Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Recent Pictures!


The whole family had lunch in the "fort." Albertaco's... yummy!


Brutha & Sista playing with Play-Do!


TJ, the smiley boy!


KK, the curly girl!


just a picture that amused me... =)


A new lamp with dress-up shoes on it from Gramma Darlene!

Friday, August 31, 2007

What?! No posts in almost a month? That's outrageous!

The title of this post might win the award for the longest post title in the history of OlsonWeb...

Friends, Neighbors and Countrymen,
Sorry for the lack of blogging. I have some excuses:
- I'm married
- I have two kids
- I'm working two jobs
- Fall classes started 1o days ago

I know, I know... excuses, excuses! You don't want excuses... you just want pictures of my kids and perhaps a bit of news about our family. Well, hopefully this post will break the ice then and you'll get those things soon. Speaking of ice, I'm gonna go get a drink of water. It's BLAZING hot in SoCal these past few days... 104 today! Completely ridiculous, unnecessary, ludicrous, infuriating and whacked out. But I digress....

For now, the only somewhat newsworthy item that I'll pass along is my class list for this semester. I'm excited about these classes but a huge prayer request would be that I'll be able to manage these 7 units along with all my other roles (mentioned above). I'm excited to be back in ministry and I'm lovin' my classes... but of course, my family is my first priority and I'll need the Lord's help to balance all these things effectively.

Beginning Greek I (2 units) - I can write the Greek alphabet so far... but other than that, I'm a bit freaked out.

Genesis to Malachi / OT Survey (3 units) - same prof that I had for NT Survey

Intro to Field Education (1 unit) - great prof that I had for Pastoral ministry over the summer

Theological Research Methodologies (1 unit) - yawn. required.

Spiritual Mentoring Group (0 units) - chance to check-in with my peers, continue to learn or develop spiritual disciplines and be encouraged spiritually. some work, no credit, but that means no $407 tuition charge... so whatever.

So... that's a lot of things to attend and complete work for... and it's only 7 units. I'm gonna try to press on and make it work... but dropping something hasn't been ruled out yet.

That's all for now...

Saturday, August 04, 2007

In the News...

My friend and former co-worker Bill Walton (aka "B-dub") at Mission Springs put an update about us on the Mission Springs website. The article introduces Brian, the new Director of Frontier Ranch, but also gives an update on our family... click here to read it.

Also, here's the article that ran in our church newsletter this month:

Our new Minister to Young Adults is Derek Olson. He and his family recently relocated to Southern California from the Santa Cruz area. Derek and his wife, Amy, met while working on summer staff at camp during college and just celebrated their 8th wedding anniversary on July 17th. They have two children: Their daughter Kaylin will turn four in October and their son Trevor (T.J.) is 15 months old.

Derek has lived in California since he was five years old, spending his early childhood in San Pedro and Long Beach before moving to Northern California just before junior high. He graduated from Escalon High School in Escalon, CA (near Modesto) and then later from the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Amy is a native Californian, born in Downey and raised in Cypress. She’s a graduate of Cypress High School and California State University, Sacramento. Prior to her current role of stay-home mommy, she was a recreation therapist and a schoolteacher.

The Olson’s moved to this area in January so that Derek could begin part-time coursework in the Master of Divinity program at Talbot School of Theology. Derek comes to GHFC with ten years of ministry experience as a youth pastor, schoolteacher and camp director. Having enjoyed ministering to and serving the college-age summer staffers at camp over the past few years, Derek and Amy are really excited for this new opportunity to live life with the young adults here at Granada.

Avalanche Ranch!

Kaylin just finished her 2nd week of VBS this summer. This past week she went to West Cypress Church where 3 of Amy's siblings and their families go to church. She had fun being in the same group with her cousins Jenna and Dylan! Cousins Garrett and Joshy also participated. The theme was "Avalanche Ranch: A Wild Ride Through God's Word." Today was the big finale... BBQ, live music, petting zoo, pony rides, bounce houses! Here are the two "ranchers"...



Trevor wasn't so sure about the animals in the petting zoo!


Trevor and Kaylin went on a pony ride together!




Kaylin & Jenna bouncing!

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Monday, July 30, 2007

Evan Robert Harney!

Amy & I are excited to announce the arrival of our nephew, Evan Robert Harney! That gives us 10 nieces and nephews and the 11th is on the way! =)

Evan was born to Amy's sister Mindy, husband Jason and sisters Clara & Laura on Thursday, July 26th at 11:55 a.m. Mindy was in the hospital all of 19 minutes before Evan made his entrance... good job getting to the hospital Mindy! That's 4 minutes earlier than you got there for Laura's arrival. =)

He weighed 6 lbs. and 8 ounces and was 19 inches long. His parents are still trying to figure out what to do with a boy! =)

Here's a picture of our visit with them yesterday... it's the best we could do. Check out Kaylin's fake smile, T.J.'s mischievous grin, and Evan screaming and not even remotely aimed toward the camera. Oh well! Good times, good times....


Fun in the Sun... and in the Pool!


Yesterday, we went to the home of Amy's Aunt Joyce & Uncle Gene for the annual family pool party / birthday party for Grandma Massey. Grandma was celebrating her 96th birthday! It was a beautiful day and their pool is a lot of fun... water slide, waterfalls, etc. Trevor enjoyed hanging out in his floatie raft and getting sprayed by the waterfalls. In the picture above, Uncle Steve Nations had pushed him back into the little "cave" underneath the waterfalls and he was laughing and smiling. The video below is of Kaylin... she's pretty cautious around the water but gets more confident each time we go to a pool.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Downtown Disney!


Our friends Scott & Amanda and their kids were down in SoCal recently to go to Disneyland. We got to see them and our friends Gus & Cami (Scott & Gus are brothers)! These pictures were taken in Downtown Disney after we'd all just eaten together at the Rainforest Cafe.



It was great to catch up with Gus & Cami!



Hmmm... we're all in this one... so who took the picture? =)

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

8 Years Together!


Amy & I celebrated 8 years of wedded bliss today!

We take turns planning what we do to celebrate and this year it was Amy's turn. The big surprise she revealed today is that she got tickets for us to go together to FishFest, a big multi-band Christian music concert on July 28th! But today we went to the Orange County Fair and had a good time hanging out together, checking out exhibits and eating junk food! The surprise of the day though, was getting to see Wierd Al in concert for free! Hilarious! If you haven't heard the story yet, you'll have to ask us.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Horsin' Around


The "Horsey" seems to have some issues...

Thursday, July 12, 2007

60 Years of Marriage!


Congrats to my Olson grandparents! They recently celebrated 60 years of marriage! Since we weren't able to be in South Dakota for the family gathering, we sent this picture along.


Here's a video that my step-mom Earlene put together for the occasion... she did a great job... check it out! (Music by Alan Jackson)

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Some Recent Videos....

WARNING: These videos are classic home movie material... they may not be necessary to watch unless you really love our kids and want to see what they are up to lately. Otherwise, I'm guessin' that we enjoy these videos more than most people will! =)

I was hanging out with the kids a few nights ago and got a kick out of watching Kaylin sing and run around for at least 20 minutes straight. These first 3 videos show some of that evening... how she was singing non-stop... mostly songs she was making up on the fly... but also mixing in parts of real songs she's learned. You can see that she's quite a ham in this setting...









Now, in this setting... the finale show for parents after a week at Vacation Bible School... she is in her shy mode. In order to go up front to "perform" she wanted to hold Ms. Corinna's hand the whole time and only occasionally could you see her lips move with the song lyrics or her doing the motions. However, about half way through the performance her brother decided that he was quite willing to be in front of people, so he took off toward the front. That's him in the red hawaiian shirt in the front. Later, he even climbed the stairs to be near sister!



Last but not least, T.J. has been insisting that he at least attempt to feed himself at meal times...

Friday, June 29, 2007

Summer Fun!


Kaylin on a roller coaster at a local carnival!


Kaylin working on a craft during Vacation Bible School this week


My uncle Dana, Aunt Christa and cousin Anna were in SoCal for the Baptist General Conference annual meeting. We enjoyed a quick visit with them over pizza!





Kaylin, Trevor and cousin Avery enjoy some time in the pool. Jaron, Jenni and Avery are in SoCal for a National Athletic Trainer's Association conference.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Exciting New Ministry!

One of the biggest reasons why Amy and I really enjoyed serving at camp was getting to hang out with the high school and college age staff! It was a joy to watch God use and work through those awesome people as they loved on campers. Plus, we just enjoyed living life alongside them each summer, inviting them into our home and getting to know them as best we could.

Now, we are incredibily excited because God has given us a new opportunity to hang out with and serve college-age students. Just this morning, I accepted a position as Pastor to College/Career/Young Adults/18-25 year-olds (no, that's not my title, I'm just trying to describe the ministry =) at Granada Heights Friends Church in La Mirada, CA.



The church is located just over a mile from the Biola campus so it will be easy for me to intertwine this new role along with my job in the Dean's office and my seminary studies.

More info and news will be coming soon... stay tuned!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Catching up on posting pictures...


Trevor learning how to feed himself... sort of!



Kaylin, T.J. and friend Erik making PB&J sandwiches



Trevor and Grampa



Kaylin at the Beach



Trevor "wallowing" at the beach

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Basketball Obsession!

This video goes out to Big Papa...



With almost zero encouragement from me, T.J. is obsessed with basketball! My dad, T.J.'s "Big Papa," noticed this a few weeks ago. Whenever he sees a ball or a hoop, he starts shrieking excitedly and plays until we are forced to take him back inside.

Oh, and thanks to the video, you'll see that he's walking now! In the busyness of life and moving these past few weeks, we hadn't yet blogged about this big-time, 1-year old walking skills.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

We Moved!

The Olson family has moved to Cypress, CA! We are now about 15 min. from Talbot/Biola and about 15 min. from family in Long Beach... so it's a good spot. Plus, Amy lived in Cypress growing up so it's familiar territory and a nice area.

We are praising God for the many ways that He continues to provide for our needs! As we were talking with the landlord prior to renting the place, Amy shared about our current situation and that I'm a seminary student. They ended up knocking $100 per month off the rent because in his words, I am "a man of the church." Yet another way that God has moved in the hearts of people to provide for us during this transition!

We'll send a mass email with our new address sometime soon.


This is our new home!



Our place is the right side of this triplex.

This is also a good opportunity for us to publicly say how thankful we are to the Nations family for having us in their home for four months. We love and appreciate their tremendous generosity in giving us a great transition housing situation! Thanks Steve, DeeDee, Dylan and Danny. We love you!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Amy's Birthday Parties!

I'm really glad that Amy has had a few opportunities to celebrate her birthday in the past few days. First, she and some friends had a "Girls Night Out" this past Thursday in Santa Cruz. They had a nice dinner together and then enjoyed spending a night at the Coast Santa Cruz Hotel on the beach (we had a free voucher!). I'm told that the theme of the night, which was also a celebration for Amy's birthday, was "Thirty, Flirty and Thriving." For those of you keeping score at home, that's a line from the moving "13 Going On 30."


Jenni, Robyn, Amy, Kylene and Michelle (L-R)


Then, tonight we got together with most of Amy's family to celebrate five birthdays in one party! Here's a picture of Amy goofing around during the singing of the birthday song.


Also, on Sunday we got to have lunch at Chevy's with my parents. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have them put a sombrero on Amy and sing to her!

Happy Birthday Amy! We love you very much!

Happy 30th Amy!

Today is Amy's 30th birthday! In the spirit of Amy's post a couple months back for my birthday, I'm going to unashamedly copy that idea! A list of 30 things for the 30 year old!

30 Things We Love About Amy...

1- She loves Jesus
2- She's my best friend
3- She's an amazing wife
4- She's an amazing mother
5- She's a great cook
6- She's ridiculously funny
7- Velocoraptor!
8- Rat face!
9- when she gets into bed she leaves all the covers completely askew, making me fix them before I get in bed
10- she teaches the kids about Jesus
11- she teaches the kids good manners
12- she's my partner in ministry
13- she supports me in my work and ministry
14- thanks to her the kids will have photo albums
15- she's a purse-sellin' entrepreneur!
16- she's a great hostess
17- she keeps our hectic family schedule organized
18- she keeps track of the finances
19- Mom My Ride
20- she encourages great family traditions like our own version of Dance, Dance, Revolution
21- she changes diapers! Trevor really appreciates it!
22- she's "Spice," aka "Spice E. Chicken," aka "the Duchess of Frontier Ranch"
23- she's extremely thoughtful
24- she's always the balance I need in my life
25- she prays for me and the kids
26- her "Disney eyes" are quite striking
27- she makes me laugh
28- she's very caring and considerate
29- she's beautiful on the outside and...
30- on the inside

If you get a chance, take a minute to encourage Amy by posting a comment here or sending her an email! I know she'll enjoy and appreciate that! Thanks!

Catchin' Up...

I finally got caught up on some blogging tonight. As you can see by the many posts I just finished (below) and the one I'm about to do (above), we've been really busy this last week. In addition to all of that, my first semester at Talbot has been winding down. In fact, I took a final exam today and officially finished my first semester back in school. I really enjoyed my classes, I had great profs and I'm looking forward to much more seminary ahead! =) I'm only taking a 2-week break... I'll be back in the classroom for four weeks in June in order to take two summer courses. I'm really looking forward to them... Pastoral Ministry and Disciple-Making in the Postmodern Generation.

The Reception Celebration!


Kaylin & Molly became instant best friends during the few days we got to spend with our dear Kansas friends, the Moore's.


Wow... that's a pretty... uh... excited face... I guess.


During the "money dance," Kaylin got to dance with Uncle Chops and...


T.J. danced with Auntie Kirsten!


A Stockton Reunion! Here I am with the newly married couple and some friends of ours from our college days. These amazing people were part of our Campus Crusade for Christ college ministry at Pacific.

The BIG Day - Chops & Kirsten Get Married!

Chris & Kirsten got married this past Saturday at Frontier Ranch! That's yet another reason why camp hold such a special place in our hearts. It was good to be back at Mission Springs, to see so many people that we love, and to be part of this amazing wedding celebration!

Our star of the show, the flower girl, did a great job! She just needed an escort before she'd start walking down the aisle. =) Once we were on the way, she began her cute little head tilting and smiling!



As I predicted, she was placing flowers do diligently that I needed to prod her every few seconds to keep us moving in a forward direction!


It was a beautiful day (a bit warm but beautiful) and a great ceremony. Here's Chris reading his vows.

Rehearsal Dinner!

This past Friday was the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and bachelor party for Chris & Kirsten!


A candid shot of the rehearsal's main attraction couple


Ah, my friend Chris is finally getting married! We look forward to lots of good times ahead with these two cool people!


Chris... settle down... no need to yell at the pastor! J/K Here's Jeff Mazz helping guide the rehearsal.


Hang time with the guys included arcade, laser tag, praying for Chris on the beach, and a late night Denny's run... pretty good for a bunch of "old guys." =)

Mother's Day @ Mission Viejo Lake

On Mother's day we went with a bunch of Amy's family to spend the afternoon at Mission Viejo Lake. It was a beautiful day, we ate a picnic lunch on the grass next to the lake, the kids played and we enjoyed a boat ride!

Here are all the moms that were there that day... Aunt Bev, Grammy Shirley, Aunt Judy, Amy's mom Diane, sister Mindy, sister DeeDee and Amy (L-R)


The Olson's =)


Whoa... easy there Gilligan! A little seasick? Or one too many swigs of milk?

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Flower Girl Practice

Earlier this evening when I got home from work, Kaylin immediately asked me if we could "practice for the wedding." In case you haven't heard, she's gonna be the flower girl in "Uncle Chops and Aunt Kirsten's" wedding next weekend. Anyway, we gathered flower petals that had already fallen off the rose bushes into a little box and Kaylin practiced walking down the "aisle" toward me (I'll be up front with Chris) while trying to spread petals on the ground and smile at the same time! Good times, good times! =)

She's rockin' it in this picture... we'll see how she does on the big day! She's so detail-oriented (I have no idea where she got that from) that she was concentrating on even petal distribution to the point of stopping every couple of steps and not smiling. Classic!