The Olson Family Christmas Letter 2007

Highlights of 2007

Fossil Hunter -- Tyndale Publishers, Spring 2008

After much sweat and toil and even more waiting, Fossil Hunter (the book John's doing in partnership with the movie company) will finally be coming out in the spring of 2008. So if you're interested in the intelligent design/evolution/creation debate and want to get a completely different angle on the subject OR if you like exciting fast-paced thrillers OR if you're basically a nice person and want to help out an author friend, please check back here in January to learn how you can get a free book signed by an author soon to be more famous than your cat.

Shade -- B&H Fiction, Fall 2008

After finishing Fossil Hunter, John went right to work on Shade. Yes, this is the infamous vampireless vampire book the editors have been teasing John about for almost ten years. That's right. It's the one that made Randy Ingermanson check under his bed and sleep with his lights on. To make a long story short, Karen Ball was finally able to find a publisher (B&H Fiction) brave enough to publish it. Look for it at the bookstores in the fall of 2008.

English Camp in Germany

The Olsons went as a family in August to teach English at a Christian English Camp in Laubach, Germany. The week and a half we spent with the German students was life-changing – both for the students and us. We can't wait to go back next summer! Click here to see our English Camp Photo Album!

Our Visit in England

On our way back from Germany we stopped briefly in England. (One of the advantages of Amy being a personal travel agent is that she was able to get us some incredible deals.) John was thrilled to be able to show Peter and Ari where C.S. Lewis taught at Oxford, and Amy loved exploring history with the kids by roaming through castles and museums together.

Writing Cruise to Alaska

Amy set up a writing cruise to Alaska in which John and his friend Randy Ingermanson hosted ten other writers and their families on a seven day seminar at sea from July 14 - 21. It made it extra special to have Mom and Dad Olson traveling with us too. When we weren't eating or visiting Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, John and Randy taught a ten hour writing class, held critique group sessions, and met one-on-one with the other writers. Follow the link to see our Alaska Writers Cruise Photo Album.

Beauty and the Beast

Peter and Ari were in Bancroft Middle School’s production of Beauty and the Beast. All I can say is… AMAZING! If you’ve never been to a Bancroft production, you have to see it to believe it. It’s more lavish than most college productions I’ve seen. Anyway, Peter was Lumiere (the candlestick) and Ari was a member of the chorus. We don’t have many pictures, but here’s what we have: Beauty and the Beast Pictures. And here's a low resolution bootleg video.

Monday Night Small Group

Every Monday night we host a not-so-small-anymore small group where we get together with six families to eat dinner, play games, read the Bible, and pray together. The group consists of 11 adults and 9 kids who all take turns leading the study. John also helps run Peter and Ari's middle school group at church.

Amy's Wednesday Morning Bible Study

Amy's Wednesday morning Bible study is running like clockwork. She has been raising up new leaders and is turning more and more of the responsibilities over to them. This year eight Bible study leaders and three shepherds led around 50 women in Bible study and prayer in groups that meet around the church.

Amy's Personal Travel Agent Business

Amy completed her first year as a travel agent and set up numerous cruises, hotels, rental cars and family vacations for friends and family. The biggest challenge of the year was organizing the Alaskan Writers Cruise. Overall, things went smoothly. Only one family's luggage got left behind when we left the ship.

Disney Land Band Trip

Peter and Amy went by bus with the Bancroft Band and Orchestra to perform at Disneyland in May. While Peter and his friends rode every ride available in the parks as many times as possible, Amy took the eight girls she was chaperoning shopping at Downtown Disney and had a blast hanging out with the other parents. Poor John and Ari have to wait a year and a half before it's their turn to go.

Peter's Particulars

Hey everybody! I had a great time this year. I was in a play called Beauty and the Beast for my school where I acted the role of Lumiere the candlestick. I also went to Disneyland on a band trip and played there. For a project in 7th grade I made a trebuchet with my dad that could fire water balloons really far and got on TV when a TV crew filmed me and my trebuchet. Click here to see the photos! In the summer we went to Alaska as well as England and Germany. Right now I am on a basketball team and having a great time. This year has been packed!

Ari's News and Notes

Hi, this is Ari, in case you didn't read the headline. I've been extremely busy this year, and that's probably mainly because--and I don't care if that's bad grammar--I'm having to get up half an hour earlier than usual every single school day. On the good side, though, I've finally found my true instrument. I've gone through the piano, the flute, and the violin, but now I'm playing the cello. I'm also taking Spanish and 8th grade Math, so this year has been pretty challenging.

Cheers,

Ari     

Our favorite books from 2007

Blue Like Jazz

God's Smuggler – Amy shared this classic faith adventure with Peter and Ari, and they couldn't put it down.

Spiritual Classics – edited by Richard Foster. This is a faith-deepening collection of writings from believers from many different centuries.

City of Ember (Peter and Ari)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Gregor the Overlander

Our favorite movies from 2007

Transformers

Spiderman 3

Bridge to Terebithia

Night at the Museum

Hoodwinked

Lady in the Water

Favorite TV shows

Heroes

Life

Kid Nation

Merry Christmas!

The Olson Family