Beautiful month full of soccer, choir, school, soccer, choir, and school. And also soccer, choir, and school.
The month started with some alone time for me. It was a sweet time away for me to breathe, read, hike, and think. WarriorsWhile I was gone, Bill watched some sweet kiddos in addition to oursAnd got to drive their grandparents’ Tesla…I can’t tell who had more fun: my kids, or my friends’ kidsAnd this was the response to Bill’s extrasSoccer game with my parents who faithfully attend every one they can.Celebrating one of my favorite redhead’s birthdaysHe looks so calm and cool. But right before this, the baby was forced into his hands and he flipped out, worried he’d drop him. Leaving pics on our friends’ phonesAnd kids leaving pics on oursFamily walk. This little man is still the cuddler. Trampolines are for more than jumpingOur dear friends had their sweet little nugget this month! She’s perfect, and the baby hog thinks so, too. The baby’s dad and our long-time friend tried to teach Liam how to do a backwards somersault. Victoria left her earrings on her sink for weeks, so finally a child decided to make soap art with it.Such a cool drawing of a Viking ship!Sporting some spirit wear for our favorite soccer team.When you tell the child most like you that her hair looks pretty, she’s going to do something to make her hair gross.Chilling one day in a big chair after busy weekOur soccer crewGangsta coachesWhen your church eats together each week, sometimes you need dessert for dinner.My silly little boysWe’re pretty serious. Emphasis on the pretty.One of our friends pointed out that our choir nametags make him think of a CVS receipt. Now I can’t unsee it. And Aiden had his turn with the teeny baby…Clashing mask problemsBill’s boys. This group makes my heart swell. Never ever ever will I tire of hearing little ones read. Getting ready for Liam to have two teeth pulledI get to teach five sight singing classes online each Wednesday. No matter my mood, I’m always smiling after hanging with these people. Cute new Trailblazer spirit wearI love getting videos from one of my gorgeous nieces who lives in California. Dang, I want to hug her neck. Oldest boy Bell and youngest boy BellPlaying with our little friends againHey, Cap!Headed out for a weekly dateThese two. Cheesy and hard working. They worked over the course of several weeks for one of our lovely neighbors to fill this whole area in with stone. I see this couple almost every day I walk this trail. I’d put them close to eighty. Always holding hands, always chatting with each other with joyful smiles. I tear up every single time. Obviously I don’t know their story, but what a beautiful glimpse of a marriage to Jesus I get to see fully one day. None of these girls share my last name, but does that really mean they aren’t mine? No. No, it doesn’t. More baby snugglesWhen you tell snarky child she can’t bring her food into the living room…Taking this motley crew in the car with me to soccerHe can’t whistle in the normal way. But he watched a YouTube video to try to learn to whistle this way. It didn’t work. Finally a pic with my mamaI’m so proud of this pic because I’m talking to another friend and soccer mom AND I’m watching the field. It’s a rare picture to capture.Face paint on the armAccidentally twinning. Firstborn and baby.When you go to a dairy farm, you gotta wear pigtails.The crew learning about pigs, cows, and poopPiglets are pretty much the cutest thing everA newborn cow!Time with my girls jamming to PentatonixI don’t think I’m going to say anything hereObligatory weird picBeing manly in their pink and purpleAgain, she doesn’t share his last name, but does that mean she isn’t his? Nope!My girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them with all my heart. Can’t attest to the “like Mom” part, but she truly is beautiful.
If I wanted to complain about being bored, this month would shut me up. Whew!! Everything our family does and loves is in full swing now. Sweet to see others’ faces (even if masked) and to return to something that feels at least a bit normal.
Our kids’ “Uncle” Tony makes beautiful pens. Now he’s teaching the kids to turn their own pens!! Esther and Heaven got a turn this month.Thug youth groupHaircut timeDouble snuggles on the couchAnd our fourth teen!!! She asked for an oatmeal cream pie cake. Creative as always for Cheyanne. And maybe the easiest cake I’ve ever done because it didn’t matter how messy I was!“Aunt” Holly and “Uncle” Tony supporting our first day of choir!!!! Choir is long and tricky this year with COVID. In the past, all the kids were in the building at the same time for a couple of hours, and that was it. Now, there can only be two ensembles at a time spread far apart, and with all ten kids involved and Bill and I as directors, it means we’re at the building five hours one night a week, most of which is spent in the van. These two made shirts, bought a transportable grill and a million hotdogs and chips, and had a choir tailgate party in the parking lot!!!!! Because they are the best of the best.Our dear friends who moved in behind us wanted to paint their door yellow. She went around to neighbors asking us to hold a sign to convince the HOA to let her. It worked! Their door is now beautifully yellow!!!Double date night with two of our favorites!Went to hear our friend sing on Sunday morning. We segregated boys and girls so Lee could get his man snuggles.We started having our kids who were done earlier at choir go to our close friends’ house until the rest were done. Oh the bravery of Barb to take this motley crew…How we found Miriam one morning…Sweet sunflower date with this ladySome of our Micro Blazers (kids too young to play on the official soccer team)A pic a friend sent me when her daughter couldn’t get online for my sight singing class. She was stressing that I’d kill her. I’m pretty hardcore, Emma, so stress on. New specs!!These two had a fake wedding in our basement officiated by an older brother. Josiah got to hold another friend’s baby one night, and I’m wondering if this pic is prophetic as to how their future will be if married for real with kids. Dunes Day!!!!And eating at our traditional restaurant afterwardI’ve faithfully mocked Bill’s dance moves for 19 years now. Lee joined him, intense dance face and all.My Dunes traveling crew!! So much fun to spend six hours with this group. And this lady is balm for my soul.We didn’t get a single pic of all the kids together at the beach, so we took a rest stop photo instead.This picture fills my heart. I don’t think we have a pic of just these two. Bill and I have been blessed with fabulous relationships with both sets of our parents. He treats and loves my parents as though they were his own, and I adore these two together. Fun selfiesTaking my choir outside for a mask break. These girls are amazing!Forlorn little brother waiting for older siblings to finish soccer practice.Seriously beautifulI tried to take a selfie. I have ten kids. These are a few of my favorite things.The smallest Bell giving his all!This was so fun!! A hot air balloon landed close to us during one of our soccer games!Trailblazer family attempting a pyramid during halftime…Ending in total success.“I want Aunt Courtney to hold me!”School projectsSweet playdates with friendsI’ve been sick half the month with a Crohn’s flare-up. This little man comes for snuggles and to pray for me often.Last minute hugs before heading out for an overnight with BillHiking trip with this guyI keep my door closed in the mornings while I have coffee and read. This is why. These humans were in my room within three minutes of the door opening. Two minutes later, I had seven kids on my bed. I adore them!No caption, except the caption I’m currently typing…OK, these two. They have this fantastic relationship where they’re the most like each other, which means they understand each other and also totally rub each other the wrong way. This was Bill going over Malcolm’s logic one night. After several minutes of Bill trying to explain a concept to Malcolm and Malcolm mistakenly sure he’d gotten it right, this was the moment when comprehension finally set in. Bill’s at the end of his rope, and Malcolm is dying laughing at the whole exchange. They’re so good for each other…I sat on the ground to watch a game. Some of my favorite little people lost no time making sure I had my priorities straight about who should be getting my attention. My heart overflows when I see these faces!Teaching my online sight singing classes!I’m not obsessed with this baby–you are!Double date night!Cheering on her big siblings, or just talking it up with Aunt Holly?Taking two of my kiddos home after soccer and treating them to Taco John’s The only time you’ll see this crew serious… I love this team and cheer myself hoarse each game!
The Bell Family 