a late list of thanks and a couple funny stories December 3, 2009

This year I am thankful for:

1.  a husband who is a wonderful father to our girls, who planned a great art project (while I was gone) that not only encouraged their creativity but also their hearts to be grateful for God’s goodness

I was so excited to hear about this project when I got home from my girls’ weekend last month. . .and then Darrel mentioned something about Lucy’s paint shirt, the sweater he found on the shelf in the laundry room.  What?!  Yes, my nice green sweater that was waiting to go to the dry cleaners!!

So now I am also thankful for the dry cleaners who managed to get my sweater wearable again (well, maybe with a scarf to cover the little bit of leftover paint stains).

2.   a loving husband who goes to great measures to support and encourage me

I had a hair appointment scheduled last Monday.  I had been talking for awhile about cutting it short, but knowing that Darrel likes it long, I decided to surprise him by leaving it long.  I walked in the door after my appointment for, ironically,  MY big surprise–both of my little girls with their hair chopped off!  Darrel decided to “support” me in my short hair decision by taking the girls in for haircuts.  I must admit, I was in somewhat of a state of shock for a couple hours and couldn’t really say much.

But now I am now thankful for 2 little girls who look adorable with short hair .

I have a lot to be thankful for this year, but one thing that tops the list is a husband that I can laugh with!

(and yes, I did get Darrel’s permission to share these stories)

Oh, and if there are any dads reading this, let me save you a little trouble by offering you a bit of advice and female insight:  stay away from your wife’s clothes when looking for paint shirts (I think the paint splatter look went out in the 80’s), and always consult your wife before making decisions about your children’s hair (women can get quite emotional when it comes to hair).

I do love you Darrel!

Happy Thanksgiving! December 2, 2009

The entire Bell family was able to get together to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

Here’s Lucy with her big cousin Caleb.

On Sunday, Darrel and Dan ran the Seattle Half Marathon to work off all the turkey.

I know Lucy doesn’t look too enthused in this picture, but she really is a great cheerleader during races.  She perked up a little after our doughnut break.

Great job Darrel and Dan!

pineapple classic November 15, 2009

Here’s our fearless team for the Winter Pineapple Classic in Seattle.

Kelly, David, Darrel, Traci

The Pineapple Classic is a 5K team race with various, unknown, obstacles throughout, to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  We crawled and climbed over walls, across monkey bars, through tubes, up ropes, and over bales of hay.  Craziness!  Unfortunately, we didn’t get any action shots on the course!

go, lucy, go! November 12, 2009

We got Lucy this little balance bike for her birthday.  She looks so grown up riding it!  She thinks she’s pretty grown up too!  Apparently, these running bikes are supposed to be more effective than training wheels.  We’ll run our own unofficial study, since Sela has training wheels and Lucy now has the balance bike.

Here she is in action.   She cheers for herself as she rides too, saying, “Go, Lucy, go!”.

Adoption November 8, 2009

Today is Orphan Sunday–a day that has been designated for Christians to stand together for the cause of the millions of orphans worldwide.

We share this because we are passionate about caring for these children who have no families.  For those of you we haven’t had a chance to tell, we are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia.

There is much that I could write about why we’ve chosen to adopt and why Ethiopia, but I’ll save most of that for another time.  This hymn, written by Eric Schumacher and David L. Ward, captures a lot of what our hearts feel.

We are very close to having our dossier completed and sent to Ethiopia.  After that, we begin waiting for the news of our child.  We anticipate going to Ethiopia about a year from now to receive our baby.  I will continue to share updates along the way!

birthday girl! November 7, 2009

Our little girl turned 2 today!

A little about Lucy at age 2. . .

she is full of spunk

she is quite a talker

she recently has decided that she doesn’t like the dark or chicken or Barney, and states so very matter of factly

she likes to do everything her big sis does

she is fearless when it comes to climbing and jumping (we just moved her to a toddler bed last night because she has been catapulting out of her crib for some time)

she has a sweet, sweet smile

We love you Lucy Opal!

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn! November 3, 2009

The tortoise and the hare had a great race around our neighborhood on Saturday night.  The tortoise  actually was still creeping along the next day, putting her turtle shell back on and asking to go out trick-or-treating again!

We spent most of Halloween day cider-making with friends.  What yummy cider and great company!

Lucy was in apple heaven.  I don’t think I saw her all day with less than 2 half-eaten apples in her hands!

And this is what happened between all the day’s events!

UNI Reunion October 24, 2009

It’s been nearly 10 years since the above photo was taken.  This past weekend, we were finally able to coordinate a UNI reunion in Denver with 5 of my closest college friends (we missed you Kari!).  We’re now spread out in Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, Washington, Texas, Kentucky, and California–wow!

What a wonderful weekend talking, laughing, reconnecting, and reminiscing!

Melinda and I also survived the Denver Half Marathon.  It was a little painful, but a lot of fun–especially crossing the finish line!  Congrats Melinda on your first half marathon!

We decided we should definitely try to make this an annual event (the reunion,  not necessarily the 13 mile run)!

fun weekend October 14, 2009

We spent a few days last weekend visiting Grandpa and Grandma Bell.  Some highlights for the girls were the carousel rides with their cousins Silas and Kelsey, and picking carrots with Grandpa.

Sela also got to go iceskating for the first time.  She has a Strawberry Shortcake movie with icedancing and ever since watching it, she has continued to talk about iceskating.  So we gave it a try!  And she surprised us–she was pretty comfortable on the ice (with daddy’s hands).  Darrel impressed me with his skills too .

they look so sweet and innocent. . . September 25, 2009

Who would have guessed they’d be partners in crime at such a young age?

This is Lucy and her best buddy Abee.   Although they are the best of buddies, it seems the majority of their time together is spent fighting over toys and yelling “mine”.   Yesterday, however, they demonstrated how well they can actually work together.

After Bible study Abee’s mommy and I were deep in conversations, when I realized that I hadn’t seen Lucy for awhile.  So I looked in the church nursery–empty.  I looked where the kids usually run around–empty.  Then I happened to notice that both doors to the church kitchen were closed (a little odd) and the refrigerator door was wide open with no one to be seen through the eye level window (even odder).  Oh no!  Yep, I opened the door to find salad dressing all over the floor, the ovens open and full of pots and pans, and little Lucy and Abee just cooking away!

They looked pretty pleased with whatever they were cooking up.  Maybe there is a joint catering business in their future.  For now, I think we better just keep a closer eye on these two!