The Bells in Review

Merry Christmas, Friends and Family!

This is the first letter we have sent out as husband and wife and I (Abby) want to continue to do this every year!

First off, let me send you blessings and prayers for a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let us always remember what Christmas is truly about: Jesus’ birthday which would lead towards us being able to be with Him in heaven if we just accept the great gift that was given us that day. This explains what Christmas is about.

Second, here’s a rundown of 2013 in our lives! Josh, in flight school at Fort Rucker, found out he would be flying Apaches in the U.S. Army and that him and his bride would be moving to Germany upon his graduation. Abby started work as an interpreter for American Sign Language at Freeport Middle School and still worked for J. Crew as the training manager, leaving that job in April. April turned out to be a busy month because Abby went to the LifeShotz Ignition in Orange County, California because she loves working with LS and the people of the company. LS Ignition Recap She also found out that LifeShotz was launching the best thing since sliced bread that helped her lose 15 pounds before her wedding day! Here's what helped me lose weight. Just take a look! We also started the paperwork for Abby to be able to go to Germany with Josh. As Josh continued studying hard in flight school, Abby worked hard at getting things together and ready for the move.

The summer was easy enough because public school was out, but that was the time to start preparing for the wedding in August! Abby made most of the decorations and had wonderful family and friends who volunteered to help decorate and bring food. On August 17^th, we had our ceremony at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. Even though it rained all day, the whole thing went off without a hitch. It was such a beautiful turnout and celebration of love and family.

Two days after the wedding, our things were shipped out to Germany. This began the crazy whirlwind of events that led to a long layover in Baltimore and a 9 hour plane ride to Ramstein, Germany. From there, we hopped the bus to Illesheim and began our indoctrination into the German way of life. We landed on September 10^th and couldn’t take in enough of the food, sights, people, etc. We could have done without a lot of the smells due to the fact this is a farming community and they fertilize their fields with pig poop…

Josh enjoyed a trip to Denmark on his birthday, November 6^th, for training with the Danish military. You won't understand this unless you know the Danish Language, but here's what Josh was up to in Denmark. They made the news a few times! Abby enjoyed(?) a trip to the Rothenberg krakenhaus (hospital) on November 7^th when her appendix decided to revolt. Thankfully, the women of Charlie Company and friends from our battalion came and helped Abby recover. Less than 2 weeks later, Abby was playing on the Powder Puff Football Team for 2nd Batt and we had a lot of beards for this event. Here's a link to watch the AFN special about our team: LumberJanes Gunslingers! For the whole appendix debacle, we’ll be going to Prague soon!

Here, we have eaten more Italian food than German food, moved into our first place and made it home, seen snow (like, real snow), shared the LifeShotz love in the Deutschland, and just enjoyed the little amount of local traveling we've been doing. We have made so many new friends and been reunited with some of Josh’s family’s friends who are still here in Germany. They have become a second (or third, depending on how you’re counting) set of parents to us and we couldn't be more grateful for their patience and help around Germany.

Here are some pictures from throughout the year! Enjoy!

So, as you have been caught up on the events of 2013 from the Germany Bell household, we, again, want to wish you a Frohe Weihnachten und ein gluckliches neues Jahr! (Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!)