The Heymann Family Journal

I like to read CNN and I was just reading a piece about Lindsay Lohan . I don't know if you know her, but she is an actress, and a big influence on young girls everywhere. She and her pals Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears all seemed to emulate all that was wild and beautiful. Each one of them rich, famous, and very beautiful. Each one of them hit the wall this past year! Lindsay Lohan is now in drug rehab. Anyway, the news article mentioned Lohan’s father. He was released from prison 2 years ago on charges of driving while intoxicated. He is now training to be a drug counselor for Teen Challenge. Teen Challenge is a ministry of the Assemblies of God church. It is very effective at helping people turn their lives around after addiction. I thought it was cool he has gone through Teen Challenge, and will work with them. I'm sorry for Lindsay, Paris, and Britney. I'm sure they experience a great deal of emptiness and pain. But on the other hand, I hope young girls...

I want to thank the 4 families who added their photos to our map at the bottom of the page! It's great to see who is reading our blog. Feel free to add your comments, or ask me questions by leaving a comment. I invite all our readers to add your first name or photo at the bottom of the page. Welcome to the blog!!!

I find small change all around the house. It's usually in the cloths dryer, or near the sofa. I just pick it up and lay it on a table. Nicole has taken a special interest in this money lately (generally she could care less about money). She has decided she wants to go to Mexico and help build a house for a poor family . She will need the money to fly to the USA, pay for her expenses, and maybe sponsor the project (about $5000 for one house). I told her I would take her to America next summer if she can earn the money for her trip. All of a sudden those small pieces of loose change have some value. She has also begun taking on small jobs around the house for a small price. I'm going to give her a book on fund raising for short term missions. I will help her do a few projects to help her raise the money for the house. I think it's so cool she wants to do this! I guess I'm spending a few weeks building a house in Mexico next year because Nicole is very motivat...

After 4 days of rain we finally had some sunshine. Our family loves to drink fruit shakes. In a blender we add frozen raspberries or strawberries (with out sugar), fresh apple or pineapple juice (again with out sugar), a banana, and yogurt. Blend and serve. I think that the raspberries go better with the pineapple juice, and the strawberries are better with the apple juice. The fruit needs to be frozen, and the blender needs to be able to handle frozen fruit! You probably have your own favorite fruit smoothie? It is a great afternoon energy drink. Add a little lime juice for a bit more bite.

We have been working on a mosaic on a wall in our garden. It seems like it will never get finished. Sarah got her hands dirty helping place some tile on the wall. There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic. Anais Nin

I thought I was buying onion rings. What I bought was octopus. The kids loved them anyway! What is the funniest thing you ever bought by accident?

Juergen is back to work after a 4 day weekend (he took Friday off to do paperwork). Sarah is better behaved when Juergen is not here. She still clings to him, and ignores the rest of the family when Papa is around, although that's also getting better. Our kids don't get their summer vacation until August. Right now they have a two week Pentecost vacation. Most of the people we know go out of town during these two weeks. We just got back from China, so we haven't got the time, or money to go anywhere. It's raining outside. In fact, it's a cold rain. I have 5 kids in the house. Yesterday the boys played too much computer, so today they get no computer or TV. They have to use their imaginations. I've given them a task. Juergen's birthday is on Friday. Let's see what we can come up with for Papa's birthday. "The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day..." - The cat in the hat

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It's a wet day, and the kids are bored! They have two weeks of vacation and they are already getting in each others hair. I need to bring some order to this aimless bunch! Nicole is always keeping busy. She draws, plays guitar, works in the garden. The others will fight until you find them a task. I can hear them fighting now! OK, back to work! I sure hope it doesn’t rain for the next two weeks! It’s so much easier when they can go burn some of that energy off at the soccer field! Why is it kids have all the energy, and parents are the ones who need it?

My best friend Cindy T in San Diego sent me this link. It is from a very charismatic church in California called Bethel Church . This weeks sermon is called "Facing A Great Mountain 8:30am ". I just listened to it online. The church believes in miracles. I do too! If you want some good inspiration have a listen.

Nicole has been working allot in the garden. She is thinking about being a plant scientist when she grows up (she is 13 years old). She is beginning to call my plants her plants. This is actually good news. I hurt my hands in China, and it's still really hard for me to work in the garden. She comes from a long line of gardeners. She has compost in her blood! She doesn't mind getting her hands dirty!!! I love it!!!

I just got a new header design. It was done by a very talented women at Maggie's Header . Maggie does the headers for free for people with Christian blogs. She asks people to give donations to 1 of 3 of her favorite charities. I only contacted her 3 days ago, and already she gave me this amazing design. Maggie, thank you so much!!! We love the new header!!! It is wonderful!

Chocolate, men, coffee - some things are better rich. ~Author Unknown As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss (in my case the kids)will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold. ~Author Unknown I bought a decaffeinated coffee table, you can't even see a difference. ~Author Unknown

Anyone who thinks the art of conversation is dead ought to tell a child to go to bed. ~Robert Gallagher If you wonder where your child left his roller skates, try walking around the house in the dark. ~Leopold Fechtner The Act of God designation on all insurance policies... means roughly that you cannot be insured for the accidents that are most likely to happen to you. If your ox kicks a hole in your neighbor's Maserati, however, indemnity is instantaneous. ~Alan Coren, The Lady from Stalingrad Mansions, 1977

After lunch Philip, Thomas, and Sarah all fell asleep in the living room. It's been really warm at night, and I don't think it's so easy for any of us to fall asleep at night. Nicole just rang the door bell, and Mickey barked. Even his loud barking didn't wake the kids up. They must be really tired!!!

Every artist was first an amateur. Ralph Waldo Emerson