Attempt at Photography--not that I would ever become a maniac

         

        

   

怖いお兄ちゃんやねん。。。

Kenji refused to take a photo with these two goons because they were too scary, he said.

 

A Breath-taking View

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

We were finally able to get a year-pass for one of the world's largest aquariums in the world. If my information is correct, the world's largest aquarium is located in Okinawa, and the Kaiyukan located near-by here is one of the largest in Japan, it seems. I'm pretty sure this is accurate info. ha

Santa Maria

The Santa María was a small nao, about 70 feet long[1][citation needed], used as the flagship for the expedition. She carried 40 men.

The Santa María had a single deck and three masts. She was the slowest of Columbus' vessels but performed well in the Atlantic crossing. She ran aground off the present-day site of Cap Haitien, Haiti on December 25, 1492, and was lost.[2] Realizing that the ship was beyond repair, Columbus ordered his men to strip the timbers from the ship. The timbers from the ship were later used to build Môle Saint-Nicolas, which was originally called La Navidad (Christmas) because the wreck occurred on Christmas Day.

(Taken from "Wikipedia")

Better pics of the Santa Maria

A Giant Shuriken

Happy Birthday Daiki! This Shuriken is for you. Love -- Kenji and Deryk

At the Game Center

Our boys were having a blast at the game center--really, just a once a year thing; a reward for letting daddy and mommy go out ballooning 12 days in a row non-stop; and because Grandpa and Grandma came. This was a rare occasion that was enjoyed to the full.

Kenji and Deryk were at it for like 30 minutes, putting those coins in by the dozens, maybe even hundreds. They had one remaining coin each, and they both put them in at the same time. All of us watched the drama as they neared the bottom, hoping they would win us a fortune. But with one-out-of-like-a-hundred-thousand chance, both of their coins met and got stuck just inches from the bottom. We couldn't believe it; such coincidence.

Well, I know I'm being a little dramatic. It's not like we would have won a fortune or something, maybe just some more game coins or something. But still, it was very dramatic at the time. And you should have seen their faces. Every time they got a winning, they grabbed those garnered coins with such joy and enthusiam as if they had won a million dollars or something. So when their last coins got stuck like that, you can imagine that it must have been pretty dramatic for them.

The "Sun Princess," the ferriswheel, and an outing with Grandma

"The Sun Princess"--explanation in before post

Outing with Grandma Sunshine

We found shelter from the pouring rain in this cute Chinese cafe' and bought one of its renowned snacks. It's something or another like a giant deep-fried omanjyu. It's really good though. It was the 3rd time I got it--really quite addictive.

We let the boys have a go at throwing real shuriken's at the targets, as it was something they have been talking about and wanting to do from the day we came. My youngest brother, Daiki, was sure to leave good memories of his love for making shuriken's out of origami.

Try to figure out this faucet that doesn't seem to have an in-let. What is the scientific explanation behind this mystery of a running faucet?

I was dying to post some pics of our awesome house, but then just as I was thinking of doing so I thought that it wouldn't be so good for our security. But this is one lovely house that the Lord supplied for us. He couldn't have given us anything better. TYJ!

Check it out!

In TSC this faithful old clunker was more than just a funky old work vehicle used for pick-ups. In the beginning days we used it for all sorts of things, and at times the embarrassing reality was that we depended on this 6 passenger to be more of a 10 or 12 passenger. Fortunately, this changed with the upgrades in our home and the new Winning Offensive vision. Children and pregnant mommy's and people in nice business suits no longer needed to rely on Old Faithful for their means of transportation.

Yet, the van was sort of the image of our home at the on-set of it. The beginning days of TSC was the image of a bunch of rowdy boys on the ranch. If for nothing else, Tamba Soul Clinic will be remembered for its clear and defined transition from unprofessionalism to professionalism, for which I'm proud.

Our Move

(Left) This is a little picnic that we had over lunch at Tempozan park, the closest park to our home. (Right) These are some really cool pants that Moofy got Deryk for his birthday.

The location of our house is on a man-made island, a tourist attraction spot for people all around the world. One step out of our house will bring you face-to-face with one of the largest ferriswheels in the world, and the biggest aquarium in Japan. I will be posting pics later. We are like super busy, and my computer has been sorta' acting up recently.

(left) A huge ship called the "Sun Princess," one of many ships that cruise the world in 80 days, towers 12 stories. It brings much envy to bystanders who cannot afford the 990 thousand yen fee. During the day sometimes we can feel the earth-shaking reverberation of its horn calling its passangers aboard.

(right) This is the spot from where it is said that one of Japan's most beautiful sunsets can be seen. In the glow of the sunset you can see the replica of the Santa Maria. Tourists will spend 1600 yen for a 45 minute make-believe cruise on the ship that discovered America.

A Fun Marriage Tip

From: "Laugh your way to a better marriage." By Mark Gungor
     One of my favorite verses in the Bible reads, "Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox" (Pro.14:4). The meaning is clear: If you have an ox, you're going to have ox poo. If you don't want any ox poo, then you have to get rid of the ox. But an ox is a good thing--we get "much revenue" from having an ox. So there's the quandary: If you want the benefit of having an ox, you're going to have to endure the poo that comes with it.

     Marriage is a good thing. We get "much revenue" from being joined to another person. However, there are problems. There is no such thing as a poo-free marriage.
     Nevertheless, marriage is wonderful. I love being married! And what's the alternative? Being alone for the rest of your life? That's no picnic, either. The point is, challenges come with every choice we make.
     Now, if all you are getting out of your marriage is a pile of poo, you have yourself one sick ox. I can help you with that.
     The problem is, many don't expect to find any poo at all in their marriage, and when they encounter stuff that stinks, they see it as a sign that they married the wrong person.

Hikkoshi （引っ越し）

Phew! Thank you Jesus, we got the house, and we're moving. That's our room in its present condition. We're pretty much turning it upside-down.

We should be like the bubble, blowing free and unrestrained

I was playing with one of those kids bubble toys, where you put what is like glue at the tip of a short straw, and you blow into it to make bubbles. The point is to try to make it big. As I watched it blow in the air, I thought that that's kind of how we need to be in the Spirit--we need to flow where the wind blows us. And if it seems to be blowing us somewhere unknown or unfamiliar to us, we need to trust that we'll end up where we're meant to be, that we're in God's hands.

Hina-matsuri

Hina-matsuri

River made these little treats for Hina-matsuri.

     [Definition: The Japanese Doll Festival (雛祭り, Hina-matsuri?), or Girls' Day, is held on March 3.[1] Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls (雛人形, hina-ningyō?) representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.

  The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period. Formerly, people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi (雛流し?, lit. "doll floating"), in which straw hina dolls are set afloat on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly taking troubles or bad spirits with them. The Shimogamo Shrine (part of the Kamo Shrine complex in Kyoto) celebrates the Nagashibina by floating these dolls between the Takano and Kamo Rivers to pray for the safety of children. People have stopped doing this now because of fishermen catching the dolls in their nets. They now send them out to sea, and when the spectators are gone they take the boats out of the water and bring them back to the temple and burn them.]

Deryk and Kenj with their most playful uncle--Daiki.

In Remembrance of the Early Days

Chaps

Gals and their beloved waiter