33 weeks and Nesting has began!

The nesting instinct is the name given to the distinctive urge to clean, tidy, and organize that occurs during pregnancy. One of the many pregnancy symptoms that you will experience, the nesting instinct generally kicks in around the fifth month of pregnancy, however it can also occur much earlier or much later. Many women acutely experience the nesting instinct in the final days of their pregnancy, and this can often be a sign that labor and delivery is close at hand. Nesting tends to vary from woman to woman; in fact, some women don’t experience the nesting instinct at all when they are pregnant. Others experience mild forms of the instinct while others feel the urge much more severely.


I am very excited I officially started to nest last week when my mom arrived to help me with Joshua's nursery. Before she arrived I was actually discouraged after having all three of my showers and feeling just a little overwhelmed by all the gifts and Joshua's belongings that need to be organized(by the first picture you can see that it was quite a bit to do). I just did not feel the urge to began the process. I can now say that I am on a non-stop nesting run and we are ready for J.J! We are just waiting on the rest of his furniture. This was purchased by his wonderful grandparents and will be personally delivered by them next week.(Stay tuned for more pictures to come once the entire nursery is complete).

30 weeks pregnant...Both Grandma's are very excited for the arrival of their first Grandson!

Since Mothers Days is approaching in a couple of days I thought I would update the blog geared to both our Mothers. I also thought it would be nice to share the thoughts and excitement that each grandmother has wrote about J.J.. They both have been talking and shopping for his arrival non-stop. I asked them to write their thoughts down for J.J. about a month ago. One day I will be able to show him, how they loved him before they even met him. This will be Donna's(Wes's Mom) first blood grandchild and this will be my mothers first Grandson(she already has two precious granddaughters).


Love Letters to J.J. from Grandmothers:
Dear Little J.J.
When I think of your birth-day. I visualize this little adorable baby boy coming into this world, with little twinkling eyes and a big bright smile, Oh little one you will be so loved and cherished by all! You will bring so much JOY to so MANY FAMILIES. Since you will be the first male grand child, you will be surrounded by little girl cousins who will want to play with you, as if you were their little play doll, but you will be protected and loved by all!! What you really will enjoy about our families is our devotion and guidance by GOD!! Just know you are so WELCOME into this place called HOME!!!

Love always
Your Nana'

Dear Joshua James,

You have not taken your first breath of air, yet you have already touched my heart in ways beyond what I could have imagined. The mere thought of you can bring both a smile to my mouth and a tear to my eye. I cannot think about you without thinking about God, praying to Him for your safe arrival, and thanking Him for the miracle of life.

I gave birth to your father at a later age than many, so have often wondered if I would be blessed enough to live to see Grandchildren of my own. Here I am, turning 65, blessed with good health so far, and now wanting to live to at least 87 to see you graduate from college! So you are already motivating me to make sure I eat right and exercise regularly. How can such a small-not-yet-in-the-world boy have such power over my thoughts and actions!

I want you to know what a strong family of God you are being born into. Your father and mother both put Jesus first and each other second on the day of their marriage. You are a child born out of great love between a man and a woman who have God at the center of their lives. They longed for you and prayed for you before you were even conceived. In Luke chapter 18:16 God says “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” I know that your earthly mom and dad, both of whom I love completely, will in no way “hinder you from the Kingdom of God” but will indeed raise you up in the ways of the Lord. (Deut 6:5-7) I get excited when I think that I can be a part of that! (Of course, one of the main things I would teach you is the 5^th Commandment which is to “Honor your father and mother! Deut 5:16a even when you are a teenager!)

When I think about seeing things anew through your eyes, my heart fills with joy, anticipation and glee! Not only will I get to see you marvel at this amazing world God has made for us, but also I will get to see your mom and dad experience the agape kind of love that can only come from having your own child. Having children gives us but a glimpse of the kind of love God has for us. You, my precious Grandson, without doing a thing but resting in our arms, will glorify God and teach us once again to “Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5) You see the miracle of life you bring is beyond our understanding yet among the most precious gifts God gives us.

I love you so much and I haven’t even met you yet! I can only imagine the joy I will have when at last I can hold you in my arms and see your face!

Your Gramma Donna

Love Letters to our Mothers:

Mom(Donna),

Thank you very much for the email and the letter to J.J. I know he will treasure that letter in life.

Jonnique and I love you very much too. You said that you are blessed to have us, but in reality we are blessed to have you!!! You are always there to help, encourage, support, and pray for us. You are invaluable to us. We count you as a huge blessing that God has given to us. We are so glad that you get to be the grandmother of our baby as we know you will be great!!! Our house is always open to you. You can come and stay anytime you want. We can never repay you for all you have done for us.
We love ya,
Wes ( and Nique)



Dear Momma (Teri)
Where do I start, I guess by saying I love you and thank you! I thought that this being your 3rd grandchild, you would not be as excited compared to your first and even your second grandchild. I was wrong, it sometimes seems as if you are more excited than Wes and I. Thank you for all that you have already done for J.J.. You have laid down your life to come help us move and when Wes had his surgery, so that your pregnant daughter would not overwork herself. We could never repay you and will forever treasure those memories we had with you, when you came out. Thank you not only for what you have done for me in my pregnancy but for all that you have done for me in my life. I pray that I can love my children the way that you love your own.

Love Jonnique (and Wes)


Happy Mothers Day to you both! Thank you in advance for the shower that you both are planning together for us(along with Aunt Kit) and for your presence that you both will have in the delivery room when J.J is born! P.S. We love that you guys also love each other so well, too!

My Easter Bump (26.5 weeks) almost 7 months....were wondering how Joshua will look?

It is our first Easter being pregnant! Being pregnant and already loving a baby boy has given us a better understanding of the Lords love for us. And a deeper perspective of Jesus dying on the cross for us and then rising from the dead . If we already love our son so much, we can not even imagine how wide and deep is our heavenly fathers love.

We love this little guy already and we don't even know how he looks. Wes and I go back and fourth on what we think he will look like or whose looks he will favor.





We have even been looking back on some of our own baby pics and trying to see if we can come up with an idea of what Jesus will surprise us with. Everyone says that J.J.(Joshua James) is going to be a looker and I have to say that I agree, especially if he comes out looking like his Daddy!

* If you can't tell, the baby in the swing is me(Jonnique) and the baby sleeping is Wes!

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!

19.5 weeks(5 months) pregnant and in Mexico enjoying Babymoon!

Well this was a wonderful week for us three! We were blessed by my In-laws with a trip to La Pamilla, Mexico(very close to Cabo San Lucas) for a Babymoon. What is a Babymoon? The term has come to be used to describe a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby. You usually do it pretty early in your pregnancy. It is not recommended to travel by plane after about 32 weeks(internationally).It was really great, relaxing, and beautiful.We really enjoyed each other while we thought about BabyBell. It seemed as though the sun made my belly grow! I recommend any expecting parents to do it, if they can. Once again, Thank you Mom#2 and Dad#2 this would not have been possible without you two!

17.5 wks(4 months).....Growing and Excited!

We are about to be half way there, in about 3.5 weeks and we are very excited. Wes has really enjoyed watching my belly grow every week. He believes that it is just amazing. For me, there are times I have to speak out loud "Gaining 20-30lbs is what I want"! I am very honored to carry the blessing we are expecting and cannot wait to see him. We also purchased our first piece of clothing for our Baby Boy last week!