Rinse your beans and pick through and discard any stones or pebbles.
Cover and let beans soak over night.
In a large stock pot add your water, ham bone and beans. (Make sure water covers the bone)
Bring to a gentle boil.
Add remaining ingredients and boil for a few minutes.
Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Once beans are tender and soup has thickened, remove ham bone and bay leaf.
Remove all meat and fat from bone discarding the fat.
Chop up the meat and add back into pot and stir.
Cover and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Depending on how much meat you have on your bone you can chop up any leftovers and add to soup as well.
Check for salt taste, hams are usually salty on their own so add more or less depending on how salty the ham bone makes your soup.