Friday, April 28, 2006

Introducing... Trevor John Olson!

"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from Him." - Psalm 127:3

Derek, Amy & Kaylin are pleased to announce the arrival of the Olson family’s latest addition…

His name is… Trevor John Olson!

T.J. was born Friday, April 28, 2006 at 2:14 p.m.

He weighed 7lbs. 3oz. and measured 18.5 inches long

Both mom and baby are doing well! Click here for a cool photo and there are more below...


Amy, Derek & TJ


TJ just seconds after being born!


Family of Four!

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Last day as a family of 3


Here we are on the last day before the arrival of baby boy. Thanks to our friend Robyn for taking some great pics of us! Click on the picture to view the full-size version.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

I'm ready to be a big sister!

My name is Kaylin Grace Olson, I am 2 and a half and I'm going to become a big sister on Friday! You can listen to Daddy interviewing me by clicking on the "Audio Clip" link on the right. Also, you can click on the picture to view the full-size version.

Monday, April 24, 2006

One Last Pregnancy Picture!



Here's a picture of Amy that was taken today. You can click on the picture to view the full-size version. We'll be checking into the hospital on Friday morning and baby boy Olson should arrive in the early afternoon. Amy, Kaylin and I are very excited to meet him!

Saturday, April 22, 2006

A Seminary Visit & One Last Date!

Today I attended "Access Western," an open-house event at Western Seminary. Then, Amy and I went on our last date before baby #2 arrives!

A friend who is currently taking classes there let me know about today's opportunity to check out the seminary. There was an informational meeting, a brief tour, and we got to observe about 10 minutes of a class that was in progress. Then, they provided lunch (I always appreciate free food :) and answered our questions in smaller groups. It was a very intriguing day!

I feel like the Lord has been putting the idea of attending seminary on my heart and mind for quite awhile now. And now, after today's visit, I feel pretty excited at the idea of gaining some great Biblical and theological training! Western is set up for people who are working (I'd continue working at Mission Springs), so classes are offered at night or on Saturdays. I'm also going to be looking into other seminary options including North Park, which is the Covenant denomination's University and Seminary in Chicago. North Park has lots of distance learning (online classes) options along with short intensive classes on campus in Chicago.

Then, this evening Amy and I left Kaylin with a sitter and went out to dinner at Seabright Brewery. We had a nice time eating, chatting (lots about my visit to the seminary) and then walking around and getting dessert in downtown Santa Cruz. Anyway, we know that seminary would require a substantial investment of time and money but our desire is to prayerfully consider the possibility in the coming weeks, knowing that where the Lord leads, he provides! We'd sure appreciate your prayers for us as we consider this possibility. Thanks!

Love to all!

Thursday, April 13, 2006

He Gave It Up!

With the Easter weekend starting tomorrow, I took a few minutes to read the apostle John’s account of Christ’s death. When I did, the following verse really stood out…

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” – John 19:30


I’m sure I’ve read over this verse and even studied it many times. The amazing thing about the Scriptures though is that no matter how many times we’ve read a verse, the Holy Spirit can show us something new or give us an important reminder each and every time! Reading the verse above this morning brought a couple of those important reminders for me. The following tidbits may not be news to you, but I hope they'll be helpful reminders to you and reason enough for us to pause and consider what Jesus has done for us.

First of all, Jesus’ words “It is finished” are always interesting. God wants us to be in relationship with Him but, of course, our sin separates us from Him. With Christ’s death, the penalty for our sin was paid and we gained access to God! So with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, God’s plan for our redemption was “finished.”

“’It is finished!’ is one word in the Greek text – tetelestai. The word was a common one and was used by merchants to mean ’The price is all paid!’ Shepherds and priests used it when they found a perfect sheep, ready for sacrifice; and Christ died as the perfect Lamb of God. Servants, when their work was completed, would use this word when reporting to their masters. Christ, the obedient Servant, had finished the work the Father gave Him to do.” (Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament by Warren W. Weirsbe)


The part of the verse (John 19:30) that really struck me though was second part, “With that, (Jesus) bowed His head and gave up his spirit.” He gave it up! That’s definitely not a very typical description of someone dying. Listen to Christ’s words…

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” - John 10:17-18


No human method would have had the power to kill Jesus… but He obediently chose to die. He chose to die for us. He chose to die to pay the price for our sin. He chose to redeem us. He chose to save us. He loves us that much!

Of course, Jesus’ death is not the best part of the Good News. Jesus said, “I lay down my life – only to take it up again.” This Sunday we celebrate the fact that the tomb was empty, that He conquered sin and death, and that He is our risen Lord and Savior!

We pray that you all have a blessed Easter weekend!

Love,
The Olsons

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Rookie "Blogger"

Well, I'm off to a pretty inauspicious start as a blogger. Sorry to everyone for the confusion. All I was trying to do was find a way to allow you to subscribe to the blog so that you could receive it automatically. However, I don't think even my second plan is going to work. So what I'll probably end up doing is just create an email list of those who want to know when it's updated. Thanks for your patience and thanks for checking out OlsonWeb! :)

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Getting closer...

The arrival of Baby Boy Olson is less than 3 weeks away! For anyone who doesn't know, he'll likely arrive via scheduled c-section on April 28th. That is, of course, unless God has plans for him to come earlier! Amy's hanging in there... though she says she's "as big as a barge." :) Anyway, Amy says she's doing good... still relatively comfortable and sleeping pretty well, etc.

Kaylin is at a wild age! She's tons of fun, talks a lot, plays "mommy" to her dolls, etc. However, she's also very much a 2 1/2-year old, often going from happy to blowing up in no time flat.

With summer getting closer, I'm getting excited for the camp season. As always this time of year, there's still lots to be done... we still need some staff and the facility needs to be prepped. Plus, in the midst of all that, my family is growing! But God is so faithful and I know He'll come through in the clutch once again and camp will be ready when the kids arrive on June 11th.

That's all for now...