6 months(24 weeks) pregnant and Joshua's Nursery is getting ready for him!

We unexpectedly had to move last week. To make a long story short, we were renting out a townhouse and the owner had not been paying the mortgage. The place went into foreclosure. We had no idea and was very surprised when a bank representative showed up at our door last month. The bank representative gracefully communicated that we had 28 days to leave. On the bright side, we fortunately found a new place that fits our budget.We are unpacked and settled. We had a lot of great help. Grandma Teri(my mom) came down weeks before the move and packed 70% of the place so that I would not have to bend and reach that much, that saved Wes and I a lot of time and energy. Yolanda helped me hang pictures and transfer all my clothes from the old place.Wes, LaDonna, and Donna(mother in-law)made sure I did not do too much the day of the move! Kathy Boyle came down the day after to help clean and organize.The guys(Irvine, Jeff, Ernie, Jon, Anthony, and David) helped Wes being that he has a torn ACL. Thank you so much friends and family. And we now have an extra room (besides our room and office/guest room). A room that we will make Joshua's nursery.

We have also decided on a theme for the nursery. The theme will be Sports. I chose this theme to play into Wes's fantasy of Joshua becoming a football or basketball player! I am so excited to create the nursery for our little MVP(Most Valuable Player), our Rookie of the Year, our All-Star, and our little Slugger. We will for sure be his #1 one fans! As you can see from my 6 month prego picture we have the wall paper that Grandma Donna purchased for our little player!

All I know is that he is a strong little guy already! I constantly feel him kick and move. Wes felt him for the first time last month and was just blown away by the amazing being that is growing inside of me! We will love him with whatever occupation the Lord leads him into and we are just so excited to see his face. We wonder who he will look like or will he look like both of us? With all this said I will keep you all updated on the construction of Little Joshua James Bell's Sports Nursery!

*The picture up top is an idea of what the nursery will look like ....we are so excited!

Daddy speaks and shares what Baby Bell's name will be....

I love the name Joshua because of what it represents. There are few times in my life which I have unmistakably felt the tangible presence of God. One of those times was when He spoke to me about my beautiful wife, and another time was when He spoke to me about the name of my first son.

It was about four or five years ago as I was riding on a train from San Diego on my way to Oakland, CA. I decided to read my Bible and spend some time with God during the trip. While doing so, I felt God speak to me about what He wanted the name of my first son to be. The name He spoke to me was Joshua.

I believe God spoke this name to me because of the Biblical Connotation. In the Bible Joshua was the person God chose to lead His people into the Promise Land. Moses, the only leader that generation of Israelites had ever known, had just died. Joshua was the man whom God chose to replace Moses. Joshua went on to be a great leader and successfully helped the children of Israel walk in the land God had promised to them.

God spoke to me that my first son should be named Joshua because he is going to a great leader, just like Joshua in the Bible. I know that God has a specific purpose and destiny for my son to walk into. I pray that he will make the right decisions in life which will allow God to transform him into the leader which he is called to be.

I picked the middle name for my son to be James. One reason I picked this name was to honor my father James (Jim) Lawrence Bell. My dad is an incredible father. He has always been there for me as I grew up and as I have walked into manhood. I have no doubt that my dad put his all into fatherhood. He was always at every important event in my life and I never remember him missing any of my soccer or basketball games in high school. He is a man of integrity, hard work, and generosity. My dad can also fix or build anything. It amazes me how smart my dad is. When it comes to fixing things around the house, or cars, or putting things together there is nothing my dad does not know. I love him very much and it is an honor for me to be able to give my first son his name.

James is also an important middle name for my son due to other reasons as well. I later came to be aware of the fact that Jonnique’s grandfathers’ name (on her dad’s side) was James. I have heard many great things about him and about how much he loved his grandchildren along with the generosity he showed to them. I never knew him but I suspect that he would feel honored for our son to have the middle name James. In fact his name was James Lawrence Briggs which is very similar to my fathers’ name of James Lawrence Bell. We thought that was very ironic and it only confirmed that our son’s middle name should be James.

After learning that Jonniques’ grandfather on her dad’s side was named James, I also learned that her grandfather on her mothers’ side is named James as well. Therefore James has been an important name throughout both our family history.

Another reason I like the name Joshua James Bell for my son is because of the nick name we can give him. His nick name will be J. J. (not Josh or Joshey)! J.J. obviously stands for Joshua James. I am the type of person who likes to give people nicknames or shorten their name. For example, my wife’s name is Jonnique, but I call her Nique for short or I have a number of nicknames for her such as Boo, Bay, or Ni. Therefore, I am sure that I will want a nick name for my son as well. I feel that J. J. is a cool nickname that can stick with him for the rest of his life.

I have not met Joshua yet, but already love him so much. I will do my all to raise him the best I can. I promise to give my time, energy, and affections to him. I pray that God will help me train him in the ways of the Lord so that he will not depart from them as he grows into a great leader and a great man.

If you ever read this Joshua, please know that you have a great name and you have been named after great people. Your daddy loves you very much and will always be there for you no matter what you go through. I can’t wait to see you walk in all that God has for you. I love you very much and am very proud of you. Your mother and I are very blessed to have you as a son. Never forget to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Oh yea…also never forget to honor your mother and father (LOL)! I love you and can’t wait to meet you.


Sono Pictures:
Picture #1: Joshua at 16 weeks, showing us that he is a boy!
Picture #2: 3D picture of Joshua at 16 weeks, playing peek a boo!
Picture #3: J.J. at 20 weeks, showing his side profile, Wes thinks he looks like me!
Picture #4: J.J. showing us his cute little foot!