2010 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas to our friends and family everywhere.
Dave: He is still in the Bishopric, he enjoys the youth, that is good since 2 of them are his own.
He is currently working in Yakima where he started working this fall at Good Samaritans , it was hard to say goodbye to his previous job, and has tested our faith BUT this new job has been a blessing. We are so grateful for his education, and that he was able to find a job in a week locally, the thought of moving would have been tragic.
Chelsey: I am enjoying life. I continue to be an advisor for Cierra Ashley (cierraashley.com/chelseysmith) which has been a lot of fun, and very flexible. I love all the kids sporting events and enjoy it so much. I am the secretary in Young Women’s, it is a blast.
Hudson is 17, he is the Junior class President, I love all that he is doing. He decided to run cross country because his friends talked him into it, his coach holds the title of being a NATIONAL champ...what started out as something to do for fun really has become an outlet for him. Every race he set a PR. I was so proud of him. He is also doing a club called “Knowledge Bowl” they compete against other schools(jeopardy like questions), in fact in the spring his team had the opportunity to go to Nationals in New Orleans, he worked very hard to raise money to go, it will be something he will never forget. He is thriving and enjoying High school. This summer Hudson was hired to work for a “Allied” a moving company, he worked some serious hours, it was a very physical job, but I have never seen him more content. He also played for the Highschool soccer team, we were nervous with his knee but he did an awesome job, in fact he scored the first goal of the season!
Madison is 16, and on the 12-21-2010 she is taking her driving test. I am so ready to have another driver around it has helped so much. Madison is a sophmore and she had an amazing soccer season, this past fall. Her team was young and I have never sat through a season with so many overtimes and shoot outs. She started and saw a lot of playing time, she did an outstanding job and is currently tearing it up playing Indoor soccer this winter. Soccer is her life and we are hoping she will be able to go to a soccer camp at BYU this summer. Madison gets amazing grades, she is never sitting around, she is a social bug big time. She loves to go to Stake Dances and has made some very nice friends. Her and Hudson went to Pudget Sound University for EFY and they LOVED it. She is so helpful around the house, and will help tidy things up without being asked...a huge blessing for me.
Talon is 10 and in 4th grade. This is his last year at the Elementary school. He plays for a great soccer team, he is playing basketball now which is his favorite sport. He even tried baseball out this spring. He liked it, but wants to do spring soccer instead this year. He has an amazing teacher at school with a lot of friends. He finally loves to pleasure read. He is a Weblo in scouts and enjoys it very much. He is so good with Sadie.
Shad is 7 and in 2nd Grade. He is a soccer addict, seriously he has some raw talent, and watching him is an experience. He is also playing for this amazing AAU basketball team, they have had an undefeated season, the talent on the team blows me away. Soccer is still his favorite sport. It is so funny that all my kids LOVE soccer, but they do. He also participated in a running race at his school, he ran a mile and won first place for the second graders. I want to pinch myself for not writing his time down because now I cannot remember it. He loves to decorate the house with me and always questions what I do and has some hysterical insight. Sadie is 2 ½ , she is a delight in every way. She loves to sing and she has this amazing little memory, her vocabulary amazes me. It could be because she is addicted to the cartoon “Dora the explorer” she smiles the whole time it is on. She loves her siblings and is a great cheerleader at their sporting events. She also has a funny sense of humor. She loves going to Nursery at church (at first she didn’t) She is a sweetie. She will be a great sister and I am grateful she will have a little buddy.
Baby #6: Well.... I of course got rid of all our baby stuff, we both felt like we were done. We prayed and fasted and felt like we were on track with calling it a wrap. So-ooo to find out I was pregnant was a shock... a complete and utter shock, I was blown away and went into a bit of denial. Anyhow, when I had my ultra sound and saw that little beating heart, I got emotional and then the baby yawned, I was not expecting to have such a sweet experience. We are grateful for this little one to come. We never find out what we are having so-oooo, who knows. My due date is March 15th 2011. You can put us on your prayer list :)
We had a fun family vacation this summer to Canada, Dave was able to be with all his siblings and parents, the weather was perfect, the scenery georgous...Dave was negotiating with his new job and committed to working in Yakima on our way to Panorama. That added some interesting vacation stress :)
In August Madison myself and the three younger kids went to Utah for a quick trip, we went to Bearlake (amazing) and I had meetings in SLC for Cierra Ashley. IT was so enjoyable.
We love this time of year and look forward with Faith in all that lies ahead of us. We do have a blog, I am just not that good at updating it, but with the baby coming in March I will try to do better www.zmithfamilylifeblogspot.com
Merry Christmas from the Smith Family Dave & Chelsey Hudson, Madison, Talon, Shad & Sadie Smith

Happy December

Happy December!