Our 2014 Christmas Letter(ish)

In honor of a year in which Josh only took four days off from studying, our Christmas letter is coming to you in quiz form.

Multiple Choice Christmas Quiz.  You may pick one or more answers.

In 2014, Josh:
a) Completed two out of three years of anesthesia school, was asked to present at a conference, and managed both school and clinical time with a smile on his face. You can tell he really likes the field.
b) Put 340 people to sleep (and they all woke up!) in operating rooms across the Detroit metro area.
c) Put many miles on his bike- this time with his sidekick Luke singing behind him in the trailer.

Luke is almost 18 months old. We think he’s amazing. This year he:
a) Is obsessed with trucks. Sometimes his mom has to hide them for a little rest (did you know construction trucks play 90’s rock?)
b) Reads books all day long. The favorites are about, you guessed it, trucks! And he loves this Bible, which we highly recommend.
c) Just entered the phase where he runs up to you and gives you a huge hug. It’s the best. We love our happy, social, curious little buddy.

Theo is four months old today. We are totally smitten. He:
a) Is the happiest baby we’ve ever seen.
b) LOVES his big brother. He really has no idea that his life is in danger at many points throughout the day.
c) Is a total mama’s boy which she rewards by holding him extra long each day.

April
a) Loves being a mom to two babies and delights in simple things like brushing her teeth alone.
b) Did childbirth without pain meds again this year. She thinks that’s a piece of cake compared to pregnancy.
c) Is so glad she gets to live with her best friend, the kind that will take a fork to the pan full of brownies with you at the end of a long day.

Our Old Detroit house:
a) No longer houses the sweet mom and baby that spent 1.5 years here (they moved to a bigger space). Though we miss them, our guest apartment has been often occupied. We love that. Come see us.
b) Has had no major work done on it all year (besides getting another bedroom ready). The fact that nothing in our 100 year old house has fallen apart is a testament to how well the Lord provided for us in this year with little income.
c) Continues to be a gathering place–even with all its quirks and drafty windows. Some kids from our neighborhood are among our favorite and most frequent guests. 

Speaking of the neighbor kids, did you know that our wedding guests gave the gift of camp to three Detroit kids for two years? I still get teary when I think about that enormous gift from many generous friends. We see the impact that camp has had on these kids’ lives as we continue to hang out with them and take them to church and youth group each week. We’re out of our initial gift money but definitely want to get these kids back to camp this year. Would you consider helping us give the gift of camp this Christmas? You can just click on this link to give directly to the camper scholarship fund at SpringHill Camps (tax deductible). Make sure to write “Olson’s Detroit Kids” in the comment section so it applies directly to them. 

We love seeing over and over again how God takes care of the needs of His children. I was recently talking to a mom that was sad she couldn’t get her kids presents this year (don’t worry- another family we know went crazy buying them gifts- and this mom and I cried ugly tears because God is so good). And anyway, before even knowing about the gifts coming her way, this mom said she was just really grateful that her oldest son was finally getting that Christmas wasn’t about gifts at all. He told her that Christmas means he has a SAVIOR.

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'”  Luke 2:10,11

We hope you feel the love and hope of Jesus this Christmas.

Thanks for another year of friendship. Whether we see you daily or you just secretly stop by on social media, we are immensely grateful for “our village.”  Oh and for those of you keeping score of the quiz at home, all the answers are true.  It was too late at night for me to come up with creative yet false answers. Keepin’ things easy and real around here!

Love to you all-

{photo credit for all the good ones goes to our friend Laura Eich– we’re so grateful for the way she captured our family in our own home}