Dear Friends and Family, Dec. 9, 2017
I love
the month of December! I love the focus on Christ and His birth. I love that
it’s a time for connecting with family and friends. I also love the opportunity
to reflect on the past year with all its joys, challenges and blessings.
Here are some of the most
memorable highlights of our year, in chronological order:
·
We took advantage of
last year’s very long and snowy winter season and introduced our little people
to the joys of skiing. They absolutely loved it and can’t wait to hit the
slopes this winter.
·
In April, Michaela and
I flew to Germany and spent 10 days together visiting dear friends from
Michaela’s mission and also from my childhood. It was an amazing opportunity to
reconnect with so many loved ones!!
·
In June, Kandra
graduated from high school as valedictorian. This will be our last high school
graduate for a while. We are so proud of Kandra and her many accomplishments.
·
In July, Kandra and I
went on a fun Laurel high adventure trip, backpacking and white-river rafting
in the Cascades. We had a visit from Karl’s dad and Novie. And we finished the
month doing 4-H stuff at the county fair.
·
August was spent
picking blueberries, bucking hay bales, beach trips and swimming lessons. I
helped out with the 4th year hike and as camp cook at girl’s camp.
·
In late August, we drove
to my sister’s (Kami’s) house in Idaho Falls for a mini-family reunion and to
watch the solar eclipse...which was AMAZING! Jonathan felt pretty special,
since the sun and moon decided to align on his 10th birthday. We also
celebrated my parents’ 50th anniversary!
·
From Idaho, we drove
down to Utah, where we helped get all our college kids settled. They all live
in the same town, Provo. We bought them lots of groceries, spent time hiking
and playing, and toured the UVU campus where Ben is attending school. We also
spent time with the Shurts side of the family and Nina’s Grandma Krey.
·
We left Kandra, our new
BYU freshman, in Utah. We now look like a very normal, regular-sized family
with our three little kids. It’s a strange thing to be able to fit into a
smaller car, hang out with younger parents, and focus on raising younger kids…again!
Having been through this whole process a few times, we have certainly learned
to appreciate the ease and simplicity of raising 8-10-year-olds. It’s such a
fun age. And, we also know to relish it while we can…because we know it won’t
last!!
·
In September, Simon and
Clarissa started school. Nina decided to stop working as a substitute teacher
and homeschool Jonathan. We joined a wonderful homeschool group and Jonathan
absolutely loves the individual attention and is thriving academically. The twins
may join him soon.
·
In October, we welcomed
Dallin home from the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission. This was the most
anticipated event of the year! This event also kicked off a series of
surprises. Michaela and Kandra drove home from Utah to surprise Dallin and the
rest of us. A few weeks later, Dallin drove out to Utah to surprise Kiana and
Ben.
·
The next biggest event
was having the entire family together at Thanksgiving for the first time in
almost 5 years! Because of overlapping missionaries, the last time we were all
together was early in 2013. I was overjoyed to get our whole family in a single
picture for this year’s Christmas card photo. It’s been a while since we’ve
been able to do that!
·
We’re looking forward
to a fun and memorable Christmas with all 8 kids home. We’re so excited for the
laughter, the craziness and the joy that comes when our house is full of all of
our people!
Karl is
still working at Intel. He has another sabbatical coming up this summer. The
plan is to take our long-anticipated trip to Europe with our younger kids! At
church, he’s in the stake young men’s presidency. I’ve been called as stake
young women’s president and am enjoying working with the youth and youth
leaders.
It’s
been a wonderful year. We have so many reasons for which to be grateful! I love
that we get to end each year by celebrating the birth of our Lord. As we think
of Him and center our lives on His teachings, our hearts are filled with peace,
love and joy. May each of us share in the true Christmas Spirit that originates
from the Savior of the world, namely, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Love,
The Shurts Family
The Shurts Kids:
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Love,
The Shurts Family
The Shurts Kids:
Benjamin (25)
started out the year working as a security contractor. He took a summer job
in Dallas, Texas doing pest control. In September, he started school at Utah
Valley University. He is studying graphic design and seems to have found his
niche. UVU seems to be a great fit for him. He’s excelling in his classes and
enjoys living so close to his siblings (his apartment is just minutes away
from where his sisters are living). We love to hear how often they all hang
out together. Ben keeps very busy juggling school, work and hanging out with
friends and family. He’s a kind-hearted guy and a fun older brother.
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Michaela (23)
is still rooming with her twin at BYU. She has changed her major to political
science with a German minor. She had one of the most magical, amazing summers
ever! After spending two weeks with Nina traveling around Germany, she spent
a little time helping out in some refugee camps. She then joined up with the
BYU study abroad group in Vienna. She spent her summer studying, traveling
and enjoying life to the fullest. She’s back at school now and studying hard
and working as a security guard at the BYU art museum. She also finds plenty
of time for socializing and enjoying life.
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Kiana
(23) has become our little dancing queen. She absolutely loves being involved
with the BYU Folk Dance Team and just performed again in the “Christmas
Around the World” production. She is almost finished with the Dietetics
program. But instead of graduating this April, she decided to delay
graduation, enjoy college a little and add a minor in dance. This semester,
she has 5 dance classes, which literally keep her hopping all day. She is
juggling a full load of classes along with several jobs! She amazes us with her
tenacity, dedication and hard work! We sure love our sweet, spunky, sparkly
girl!
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Dallin
(21) returned home in October after serving 2 years in the Brazil Porto
Alegre North Mission. He loved his mission and still spends lots of time
keeping in touch with all the wonderful people he met in Brazil. His
Portuguese is amazing (or at least that’s what I’m told). We have thoroughly
enjoyed having him here at home with us during the holidays. He’s so much fun
to have around. He’ll be heading off to Provo in January, where he’ll be a
freshman-along with Kandra. Dallin will be throwing discus for the BYU track
team, which means that he will stay quite busy. His enthusiasm for life and
the gospel is contagious.
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Kandra
(18) graduated as valedictorian from high school in June. She had a fun
summer. She enjoyed being home and spending time with her younger siblings.
In August, she started school at BYU and moved into the dorms, where she has
been blessed with some amazing roommates. They get along so well and have so
much fun together. Her cousin also
lives in the same dorms. And, of course, she has her older sisters and
brother close by. She and Michaela even have two classes together. We’re grateful that she has such a great
support network and we are so proud of her many accomplishments.
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Jonathan
(10) is trying something new this year. He really wanted to be home schooled.
After some thought and prayer, we decided that we would give it a try. He
goes to a wonderful commonwealth school one morning a week, where he has fun
classes and spends time with friends. He has made some huge improvements in
reading. His favorite subjects are science, math and history! He loves the
quiet, peaceful days and Nina loves the cuddles and the one-on-one time with
her sweet Jonathan. He enjoys playing the violin, skiing, soccer and
basketball. He’s such a sweet, kind, and loveable kid!
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2017
Shurts Photo Album: http://tinyurl.com
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