Early Christmas celebration

We had an early Christmas celebration with our dear お父ちゃん　と　お母ちゃん.
They drove from Tono to visit us and we had a wonderful time. Mrs. Yoshida made a delicious apple cake that we shared over coffee, (mommy had chocolate milk :) )
We had such a wonderful time visiting. We usually spend the night with them in Tono on Christmas Eve but this year we will be in America. We will miss our quiet celebration with them and look forward to the next time we can spend Christmas together when Violet is older. I know she will love spending the night with them. They live in the mountains and in gets cold and snowy for Christmas. They have a fireplace and it is such a cozy place to be!
Well here are some pictures from our day together and a video too. Love and blessings to you all.

 

 

 

 

Holy days with Jiji & Baba from Musclecars & Meditation™ on Vimeo.

Our Church (in Tono)

Hoshigaki 2008

Recent Video from the Okirai train station:

My train ride and video from last year.

This is kaki (Japanese persimmon)-video from Gabe:

This is what the kaki look like after they have been peeled and hung outside to be dried for winter (now they become "hoshigaki")-video by Gabe:

"Somen" Lunch @Tono Church

Many Beautiful Sundays in Tono

We really enjoy our Sundays in Tono. Here are some pictures and videos of some memories with our dear parents here in Japan, the Yoshidas.

Video & Pics: Christmas Eve in Tono

Some Pictures of Christmas Eve & Day

New Year's Day at The Yoshida's

Reverand and Mrs. Yoshida have been such good friends of our these past three years and have always treated us just like family. They have shown us so much of our local area and a-lot about Japanese culture and we always have a great time with them. Rev. Yoshida was the pastor of our church for 10 years. He is retired now and he and his wife live about an hour away from here. Every year since we have been here in Japan, they have invited us to celebrate New Year's with them by having special Sukiyaki lunch on New Year's Day.
The Japanese New Year's Holiday is one of the only times when almost everyone can take vacation time so it's a really precious time for families. This year, the Yoshida's three daughters were able to visit them on New Year's Day and the Yoshida's also asked us to come to their house to celebrate with them too. We were so happy to visit with their daughters and we really felt honored to be included. And of course, the food was amazing and we all had a great time too! Below are some videos... enjoy!

Reverand Yoshida (Jenga Master):




Reverand Yoshida Making Sukiyaki (short):


More Sukiyaki and other New Year's Food: