TL + Zoya
TL + Zoya
Our Story
Zoya Pari Robinson
NICU MIRACLE
Available on Amazon
https://a.co/d/1LdSKuV
In this deeply personal memoir, I share the story of my daughter, Zoya, our fierce little warrior who came into the world at just 23 weeks but with a strength that stunned everyone around her. From day one, Zoya faced enormous challenges, spending weeks in the NICU with a team of doctors and nurses fighting alongside her to give her the best shot at life.
This book is my heart on paper. I open up about the emotional whirlwind of NICU life, the fear, the heartbreak, the prayers, and the little moments of hope that kept us going. It's the story of a mother who never stopped fighting for her baby, a family who stayed strong through the darkest days, and the tiny miracles that helped us inch closer to bringing our girl home.
Zoya's NICU Miracle is more than just a survival story, it’s a tribute to the power of love and the incredible strength of a baby who proved she was born to fight.
long awaited true love
"The word intrinsic comes to mind when encapsulating the union of Trevor and Lacey."
Prior to 2019 Trevor and Lacey both lived and worked in California, Trevor, a Strength and Conditioning coach in Los Angeles, and Lacey, a Video Game Creative Director near Sacramento. As the world rapidly changed Lacey’s company migrated to working remotely where she was able to return to her hometown of Reno, Nevada. Trevor’s coaching came to a halt with sporting being one of the first to succumb to closures leading him to new opportunities of becoming a skilled tradesman.
On January 03, 2021, Trevor moved to Reno, Nevada to spark a new career as a journeyman electrician. Shortly thereafter, on January 30, 2021, Trevor and Lacey had their first date, meeting at Casales Italian Restaurant. From that moment on the two were inseparable… The couple was fast to create everlasting memories with each other, family, and friends. Sharing adventures like vacationing in Missouri, California, and Las Vegas, camping in Mammoth Lakes, and Walker River Resort; attending weddings, concerts, sporting events, motocross racing, NFL Draft, Hot August Nights, Rodeo, Rib Cook-off, Christmas tree cutting, New Year, and more.
Trevor and Lacey have built a loving, loyal, kind, respectful, and communicative relationship that has propelled them to grow a rapidly strong and everlasting relationship. Both are uniquely successful, established, educated, and intuitive which has positioned them to create an extraordinary connection. The two were eager to share their lives with one another wholeheartedly from the very beginning. They honor the past, live in the present, and vow to conquer the future, together.
Together
Lacey's Story: I am very fortunate to be raised in a loving and supportive family. My parents have been married for over thirty-five years, meeting when they were only fifteen years old, and have been together and inseparable ever since. In addition, both sets of my grandparents have each celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversaries. Growing up around unconditional love, loyalty, and commitment has instilled in me the true value of love. Knowing what the value of love means and stands for, I knew one day the perfect man who shares those same values will enter my life. Trevor has shown me a love stronger than I’ve ever known and shares the same traditional devoted values. I vow to share my love with Trevor for the rest of my life and more.
Trevor's Story: I am incredibly thankful to both of our parents who have set wonderful examples of how we would want our relationship to be. We have grown from those examples and created something of our own. I am grateful for everything we have both been through to lead us to our meeting. I love how we speak about everything good, bad, and constructive to create what we have built today. This was the most natural decision I’ve ever made, it was as if we had known each other forever. Loving you is the best thing I’ve got to do. We are two complete wholes that have come together, we are both all in.
Coat of Arms
Robinson Coat of Arms & Family History
The family history of the ancient Irish surname, Robinson is a baptismal name meaning 'the son of Robert'. The root name means 'bright with fame'. This name is of Anglo-Norman descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in early times, and is found in many medieval manuscripts in the above countries.
The surname Robinson is recorded in 1324 in the Court Rolls of the manor of Wakefield. The Robinson family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, and coat of arms, including Robinson descendants.
Lacey’s Estonian Family History
All of my family members have played such an important role in my life, however, my maternal grandma, Viive, is at the top of the list. Her story began in 1944. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, she fled the Russian attack during WWII. Viive, age nine, Ilvi, her four-year-old sister, and mother, Zoja, escaped on foot from the Russian occupation of their country. Their family, broken apart, was forced to leave Karl, my great-grandfather, behind, a devoted husband and father. He was committed to protecting Estonia, by fighting alongside Hitler’s German Army. My grandma Viive, Aunt Ilvi, and their mother, known as Ema in Estonian, landed in Germany and were forced to live in Displaced Persons Camps for seven years. Unsure of their future, they boarded a ship and sailed to the United States of America. The three girls had no choice but to begin a new life far different than they had ever known. All three of the Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, lost their freedom and were annexed into the Eastern Block of the Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.). The people who remained suffered mass repression under Stalin’s Soviet rule. As a result, tens of thousands of Estonians experienced deportation or death. The ones able to escape, like my grandma, were unable to return, or they would be killed as well.
As immigrants, they arrived in the United States where two host families sponsored them, the McAfee's and Armand Hammer two wealthy New York families. My great-grandmother, Ema, cleaned houses and prepared meals in exchange for room and board. The McAfee's enrolled my grandma into public school. The language barrier and the little schooling received in the Displaced Persons camps caused her academic success to become a challenging and difficult struggle. However, my grandma persevered, prevailed, and continued her studies, graduating high school with honors and still able to read, speak, and write in Estonian and German. Later she met my grandfather, Alan, born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Their family ties were so strong that my great-grandmother, Ema, who never remarried, continued to live with her daughter and her family (my mom) in New York. She even moved to Reno, Nevada, with them in 1977, and lived the remainder of her life there, until she died in 1993; she was 83.
Estonia, which had endured foreign occupation for centuries, joined its fellow Baltic Republics of Latvia and Lithuania in a nonviolent movement that enabled them to become independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. My grandma was able to reconnect with my great-grandfather Karl who had been forced to remain in Estonia under communist rule. After reuniting, Karl shared that he had remarried, had children, and tried to continue his life the best he could under severe circumstances. This is truly a blessing as now we have continued to grow our Estonian family lineage with whom we stay in contact regularly. I have been able to travel to Estonia three times and visit family, make friends and build everlasting memories. I plan to apply for dual citizenship and continue visiting what feels like, home.