GOT OUR TREE!!

this past friday--the day after thanksgiving--sandi and i got our tree. it was something we were looking forward to for quite sometime. not only because this is our first "married" Christmas, but also because it would be our first Christmas tree that we would get to chop down. i located a Christmas tree farm not far from our house, and when sandi got home on friday afternoon we went to harvest our tree.

the Christmas tree farm was busy with people getting their trees, yet there was an enjoyable and contented tone to the whole place (unlike the malls that day!). there were many families with small children "hunting" for their trees. there were free cookies and hot chocolate for all visitors. sandi and i had a wonderful time choosing and harvesting our tree together!

i think sandi generally had a good time! the only disappointments for her were that there was no snow, and her realization that cutting down a tree was not as easy/simple/romantic as she was led to believe all these years. but she didn't let those bother her much. here's some pictures...

sandi entering a drawing for a tree and wreath next Christmas...



picking up our saw...

the hunt is on: a vast field of choices...

a very excited "tree-chooser"...

FOUND! ...the perfect tree!

the hard work begins...

the tree is down...

carrying it back to be wrapped up

our tree is shaken (to get out the dead needles and branches), measured, wrapped up and ready to go home!

THANKFUL...

there is so much to be thankful for! ultimately i am grateful to God because everything good that i have recieved or experienced has come from him. he has been kind, generous, gracious, merciful, forgiving, patient and so much more. i have recieved no greater gift than the gift of salvation through Jesus' life, death, and resurection...the gift of God himself. yet, he has blessed me so far beyond that. when i look at my life and take stock of what i've been given, i am overwhelmed by God's lavish generosity towards me. here are just a few of God's great gifts that i am thankful for...

Sandi...
my beautiful bride and our wonderful marriage...


my family...
my new family, mom and dad tsumoto...


my sister, sarah...


being in da water...


with da surf crew...
fresh sushi...
john, and our mentor, gary lau...


da north shore, oahu...


Brian...
Hawaiian food...


Kevin...



kewalo's: our surf spot...


da mini-plate at Gina's...

Koa Siu...



da waves and friends at Daimond Head...

and da food at Zipppy's...

isn't God wonderful!! look at all that he's blessed us with! ...and sooo much more!! there is sooo much to be thankful and grateful to God for. i hope that you will be able to recognize God's goodness expressed towards you...and thank HIM for it!!

FOR MY SISTER, SARAH!!=)

while we were at Trinity Western University, my sister Sarah and her roomate keri decided that they wanted a pet. normally you would expect cat, dog, fish, or bird. ...maybe snake or frog if you're really daring. so, you can understand my surprise when they announced that their pet of choice was the naked mole rat. of course i initially thought they had made up some sort of imaginary pet species, being the sum of their top three most desired animals..."naked," "mole" and "rat." a little later on i learnd that the naked mole rat was indeed a legitmate species. wow...

this past summer sandi and i made it out to the Philadelphia Zoo. and wouldn't you know it...they had naked mole rats! what are the odds. so, here is our tribute to sarah and keri! ...to the naked mole rats that you always wanted...but never had!! ENJOY!!

p.s. why you guys wanted one, i'll never know...

wow...they make it look so EASY!

...but that's the result of tens of years of playing together.

How The Lord Of The Rings should have ended

this is too funny! sandi and i couldn't stop laughing. my apologies to john and any other Lord of the Rings die hards. i just had to share it! ENJOY!! ...the journey matters, huh??

It'll just have to wait...

so...the plan was that john would spend a few days with us this week while he is on fall break. sandi and i were excited at the idea of having our second visitor. but alas, it wasn't meant to be. i talked with john this past sunday evening and he said that he got scheduled to work this wednesday night...right in the middle of the week! oh well, there's always another time--but we probably won't be able to enjoy TWO thanksgiving meals together when "another time" comes. =( here's one of the things that will be tucked away until john is able to make it up for a visit: THE MENU!

don't wait too long to visit, john...

john made me do it...

so i got an odd request from john a couple of weeks ago... well john...here's what you asked for. i don't really know the significance of this picture...but apparently it will mean a lot to john and some others as well.

here's a picture with much more beautiful model...

ENJOY!!

Serving our Community

this past saturday morning sandi and i gathered together with a good-sized group from our church to rake leaves in people's front yards.

Sandi with our pastor, C.B. Eder...




gathering together for prayer and instructions...

walking to a near-by neighborhood that ben had staked out for us that morining...

sandi and i found out that we didn't have to bag and dispose of the leaves (which was WONDERFUL NEWS!) there is a machine that comes by and sucks up all the leaves. all we had to do was rake them off of the curbs and into piles.

some of the children playing in the leaves...

(...hey, that's a BIG kid!=)

it was a wonderful morning, with precious people, serving the practical needs of real individuals. many people were very grateful and ecxited to have an army of folks show up to tidy up their front lawns. this is just one of the many ways that Christ Community Church extends the kindness and grace of God to the people in our community. we are humbled and very grateful to be a part of this God-centered church. mahalo to ben for doing such an excellent job organizing the whole event! ...so when's the snow shoveling outreach??=)

Dinner with the Interns

last week thursday sandi and i went out to dinner with her fellow interns (1st year residents). from left to right we have the lovely sandi, erin, alexey, christine, and nancy. only yan-yan was unable to make it because she was on call. it was a very successful (and long overdue, if you ask alexey) first get together. we went to a restuarant called Viva which has excellent food and good live music. it was wonderful to sit down and talk and laugh with them. i'm sure there will be more gatherings to come... we'll keep you posted.=)

Shoyu Chicken...

last week i had a craving for some local kine grinds. so...i made shoyu chicken, salmon shioyaki, and udon. (mahalo to mom tsumoto, mom uchida, aunty vicki and others for keeping us stocked with furikake, rice, mirin, udon, li-hing mango, miso, kaki-mochi, wakame, rock salt, manju, shitake mushrooms, haupia mix, and even a pre-packaged poke mix. das right, even had kukui nut and dehydrated limu!=)

Shoyu chicken in da pot...

shoyu chicken, salmon shioyaki, gravy on da rice and udon! was sooo ono!!=)

thank you again to all of you who make "tastes of home" possible!=)