2017 Christmas Photo and Letter

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:

	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.
	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.
	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!
	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.
	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.
	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!
	Clarissa (9) is in third grade. She and Simon both stay home from school one day a week to do German school with Jonathan. Clarissa is very social and loves her friends, cousins, and siblings. She’s also quite athletic and loves skiing, soccer and basketball. She and her two brothers participate in an orchestra class twice a week, where she plays the viola. It’s been fun to see them improve to the point where they can play pieces together. The one activity that Clarissa does without her brothers is ballet. It’s her much-needed girl-time. Our sweet Clarissa always likes to make sure that everyone is happy and doing the right thing.
	Simon (9) is also in third grade—in the same class as his twin. Simon is our intense, active, athletic, yet soft-hearted boy. He thrives on sports and adventure. It was fun to see him learn to ski. After only a few runs, he was racing down the hills. He absolutely loves soccer and basketball and anything outdoors. We’re so happy that he has stuck with violin. Standing still and practicing is hard for him, but he perseveres. He and Clarissa both want to be homeschooled after Christmas. We’re going to give it a try and spend our time preparing for our Europe trip by brushing up on our German, French and European history. Should be fun!!

2017 Shurts Photo Album: http://tinyurl.com 

2016 Christmas Photo and Letter

Dec. 14, 2016

Dear Friends and Family,                                     

It’s always fun to reflect on the past year and look forward to the coming year. After years of adding to our family, we’re now in the dwindling phase, as our kids keep growing up and leaving home. It’s funny to think that if we hadn’t added the second batch of kids to our family, we’d be empty nesters next year. But, thankfully, our nest will be full, active, and lively for at least 10 more years! And, of course, the fledgling, older children keep swooping by and dropping in, so it never really gets dull around here.

Here are some of the highlights of our year, in chronological order:

·         We started the year off with lots of home improvement projects. We remodeled the kitchen with new counters, backsplash, and lots of paint! I also got quite ambitious and reupholstered our two large sofas all by myself (and, yes, I’m just a little proud of that fact).

·         Of course, the highlight of the year was Michaela’s return from the Germany Frankfurt Mission in March. After being separated for 18 months, it sure felt good to hug her and have her in our home again.

·         We had all of Karl’s siblings at our house in May for a special memorial service for his mother, Sandra, who passed away last year. It was a wonderful time to reconnect and honor a great lady.

·         To celebrate Michaela’s return, we took a family trip to Disneyland. We also had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa Shurts in California.

·         For 6 weeks, this summer, we had a darling visitor, Klara Schulz, from Germany. She got quite the introduction to life in a big family with all of our crazy activities and trips.

·         The Price clan got together in July for a very short, but very, very fun family reunion in Island Park, Idaho, near Yellowstone. We really missed Krey’s family, who still lives in Perth, Australia.

·         I took a quick trip to Utah at the end of August to get Michaela and Kiana settled in at BYU. It’s so fun that our womb-mates finally get to be college roommates!! (sorry for being so punny).  I also checked in with Ben, who moved to Provo this year.

·         This fall brought two milestones: Kandra started her senior year and Dallin passed his “year mark” on his mission in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

·         Michaela and Kiana, along with good friends Natalie and Greg Andrus, completely surprised us with a Thanksgiving week visit. They secretly drove to Oregon, snuck into our house in the middle of the night and then about gave us a heart-attack when they all walked into the room. We love those kinds of surprises!

·         Karl returned the favor and surprised Kiana the following week, by jumping out of her dorm closet. He had flown to Utah to see her perform in “Christmas Around the World” with her BYU folk-dance team.

·         We end the year with Clarissa and Simon’s upcoming baptism. We’re excited to share the special occasion with visits from Nina’s parents and all our Utah-young-adult children. And, of course, we especially look forward to skyping our missionary, Dallin, on Christmas Day!

Karl is still working at Intel. At church, he’s in the stake young men’s presidency and spent a lot of time planning a youth pioneer trek. I’m still working part-time as a substitute teacher. I’m currently in the Relief Society presidency in our ward and I work with some amazing women!

It’s been a wonderful year. 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!

From The Shurts Family

The Shurts Kids:

Benjamin (24) moved to Utah in April, where he is working as a security contractor. Over the summer, he moved in with Karl’s sister’s family. They have been so gracious and have given Ben a wonderful home-away-from-home. Ben plans on continuing with his schooling next year at Utah Valley University. He hopes to study business and/or computers. He has an entrepreneurial spark in him and dreams of starting an online business. On the side, he loves to write music, do art and graphic design and hang out with friends.

Michaela (22) returned home from her mission in Frankfurt, Germany in March. She was at home all spring and summer, working part-time as a classified substitute. In the fall, she started up classes at BYU. Because of her many mission experiences working with refugees in Germany, she decided to drastically change her major from Corporate Event Planning to a double major in Middle Eastern and Arabic Studies with a minor in International Development. She absolutely loves her Arabic class. And she also loves rooming with her twin! Both girls are working part-time as security guards at the BYU Art Museum.

Kiana (22) spent the summer as a nanny in New York City and the Hamptons. The family she worked for had 3 homes, 11 children, 4 other nannies and a crazy busy schedule. It was challenging and eye-opening, but she had an amazing experience! Last Spring, Kiana finished all her prerequisites, applied for and was admitted into the BYU Dietetics program! She is on a BYU Folk Dance Team and performed in the Homecoming parade and the “Christmas Around the World” production. She and Michaela are thrilled to be rooming together this year. We love to hear about all their fun adventures and antics.

Dallin (20) has been serving in the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission since October 2015. He has served in Caxias do Sul, Bento Gonçalves, Torres and Osório. He spends his days proselyting, teaching, and doing community service. He is currently a zone leader, which means he also supervises several groups of missionaries. His letters are always full of enthusiasm and excitement for missionary work. He has honed his baking skills, particularly pie making, and has taught quite a few Brazilian mamas how to bake pies. His email is dallin.shurts@myldsmail.net and his blog is http://eldershurts.blogspot.com/ . He returns Oct 2017.

Kandra (17) is finally a senior. Last spring, she threw javelin, shotput and discus in track. This summer she stayed busy with 4-H, pioneer trek and girls camp. She was in the youth camp presidency, which meant that she spent hours planning and organizing camp details for over 200 girls. She does well in school and is taking several AP and college classes. Kandra is an amazing artist and she also loves to play the piano. She is responsible and capable, caring and sweet. It’s been so fun to see our Kandra blossom into such a wonderful and confident young woman. We will sure miss her next year, when she leaves for college.

Jonathan (9) is in third grade. He played soccer this year and just loved it. He has enjoyed being a cub scout and especially loved cub camp. Nina still pulls him and the twins out of school once a week to do “German School.” Jonathan loves music. The three of them took piano last year. In the fall, they switched to violin. It’s been fun hearing them practice together. Jonathan favorite pastime is designing and drawing. He loves to build marble runs out of all sorts of random household items. He loves to figure out how things work. He’s a little engineer at heart. He’s a friendly, sweet, inquisitive boy.

Clarissa (8) is in second grade. She and Simon like being in the same class together.  Clarissa loves school. Between ballet, soccer, and violin, she stays quite busy. She performed in the Nutcracker earlier this month. She’s very excited about her upcoming baptism. Clarissa knows how to handle crazy boys and is good at reminding her brothers to be gentlemen. She loves animals, especially kittens (our cat had two litters of kittens this year). She is a great friend to everyone she meets. Clarissa is a sparkly, caring little girl and always wants everyone to be happy (and good).

Simon (8) is also in second grade. Jonathan, Clarissa and Simon are best friends and do almost everything together. Simon made lots of friends at school this year. Simon is our active, intense, athletic little boy. He absolutely loved playing soccer this fall and looks forward to playing basketball next month. We were surprised at how much he enjoys violin despite the fact that he has to stand still to play! Otherwise, he’s constantly running, jumping, or climbing. He caught the “cowboy bug” this year and turned into the cutest gun slinging, lassoing buckaroo we’ve ever seen. He even talked Clarissa into being his side-kick deputy.

2015 Christmas Photo and Letter

Dear Friends and Family,                                        

The years seem to be flying past faster than ever. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to reflect on 2015 and the many activities, experiences, events, ‘lessons-learned’ and especially the wonderful relationships that have shaped this year’s memories.

January: Dallin starts off the New Year with a literal “Bang!” Less than an hour into 2015, he cuts open his head and gets a concussion from a gun kickback while shooting tannerite. That’s the redneck way of doing New Year’s fireworks.

February: Dallin finally gets to start playing basketball after his concussion heals. He finishes his senior basketball season as one of the top varsity players and even gets to dunk the ball in a few games.

Nina is released as YW president after 4 years. She loves her new calling teaching Sunday School to the 17 year olds.

March: Track season starts for Dallin and Kandra!! In addition, Dallin gets accepted to BYU Provo with a discus scholarship (which he will defer until after his mission). Kiana is also thrilled to get accepted to BYU Provo, after completing her associates degree in Idaho.

Ben returns from his 2-year mission in Wisconsin! It’s a such a wonderful feeling to hug your child after 2 long years! The little kids are so excited to have “big Ben” back.

April: We pick up Kiana from BYU-I and head down to Utah. We get some precious time with Karl’s mom, who is battling cancer. Ben leaves for spring term at BYU Idaho.

May:Track Season culminates with Dallin taking the high school Oregon state discus title for the second time. Yay!

On Mother’s Day, we get to skype our sweet missionary, Michaela, in Germany. We sure do miss our vibrant girl!

We get a special visitor, Maria Keil, from Germany, who stays with us for a month. We all love Maria (especially our little ones) and have fun showing her around the Northwest.

June:  Dallin graduates from high school. He also competes in the USATF National Junior Championship Meet and takes 10^th place.

Karl flies to Utah to spend some precious time with his mother, Sandra. A week after Karl returns home, Sandra passes away. We drive down to Utah as a family to attend a beautiful funeral/celebration of Sandra’s life and legacy. We are touched by her beautiful spirit and the outpouring of love on her behalf.

July:   Nina is thrilled to get a horse…again. And Ben comes home from college.

July is always our 4-H month with the kids showing their animals at the county fair. This year Dallin showed a pig (reserve champion) and Kandra showed a lamb.

August: Nina accompanies Kandra and a bunch of 16-18-year-old girls on a fabulous Laurel high adventure trip kayaking in the San Juan Islands in northern Washington.

September: We drive to Utah again (3^rd time). We spend a last week together before Kiana starts her semester at BYU in Provo. Jonathan is baptized and we are thrilled to have so many extended family members attend, including Karl’s dad and his wife, Novie, from California.

School starts. Nina pulls the kids out of public school once a week to homeschool them in German. She also continues to blog about non-native bilingual parenting and is even written up in the fall issue of BYU Magazine.

http://nonnativebilingualparents.blogspot.com/

http://magazine.byu.edu/article/sprechen-sie-deutsch/

October:  Dallin leaves to serve in the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission. It’s hard to say good bye.

Nina receives her Oregon teacher’s license. She starts subbing in the local schools. She loves the flexible schedule.

November: We take a quick family trip to the Great Wolfe Lodge. The kids are in heaven!

Karl and Nina spend a week in Oahu to celebrate 25 years of marriage. It’s our first time in Hawaii, and we realize that people are not exaggerating when they call it paradise! It’s beautiful!

We spend Thanksgiving with Nina’s brother, Kevin and his sweet family in Seattle. Lots of cousin bonding!

December: December is all about Christmas. 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.

The Shurts Kids:

	Benjamin (23) returned home in March from serving a 2-year mission in Wisconsin. In April he attended Spring semester at BYU-I where he is majoring in Business. He is living at home this semester while working 2-3 jobs to earn money (classified sub in the public schools, security guard and fast food). He’s attending the young single adult branch and stays busy doing online classes and other various hobbies. It’s wonderful having him around. He’s a fun big brother and loves to play with (and tease) his little siblings.
	Michaela (Sister Shurts)(21) is still serving in the Germany Frankfurt Mission. She has served in several different cities this year: Herne, Heidelberg and now Friedrichsdorf. She has fallen in love with the people of Germany (and it seems they like her, too). People often can’t believe she’s an American, because her German is so amazing! She recently served as a “sister training leader” where she was responsible for all the sister missionaries in her zone. She comes home this March. We are so excited to see her again! Her email is michaela.shurts@myldsmail.net and her blog is http://missmichaleaann.blogspot.com/
	Kiana (21) received her associates degree from BYU Idaho this spring and was accepted to BYU Provo in the fall, where she is currently pursuing a degree in dietetics. She spent the summer working a few different jobs and attending (and doing hair for) several friends’ weddings. She is enjoying college life in Provo, participating in the international folk dance club and even performing in the “Christmas Around the World” production. She is working part-time as a museum security guard…which makes us laugh, because she’s not particularly intimidating. She also loves being close to grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
	Dallin (Elder Shurts)  (19) has had a crazy, busy and fun senior year. He excelled in both basketball and track. In track, he won the state discus title for the second year in a row. He was also very involved at school as senior class president. He worked his tail off this summer and earned all the money for his mission. One of his jobs had him traveling the entire western United States for a month installing displays in sporting goods’ stores. He left in October to serve in the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission. His email is dallin.shurts@myldsmail.net and his blog is http://eldershurts.blogspot.com/ . We sure miss our big, goofy, hard-working, happy boy!
	Kandra (16) is in 11th grade and is excelling in school. Kandra is an outstanding artist. She has been asked to paint several murals which are hanging in our community. She recently illustrated a children’s book which was written by her Grandma Krey. Check it out at: http://tinyurl.com/kandrasbook  She also earned her YW Medallion and got her driver’s license. In her spare time, she loves to play the piano and draw. She took care of her three little siblings for a week (cooking, errands, activities, etc.) while we were in Hawaii. She is responsible and capable, caring and sweet. We are so grateful for our amazing Kandra.
	Jonathan (8) is a second grader and absolutely loves school and his teacher. He also loves spending one day a week at home with mom doing “German School.” He is reading and writing in both English and German. He’s very inquisitive and insightful. He loves to figure out how things work. I love to hear him explain: “Das ist Science!” Jonathan was so thrilled to turn 8 and be baptized. He is extremely diligent in reading his scriptures each night. He hasn’t missed a night since his birthday! He is also thrilled to be a cub scout! Jonathan has a tender, thoughtful heart. We sure love our little man.
	Clarissa (7) is in first grade. She and Simon are in the same class and they both adore their teacher. Clarissa is an amazing reader and will often read to her brothers. She enjoys our “German School” days and especially likes French Class. She loves everyone and is everyone’s friend. She is still our token animal lover. She is especially in love with our horse Juniper. I’m constantly untangling the “braids” that she has woven into Juniper’s mane. Clarissa continues to take ballet and performed in the Nutcracker earlier this month. Clarissa is a happy, sparkly, caring little girl and always wants everyone to be happy.
	Simon (7) loves being in the same first grade class as his sister. They are such good friends. In school, they speak English to each other, but as soon as they get off the bus, they switch to German. Simon is our active, intense, athletic little boy. He loved participating in several youth track meets this summer and in soccer this fall. He is constantly running, jumping, or climbing. He also loves to be outdoors, exploring and building forts. One of our favorite quotes (translated from German): “Why do I have lots of energy and big people only have one energy.” Our Simon is full of life, laughter, cuteness, and intense, sweet love.

2015 Shurts Photo Album: http://tinyurl.com/Shurts2015

2014 Christmas Photo and Letter

Dear Friends and Family,                                                      Dec. 8, 2014

It’s amazing to me how quickly time passes. I love how each chapter in our lives offers new experiences, insights and opportunities. Our latest chapter has our big kids making their transitions into adulthood and our little kids leaving babyhood completely behind as they enter grade school. Rather than feeling sad about all the changes, I’m finding that I really love the beauty and joy that come with each season of life.

It’s a little strange to be down to only 5 kids at home. And although we really miss our three oldest, their absence has allowed us to focus on the next kids in line. I’ve enjoyed seeing the transformation that happens when a previously “middle/younger” child becomes the oldest (at home). It gives that child (or both children, if you have twins) a chance to lead, to grow and to shine (and to be the boss). And I guess everyone needs that chance. J

Here are some of our memorable experiences this year:

• A spring break trip down to Porterville, California, to visit Karl’s dad and his wife, Novie. Also enjoyed some sight-seeing in San Francisco.
• Nina enters the blogging world with her blog:  Bringing Up 8 Bilingual Babies. It’s already received well over 10K hits with readers from all across the globe. http://nonnativebilingualparents.blogspot.com/
• Dallin breaks the school record in discus and then goes on to take first in state. Way to go, Dallin!
• Michaela and Kiana come home from college and we get to spend a delightful, fun-filled summer with our two amazing girls.
• Michaela’s mission call to the GERMAMY FRANKFURT mission! Yes, we are all thrilled. Love that she gets to use her German!
• Regional youth dance festival. Huge production, lots of practice and time. But it turned out amazing! Our kids danced the “Cotton Eye Joe”. See videos at: http://pdx-ldsyouthdancefestival.weebly.com/
• Price family reunion in McCall, Idaho. Lots of fun flying, swimming, boating, playing and bonding with cousins. So fun. We also drive down to Utah and spend time bonding with our Shurts cousins.
• Girls camp and AFY (Adventure for Youth) for Kandra. Camp Helaman for Dallin. Both kids had fantastic times.
• 4-H and the county fair. This year, Dallin showed a steer and Kandra showed a lamb. Nina still helps lead our Banks Barn Busters 4-H club.
• High Adventure. Dallin backpacked and mountain biked with the scouts in central Oregon. Nina took the 16-18 year old girls back packing, mountain biking and inner tubing along the beautiful McKenzie River. So, so, so fun!
• We get a horse!! One of those little “dream come true” things (Thanks, Jana!) Nina LOVES her relaxing and rejuvenating rides through the countryside…heaven!
• We send Michaela off on her mission in August, preceded by lots of fun family activities organized by Michaela so that she could squeeze every last memorable moment out of her summer before leaving on her mission.
• Our baby twins start Kindergarten. It’s a new season for Nina, who has a few days each week without kids at home. Kiana starts her 3^rd semester at BYU Idaho.
• Knee surgery for Nina. Fairly quick recovery. Happy to be back running 2 months later.
• Thanksgiving Surprise: Karl’s sister, Doreene, and Kiana drive up to Oregon to surprise Karl and kids.

It’s been a wonderful year and we feel very blessed. Karl continues to be Mr. Amazing. He’s constantly working on projects around the house. He’s an involved, supportive dad and a caring husband. On top of all that, he also makes dinner every Sunday!! He’s still at Intel in the server division doing strategic product planning. At church, he is in the high priest group leadership. I am still Young Women’s president over almost 50 amazing girls. I really love working with the youth.

We are so grateful for you, our dear friends and family. We are especially grateful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. At this time of year, our thoughts turn to Him and His exemplary life and His ultimate sacrifice. We pray that you also have felt the beautiful peace and joy that He brings into our lives. And we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love, Karl & Nina Ben, Michaela, Kiana, Dallin, Kandra, Jonathan, Clarissa and Simon

 

Merry Christmas

The Shurts Kids:

	Ben (Elder Shurts)(22) is serving a 2 year mission in the Wisconsin Milwaukee Mission. He started in March 2013 and will be home in March 2015. He has served in Marquette, Oneida, Maustin, Madison, and is currently in Elkhorn. He loves his mission and the people of Wisconsin. He’s had lots of fun and interesting experiences and we love to read his insightful letters each week. We can’t believe he only has 3 months to go! He LOVES to get letters. Feel free to send him an email at benjamin.shurts@myldsmail.net. You can follow his progress on his blog: http://whileinwisconsin.blogspot.com/.
	Michaela (Sister Shurts)(20) spent the first part of the year at BYU in Provo. Upon arriving home for the summer, she received her mission call to the Germany Frankfurt Mission. She spent the rest of the summer working two jobs: Del Taco and Old Navy, and spending time with family. She left in August for the England MTC for 2 weeks (she tested out of the 6 week German instruction) and she is now enthusiastically serving her mission in Germany. Her first area was Wetzlar and she’s currently in Herne and loving every minute. Her email is michaela.shurts@myldsmail.net and her blog is http://missmichaleaann.blogspot.com/
	Kiana (20) is attending BYU-Idaho in Rexburg. She was home for the summer and worked 3 jobs (one was at Old Navy with Michaela). She’s our active, athletic girl. She ran a half marathon with Michaela as well as the famous Hood to Coast relay race in August. She also ran cross country at BYU-I this past fall. Kiana is taking a heavy load of pre-nursing classes. She hopes to apply to several nursing programs in the spring. Kiana is constantly in demand as a hairstylist. She has styled hair for proms, weddings and even several brides, but her favorite and most appreciative hair model is still Clarissa.
	Dallin (18) is in 12th grade and thoroughly enjoying his senior year! He’s a friendly, funny, happy kid who enjoys life. He pretty much lives for track season and is passionate about throwing the discus. After breaking the school record and taking first in state last spring, he has high hopes for this coming track season. He already has the attention of several universities and hopes to continue his throwing career in college. He’s also one of the top players on the varsity basketball team. In his spare time, he plays piano, hangs out with friends and writes music on the computer. https://soundcloud.com/dallin-shurts.
	Kandra (15) is in 10th grade. Last year, she attended a different high school for a while, but decided that despite its limited course offerings, she prefers our small home-town Banks High School to a bigger school. She is now happy to be back at Banks. She played soccer this fall. She has her drivers permit and LOVES to drive. She can’t wait to get her license in March. She’s a devoted older sister to her little siblings. Kandra is an amazing artist and a talented pianist. She enjoys being with her many friends, but her favorite place is at home and her all-time favorite activity is reading books in front of the fire on cold and rainy days.
	Jonathan (7) is a first grader and absolutely loves school and his teacher. It’s fun to see him reading everything in sight. He really enjoys learning new things. He especially likes figuring out how things work. I’m guessing we have a future engineer in the making. Jonathan is a sweet, pleasant, thoughtful and sensitive little guy. He’s also the most thankful little person I’ve ever met. His cute night time prayers take FOREVER as he always has to list ALL his blessings. He consistently thanks God for things like the color of the walls, the “new” fridge we got a year and a half ago, the tooth he lost last year, and the list goes on and on.
	Clarissa (6) lights up whenever she’s around people or animals. She LOVES being in Kindergarten, where she’s made lots of friends. She’s quickly learning to read in both English and German. Clarissa is such a thoughtful caring little girl. She’s always trying to make everyone happy. She loves to help around the house and when someone is sad, she’ll drop everything to cheer them up. She started ballet this year and absolutely loves being in a class with all the little girls. This weekend, she’ll be performing in the Nutcracker!
	Simon (6) really enjoys being a big Kindergartner. He would love to catch up in age with Jonathan, but is frustrated that Jonathan keeps getting having birthdays. All three little kids still speak exclusively German at home. At school, they’re all enrolled in ESL and making great improvements in English. Simon is our athlete/warrior. Give him a ball or a weapon (preferably a sword) and he’s happy! He is constantly on the move, jumping off tables and sofas, climbing up door frames. When you add all that boyish energy to an intensely sweet and sensitive little personality the result is a charming, endearing, and irresistible little guy.

2014 Shurts Photo Album: tinyurl.com/Shurts2014