Bell Family Update–March, April, & May 2019

Maybe I should have just titled this to be our spring update. We’re maybe possibly in the middle of transition right now, and we maybe possibly have little regularity in our lives, including family updates. We sold our house, are living in a rental home for four months, and building a home that should be complete at the end of the summer! Though transition has been real for sure, we’re actually in a pretty sweet restful season while we wait, and we didn’t realize how much we needed it.

I finished up the year teaching my preschoolers. I will seriously miss them more than I can say. What a sweet year with two littles who made me laugh hard every week and put me in awe of God and how he created little minds and hearts to delight in him! This was my absolute favorite pic from the year because it sums them up perfectly. Both being rascals during prayer and the best of friends. I love them deeply.

Got a day out with my oldest. Ridiculous laughter and fun. Here we are racing at K1 Speed. Or was this when we robbed that casino?

At Comedy Sports with our super candid reactions to the show…

Visited some of our dearest friends during their church gathering.

A yard sale we had to prep for moving.

My mom’s choir concert.

First step for our new home–digging the basement!

Twin boy and girl born to our friends!!!

Pizza out as a fam

Pi Day!!!

Girl/Boy Weekend–Girls mining for gems

Girls crawling through a “cave”

Hot chocolate!

Boys eatin’ it up

Girls can make campfires, too!

My sons are super serious.

See, super serious.

Girls on a train!

Boys at a science museum.

Love cooking helpers. And yes, that amount of butter.

Retrieving a tennis ball stuck in the fence.

Delivering cookies to neighbors to say goodbye. Sniff.

Our temporary home! We call it our vacation home.

Moving truck buddies.

Lots of helpers. All sizes worked hard.

The library by our “vacation home” is awesome!

I love movie laughter!

Great little cooking helper.

Volunteering at the Gospel Coalition Conference with my love and one of my besties.

Clapping games

Spoon battles to knock off fruit prepares them for real life…

Lots of bike rides at our vacay home!

Tabletop Curling.

Helping Victoria with her Bible study.

Chicago vacation!!!

The progression of losing to Mom.

Riding the L!

Willis (Sears) Tower

Loved this sweet man I got to sit next to on the L. I could have talked to him all day. People have the greatest stories.

Aquarium

She wanted Daddy to buy these for me on vacation.

The Bean

What is this??? We just saw it out at a park. Seemed too big to be a mouse?

Our friends told us we had to get Garrett’s popcorn in Chicago. Oh my goodness it did not disappoint!

Rare all family pic someone volunteered to take of us!

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home

These are our daughters’ absolutely favorite Christian artists, the Gray Havens. We got to see them in concert, and it was amazing!!!

Ariana started crying when she met Licia. She was amazing with our girls, hugged them and let them talk to her as long as they wanted. It was so sweet!

Get it? The Gray Havens hat? Cause it says “Havens” and it’s gray…

Miriam’s tenth birthday! Um, I just realized Malcolm and Liam also had a birthday but I don’t have any photo evidence!

Our friends were leads in Peter Pan!

Egg hunt!

Dad has no mercy when hiding eggs. It sometimes takes a group effort.

Spring cinnamon roll bunnies.

Dying eggs

Have I ever mentioned I have the cutest mother?? She’s the best, and I dare you to argue, cause here she is learning a clapping rhyme. I love her!

These three baked and decorated a cake 100% by themselves!!! They did amazing work!

Another friend had a baby! My heart has had a happy spring.

Zoo day!!!

Homeschool convention time in Cincinnati.

This beauty filled my heart. Talking on adoption and then letting me continue talking to her in her booth afterward. And her history curriculum is fantastic!!!

Our friend turned five, so we got to celebrate with her in style.

Sherlock Bones

Preschool while getting to visit with one of our dear friends.

Bill getting his baby time in, too.

Why are my kids huge?

This friend who is more dear to me than I can type here without ruining the laptop with tears has taken our family’s pic on our front porch every year since she’s lived directly across the street from me. The man who bought our house let us come back for one more pic. When we got our phone back, we found this gem she left for us! Lol!!!

Officially said goodbye to this house that is full of sweet, hard, and fun memories. It was the hardest move I’ve had. Excited for the next chapter, but this place taught me to love in ways I never thought possible. I think I grew thirty years older here.

Don’t snap, don’t snap, don’t snap!

Style

When your fourteen year old knows you’re taking his picture.

Never too young for coffee

This pic makes my heart sing every time I see it! This young woman and her sister babysat our kids for two years, their mom is one of my closest friends, and their whole family is delightful in every way. We got to attend her graduation party, and the love between these two radiates here.

Bill, Liam, and I got to see Frank Reich (head coach of the Colts) speak during an Indianapolis Theological Seminary symposium. He was fantastic!!! Faith-filled, solid believer who is a stinkin’ amazing coach. He used to be president Reformed Theological Seminary and a pastor!

Creek stomping!

Never too many on a slide

The bones at Hundred Acres

Twinning with my oldest girlie.

Hiking, hiking, hiking.

When Liam and Miriam think there’s an opportunity for fun, they take it. This tractor was randomly in a field on a hike, and they climbed in it looking for keys… Don’t know what would have happened if they found them.

The nineties pose never gets old.

Snuggles with a sickie on Mother’s Day

Our house is coming along!!!

Creations

Liam volunteering at the Children’s Museum as a teen apprentice.

Totally candid fighting…

More creations. She’s so gorgeous.

Last day of preschool with two of my favorite littles on the planet.

Children’s Museum fun.

An end of an era. Liam was the first Explorer (after school program) to walk through the Children’s Museum’s doors when the program was started 5 1/2 years ago. Because of our move, this is our final year to be part of this fantastic group with its amazing leaders and friends. We love them.

When the baby girl shares a bathroom with only boys.

Our sixteenth wedding anniversary!!! We celebrated with a trip to Colorado.

Indiana farmland.

Gorgeous and unique plants in a botanical garden in Denver.

We were surrounded by mountains in our cabin!

Our backyard.

So many amazing animals!

Well that was a close one.

Truly the Rocky Mountains

Cataract Falls

While we were away, this queen watched all ten kiddos for four whole days!!!

Crafting with Nana.

Synchronized swimming teddy grahams.

The kids made us gifts and a scavenger hunt to find them and planned a party to welcome us home!

Exercising with Bill. Work it, Esther!

Dairy Queen with Bill while I spent the day with my mama!

Mom and I spent the day at Garfield Park and Newfield. How sweet that my BFF is my mother!