She's here... Welcome to our family our precious Avery Elaine Smith

Avery was born a week ago on August 22nd at 2:16am just missing her due date by a couple of hours. She weighed 6 lbs 3 oz and was 19 inches long. The day of her due date I was feeling really ready to meet her, I even packed the van just in case something did happen. Even though I really wanted her to come early, she ended up coming in perfect timing. The kids started school that day, so I was able to do the whole first day of school thing and take pictures and what not. Also, she came early enough that Taylor had not started his next semester and was able to be home and help. After Taylor and I dropped off Hallie and Ashton at school that day, we took our other boys to my sister-in-laws so we could run some errands. One of my errands was to pick up some materials so I could to do some crafting during the day to keep my mind off of things. I'm so grateful for great family! Just getting out that day with my husband was so wonderful! Thanks Kristy :) I also have some pretty amazing friends. That day they knew would be hard for me and one them brought me over a cute little outfit for Avery and another brought our family over dinner. Later in the evening we ended up staying up extra late rearranging furniture... I guess that is what they mean by nesting. I ended up going into labor just after 1:00am and with a couple of contractions I knew it was time and called Kristy to come over. We then rushed to the hospital and within the hour I gave birth to my sweet little Avery. It all happened so fast; I was so glad to have made it to the hospital in time. I had to prep all the nurses and doctors that my baby would be coming really fast. They had offered me the epidural, but I knew I would not have had time for it even though it sounded really good at that time. I told them that if they broke my water she would come right out and that's what she did. I get a lot of comments of how lucky I am to have my babies so quickly and in the end I am grateful that they do, but it is definitely an intense experience. My body goes into shock from going into hard labor so quickly and without the epidural I feel everything. I also in my last month of pregnancy get a lot of contractions in preparation for the real deal. Like I said earlier though, in the end I am grateful for my quick labors and would not have it any other way. Also, labor ends up being a real spiritual experience for me as I have to rely so much on the strength of the Lord. I remember two very distinct times during my labor where I felt His strength. The first time I was in the van on the way to the hospital and the words "calm Judy" came to my mind and the other time was in between contractions in the hospital where I felt complete peace. I knew Heavenly Father was there with me. My last two experiences with labor with both Brock and Avery have greatly increased my testimony of prayer and that Heavenly Father is aware of and there for us in everything we go through. I am also grateful for all those people He sends to help us through these experiences. I have had so many people help and offer to help. Whether it was a meal for our family, a friend to talk to, or all the sweet messages and well wishes from back home, I am so grateful for all the love and support from all our family and friends! We love you all!

Counting down...

1 week to go, although in my brain I cant help but think any day now. This way of thinking has not been the best for me and this morning I decided to just let it go. The baby will come when she's ready. Now I just have to find some more things to do to keep busy. I have pretty much ran out of ideas for new bows for her hair, but knowing me, I'll be making them until the day she arrives.

One of my best friends threw me a baby shower. It was a lot of fun and I'm so grateful for her and all who helped and attended. I'm so excited to try out all those cute outfits and baby items.

Last week my our friends took Taylor and the kids boating. I decided to stay home and stay near the hospital :) They all had a great time and I also really enjoyed having that quiet time to myself. That is something that is a rare thing for me and although I do prefer to have my family around, I really enjoyed that time.

Well that's our happenings lately. Hopefully the next post will be of our newest addition!

Annual King/Smith family camping trip at Payson Lakes

This has been our little tradition these last 3 years living in Utah. We have had a lot of fun over the years. This year was a little different because I was 8 months pregnant, but all things consider, it went really well and we all had a great time. Sleeping in tents has never been my thing, but the memories made and being able to watch my kids love every minute was worth the trade.

And this is one of the reasons I love this man...

Well I figure its about time I update my blog. A lot has happened since the last time I posted which was over a year ago. In that last post I posted about the previous year. Instead of playing to much catch up I'm going to post some pictures of the main happenings of our family over this last year and then just start fresh. I say main, but really it will be only a glimpse of our happenings. In a family there are countless activities and memories made that it would and will be difficult to pick them out specifically. But I need to do this and I need to start somewhere. I think it is such a great thing to do and I have too many precious memories to not. One of my best friends is such a faithful blogger and I love her posts and seeing her pictures of her sweet family. Its one way I still get to feel close to her as we live so far apart. So here it goes... I guess one of the biggest news is that we are expecting baby #5 August 21st which is in 2 weeks. We are so excited to meet our little girl! Its been so fun to see everyone of my children so excited over these months. Hallie always rubs my belly and kisses it. She finally gets her little sister she has always wanted. Ashton right now is excited, but I can tell he worried about his mom. He fasted for the first time on Sunday and prayed for both the baby and I. It of course meant so much to me. He often asks about the pain involved, what a sweet boy he is! Brody, you can just tell in face how excited he is and he loves hearing anything about the baby. He got to hear the heartbeat at my last appointment and thought it was pretty cool. With Brock I think he has finally realized that there is a baby in my tummy. I think setting up everything for the baby and all the new little clothes around helped him realize. I am always worried about the youngest child when the new baby comes. He has been my baby these last 3 years. I think he will do fine though, I just need to continue to give him that love and cuddles as much as I can when she comes. I love my Brocky!

We had the opportunity to have Ashton baptized up in Canada. It was so wonderful to be able to share that day with our family up there and I know meant so much to Ashton as he loves his family. He was baptized July 1st, Canada day! Here are some pics of our stay up there, it was a short visit but we enjoyed every moment there!