Ever done something really dumb, and then done it again, and again! Well there is this one little copper pipe in the basement that sticks down from the roof and is a drain off from the main water pipe. Well I am always whacking my head on that cursed pipe. I was down in the basement the other day organizing something or other and I whacked my head on it again. After much anger and frustration was taken out on that pipe I turned around to get something, stood up and whacked my head on it again. Now this is a 1\4 inch pipe so it isn't something big that you just kind of bang into, this sucker gives you a nasty little ding. Much cursing and kicking ensued. So I say alright I am not banging into this thing again. So I went upstairs, got my tool bag, went back to the basement, knelt down to check something on the furnace, stood up again and BAM right into the stupid little pipe. This time I hit it so hard it punctured another copper pipe that I had to spend about 2 hours replacing (memo to anyone doing copper welding, don't use h20 tinning flux, that stuff is terrible). I am not sure why I put these rather embarrassing stories up here. It is kind of like, "hey everyone check out how I screwed up this time". But for some reason I just saw that little picture and couldn't help myself from writing that inspiring little testimony.
-Toshi

Blizzard Basketball

Finally had decent enough weather to go play some B'ball yesterday. Went to the court, cleared off the excess snow, fixed the rim that we had already fixed once before and got in a good 45 minutes of ball. Next day when we came back a blizzard was blowing through and there was another 8-10 inches of snow on the court. Not ones to be stopped so easily we went ahead, cleared the court off and played a interesting game of Blizzard Basketball. To enhance the danger\fun there were a few big patches of ice right around the baseline so if you tried driving in you sort of ended up skating in. Here are a few pics

Common Sense

Here is something we can all stand to use a little more, well maybe some of us more than others, ok fine maybe just me.........(and Phil)
-Toshi

Of friends and foster parents

I was listening to some Word this morning and for some reason I started thinking of the places I have been and things I have done growing up in the Family. I thought of the stories I have to tell the boys when they get old enough to understand them and about the people who I have known and that have taught me and taken care of me. Then it kind of dawned on me how much those people sacrificed to do the things they did for each of us. I know everyone who has been in a big Combo Home has their stories of the swats they got and the dish lines they served in but I haven't really heard many of the teachers who spent their days with groups of rowdy, rambunctious kids or the foster parents who took in other kids at the sacrifice of their own families. When we were in Denmark I remember my dad was gone a lot to Poland and other countries and my foster parents were Uncle Sam and Auntie Maggie. I don't remember too much of them but I remember Auntie Maggie always loved us and took care of me like I was one of her own kids, Uncle Sam I don't remember so much other than he was huge, a great big Danish guy and great provisioner. But if the circumstances were turned around would I be able to give the same kind of love and care to some other kids who I didn't really know that well and who were my shepherds kids to boot. Plus if rumors are true I was a pain in the ass as a kid, my Mom says that i would threaten my teachers that if they corrected me or gave me a swat my parents would get them in trouble. Of course I have no recollection of this but my Mom says that trick didn't last too long. Anyhow all that to say I really really love and admire the people who went out of their way to take care of us when we were younger. Those are the kind of guys who the Family was built on and I only hope I can show the same kind of love and self-sacrifice to others.

-Toshi

P.S. Here is Sam and Maggie, in my stories he is about 6'4, 250 pounds. If any of you know them or more specifically if you actually know Sam's size don't tell my kids. it'll ruin the story for them when they are older.

Tracy and Joan

Well I guess it comes that time in every Home when someone you have grown close to for years decides that it is time to move on to make a work in another area and it feels like your whole life been uprooted. Well after living with Tracy and Joan and their every growing brood for the last 2 years or so they have finally moved on to a new Home (Big Mikes) and a new field (Texas, if a State can really be classified as a field that is). You don't really notice how much you depended on some one until they move on. Of course you get up and keep fighting but when they do finally go you see all the little things that they added to your Home that you never thought about before. Like when you are trying to take a transmission pan off and can't think of how get it to come off when you have already taken all the screws off. Well normally Tracy would be there to tell you about that little screw in the back that you forgot to take off, or just to take a well padded hammer to it. But when you don't have to someone to get that information from you end up doing dumb things like taking a very unpadded hammer to it. Or when you are having parent time and for the fifth time that week you are playing hide and seek you kind of wish there were more than two kids to join in the game. Well as usual we get up and get over it, or in our case invite another couple to join the Home that not only have kids but as an added bonus they actually know how to do all those mechanic\handyman jobs that I am floundering around trying to figure out how to do. We love you lots guys and we know that Texas just got a whole lot more fun with you guys there. Love you lots
-Toshi

Here are a few pics of the last few years