Merry Christmas!

We are so thankful that God came to be with us... Happy Birthday Jesus!

Here's a quick look at a few of our many Christmas celebrations:

Christmas with Amy's side of the family...

Starbucks and driving around looking at Christmas lights with Micah and Colleen...

Christmas with Derek's side of the family...

"Jungle Bells" - Christmas at the San Diego Zoo...

Christmas Day...

Christmas Eve...

More Christmas!

Then, on Saturday the 27th, we drove up to Pittsburg to celebrate with my parents and Jaron, Jenni, Avery and Riley. It was a fun visit that included gifts, forgotten gifts, good food, and a family bowling outing!

Dad trying out TJ's new guitar


TJ trying out his new Spiderman pillow!

Christmas Day

Since we were actually near our own home for a change, we got to celebrate Christmas with just our family! Amy made them both new blankets...

Kaylin and what else? Disney princesses!


TJ and Buzz Lightyear!

Then, on Christmas night, we had the Way family over for dinner! It was a nice evening... the kids played and the adults played Scrabble.

Christmas Morning!

This was the first time since Amy and I have been together that we woke up on Christmas morning in our own house! Usually we are somewhere else staying with family. Anyway, it was nice to start out at home!

We left pretty early for Long Beach to join Amy's family (her parents, siblings and the kids) at DeeDee and Steve's house for opening presents and having breakfast.

All the kids put on a play about the Christmas story... here is TJ as a wise man and Kaylin as a shepherd. =)


Ready to open gifts!


Kaylin and her Ariel doll!


TJ and his bulldozer!

A Christmas Update from the Olson Family!

Merry Christmas to you all!

FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS
Here are some of the highlights for our family in 2008:

• We moved into a new house, an amazing blessing from the Lord! See here and here.
• My cousin Rachel, who graduated from Biola in May, moved in with us in August.
  
• Our Disneyland passes, a gift from donors, provided lots of family fun! We'll try to go a couple more time before they expire in late January. =) We all enjoy the parades!
• We enjoyed many visits with our awesome family and friends throughout the year!
• Our first family camping trip, to Mammoth in July... what an adventure!
• We love our church family and all four of us enjoy various church classes and events.

TREVOR
Trevor turned 2 in April! He has become a VERY talkative little dude and is quite the entertainer and comedian. When we go to Disneyland, he particularly enjoys Dumbo, the two different Toy Story rides, and the Monsters Inc. ride. When Kaylin started school, TJ was Mr. Bold/Fearless, looking for where his desk was and totally willing to start school. =) After getting to "play" Guitar Hero with Rachel and Joel, he has become obsessed with guitars... more on that in a future post.

KAYLIN
Kaylin turned 5 in October! She started school this year... she loves her pre-kindergarten class. This year she was a flower girl for the second time and she saw her first movie in a theater. When we go to Disneyland, she loves to meet the princesses and go on rollercoasters with her daddy. Kaylin is still a planner, she likes to know what to expect. She is quite the encourager, always quick to spur/cheer on her brother and others. Lately, she has started playing jokes on us, saying one thing and then "just kidding!"

AMY
Amy keeps busy as usual... besides being an amazing wife and mother, she serves alongside me in the young adults ministry, in the MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) ministry at our church, and in the Talbot Wive's Fellowship ministry at the seminary. This year she also became an Avon lady, harvested her tomato and squash crop, and went on a women's retreat in Laguna Beach. She has really appreciated living closer to our church and she enjoys connecting frequently with friends and her mentor. With Kaylin in school 3 hours a day, she has enjoyed that change of pace and some time with just Trevor.

DEREK
I continue to enjoy being a seminary student! I have now completed 37 units out of the 66 required for my Master's degree and will graduate in May 2010. Serving as a young adults pastor is also a tremendous blessing. Two of the couples in our ministry got married this year and it was my privelege to participate in each ceremony. We also launched The Gathering, a Sunday evening time of worship for the 18-20somethings. That has been both challenging and rewarding! I am thankful for growing friendships with and opportunities to learn from my mentor, professors and those I serve with. Plus, I've been able to make some great friends both at church and at the seminary!

Our recent trip to Bethlehem... =)

We pray that your Christmas will be full of friends, family and fun as we rejoice in and celebrate the birth of Jesus!

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
The Olsons - Derek, Amy, Kaylin and Trevor

4th Annual Christmas Lights Drive

For the fourth consecutive year, we recently enjoyed another of our Christmas time traditions... getting a hot beverage treat from Starbucks and cruising around checking out the Christmas lights and decorations. See previous year's trips here and here.

This was the first year that TJ got to enjoy a beverage too... both kids got hot chocolate!




Ready to go see the beautiful Christmas lights!


A family from our church has a great Nativity display including...


live goats and shepherds... and...


a "camel" to sit on!

We also drove to Brea to drive through an amazing neighborhood where EVERYONE goes all out! Here's us with Santa. In the next post, I will include a video of one of the houses in that neighborhood.