Captain Joseph Jay Stuart, USAF

Friday, December 26, 2008 my husband officially began his first deployment. He will be serving in Bagram, Afghanistan for about 6 months. (His orders say six but there is a promise that a replacement will be there in four. I'm planning on at least five months so that four is a nice surprise and if he stays for six, I can handle a few more weeks ;))

The Christmas season has been bittersweet this year because we have been so excited and grateful to be able to spend Christmas together but we knew that Joe would be leaving the next day. We figured that he would be deployed once he got done with residency and we got the official word in October. The whole month of December has been stressful and crazy as he has been working, doing deployment preparations, and trying to fit in Christmas activities. Joe has been amazing through it all by putting our family first while tying up all loose ends at work, being fitted for gas masks, training to shoot guns, signing wills and legal documents, getting paperwork signed at offices all over the base, picking up uniforms and supplies here and there, and making sure that I and our children are squared away while he is gone.

Watching him go through all the preparations has made me more patriotic and even more proud to be a military wife. I am so grateful for the men and women who have and are serving our country. We have met so many wonderful friends through the military and I have watched and admired those who have been through deployments. Some have been away from their families for shorter periods of time and some have been way too long. Several have missed holidays, the growing of their children, and special family events, including the births of new sons and daughters. Either way, these military personnel and their families sacrifice so much to keep us all free.

Joe knew that when he signed up for the Air Force that deployment would be a possibility and although he will miss us very much, he is very honored to have this opportunity to help the injured and serve his country.

We love you so much, Joe, and pray for your safe return. Thank you!

It's Christmas!

Christmas morning started at 7:00 when we heard 4 voices in unison calling, "Mom! Dad! Mom! Dad!" They were still in the boys' room calling for us to come get them. What good obedient children! We lined them up to come down the stairs and as soon as they hit the bottom they went running. Clark was excited for his Playmobil Romans and Bakugan. Katelyn was ecstatic about her American Girl daybed that even had matching bedding like hers that "Mrs. Claus made for her". Jacob couldn't get enough of the Playmobil Pirates and Planet Heroes and Carlee kissed and carried her Bitty Baby around all day long. Santa sure found and spoiled us. After playing with their Santa toys, we opened presents to and from each other. Some favorites were laser tag for the boys, high-heeled Minnie shoes for Carlee, and a new wallet for Katelyn. Joe and I were spoiled as well with a nice new camera and video camcorder. We get to spend all Christmas vacation reading manuals on how to work those things!

We ate a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, eggs, and bacon and enjoyed playing the rest of the day. In between games and watching new movies, Joe was busy packing, downloading his new James Bond movies and other music, and setting up Internet cameras while I tried to finish unpacking from our trip and wash the laundry. It was a nice Christmas and we just enjoyed being together and playing.

We are especially grateful to be a forever family this year. We feel so blessed and taken care of. We are grateful for our Savior, His birth and life, His sacrifice and His gospel. We thank and appreciate our families that love and support us all the time. We are grateful for amazing friends that have become part of our extended family as well and appreciate their support and friendship. Thank you for a wonderful Christmas!

'Twas Twelve Days Before Christmas . . .

. . . and all through our home, we were so crazy with plans and activities we didn't have time to moan.

Day 12 (Saturday, December 13)
Magical Christmas Forest

After Clark's basketball game in the morning and Katelyn's friend's birthday party in the afternoon, we bundled up (and I mean, bundled) and headed out for some dinner and a trip to the Magical Christmas Forest. It had been really windy all day long and very cold but we decided to brave the wind and go anyway since it was our last chance this year. We met the Swaseys and Aikeles for dinner at Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, which was delicious, and drove to the forest. After getting all snuggly in our heavy coats, hats, and gloves, discussing whether we should bag the forest and the wind and go bowling instead, running back to the cars for more blankets, scarves, and towels to wrap up in, re-discussing our indoor options, and finally deciding that "we were here so let's just do it!" we walked into the Magical Christmas Forest. And magical, it was! There was hot chocolate, a carousel, gunny-sack slide, Christmas train, Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, a Teddy Bear, and a village to walk through. It was all lit up and there were little houses and animated figures to see. The best part for the kids was the gunny sack slide. Because it was so cold and windy, it wasn't very busy so we got right on the rides and activities. Towards the end of the night, the wind died down and the weather was perfect--cold enough for hot cocoa but warm enough that we couldn't complain too much. It was a great evening and I'm so glad that we didn't chicken out because of the wind.

Day 11 (Sunday, December 14)
Speaking in Sacrament Meeting

Joe and I were asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting the week earlier. Our topics were Gratitude and Charity. I chose Charity and Joe, Gratitude. Luckily for us, and especially Joe, there were 2 other speakers and the primary's musical number. I cut a little bit out of my talk but when it was our turn to speak, there was only about 15 minutes left in the meeting. I spoke for about 10 and turned the time to Joe who only had time to say a few words about Gratitude and bear his testimony so that we could end the meeting on time. It was the quickest talk he's ever given. Lucky! At least we got that under our belt for a year or so. Whew!

Day 10 (Monday, December 15)
Piano Recital

When we moved to Las Vegas, Clark continued taking piano lessons and Katelyn started. They take from a gal in our ward and are loving it. Clark proclaims to just tolerate it, but secretly he really enjoys it and Katelyn has really taken off and loves it too. Tonight was their Christmas recital. Clark played "Bouree and Musette" and "The First Noel". Katelyn played "Jolly Juggler" and "Up On The Housetop". They did a great job and we were very proud.

Day 9 (Tuesday, December 16)
Basketball, Dance, Choir Performances

Tuesday is our busiest day of the week due to early morning choir practice for Clark and Kate, Jake's afternoon preschool, Clark's basketball practice, Katelyn's dance class, and my dance class. Today was no exception but added to the chaos was 2 choir performances and parent observation at dance. I couldn't make it to the choir performances today but luckily they had another one scheduled for Thursday morning. That was the one I would go to. The other activities went off without a hitch and we got through another Tuesday.

Day 8 (Wednesday, December 17)
Orthopaedic Department Christmas Party, Parent-Teacher Conference

Today the kids were out of school for Parent-Teacher Conferences so they spent the day playing while I cooked for our dinner tonight and went to the school for conferences. The kids are doing well and enjoying school. Great grades and great teachers. We are really happy. We also got snow today! It was even sticking to the ground and was all over the mountains. So exciting. Who knew that sunny Las Vegas got snow? We certainly didn't and the weather report was that we would get about 4 more inches overnight. Crazy! I got a little excited when it was actual snowflakes so I took some pictures when it first started coming down. Little did I know that the ground would have soon been covered. Unfortunately I didn't get any of the mountains either but they are definitely covered in white!

Our party was nice as well. Dinner was delicious and everyone enjoyed getting to know each other and visiting. It was a great evening.

Day 7 (Thursday, December 18)
Snow Day!, Jake's Preschool Christmas Party, and Dance Recital

Today was a Snow Day! There was so much snow overnight that Thursday's school was cancelled via the news on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, we woke up to sunshine and the roads were clear, so school was cancelled for no reason and I missed the final performance of Clark and Kate's choir. But Jake's preschool still held their Christmas party and Clark and Kate got to go. Special visitors came and all the kids got to sit on his lap and receive a gift. There were crafts and cookies galore. It was great.

That evening was our dance recital. Katelyn has been taking dance for the last few years and I started taking a dance class with a few of my friends back in September and it has been so much fun. I am definitely not as flexible as I used to be but it is so fun to "get my groove on", re-live the glory days, get a workout, and have a girl's night out each week. The recital was held at the Summerlin Performing Arts Center and it was packed. There were not enough seats and people had to line up to get in to see their daughter perform. There were 2 shows. I was in the first one and Katelyn was in the second one. Because it was so crowded with very few seats, Joe took the kids home after the first show and I stayed to videotape Katelyn. I performed a contemporary routine to "On a Winter's Night" and Katelyn performed a tap routine to "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus". We then went out for ice cream to Baskin Robbins with Melissa and Mia.

Day 6 (Friday, December 19)
Polar Express Day, Drive to Utah

Today was party day at the school. Clark had a Polar Express Pajama Party and Katelyn had a holiday party in her class. Joe spent the day finishing up work and deployment stuff and I finished cleaning the house and packed for our weekend up in Utah. We left about 5:00, grabbed dinner and gas in St. George, hit a snowstorm between Beaver and Nephi, drove on snow-packed roads and arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Holt's house at about midnight. Let the Christmas festivities begin!

Day 5 (Saturday, December 20)
Holt Family Christmas Party

Today was spent relaxing and playing with siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We prepared dinner in the morning, played in the snow in the afternoon, decorated gingerbread houses, ate dinner, and opened gifts. The kids had a great time playing together. The adults had a great time with the gingerbread houses. There was arguing over how to decorate it (Jim and Steph!), laughing wickedly about theirs being the best (Kyle and Jenn!), telling their kids to decorate the cookies instead of the house (Cath!), quietly decorating with creative ideas (Geoff and Alanna), and allowing the kids to decorate how they saw fit (Joe and Kris!). Grandma and Grandpa just enjoyed all the noise and chaos. The gift exchange was fun and everyone received great gifts. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa for spoiling our children and us, but especially for giving Clark the best gift ever! Thank you , Cath and Jay, for the wonderful books, CD's, and cookware.

Day 4 (Sunday, December 21)

Grandma and Grandpa Stuart's House, Texas Cousins Arrival

We drove up to Brigham City last night to stay at Grandma and Grandpa Stuart's house. We went to church and then relaxed and played all day long. After dinner, Charlie and JaNay arrived from Texas and the kids were so excited to see each other. Matt and Carrie came over earlier that evening and were waiting for their arrival too. In fact, they all wanted to be together so much that all of the cousins had a sleepover at Grandma's house. It was pretty chaotic getting 14 cousins to settle down and go to sleep because they were so excited but finally they did.

Day 3 (Monday, December 22)

Playing in the Snow, Stuart Christmas Party

The first thing the boys (Tommy, Tyler, Andrew, Mathew, Clark, John and Zach) wanted to do this morning was play in the snow. They were up extremely early trying to sneak out before being sent back to bed TWICE! Around 6:30 they were up for the final time and ready to don the snow gear and head out to the field behind Grandma and Grandpa's. They played in the snow in and out all day long. They took turns driving the four-wheeler while pulling 2 sleds with the others piled on top. If they fell off the sleds, they would run and try to jump back on even if there was already a cousin on it. The girls (Katelyn, Sarah, Amelia, and McKell), Jake and Joseph also went out to play but they did a lot more playing indoors than the older boys.

That evening the entire family got together for the traditional German dinner, family talent show, nativity play, and exchanging of gifts. Everyone piled into the living room for the party. McKell played the violin and John played the guitar. The piano was played by Tom, Andrew, Mathew, Clark, Nathan, Alyssa, and Katelyn. Sarah played the bell pipes and the rest of the crew sang Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer. Grandma and Grandpa then did a white elephant gift exchange among the grandchildren along with the rest of the gifts. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa for the generous gifts!

I took some cute pictures of the youngest Stuart grandchildren. Carlee and Owen are 2 weeks apart and best buddies. They are so cute together and they have the same cute chubby cheeks. Megan is 8 months old and new little Eli is 2 weeks old and completely loved by Carlee.

Day 2 (Tuesday, December 23)
Sleigh Rides, Snow Tubing, Temple Square

Tuesday morning was spent out in the snow again. Grandpa hooked the sleigh up to the pony and took the kids for rides back and forth down the street to the church. Charlie also bought 4 inner tubes to hook to the four-wheeler so all the boys could sled together. Again, they had a blast flying around the field on the tubes and sleds.

That afternoon we headed to Ogden to watch John play his indoor ultimate soccer game. Then we did our Christmas tradition (when we are in Utah at Christmastime) by going to Salt Lake to see Temple Square and grab some dinner at Crown Burger. It was a cold night and very busy but so fun to see the lights and nativity.

Day 1 (Wednesday, December 24)
Christmas Eve

After breakfast, we loaded up and headed home for our own Christmas in Vegas. We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa Holt's for a box of Christmas gifts, ate some quick sandwiches, and continued the drive. Luckily we were between snow storms so it was smooth driving until we got into St. George where it was raining. Clark decided that we should eat at Mongolian BBQ Grill so Steph and Jim met us there for dinner. The kids loved it and the servers were so great. There was a cute lady that crushed up crackers for the kids and showed them how to eat with chopsticks. She was even helping Carlee hold them and put the crackers into her mouth. She kept coming over to our table telling the kids to eat their dinner so she could give them a treat. She also reminded them of Santa coming tonight so they better eat until they were full. She was so funny and good with the kids. We then grabbed some stuff for Joe at Steph's house, filled up with gas, and continued home.

About five minutes before we got home, Jake and Carlee started to fall asleep. We tried to wake them up so we could do our Christmas Eve traditions but they were so groggy. When we pulled up to our house, we noticed that the Christmas trees were all lit. I didn't remember leaving them on so I was wondering what was up. When we walked in, there was soft Christmas music playing, the smell of pine trees and some goodies and cards on our counter. When I opened the fridge to get the kids a drink, it was full of a yummy Christmas dinner complete with ham, potatoes, green beans, salad, pie, cake, juice, and egg nog. Some sweet little elves had let themselves into our house to welcome us home. Thanks, dear friends, for being so sweet. That was so thoughtful and generous. We really love and appreciate good friends like you. Those little things mean so much and it was wonderful.

We quickly unpacked our suitcases and started our evening. We read the Christmas story out of the Bible and The Night Before Christmas. Then we opened our traditional Christmas pajamas and ornaments. We started watching Polar Express while I made hot chocolate and got out the sugar cookies for the kids to decorate for Santa. When the movie was over, the kids went straight to bed without argument. It was amazing. I think they were finally exhausted from our quick Utah trip. Carlee and Katelyn snuggled up with Clark and Jake slept in his own bed and they were sound asleep in about 5 minutes. When we put them to bed, we told them that they couldn't come out of their rooms in the morning. We have an open hallway that looks down into the family room so we said that they had to just call for us at 7:00 and we would come up to get them. We'll see if they actually follow orders in the morning . . .

Happy Birthday, Carlee!

My baby turned 2 years old last Sunday, December 7th and I can't believe that she is a full-fledged independent toddler that screams when she doesn't get her way, holds her own with her brothers when wrestling, loves to play babies with her sister, can "do it myself", "help Mommy", and just cruise around like she's one of the big kids.

At this point in her young cute life, she is obsessed with Tinkerbell, so naturally we had a Tinkerbell party for her. I couldn't find anyone that made a Tinkerbell cake and we had a crazy weekend so I didn't make one but luckily Dad found an ice cream cake in Tinkerbell colors and Carlee was so excited about it. When we pulled it from the freezer, she ran over screaming, "My Tinkerbell cake! My Tinkerbell cake! Woo Hoo!"

She loved the Tinkerbell party plates, cups and napkins and wanted to eat dinner on them as well so she did. Tinkerbell is the only movie that she will actually sit through and watch and she wants it almost every day. For dinner she wanted chicken and noodles, corn, and peaches. Those are her favorites although sometimes the corn comes back out after it goes in. I think it's the only veggie she actually knows.

After dinner she opened her gifts. She got a Dirt Devil vacuum, Snap n Style Babies, Barbie's Christmas Carol movie, and a Build-a-Bear named Twinkle and dressed like HSM. She was so excited to carry around her bear and vacuum the carpet. Her siblings were a little too helpful in opening her presents so there was some yelling of NO! and screaming but she loved the attention and having her presents "hung" over her poor head.

All day long, she kept singing, "Happy Birtday to Cahlee!" and couldn't wait to blow out her candle. It was great to see how excited she got. She even read her birthday cards to the whole family.

Here are some fun things she does at the age of 2:

--She is quite the character with a spunky personality

--She loves to eat all day long

--She'll push chairs and stools over to the pantry and refrigerator to get what she wants. The other day I was upstairs and Joe was on the computer. When I came down, she was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor with the ice cream scooping it out with her hands. She was in heaven. --She loves chocolate and wants "a bite" of anything anyone else has.

--Carlee is a great talker and has been for about 6-8 months now. It is amazing how well she articulates her words and speaks in full sentences.

--She loves to tell strangers her name and how old she is. When we go to the store, she'll talk to the employees and they just laugh and carry on her conversations.

--She likes to talk on the phone about anything and even throws back her head to laugh.

--She likes to go to the store and help push the cart.
--She loves to play with my hair

--She loves her blanket and baby

--She loves calling Daddy at work and running to him when he comes home

--She loves to play Barbies with Katelyn

--She loves when Clark picks her up and does "tricks" with her

--She likes when Jake plays babies with her

--She likes to "flip" over the footboard of her bed to go to sleep

--She loves being tucked in with hugs and kisses for her and her baby after reading "just one more" story

Carlee brings us so much joy and we can't wait to watch what she does over the next year. She is a sweetheart and so fun. We love you, Cargo! Happy Birthday!

We Give Thanks for . . .

-our Savior
-the gospel
-prayer
-scriptures
-everything that goes with the church
-Sonic the Hedgehog
-our house with electricity, running water, and flushing toilets
-nature
-toys
-dolls
-blankets
-chocolate
-ice cream
-hot apple cider and hot cocoa
-rainy, lazy afternoons
-talents
-computers
-video games
-school
-dancing
-the temple
-forever families
-wonderful friends
-Disneyland
-sports
-Grandparents
-Aunt, Uncles, and Cousins
-Sisters and Brothers
-Parents
-President Thomas S. Monson
-a free country
-the founding fathers of our country
-soldiers that fight for our freedom
-a stable job
-football
-singing
-playing
-riding bikes
-taking walks
-stores and shopping
-seasons
-holidays
-clothes
-learning and education
-Primary
-Book of Mormon stories
-our bodies
-yummy food
-snuggling and relaxing
-movie nights
-playing games together as a family
-conversations with our kids
-Family Home Evening
-Kids Meetings
-Our happy healthy life

Holy 5 years old, Batman!

Five years ago on Saturday, we welcomed Jacob Paul Stuart into our family. He was such a good baby and has turned into quite the little man. Jake was always mellow as a baby and toddler but that is completely gone now. He is definitely our wild one and fits the third child stereotype. He is the funniest kid I know. He says the most hilarious things and his mind is always turning. When I talk to him, I can see his little brain going as he stares at me while sucking his thumb (yeah, that's another thing we are going to work on). He'll come back with some retort and I can't help but laugh.

Jacob has had the most injuries in our family. Besides his plastic surgery for his lip when he was 3 months old, he has had stitches twice on his cute little face and will probably have to have oral surgery within the next year or so. It wouldn't be as bad if he didn't have the loudest wail/cry/scream I have ever heard. Every time he cries, he sounds like he is dying. I don't even run anymore to see what is going on. I just wait for him to calm down and then tell me what happened. He also loves Band-Aids. Every little sore or red spot has to have a Band-Aid. We go through those about as much as we go through toilet paper. It is ridiculous!

I think Jake still wants to be the baby of the family. When he is asked to do things his reply is always that he is too little. He loves to snuggle with me on the couch after we take Clark and Kate to school. We always get a blanket and snuggle while he watches The Backyardigans. I love that time that I just get to hold him. It means my day doesn't get started until about 9:30 but I'm glad that he still wants me to hold him. Jacob is also very imaginative. He is always playing with action figures and talking back and forth with them. I love that he will play with his toys for hours. He doesn't like to read and write on a regular basis but he does love to play. He also likes to do poses and make funny faces. He'll do something and then ask me, "Is that cool, Mom?" And his favorite word is "AWESOME!" Everything is AWESOME!

Since his birthday fell on Saturday, he got to plan the whole day. Jake had asked for waffles for breakfast but when I started to make them Saturday morning, he told me, "Not homemade waffles, Mom, Eggo waffles!" What kid wants Eggo waffles on their birthday when they eat them about every other day during the week? Oh . . . I guess my kid. So I fixed French Toast (my favorite) and Eggo Waffles (Jake's favorite) for his birthday breakfast.

After getting ready for the day, Jake opened his gifts. He got Lego Batman for the Wii, a Batmobile, a Playmobil Skate Park, Kung Fu Panda, and a build-a-bear penguin he named Flippy. He was pretty excited about everything. He then requested that we go to lunch at Panda Express. Steph and Jim had stayed with us during the week so they enjoyed lunch with us before heading back home. After eating, he declared that he just wanted to go back home and play Lego Batman and check out his new toys. All of us were throwing out suggestions of things to do but that was what he wanted so that's what we did. I put Carlee down for a nap, Joe helped a family move into our neighborhood, Katelyn and I read, and the boys played Wii and "skater boys". He got tired of playing around 5:00 so bowling was next on his agenda.

Heavy, Heavy, Hang, Over Jake's poor head . . .

We headed out to Santa Fe Station for Cosmic Bowling. It was fun with the lights out and all the neon lights flashing. The bowling alley was big and clean and there were a lot of families there. You actually walked into the smoke when you left the bowling alley so it was nice. The kids had a great time although I think they should do mini-games for kids. They are done bowling by about the 6th frame. Carlee enjoyed the air blowing out from the vent and dancing in the lights. Clark was insistent on not having bumpers but after he had about 5 gutter balls and everyone's score was ahead of him, he caved and asked for the bumpers. When the last pin fell, we piled back into the car and headed home for cake and ice cream. I made a simple cake--the Batman calling sign. It was so easy and I am not a cake decorator by any means (they turn out 10 times better in my head) but Jake thought it was "so awesome, Mom!" and as we were tucking him into bed, he said it was the best day ever!

I agree. It was a pretty awesome day and you are a pretty awesome boy. Happy Birthday, Jakey! We love you so much and are grateful for that sweet personality. Thanks for being you.