The Bell Times

Mountain Boarding

2009-10-22T16:35:00.002-05:00

The intrepid mountain boarder.

He did great!

I went down twice and crashed both times. Ouch!

Michillinda

2009-09-03T17:22:00.005-05:00

This is Michillinda Lodge, a place we vacationed as kids. We found it on the way back from another vacation and stopped in.

Unfortunately, we're not out of the woods on our camera troubles, so all these pictures are shot with my cell phone. (Yikes! I know.)

Anyway, see the whole Michillinda picture set as a slide show.

Update: I'm kind of glad I did take these pictures with my cell phone. As much as I'd love to give you razor-sharp images, the impressionistic quality of these cell phone pictures seems kind of appropriate.

Sharing a chair

2009-08-01T07:07:00.003-05:00

Rebekah and her cousin Jonathan share a stool at dinner.

It was very sweet.

Camera Disaster

2009-07-31T17:41:00.003-05:00

I'm very sorry to report that our new camera is trashed.

Wasn't too expensive, but we lost a few months' worth of pictures.

One of our children, who shall remain nameless, with a friend over, decided to try taking a picture from inside the toilet. At least that's the story.

I tried drying it out for a couple days, recharging the battery, putting the memory card in a computer, but, alas, no.

So it'll be cell-phone pictures for a while, until we replace it. (But even that's a step up from no pictures, eh? More blog posts coming soon!)

Food Allergy Awareness Week

2009-05-13T13:07:00.004-05:00

Happy Food Allergy Awareness Week! :>)

Many of you know Luke is allergic to peanuts and that he suffers from cronic eczema. Over the last year, we made significant progress identifying additional food allergies that aggravate his eczema because they caused an itchy mild rash. He is moderately allergic to eggs, apples (birch tree), and mildly allergy to soy (that we mostly ignore). I'm fairly certain Luke ate either eggs and/or apples every day. By modifying his diet and finding a new home for our dog we have been able to dramatically change the quality of Luke's life (and mine for that matter).

Working with a dietician and putting Luke on a systematic elimination diet was a turning point for us. The traditional medical community by and large were not helpful...and actually hindered his treatment. One Dr told us our dog wasn't the problem, but Luke has a level 4 dog allergy. Another Dr. tested for an egg allergy, but didn't feel a level 2 allergy was significant to inform us and until I saw a copy of the results (on a fluke) we assumed he was negative for eggs.

Each turn of the key to unlock his allergies has taken painstaking diligence, and I can't imagine having made the progress we've made with his allergies and skin had I not been home full time with Luke and able to cronicle every morsel that went into his mouth. I still think there may be more, but I think we got the biggies.

The picture above is what his legs and arms used to look like. And that was with applying ointments and prescription creams daily. His skin is basically clear now, and his flairs are easily controlled with prescription medications when needed. Thank you, Jesus.

He's still itchy. He'll always have sensitive skin. But, we're no longer chasing the symptoms that were creating an out of control itch cycle. He's a different kid. We're a different family.

Children's Museum in South Bend

2009-04-06T06:48:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago I took the kids to South Bend to visit my parents. Jim had a lot of work to do, so he stayed behind and took advantage of the solitude to get things done. My mom took the kids the childrens' museum in South Bend. The kids had a blast (while I had a massage down the block!). Thanks, MOM!

New entertainment

2009-02-28T21:38:00.003-06:00

So today Rebekah struggles her way onto a chair in the dining room. She's just barely big enough to make it onto some grown-ups' chairs.

Then she stands up on the chair on her toes and plays with the dining room light switch.

When I tried to persuade her that this might be a dangerous idea for a one-year-old, guess how that went?

Some Christmas Memories

2009-02-24T05:49:00.001-06:00

Cheers!

Thanksgiving Memories

2009-01-06T21:05:00.001-06:00

Yes, we're that far behind...

Judy and Annika at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Matt and Andrew.

My sweeties!

Hi, Sweetie(s)!

2008-11-24T12:43:00.003-06:00

A few nice shots of Rebekah...

We're goofing off while Kirsten is out shopping.

Kirsten sometimes thinks I get nothing else done while I'm with the kids, but as you can plainly see I'm not getting nothing else done. Right?

Browse them here.

Luke's Halloween Goose

2008-11-01T12:12:00.004-05:00

Luke's preschool visited the local retirement center to sing their Halloween songs and parade around in their costumes. Apparently Luke was blocking this lady's view of the other children and she gave him a little pinch on the toosh.
Luke had fun with his cousins and neighbor friend trick or treating. Luke announced at every door (unprompted and unstoppable) "I can't have peanuts." Sometimes followed by, "I need one for my mom and dad, too."
Isn't she the cutest little bumble bee you've ever seen? Oh, wait....maybe Luke was.

I wanna be a biped!

2008-10-29T14:25:00.003-05:00

Rebekah's walking now. Not long ago she took her first casual stroll from the kitchen to the front door. It was great. Now she can go just about anywhere, and she's choosing walking over crawling.

Oval head for an oval office

2008-10-11T20:14:00.004-05:00

Luke said he's voting for Obama today. When asked why he said, "Because he has an oval head and that's my favorite shaped head."

I'm going to check the will and see if Luke's still in it.

Kawaii Ne?

2008-10-11T17:02:00.007-05:00

My parents visited Pete in Okinawa and brought back these outfits for Luke and Rebekah.

Happy Birthday Rebekah!

2008-09-01T15:00:00.004-05:00

Rebekah is one! We will celebrate with family next Sunday after her dedication. This is a picture of her trying to grab one of Luke's dinos while he's looking away. I love it.

Below is an entry from Rebekah's journal. It's for her first birthday. It's a bit long, and we don't really expect our gentle readers to read the whole thing...except maybe her grandmas and grandpas.

**********************************************

9/1/2008: Yesterday was your first birthday! Happy Birthday! We went to church (it was Sunday). Mormor and Morfar were here for the weekend. We sang Happy Birthday to you.
What are you up to? (In no particular order…)

You’re standing on your own pretty well, but not taking a step yet.
You can walk when we hold both your hands. You love it. A couple days ago you took a few steps with me just holding one hand.

For a while you’d go to the basement stairs, use the baby-gate to stand up, then rattle it. (Want to watch TV in the basement?)

You love to climb the stairs, to the second floor. Naturally, up is less intimidating than down, but you work on both to some extent. We’re trying to work on your technique for going down (just like up, but backwards). Sometimes you try sitting and scooting down, but you’re not ready for that yet.

You know how to start your brother’s Shake-and-Go racer, and make it do its crash.

You love our electric piano. I play its songs and you dance. We use it for background music. You bang on the keys, then turn and smile at me.

You still prefer people to things. You get more excited over toy people (dolls, little figures) than your brother’s vehicles and stuff, though you like them well enough. You like it when we play peek-a-boo. Sometimes you play it yourself, with a towel or something you find around.

You’re very cute with your big ducky (she’s almost as big as you): you hug her and touch your nose to hers. A week ago when Annika was born (her brothers stayed with us), you got a hold of Jonathan’s stuffed cow and it was very cute: you’d hold it and reach around and gently grab its front hoof, then give it a big hug.

I know you know a lot of words, but I don’t think you’re too close to talking.

You love it when Luke makes you laugh. He loves it too. You still love to watch him.

You’ve been crawling like a pro for months now, but it’s frustrating trying to crawl in dresses (which you wear pretty often). I try to pull them back with a clothes pin so you can crawl better, but I can’t do it as often as I’d like.

You love playing chase: you crawl a few feet, then turn back to see who’s chasing you. Then spin around and do it again. Super cute!

You’ve got spunk: you like to grab the toys your brother is playing with. We’re working on this—trying to be fair to each of you. He sometimes likes to take away the toy you’re playing with, and he’s got the size advantage. Neither is ok.

You get frustrated at things sometimes. When you can’t make something work; when we take away something you shouldn’t be playing with; when we sweep something out of your mouth; when we change your diaper without giving you adequate distraction; when we use the booger-sucker on your nose; when we put you down for a nap before you’re ready; when we leave you at the table. You let us know in no uncertain terms. You can cry like it’s the end of the world. But you gain your composure pretty fast, too.

You still have a smile for just about everyone, and a wonderful disposition in spite of your tough times. Even when you’re sick, you manage to muster your positive cheerful little self better than I (your Dad) ever do. Your smile melts my heart big-time.

You’re very expressive. You raise your eyebrows, furl them, cock them a little.
You’re growing some hair, though it’s still pretty wispy. We put a little bow in it sometimes—very cute! You’re just starting to look less like a little bald baby, and more like a toddler. Everything still goes in your mouth (it’s just where you’re at).

I love being your Daddy!

9/1/2008: [Kirsten] My turn! Happy birthday, little Rebekah! It’s hard to believe your one already! You’re a great addition to our family. We love you!

You are still nursing like it’s a bit of heaven on earth. You’ve never really taken a bottle or used a pacifier, no need I guess. You’re s-l-o-w-l-y weaning to a sippy cup. I’m not rushing things since you could have food allergies like Luke. And the truth is, our quiet nursing times are often a favorite part of my day.

You have an intense look in your eyes. People often comment on it when they are trying to get you to smile. They can tell you are studying their every move. Your dad has the same stare, so you get it from him. When you do smile for them, you light up the room, so their work is well rewarded.

You are a very determined girl, who does not give up easily. You love to learn new skills and will practice them until you have them mastered. I’m sure this will serve you well in this life.

We are dedicating you next Sunday and having your birthday party then. It’s rally Sunday at church, so everyone will be together in one service. The guest speaker is C. John Weborg…and modern day saint who happens to be Covenant. Mom (your mormor) asked Dad (grandpa) who he would most like to preach on the Sunday you’re dedicated and he said John Weborg! What a blessing! We are hoping the church we have chosen to raise you will play an important role in helping us raise you up to be a Jesus follower. I want more than anything for you to see Jesus make a difference in our lives. I hope our lives draw you to Him and that you will want to love and serve Him and our family together we will be the hands, feet and voice of Jesus to each other, to our neighbors….and the world (you and Luke can do that in your 20's...we'll pay for your flight).

I love you, my sweet, strong little lady.

How many doctors does it take to....

2008-08-09T21:51:00.005-05:00

During our recent trip to Nebraska, Luke's nose mysteriously turned red. Out of the blue. Just the tip of it. It was weird. This picture doesn't do it justice. I gave him Benedryl in case he was having an allergic reaction, but it didn't help.

We had three doctors present at the cabin with us. THREE. And not one had a clue what was wrong with Luke and shrugged it off. Hmph. And, even worse, we didn't have an internet connection so I couldn't go to Dr. Google to look up horror stories on the internet.

Crazy Legs Jennings

2008-08-07T13:37:00.002-05:00

Jim's cousin's husband is the the guy in the white striped shirt. Jim would be comfortable with these guys on the dance floor~!

Rebekah Pics

2008-07-28T06:33:00.003-05:00

A couple cute (but kinda old) Rebekah pics...

Sorry we've not blogged more. It's been a very crazy summer, and the next month might be crazier still...

Liverty and Justice for All

2008-07-05T16:06:00.003-05:00

Hope you had a great 4th of July!

"Remember! I'll do like liverty."

Raising barbarians...

2008-06-18T10:05:00.002-05:00

More Vacation Pictures

2008-06-18T09:41:00.003-05:00

Family Vacation!

2008-06-07T22:12:00.003-05:00

We're back from vacation.

We had a great time with the extended Bell family. We rented a house on "the big lake" near South Haven. Trying to coordinate two families napping needs is next to impossible, so renting a house together is great when you have little ones.

This is a picture of Luke and Jonathan playing at the Dutch Village in Holland. Note the clogs. I had a few flashbacks to the Swedish clogs I wore all during grade school. (I was terrible at kickball because of them.)

More pics later.

Superheros

2008-05-23T12:24:00.003-05:00

Luke and his friend Frankie play superheroes!

More pictures here.

Here is the church, here is the steeple...

2008-05-08T11:23:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Jim and I were greeters at church.

Luke and his friend Malachi were playing close by us, and folding their fingers together and making a pointy thing with their index fingers.

I thought, isn't that sweet? They learned "Here is the church, here is the steeple" in the Little Lambs sunday school class.

Then, to my horror, they shoot at people with their steeples as they walk in the door saying "Pow, pow...gotcha."

Yes, welcome to Hinsdale Covenant Church indeed.

Food allergies suck for everyone

2008-04-29T22:28:00.011-05:00

Luke is sleeping next to me as I write. He just had some weird reaction to something he ate and we treated it with a dose of Benedryl, which fortunately did the trick. It's probably a cross contamination thing, where maybe the toast he just had somehow got a molecule of peanut on it or something. Or maybe he's allergic to Sunflower Seed Butter, but he's had that before without an issue. That's what's so maddening about this shit, the answers aren't always clear.

As I watch Luke sleep I'm feeling overwhelmed with emotion. At 3.5, he's too young to learn the "life's not fair" lesson. And, I'm a little angry about it. As all good anger belongs displaced on some intangible other person, I'm going to write a little rant in response to the attitudes I've encountered from time to time towards food allergies.

The people who read our blog regularly aren't my intended audience, but it's a public place to state a few things and that alone provides me a sense of satisfaction. Thanks for bearing with me...here goes...

By sending a message of inconvenience and deprivation regarding procedures put in place to protect another child, you miss an opportunity to teach your child to respond to other people's challenges with compassion and understanding. For example, "My son is deprived his daily peanut butter sandwich and it's not fair to him." It's silly to think your child's quality of life seriously depends upon a peanut butter sandwich. Come on people, model something positive to your child.

I wish people would stop telling me kids who live on farms don't have allergies, that our houses are too clean, or that allergies are caused by vaccines. At this point, that's not helpful (or conclusive) information, though I wish somebody would find the magic bullet to stop the allergy epidemic.

And, lastly, those of us who carry epipens and benedryl in our purses would be ELATED to be able to send anything we wanted for snack-time. I don't like the limitations either. The alternative is having my child feel left out or worse and I have to believe we all would do the same for our child.

Rant complete. I feel better. Sorta.