that we really were only with them from the beginning of September, until we got Corbin in November. Their busiest time ever. I know that most of the people we worked with, were overwhelmed. I know they've done some hiring and hopefully they are better equiped to handle the work load.

I can't even express to you the joy that it has brought to our family. Obviously, this is only if it's something that you've thought about. Just thought I'd pass the info along if your interested.

Heart to Heart Adoption Website: http://www.hearttoheartadoptions.net/index.html
Heart to Heart Adoption Blog: http://www.hearttoheartadoptions.blogspot.com/

The best of part of the blog is the links on the bottom right hand side to other people's blogs who have adopted. I have really enjoyed reading about other people's stories.

Just think about it.......

Corbin's Photo Shoot

2010-01-05T15:01:00.001-07:00

On New Year's Day we went over to Ty's sister Whitney's beautiful new home. Whitney took these great pictures of Corbin. He is so cute, it's really hard to not get a good one. Didn't they turn out adorable?

Christmas 2009

2010-01-05T14:14:00.005-07:00

This year, Christmas felt different to me. I'm one of those people who can't sleep Christmas Eve because of the excitement. The excitement builds from Thanksgiving to Christmas as we go to Temple Square, have family Christmas parties, spend time together at home drinking hot chocolate, building snowmen. I love the entire season. I don't know what happened this year, it just wasn't there for me. I'm sure there is a lot that lead to it. Lack of sleep due to a newborn with Colic, Macy breaking her arm a few days before Christmas & having to be in the hospital. It could be because we weren't able to do any of our annual family things. Maybe it was the fact that 11 prime shopping days were gone while I was in Louisiana causing stress to get the shopping done. Maybe it was the fact that now I have 5 kids to take care of and to shop for. I'm not sure, I just know it wasn't there this year. Well, now as the season is over, I am grateful it wasn't there. I usually come down from my excitement with the January blues. It happens every single year, Ty prepares himself for it. Not this year. Which is truly a blessing because I don't know how I would be holding up right now. Truly we had a wonderful Christmas, simplified some things and spent a lot of time with family. As I look back it was a great Christmas and best of all, I don't have to plow through these first couple of weeks fighting the January blues!

Robbins cousin Nativity on Christmas Eve

Beckstead cousin Christmas party
Sledding on New Year's Eve
Being pulled behind the 4 Wheeler

New Year's Day with the Robbins Family

Macy's Broken Arm

2009-12-24T13:38:00.003-07:00

Monday morning we headed up to a cabin in Sundance to spend a couple of days with Ty's family. Tuesday evening, the kids were all heading to the kitchen to make Gingerbread Houses and Macy tripped over the vacuum cord that was still plugged in and fell on the wood floor. I guess everyone just thought it was another kid falling down and didn't really pay attention until she stood up and her arm was crooked. We headed down the canyon around 5:30 PM. It had snowed all day and there was 2 feet of snow on the ground. It was a pretty intense drive. Well, to make a long story short, she ended up having surgery Tuesday morning and had to stay in the hospital for 24 hours. Her Ulna broke and punctured her skin on the top of her arm and she dislocated her elbow. The surgery was a little more difficult than the surgeon had hoped, but ended up good and he expects everything to heal well. I stayed with her in the hospital all day yesterday, we got home around 8:30 PM last night. I hadn't seen Corbin for 12 hours!!! She kept throwing up at the hospital, so we were worried if she would be able to come home, but finally held her dinner down. She had to stay in the hospital for 24 hours because I guess when the bone is exposed, the risk of infection is so great they keep them on antiobiotics for 24 -48 hours. Luckily her poke hole was small enough that he wasn't too worried about infection and let us go home after 24 hours. If we had to stay 48 hours, we wouldn't be coming home until tonight, Christmas Eve! She still has to be on antiobiotics for a week. She's been amazing, no tears, no complaining the entire time. Everyone at the hospital was amazed at how brave and strong she was. Merry Christmas to us!!!!

Visiting Santa

2009-12-10T16:58:00.004-07:00

Today was Kinsie's last performance with Manila Magic at University Mall. She has sung in the school chorus every year and loves it. This year she even talked her best friends into joining. I can't believe that next year is Jr. High!

Kinsie is on the far right. To the left of her are her best friends.So after the annual performance, it's tradition to head to the PretzelMaker for soft pretzels. Then onto see Santa.

Corbin & Santa

Macy & Santa
Brigham & Santa

Kinsie & Kamryn did not want to sit on Santa's lap. But I told them that they had to at least be in a picture with their sister and brothers.

The whole thing went surprisingly well. I was a bit concerned venturing out with 5 kids, but we all enjoyed spending the afternoon together, and the girls love to help with Corbin. It definately got me in the Christmas spirit, that is until I realized there are only 15 days til Christmas! Agh!

Chubby Baby

2009-12-10T16:52:00.002-07:00

So, since his first day in this world, Corbin has eaten like he is starving and will never get another meal in his life. The nurses at the hospital thought it was so funny and laughed at how quickly he polished off his bottle. By the time he left the hospital he had gained 5 oz. Where most babies have actually lost weight. On Tuesday, I took him in for his 2 week check and he has gained a pound and a 1/2! My Pediatrician said that they hope for babies to be back up to their birth weight at their 2 week appointment. Look at those cheeks! Ty says that he has definitely been inducted as a member of the clean plate club! (bottle club in this case!)

Corbin Tyran Robbins

2009-12-07T17:33:00.003-07:00

We officially decided on a name, Corbin Tyran Robbins. Fun coincidence is that his initials are CTR. Corbin is doing great, we are thoroughly enjoying him. When the girls are home, I feel like I don't even get to see him, they hold him and feed him and take care of him. It's pretty cute and pretty great! He still struggles with his tummy, but it's getting better every day. In Louisiana, he was up every night for 3 or 4 hours, just being fussy in the middle of the night. Since we've been home his fussy times tend to be no longer than a couple of hours and they haven't been in the middle of the night. So I actually feel like I'm getting some rest. Plus it helps that since he is being bottle fed, Ty likes to do at least 1 feeding each night. Plus everyone let's me sleep in, in the mornings, so I'm doing pretty well actually. It helps too that I'm being spoiled rotten by all my neighbors. We've had dinner brought in pretty much every night, with leftovers, so I'm covered for lunch too!

There's no picture with Brigham. Well, he hasn't shown a whole lot of interest, plus he threw up the other night. So we are keeping him away. I'll tell you, this whole experience has definitely been more emotionally and mentally exhausting, but it sure is nice to not be so physically exhausted. I actually came home and got my Christmas all up Friday and Saturday. The kids finished the tree decorating yesterday and we are done!

We're Home!!!!!

2009-12-03T13:44:00.002-07:00

Nana.

Excited Aunt Cami.

Big sister Kamryn.
The whole group (except Aunt Cami who was taking the picture).

Baby and I made it home today! I'm so happy! I think we are all so happy!

Other Cell Phone Pics

2009-12-01T18:52:00.004-07:00

More cell phone pictures. Here is baby all ready to leave the hospital in his car seat.

And baby sleeping in the hospital, man he is a cutie!

Other Kids

2009-12-01T18:44:00.002-07:00

Ty sent me some pictures from his cell phone that are really cute. Here is Brigham sitting in front of the cougar outside Lavell Edwards Stadium. Pretty cute, eh?

We knew we would be in Louisiana for Kinsie's 12th Birthday so we started the celebrations ahead of time. This picture is from when Ty and I took her to Tepanyaki for her Birthday dinner. I can't believe she is 12! She's so excited about Young Women's. She has her first activity tomorrow night. I'm really excited for her!

Baby's First Bath

2009-11-29T18:07:00.003-07:00

Today, I gave the baby his first bath. I also took these other cute pictures.

Today has been a really good day. He hasn't been fussy hardly at all. We also had some really great awake time. He seemed like he was recognizing my voice and kept reaching for my face. He was so wide awake and just looking around, I wished there was a way to freeze that moment in time and record it for my memory. He is so cute and I am thoroughly enjoying my time with him. I miss my other kids so much and wish I was home with Ty and them, but I also know that it seems like forever right now, but in the whole scheme of things it really isn't that long. So I am trying to enjoy each moment I have with just me and him.

PS No, he still doesn't have a name, every name we come up with doesn't seem to fit. We keep thinking it will come. It's also one of those things that Ty & I just haven't really had the time to sit down and have a heart to heart about it, but we will, eventually.

Go Cougars!!!

2009-11-28T16:36:00.001-07:00

We might be far away, but we are still cheering for our Cougars!

New Pictures

2009-11-27T20:30:00.002-07:00

I took these pictures tonight. He's been really a good baby so far. He eats like he's starving and it's his last meal. It's actually quite funny. The nurses all commented about it. He gulps up the whole bottle in a couple minutes flat. He's starting to slow down a little and I hope that continues because he does urp a lot of it up. (I think because he gulps it down so fast). Ty is a fast eater, so I told him he gets it from his dad. Today was a good day and we're hoping tonight is a little better than last.

New Addition to the Robbins Family

2009-11-27T15:18:00.003-07:00

Well it's been a crazy week. Quick overview: Arrived in Shreveport around 4:00 AM on Tuesday, November 24th. Went to our hotel and slept a few hours, headed over to the hospital around 8:00 AM. Met Toccara, our sweet birthmom. Baby was born at 10:31 AM. He weighed 7 lbs 0 oz. and was 19 inches long. He has a lot of tight curly black hair. Spent all day Tuesday at the hospital, mostly with Toccara. She didn't have anyone come to stay with her and we didn't want her to be left alone, so we spent the majority of our time with her. What a sweet girl, we really grew to like her and it seemed she felt the same about us. Wednesday, November 25th (our Kinsie's 12th birthday) she signed the paperwork at noon. Ty and I were on pins and needles, but everything went really smoothly. Thursday, November 26th (Thanksgiving Day) Toccara and baby were discharged from the hospital around noon. It wasn't until that moment that I truly felt like he was ours. I started to choke up a bit as we left the hospital as I felt such gratitude and love that he was ours, but also gratitude and love for Toccara, as well as heartache for her. What an emotional experience! For those 2 days we were with Toccara, we really didn't get to hold or love on the baby, because we were always with her and we didn't want to make it harder on her than it already was. We went to our hotel with the baby (who is still unnamed! The names we were thinking of don't seem to fit!) and spent a couple of hours with him. I ran next door to Cracker Barrell and got Thanksgiving dinner to go. We enjoyed that time, but it was hard to see Ty go. So now it's just me and baby for the next week or so. Last night was tough, but today has been really good. I have enjoyed him so much and it's funny cuz I think he looks like our other kids. I've been able to Skype with my parents in Israel, so they got to see him. I also Skyped with our kids while they were at Ty's parent's home for Thanksgiving. It was really good for me to see them and I think they were happy to see the baby. We are doing well and are so grateful to everyone who has been praying for us!

Adoption Update - It's a GOOD one!

2009-11-11T16:02:00.004-07:00

Exciting news! We got a call yesterday that the birthmom we sent our profile to a while back, called and wanted us to be her baby's family. This morning we had a conference call with her and it went really well. She is soft spoken, but is very confident in her decision. She called our agency when she was 11 weeks pregnant. She's known since the beginning that she was going to give this baby up for adoption. She is due December 4, but is scheduled to be induced Tuesday, November 24th in Shreveport, Louisiana. An interesting fact is that her first 3 kids are girls and her 4th is a boy, who was born the exact same day as our Brigham. So this little boy will fit into our family exactly where he was in her family. We are so excited, but are going a little crazy trying to figure out flights, hotels, paying the agency, and figuring out who will watch the kids while I'm gone 7-10 days. I'll miss Kinsie's 12th Birthday and Thanksgiving. Kinsie seems a little sad, but okay because of the excitement of getting a little brother. So I guess things could change if she goes into labor before she is scheduled to be induced and then there is always that chance that once the baby is born, she decides she wants to raise it herself. But for now, we are getting things in line and preparing for bringing a baby boy home in a few weeks.

Fall Break San Diego/Borrego Trip

2009-10-24T12:40:00.006-06:00

Our kids had Fall Break last week and so we decided to go to Borrego Springs and San Diego. We had a great trip, but the best part for me was the fact that I did it! Over the past 2 years as my health declined, we never even thought about a big trip like this. We went to Disneyland with Ty's family a year and 1/2 ago and we rented one of those scooter wheelchairs for me and I crashed for a couple weeks after we got home. This time, no scooter for me, I walked and sat and came home tired for a couple of days, but wouldn't consider it crashing. So, we are so excited about this progress! (If you know anyone struggling, please get them in contact with me. This hormone therapy has truly been life saving for me!)

So we started out on Tuesday night and drove to St. George, then left Wednesday morning for the 7 hour drive to Borrego Springs. We love visiting Ty's grandparents in Borrego. When you are there you feel like you are staying at a free resort. My kids have a hard time believing Ty's grandparents can live in a place where the closest fast food restaurant is hours away and there's no Wal-mart or Target anywhere either. Unfortunately we were only able to stay for a day & 1/2. Ty's grandma was having knee replacement surgery on Friday morning. So we left BorregoThursday evening for the hour and 45 minute drive to San Diego. But it was enough time to visit Papa at his cement plant and ride in the back hoe

to do lots of swimming in Mimi & Papa's pool,

and eat at the yummy local taco shop. We had a great time! Thanks Mimi & Papa!

Then it was off to Sea World. It's been about 5 years since we went to Sea World last. Macy was 2 and got a Shamu stuffed animal, she named it Shampoo. Pretty cute. Brigham wasn't feeling great all day at Sea World, but we still had lots of fun!

Ty and the girls on Atlantis (above).
Kristen and the girls on Atlantis (below).

Watching one of the shows.

Ty & the girls on Waterfall Rapids.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to Carlsbad to spend some time at the beach. The whole morning it was foggy. I was bummed because the kids don't get to see the ocean very often and we never once could see more than about 100 yards out. But the kids still had lots of fun, starting out a little nervous and cautious and by the end, I was hollering at them to not go out so far. Macy found some sea shells, Kamryn had fun burying herself in the sand, Kinsie had the most fun jumping the waves and Brigham had fun borrowing the 8 month pregnant lady in a string bikini's daughter's shovel and bucket. She highly recommended a local fish and chips place and we agreed as we enjoyed our fish or shrimp and chips. Yum!

That evening BYU was playing SDSU in San Diego. This is quite the stadium. We actually had gotten 3 seats from our brother-in-law and then bought 3 seats from a scalper (sp?) and basically just walked in, found 6 seats together and sat down. The stadium is so big, no one ever came by and told us we were in their seats.

At the end of the game, we were able to give high fives to quite a lot of the players.

All in all a very successful trip!

Adoption Update

2009-10-19T13:28:00.002-06:00

Last Monday we got a call about a situation. A birthmom due in a couple of weeks coming to Utah that day. The only bad deal was that she wanted a family with 1 or 2 kids. The agency only had 2 families to show her, ours and a family with 3 biological kids. We got a call Tuesday morning that when she went to her Doctor's appt, she went into labor and had the baby. We had a trip planned to San Diego, we were leaving Tuesday evening. So, I kept debating if I pack or not. Well, we got a call around 2:00 in the afternoon, that the birthmom didn't pick either family. I was really upset the rest of the day, thinking about that little baby in the hospital without a family. I guess our agency posted on their blog and through word of mouth, they found a family. I felt really discouraged, but the best thing was that we went on our family trip to San Diego. (Pictures to be posted later.)

Today I got another call about a situation in Missouri. The birthmother is white and the birthfather black. She's due on November 25th (Kinsie's Birthday). So our profile is being overnighted today. Hopefully we'll hear back by the end of the week.

Adoption Update

2009-10-05T21:20:00.002-06:00

So, the last thing I told you was that our profile was being shown to a birth mother in Louisiana. We have been waiting for almost 2 & 1/2 weeks since we told them to show our profile. We found out that this birth mom wanted the agency to pick their best family for her. So our profile was the only one sent to her. They told us if the birth mom wants the agency to pick, they usually end up with that family because they are trusting the agency. So we started thinking, this must be the one. Well, I got a call today from the social worker telling me that she can't get a hold of this birth mom. She's left her lots of messages and haven't heard from her. We knew that it would be hard to get a hold of her because she's in Rehab. But I guess they feel like we've waited long enough. So, she told us they have a few more cases they are working on, so they'll get in contact with us if one of them matches up with what we are looking for.

I don't know how people do this, I'm trying to just not think about any of it, so that I don't get attached prematurely. But, as a family we pray constantly about finding our little brother and son, so it's hard to not think about it when you are praying kind of people, I guess.

Kamryn and Macy - Soccer

2009-10-02T12:09:00.007-06:00

Kamryn played on a rec soccer team and a competition soccer team (I know, I'm crazy, Kinsie's competition team needed a couple extra players, so we signed her up after she was already doing Rec). Her rec team was great, and she played awesome, I'll have to brag and say that she was one of their top 2 or 3 players. Her team won the championship in a really tight game, it was such fun.
Go, Kamryn, go!

The trophy was huge! She was thrilled!
She's on the bottom row, 2nd from the left.

Macy was awesome in soccer this year! She scored in almost every game (I'm trying to remember if it was every game). She has awesome legs and I didn't realize how fast she was until this year. Maybe she has some of those Beckstead running genes. It was also fun to watch her kick with both feet, she's pretty capable with either one.
Macy & her friend, Whitney

Great action shot with hair flying!

Fighting the goalie, beat her to the ball, Macy!
Leading the pack.
Brigham loves cheering for his sisters!

Lucky Me???

2009-10-02T11:56:00.005-06:00

So Ty killed an elk a couple of years ago. I still have much of the meat in my freezer, I have a really hard time throwing it out. I think that if your going to kill an animal, it should at least be used to feed your family, right? Anywho, Ty has been waiting and waiting for this guy to finish with the taxidermy (sp?) and unfortunately for me, the guy finally finished (only took him 2 years). So here are pictures of the exciting? day when it was installed in the basement.

Brigham's Conversations

2009-09-26T13:06:00.003-06:00

I have the best conversations with Brigham. I'm always looking at Ty saying, "Do most 3 year olds talk like that?" Yesterday, we were talking about his dad and I asked, "How come you have such a great dad?" His answer, "Because he knows where all the bathrooms are!" Man I love that kid!

Adoption Update

2009-09-18T20:00:00.002-06:00

It's hard for me to keep up with who I tell what, so I thought I would give everyone an update here. If you're a little behind, we are adopting! We were paper ready 2 weeks ago this past Wednesday. We've been shown to 2 birthmoms who didn't pick us. We've turned down being shown to 3 birthmoms due to birthmom doing cocaine, cost too high, etc. We had a neighbor call us about someone they knew, but the baby was caucasian. We are so positive we are looking for a dark skinned little boy out there. The craziest part is that 4 of these 6 babies are born. So if we had matched, we would have our baby home with us right now! So because we kept thinking it could happen any day, this past weekend we did the bedroom moving. Macy moved into Kamryn's large room that is truly meant for 2 kids and Brigham moved into Macy's old room. Because of my awesome friend Cari Gardner and her sister-in-law, Ally, the nursery can now be called a nursery. The onesies and jammies are sorted by size and ready to go. The crib is set up, there is a swing, a cradle, a bouncer, (see I told you, they set me up!) So today I got another call, a baby being born in Lousiana, so again here goes the showing of the profile and we should find out by the end of next week if she picked us. Too bad my friend Angie doesn't live in New Orleans anymore, if she does pick us I'll have to stay there 7-10 days before I can bring the baby back to Utah. This one's not due until December 4th, so we have some time to arrange everything. But, who knows if we'll be picked or not! The roller coaster ride of adoption!

Venting

2009-09-10T17:43:00.003-06:00

You know how sometimes you just need to vent. Well I feel that way today and I feel like it needs to be somewhat public, not just a journal entry on my new favorite website ldsjournal.com. So I apologize to any who read and don't appreciate hearing me complaining, but I don't think too many people read this blog anyway.

Chronic pain SUCKS! (My kids are not allowed to use that word, but it seemed appropriate in this circumstance.) I've been feeling better lately and today I just hurt! I hurt in every joint, every muscle, every nerve, everywhere. And I've always prided myself that I've been able to tolerant high amounts of pain and I think, "Well there you have it, you get prideful about something and the next thing you know, your being told 'well if your so good at handling pain, here you go, now let's see how you handle it 24/7.'" So I hurt every day, every hour, every minute, every second. It just really makes life difficult. It interferes with every aspect of my life.

For the most part I've come to accept it. I don't like the sound of that word accept. I don't mean that I've given up, for me it means, I've accepted that I no longer have the life I used to have. That acceptance has helped me a lot, I have let go of a lot of the guilt of not doing things I used to, I let myself rest (because I absolutely HAVE to) without feeling guilty or angry with myself. Through this acceptance I have also become a very grateful person, I notice the little things and am soo grateful for them.

But today, I'm a complainer, maybe even a whiner. I hate to hear people say that someone went through a trial and never complained. REALLY? Like I said, I've come to a good place within all this, but some days I just have to complain. I just have to say, "This sucks!" "I hate this!" "Why me?" Then I get on with my life, but I think that if I didn't express what I was feeling, then it would build and build inside me and eventually I would burst.

See I feel better already, I just needed to vent today. Thanks....

BYU Football

2009-09-05T23:57:00.004-06:00

What an amazing game tonight. I was truly impressed with the BYU team. They were up against a formidable opponent, yet they never gave up the fight. The crazy thing is that my heart keeps going to the poor Oklahoma team. This must have been a devastating loss for them. I love sports, but wish that there didn't always have to be a loser. No matter how you look at it, there is always a loser, no way around it. Of course my mind than goes to life. I am so grateful that in life there doesn't HAVE to be a loser. There are those that choose that path, but life is such that we can ALL win. We just have to persevere. I like to think that I am like the BYU team tonight. I am up against a formidable opponent, yet I continue to fight.

My little guy's Big day!

2009-09-02T10:27:00.003-06:00

Today was Brigham's first day of Preschool. Man I think I'm feeling more melancholy than I have with any of the kids. Maybe it's because he's my baby (for now anywho!). I just kept thinking he's too little and then I would look at him and go, oh yeah, he's gotten so big. I think sometimes we as mothers don't notice how big until big events like this. We block it all out, we're in denial and then one day I'm sure I'm going to say, "Wait, he just started preschool, he can't be going on a mission!"Goofy Pics!!!

In front of his preschool & sitting at his table! What a cutie!!!

Crawdad Fishin'

2009-08-20T11:52:00.006-06:00

Our good friends, the Dunns, invited us to go crawdad fishin' again this year! My kids love it! We haven't gone for 4 years and luckily this time Kamryn didn't fall in the lake again. Unfortunately I haven't been able to go either time, maybe next year! I guess after you catch the crawdads you cook them up for dinner. I asked the kids if they tasted like shrimp. "No, kind of like chicken, but their not very good!" Thanks Dunns!
Kinsie, after pulling up her catch.

Kinsie and Brigham waiting for a crawdad to bite.

Macy's not afraid to hold a crawdad!

Neither is Kamryn!

Love this picture of my beautiful Macy girl!

Good friend, Cessalea Dunn.

Good friend, Jen Labrum.

The Frandsen kids, Gabe and Ava.

Good friends, Tara and Paul Frandsen.

The kids going back to School

2009-08-20T11:44:00.001-06:00

Kinsie and her friend Kenly Secretan.

Toby

2009-08-13T17:14:00.000-06:00

On Memorial Day we added this cute little puppy to our family.

He is a miniature schnauzer (sp?) and is as cute as can be.

I've never had an indoor dog before, but love him! He is a great puppy! I had to post these cute pictures of him, because he is no longer so small, but still just as cute!

Brigham's Mess

2009-08-12T23:43:00.000-06:00

Okay, so this happened a while ago, but I felt like it was worthy of being documented. Last spring, as most of you know, was physically really tough on me. Well one day, I just couldn't handle it anymore and laid down to rest. The girls were in school and I should have known better, I woke up to this lovely mess! Brigham had gotten out the flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, hot cocoa and threw in a banana just for fun!
They were so mixed up that I had to throw EVERYTHING out! The full one there on the left, well when I dumped out, I found a surprise inside, a cup and a big piece of banana!
Brigham upset for getting in trouble, I do have to admit, he let me sleep, didn't bug me once!
Had to take pictures and document this moment. He reminded me of my brother Brian, I'll never forget finding him on the kitchen floor covered in flour when he was about this same age!

Enjoying the Summer

2009-08-08T21:45:00.001-06:00

Lake Powell (just saying it makes me sigh.....)

Ty and the girls cliff jumping!

(I actually did it too, but won't gross you out by showing myself in a swimsuit!)
Cute Toby on the boat!
Brigham, watching his sisters and dad cliff jumping.

Beautiful Sunset

Hiking to the indian ruins.

We have had a couple of fun family trips this month. First Lake Powell, one of our favorite places and then up to my parent's cabin, one of our other favorite places. It's amazing to me how different these two places look and are, but yet I find them both so beautiful in their own ways. There is something peaceful about spending time with your favorite people in beautiful places.

Me and the kids in front of the cabin.
Toby and Brigham, veggin'.

Ty and the kids on the 4 wheeler.

I'm going to try to get back into blogging!

2009-08-02T16:25:00.000-06:00

(Okay, so this one's for you Lari! )

Life is interesting, isn't it? I feel like the last couple years have been all about keeping my head above water. The doggy paddle is the best I've been able to do. But due to a new regiment of lovely hormone therapy, I am actually adding a swift kick to my doggy paddle. Exciting isn't it? It's amazing how good it feels to feel better, when you've been feeling so crappy for so long!

So, when you feel like you are starting to get a better handle on things, the Lord sure knows how to turn you upside down again! As we are starting the adoption process, I am continually thinking, "How in the world are we going to do this? We've given everything away! I love dejunking! My health is a little better, but I'm no where near to being considered extremely healthy! And the cost of adoption is astronomical! How? How? How?" And then you have to sit back and say, "Heavenly Father, this one has to be in your hands completely, because I am incapable of doing it."

And then I start thinking about this little boy that is going to join our family and all I can do is smile and almost cry, because it just makes sense. I don't know how, but it does. He is supposed to be in our family and so now, we just have to find him. It's like I've become anxious to find him. I've already started talking about moving Brigham in with Macy and setting up the nursery! (With what, I don't know, we do have our crib, luckily because the friends we gave it to ended up not needing it, but that's it!!!!) So my little boy, whereever you are out there, we are so excited to have you join our family and we can't wait until you are here!

A Visit to Temple Square

2009-01-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Family in front of the Salt Lake Temple.
The Nativity.
The Robbins kids and Cousins.

The Beautiful lights with the Temple.

We visited Temple Square during Christmas Time.

It was beautiful! We took my nieces Breanne and Morgan.

Kamryn's 1st Cheerleading Competition

2009-01-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Great Formation!
Kamryn is the girl furthest on the left.

Cousin Breanne came to watch too!

Kamryn & Brigham!

I'm not sure if you can tell from that smile, how happy Kamryn was.

She was in HEAVEN! It was a crazy atmosphere. But we had a lot fun!

Have you been Naughty or Nice?

2009-01-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

Visiting Santa at the mall.

The Robbins kids with Santa.
Kinsie and Kamryn thought they were too old, but I made them anyway!

Macy who was still a little scared of Santa last year, wasn't scared at all! Woohoo! Progress!

I was worried Brigham would freak out, but he did great.

Kinsie's Birthday

2009-01-09T12:37:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Kinsie's 11th Birthday on November 25th with a skit she did in her school class, a soccer game, and a friend party!

Brigham's 3rd Birthday

2009-01-09T12:21:00.001-07:00

Brigham turned 3! Chuck E Cheese, here we come!

Thanksgiving

2009-01-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun spending Thanksgiving with Ty's family at a cabin in Sundance. We haven't all been together like that in a long time. It was fun for the cousins to spend time together. The only bad deal was Ty still having to work and having to drive back and forth. We played Rock Band, watched movies in the awesome theater room, played games, and ate lots of good food. Thanks Rand & Cynthia! Brigham had a bad fall and hurt the back of his head. Luckily no stitches!

Trick or Treating

2008-11-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Brigham was the cutest Thomas the Train ever! This is Kinsie's friend Kenly. As you can tell there was no waiting to get inside, the candy was dumped out on the side walk to check the stash. Grandma came over for a bit and then took Brigham and Macy with their cousins. Time to put the costumes away! Yeah!

Halloween Party at the Robbins

2008-11-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Pinatas, doughnuts on a string, bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving and painting, cookie decorating, making carmel apples and a yummy dinner! Could you ask for more? Nana and Frabby sure outdid themselves this year! (The prize money being the exception!)

Look at these cute cousins! We sure had fun!

St. George Trip

2008-10-22T14:23:00.000-06:00

We went to St. George over UEA. My mom was going down too, so we had fun spending time with her.
She leaves in 2 weeks, so it was especially nice to have that time with her.
They have these great parks with fun water features. We had a blast.

Indexing

2008-10-01T16:23:00.000-06:00

Hooray! I have officially reached a huge milestone! I've indexed 5028 names. If I haven't told
you that I've been doing this, it's for the church. It's basically data entry. I just download a
batch which is scanned images of census'. Then I just enter the information I see on the scanned
image which is usually name, age, where born, etc. Some are more time consuming than others.
But I have thoroughly enjoyed doing it. With my health poor, it's nice to have something that I
can do that feels like I'm accomplishing something. So, anyway I'm way excited to have indexed
over 5000 names! If you're ever interested in doing it, I would love to help. It's been very
rewarding for me. http://www.familysearch.org/eng/indexing/frameset_indexing.asp

Motherhood

2008-09-26T13:01:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I've been obsessed with reading these blogs about Stephanie and Christian Nielson.
I probably check the blogs twice a day. And I feel the difference in me and my life, trying to find
joy in every little thing. So it's been on my mind and I went visiting teaching the other day and lo
and behold my partner gives the message about motherhood. This is what it says in the message
from Julie B. Beck "A woman who treasures motherhood on earth will treasure motherhood in
the world to come, and 'where [her] treasure is, there will [her] heart be also'(Matthew 6:21). By
developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her divine, eternal mission of
motherhood." So, I guess that means when Brigham wants to go peepee in the potty, but not
poopoo and goes poopoo on the sidewalk in front of the hospital (long story), I need to treasure
these moments, right????
Above pictures:
Me helping Macy get a sliver out at Grandma Beckstead's cabin, while she freaks out.
Brigham licking up the sour stuff after he spilled sour patch kids at Grandma Beckstead's cabin.
Me and Kinsie (she's almost 11 and a girl, need I say more?).
Kamryn insisting on the spotlight when it was Macy's birthday, that was fun?!?

Stephanie and Christian Nielson

2008-09-21T11:48:00.000-06:00

I have been reading these blogs about this couple, Stephanie and Christian

Nielson who were in a plan crash in August. They are both recovering and

Stephanie's sister is updating through the blogging world. It touched me

when I read these blogs and I'm not a sentimental person. (Though after

reading Stephanie's blog, maybe I need to work on being more sentimental!)

If you haven't heard their story, you might be interested. It also teared me

up, Nicole, because it made me think about you. I love you and am so grateful

for your recovery. And grateful to Michael who kept us Utahns updated

through blogging. (There how's that for being sentimental, I'm already

improving, WOW, don't I work fast?!) Stephanie's blogis the following link:

http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ . You can get to her sister's blog from

there, but here's the link anyway: http://blog.cjanerun.com/ .

Kids Lovin' Each Other At Home

2008-09-15T21:16:00.000-06:00

Brigham Asleep in the Car

2008-09-15T20:58:00.000-06:00

Brigham fell asleep on the way home from Seven Peaks.

He was so exhausted. The sucker in his mouth still looked

new when we took it out. How do you not take a picture of that?

Strawberry Days

2008-09-15T11:06:00.000-06:00

We love Strawberry Days in

Pleasant Grove. The kids and

I went to the parade. Brigham

was more excited about the

trucks driving the floats than

the actual floats. What a true boy.

The Hogle Zoo

2008-09-15T11:01:00.000-06:00

Me and the kids at the zoo this

summer. We had lots of fun, we

went with lots of our Beckstead

cousins and Grandma Beckstead.

I made it, barely.

The Robbins Family - August 2008

2008-09-12T11:49:00.000-06:00

The Robbins Kids - August 2008

2008-09-12T11:07:00.000-06:00

Macy (6) Kinsie (10) Kamryn (9) Brigham (2)

The Robbins Family with Grandma and Grandpa Beckstead

2008-09-12T11:04:00.000-06:00

My Mom and Dad are going to be gone for the next 2 years,

so we had family pictures in their beautiful backyard.

We are going to miss them.

The Robbins have a blog!

2008-09-10T17:04:00.000-06:00

Ty's sisters all have blogs, so I guess I'm finally setting up a blog for us. Hopefully it won't take me too long
to get the hang of it and soon I will be able to refer to myself as a "blogger"!