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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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." =)
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!
What's wrong with this picture of Kaylin finding an Easter egg? According to her dad... that this egg hunt occurred before 7:00 am! =)
Kaylin really like the bunny-shaped "egg"
Here's the kids with their Easter baskets of sweet goodness!
Oh, how nice... a new family pic. Hmmm... I think I'll put this over on the right. Funny how all our profile pictures see to be taken on some major holiday.
Cousins Luke & T.J. This past Saturday we just celebrated Luke's 1st birthday with lots of his friends and family! Trevor's birthday is coming up soon!
Kaylin, Clara and Jenna!
Trevor and Great Grammy! Amy and the kids have made several special visits to see Great Grammy since we moved here... it's great to live so close!
