Moved Blog

Sorry to keep doing this - but Wordpress is officially way easier than Blogger to post photos - and I presume you noticed I stopped attaching photos. So - I've moved.

Here's the new address: http://aubreyandbryce.wordpress.com/

Problem is, I made it private again. Honestly, I really don't want to have a filter on myself when I write and I feel like I have to constantly think about who might read it or what psycho might find out where we live, etc. So, private it is. Problem is with wordpress, you have to have a wordpress login... like google, but not everyone already has one.

Sorry. I understand if people just don't feel like doing that extra step to log in. I just need to be able to post comfortably, and I need to be able to upload photos... which just isn't working out for me on blogger. :(

I can invite you, just leave your address in the comments here or email me at aubreycleeATgmail.com.

That's all folks.

Oh, and I have private blogs for the kids, so I have letters I write to them and put into a book for them... that's the plan anyway. So, if I don't post much about the kids - that's why. :) You're also allowed to read those if you want an invite - I don't imagine they're too exciting, just status updates on what kids are doing. lol.

Blogspot

I'm thinking about moving my blog again... this time to wordpress. What platform should I use?

My complaint about blogger is that when I want to attach photos, I have to sit there and wait for all the photos to attach and can no longer write while the photos are uploading - thus, I've stopped attaching photos bc I have no patience. Anyone else?

The Job and a Spilled Glass of Water

B has been at his job now for a few weeks.

There's nothing quite like getting a paycheck after you've gone more than a year without one. We've always taken for granted that we were from educated families, we went to a good university, got our degrees, found good jobs... continued on for a JD... that's when reality hit.

There's this peace we have about our lives now, one I can't explain. You don't quite know how peaceful your life is until it's not.

We always felt an overall peace - like we know God loves us and will take care of us as long as we're doing what's right. But, knowing we can take care of ourselves is just so relaxing.

Bryce will be taking the CA Bar this February... so, let me clarify our level of relaxing - I know the FULL peace will come once he is working as a licensed attorney. For now, we are at peace knowing he is building his resume, the boss refers to B as his associate and assigns him cases as if he is an attorney. Knowing he is "almost" licensed in CO makes him trust him more.

Thus, B works all day, then studies all night and on Saturday's. I'm looking forward to the peace that will come when he just has a job, and comes home and is home to stay. I can't wait to have Saturday's to play as a family after a good week of work. But, I'm still at peace.

I still work from 9-1 everyday - generally - but, not sure how long the job will last as it is a nonprofit and you never really know...

Back to B's job. He loves it. It's an office with one attorney (other than B), an office manager, and a secretary. The Office Manager and Secretary are both chatty girls. I went to lunch with the staff and it was fun to meet them. They are definitely distracting at work for Bryce, but he's learning to work while they talk to him all day. haha.

At lunch, I met Bryce's boss and wife for the first time. The nice table cloth on the table had this spot on it that really looked like a smashed bug... like really. It was grossing me out, and I overreacted. I lifted up the table cloth to see if it was in fact a bug... wait for it... still lifting... slowly looking... crash.

That's right, my glass of water tipped over and poured across the round table, drenching the table cloth and splashing onto my husbands boss. My hands literally both flew to my mouth as I stared with a big "o", speechless. Go ahead and laugh.

I immediately asked him to not fire my husband because I spilled water all over him. He laughed. Bryce was embarrassed for me, don't you love when someone is embarrassed for you? The girls loved it, they decided they officially liked me after that.

The boss reminds me of my stepdad, a lot, with his elaborate stories that are fascinating the first time you hear them. haha. I wonder how many times his wife had heard the story he told about missing his flight to the cruise. Entertaining for us though.

I couldn't really read him... until late in the lunch he asked if B will be taking the CA Bar. We said absolutely. Boss was trying to figure out how permanent B will be. He told us he usually wakes up at 5am every morning, but he's been so stressed with his last paralegal that he'd wake up at 2-3am. Now, since B started there, he's been sleeping in until 6 a few mornings. So, he's thrilled and loves having B work for him.

He told us that when B passes the bar, and if things keep going the way they are (which there's no reason they shouldn't) then he'd like to have B hired on as an Attorney for him. Who doesn't love B? They said the office has been so positive and they just love having him there. Seriously, this boss loves him and is quite concerned he'll leave to go to CO.

While my number one choice is still CO, and I would really like to move to CO... I feel more at home here than I have yet since we have a job and are not just floating in limbo. We may end up settling here for the long haul... but I still hope it's just the short haul. I'm not ready to stay here my whole life, but I could give a solid 5-10 years here... I think I would cry if I had to settle this far from my parents and siblings. It's just so difficult to get to Bako from anywhere since we only have a small airport that is pricey to fly into.

Not just the distance to my parents - but CA is really going downhill. The government is messed up. The school systems are quite poor, kids are behind, a lot of people over here homeschool or take their kids to a nicer school farther away. I'm not ready to homeschool, so hopefully we can find a good school district around here for the kids... that is, if we stay... he still needs to pass that nasty CA Bar.

The First Job

Yep, you read that title right.

We are officially ready to become adults. Like, real, job, working adults.

Bryce has been slaving away trying to find a job. He finally got his certified driving record to the CO Bar, so now he can get licensed, he just has to find his way out there again! But... the job is not in Colorado. Tear.

Our ward is awesome. They are just so aware of us and care so much about helping us find a job. One lady in the ward, with whom I'm not sure I have ever spoken... maybe a hello... has a son-in-law who is an attorney. Luckily, this attorney fired his paralegal this past Friday (3 days ago) and is absolutely swamped. Double luckily, she chimed in for us and gave a solid plug for my hubs knowing that he has not passed the bar in CA, but has passed in CO.

This attorney was thrilled to find someone in our situation because he doesn't want to pay an attorney rate, but isn't quite sure about pursuing another paralegal versus a full-time attorney. As he was torn... cue music... he heard about a young (becoming old) man who was seeking attorney experience.

Bryce went to see him today. He hired him on the spot. Bryce starts tomorrow.

He said if things go well, and B takes/passes the CA Bar this time around (no, this was not in the plans, but now is in the plans) then he would probably hire him on as an attorney if they have enough work for it and if he likes him (which, duh, who doesn't like B?).

There you have it. Building the resume resumes. :)

B starts tomorrow (we hope it's full time, but are not sure yet, it was kind of a whirlwind).

He is so excited. I am so excited.

Who knows how long we'll be in CA. But, for now, we are grateful we don't have to deal with moving somewhere temporary as he gains experience.

Yes, he will probably take the CA Bar again. Ugh. We just sold all our books and flashcards!! Guess we can afford to buy some more now that he has a job! :) Great timing. Right before Christmas. Life is good my friends.

I'm still dreaming of a white Christmas for next year.

Jazmin's Journey

My nanny is absolutely fabulous. She just adores the kids and I may have spied on her once and all I heard was "How many times am I gonna kiss you today? Mwah, mwah, mwah!" Accompanied by my babies giggles. I've heard her discipline Dylan in totally appropriate ways and get them all down for their naps happily.

Jazmin is about 53 yrs old, half-Italian, she is American, yet she has that loving foreigner personality where she wants to take care of you. She is chatty!! Like chatty times 100. :) She loves to talk, loves to give advice, and here's where it gets good... she is doing everything she can to find God's true church.

After she had only worked here for 2 days, she asked me what church I go to. I told her. After a pause, she rushed all sorts of thoughts she'd been having since her interview 4 days before that point.

She basically said - (I'm not using quotes because it's not an exact quote) - I admire your family so much. I just love how you treat your children and how you discipline them. I want to be like your family. I just love families.

I showed her The Family - A Proclamation to the World from The First Presidency. She took it home and loved it.

The next day, she asked about what we believe and asked about the "rules" of the church so she could decide if it was the church for her. I bore testimony of God, Jesus Christ, and the church being restored through a living prophet. I was grateful I served a mission bc it flowed so naturally and I know that was both the spirit and bc of my preparation and experience of sharing the gospel.

She just loved it. She couldn't believe she didn't know these things. She told me how thirsty she was to know the truths and she had tried 7th Day Adventist and Jehovah Witnesses and was raised Catholic. She just knew those were not the churches for her. She prays constantly and I just know with 100% certainty that God brought us together so that she could find the church.

When she asked others about visiting the Mormon church, they said you had to be invited. When I said I was Mormon, she got so excited because it was the one church she felt she hadn't explored and had always admired the way missionaries treat each other.

I immediately called the missionaries, they came over the next day. Two weeks later, she made it to church this Sunday with me. Everything was so new to her, she was just soaking it all in. The investigator lesson was fabulous about priesthood authority. At the end (she got a lot of attention as she was the only non-member or missionary - there were 6 Elders in there) Jazmin saw a portrait at the back of the room of Jesus Christ laying his hands on an apostle with the other apostles gathered around. She said, "Do you see that? I read and prayed about the Book of Mormon for hours. I feel God hit me over the head with a hammer that it was true. I was praying for a sign, and God knew I would need no less than a hammer. He hit me over the head with a hammer. That night, I had a dream. These 2 Elders, these 2 right here (the ones teaching her) had their hands on my head just like in that photo! I knew it was true."

The spirit was so strong. I feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of this experience. To know that she had literally never heard of "laying on of hands" or anything about blessings or priesthood authority before this point and then to have had a dream where the Elders had their hands laid on her head... it's just a miracle.

God loves us. I still sit here awed at the fact that God chose me to be the one to introduce her to the church and to be able to go on this journey with her.

When I started looking for a nanny, a last resort was to post on Craigslist, unsure what crazies might come along. Somehow, of the 20 people who replied to my ad, Jazmin was the only one who fit perfectly. Seriously, a couple other interviews were set up and they just fell through for random reasons. Plus, Jazmin confessed that she had another job offer for more than double what I'm paying her for only 1 kid, and she chose to work here. She said she just knew she wanted to work for me, her boyfriend still thinks she's crazy for it.

I know without a doubt that God directed her here. He directed me in my hiring. He allowed me to trust a complete stranger with my children (yes, I did do a background check). She has already bought them all Christmas gifts! Are you kidding me?? She's so amazing. I just love her. To top it off, she does the dishes, cleans the floors, and does the kids laundry.

She is currently working towards a baptismal date of January 11th. She has a lot of things to learn and do (like get married or become single, etc.), but she is golden and I know God will help her get there.

I feel like everything Bryce and I have gone through has led us to this point. If Bryce didn't leave me for a month, I never would have hired a nanny. God is directing His work. I'm so grateful He chose to use me. I literally did nothing, I hoped I could talk to this new nanny about the church at some point, but that's the extent of what I did. She and God did the rest and I'm just watching it go by in front of me.

The 411

I need to find some pictures to add on here, the blog is getting a little boring with all this text.

Right now, I am working what seems like a lot of hours for Women for Decency. We are in the midst of a major rebranding which has been really fun to be on board for. We are refining our mission statement and goals while renaming our organization to be focused more on the kids rather than the women who are helping the kids learn how to reject porn.

I'm really enjoying my job. Some days it takes a lot more proactiveness than I want, but overall, I really love the freedom I'm given to share opinions, make a difference, and help with marketing and other businessy type decisions or projects. There is always something to do, something to improve.

The girls are really struggling with naps. I can't complain bc all kids usually sleep a solid 11-12 hours at night. The girls seem to nap for about 1 hour and then are cranky in the late evening bc they are so tired. They used to take two 1.5 hr naps, so not sure why it's down to one super short one. Thus, days are not so productive once my sweet Jazmin nanny leaves.

I love hanging out with my sweet babies when they get up from their naps. After the initial fussiness they are just super giggly and hilarious. They wake up about 2pm.

Dylan takes a super long nap and wakes up between 3-4pm (goes down at 1pm). Evenings are rough because these girls are ravenous! I swear I can never get enough food in them... and no, it's not always healthy food - they are starting to reject solid veggies, which is a pain because they loved baby food veggies.

The girls love to go to bed at night and practically throw themselves in bed immediately after I walk in their room. They each have a lovey and a stuffed animal that they must have to sleep. So adorbs.

Dylan is a bigger project to get to bed, but still adorbs. It takes bribes and threats to get him to go potty, put on pj's, go to bed. He generally likes his teeth brushed, reading books, and singing songs and will lay down nicely once all is finally completed. It's a long process sometimes. Tonight he was devastated to go to bed because we were playing tag and he just did not want to stop. I should have played for another 10 minutes to get a real good workout in. :)

The girls favorite game is Ring Around the Rosie. Sylvie is easy and likes to play it with me, but Axie tearfully requests with her outstretched hand that Dylan always join in... and he's apparently sick of playing it with us. Sad. It was so fun to have them all do it together, but now he feels it's a chore since he has to do it to keep Axie happy.

We spend tons of time in the backyard. Sadly it gets dark at 5pm, so evenings are rough! But, we are always out there at least from 4-5, or earlier depending on naps and post-nap snack. They spend mornings out there too. Such cuties. Love me sweet kids.

In Colorado

Bryce is currently staying in my sisters basement in Colorado looking for a job. He's been gone since Sunday, November 3 (10 days and counting)... and will get back November 27, the day before Thanksgiving.

I am here alone... with 3 kids.

My sanity comes from...

9am-1pm: My wonderful nanny, Jazmin! I work upstairs in my room on the computer while she's here. she just adores the kids. So awesome.

1-2pm: Naps. The girls wake up about 2 if I'm lucky, sometimes earlier (which means they barely slept since they go down at 12:30!), I eat lunch and finish any work.

Evenings: Alternate between my wonderful in-laws who bring me dinner or come visit and play with kids or paint Dylans used headboard we got months ago AND our best friends here Katie and Ben and kids who make us dinner or come here for dinner or play. If I have nothing planned, I load up the car or stroller and figure out something to do because sitting at home just makes for fussy, bored kids.

Nights: Bryce's brother comes and sleeps here at nights because I'm the most paranoid person ever and didn't sleep the first week Bryce was gone from all the noises.

Let's hope something works out while he's there! Or he will have to go spend all of December looking for a job as well. Ugh.