The Heymann Family Journal

I listen to the one year Bible on line . It is a reading program that gets you through the whole Bible in 365 days. You can start it on any day, but why not begin on Jan 1? I have a small yahoo group you can join to read/ listen to the whole Bible in 2010. Faith comes by hearing the word of Go... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/1-year-bible-2010/

The kids are at winter camp (Philip, Thomas and Nicole). Juergen and I were going to take Sarah and Jessica up North to visit Juergens dad Richard. First Richard was very worried about the snow. We decided to postpone our trip until next week. Then the water pipes broke at Juergens dads house. The whole kitchen floor had to be ripped out. It's good we aren't there now. Richard is 80 something...and he is getting a little "autistic". He needs order. I'm thinking Juergen should go alone to visit Richard. I think the thought of our family visiting him is stressing Richard out. Having a clear routine and order is all he can manage. I think part of this maybe the heart medication they have him on. It thins his blood, but has a negative affect on his memory. Getting old is not for wimps! Richard is an amazing man. He can speak 5 languages. He is an extremely intelligent and gracious person. It must cause him a great deal of fear not to have his sharp m...

We are having a good family Christmas. I hope you are too. Some friends of ours are facing a very dark period in their marriage. I hope they will consider watching this movie, and maybe dare to learn to love each other. Here is the first of 12 parts of the movie "fireproof". One of the greatest gifts on earth is a good marriage. It doesn't always come easy...some times you need to fight for it! The German book is 40 Tage Liebe wagen, you can find it at Amazon.de. http://www.amazon.de/Tage-Liebe-wagen-Anleitung-Partnerschaft/dp/3940158224/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261774955&sr=8-3

Juergen gave me a sonic toothbrush for Christmas. I really wanted one. My gums need some help. This toothbrush is fancy. It has 6 different heads. I have to read the book so I can figure out what do with all these different brush heads. And when you use this brush it's like nothing I have ever tried before. I totally love it. Thanks Juergen...you really bring a smile (a very white and healthy smile) to my face! Now if I can find this super cool toothpaste thingy.

Juergen took the kids to church at 4pm. They saw a very good children's play about the Nativity, and forgetting Jesus at Christmas. I stayed home with Jessica and Philip (Philip is sick, and Jess hates crowds). After church we eat Mexican food. It turned out great if I do say so myself. Then we rolled dice to see who got to open the first gift. The highest got the first gift, lowest was last. That worked well. Everyone was pretty happy with their presents. I got a new Mp3 player for my car. I also got candles from the boys and a Susan Boylan CD. Nicole and I took Jessica out for a drive. She didn't seem very satisfied with her gifts. I told her I would take her shopping after Christmas. It's so hard to shop for Jessica. Everyone is playing Wii Resort. I'm going to call my parents. I got a small stack of drawings from the kids. I'll have to scan those for you later. I hope where ever you are tonight that you are blessed...and mostly that you do not ...

Juergen worked today. He has the rest of the year off. He called me and said he would be late. He is doing his Christmas shopping. Actually he is doing his shopping early. He generally waits until tomorrow (Christmas eve). The stores will be open tomorrow until noon. To be honest he is chasing a gift for Jessica. We want to build her a special light. It will be a bookshelf that holds 3 long tubes that have water and plastic fish. It's hard to explain. It looks like fish tanks with colored lights. Jessica wanted these fish lights. We tried to figure out a way to secure them to the wall so they will not fall. I had the idea of cutting holes in the top of a small book shelf. The lights could stand in the shelf, and you can screw the shelf to the wall. Does that make any sense? It's hard to explain. It's even harder to find something special for Jess. I think she will enjoy this. Juergen is having fun doing his annual Christmas shopping. I cleaned the house...

I can not find my corn husks (I had some I'm sure). Maybe Juergen tossed them? Any way I have to use my pork and chicken to make enchiladas instead. Maybe I can find banana leaves in a Asian cooking shop? There aren't many places (if any) you can buy real Mexican food supplies. It will probably be easier for me to buy banana leaves for my Tamales. I will find the right stuff...it will happen! It just won't happen this Christmas!

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Tamales Recipe Authentic Mexican Tamales Mexican tamales (tamal is the Mexican "singular" use of the word) are packets of corn dough (masa) with a savory or sweet filling and typically wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves. The history of tamales dates back as early as 5000 BC. Popular varietes include fillings of pork, beef, green chili, chicken or beans. Ingredients * 5 lbs. lean pork or beef, cooked and shredded * 6 to 7 lbs. fresh masa * 1 1/2 lbs lard * 1 tbls. salt * 1 1/2 pts. red chili sauce * 1 bundle oujas (corn shucks) Directions To make tamales, cook meat by boiling in a large covered pot with enough water to cover completely. Add salt to taste and slow boil till completely done. Cool meat and save broth. When meat has cooled, shred and mix in the chili sauce Corn Shucks: To prepare the corn shucks ( outer husks), soak them in a sink or large pot of warm water for about 2 hours or until soft. Gently separate without tearing. Masa: (make ma...

A high school chemistry teacher has an interesting open letter to his students in Energy Bulletin. He takes stock of a changing world, and makes some interesting predictions: "Some of you will grow food. -- Probably a lot of you, actually. Even those of you who do other things as your main job. So you should probably start to learn how it’s done. Right now. Because it’s not something you can learn in a year – how to add fertility and prepare the soil, when to plant and harvest, how to store the harvest and save seeds, etc. There’s more to it than you think. And it’s gonna get even trickier when the climate starts its carbonic seizures – droughts, floods, heat, cold, and storms. In no particular pattern. So you better be good." People still regard home farming as an elective "green" activity, but might it be a survival skill by the time current teenagers are adults. Should we start retooling home ec classes to start covering agricultural education? I read this today...

Juergen said no to the farm house. It had termites in the roof and would require an extra 50,000 Euros worth of work. It was too much! I'm sad because I loved the house. But I love Juergen more then any house. We have to agree on things like this. Buying it would not be very wise. I just have to believe we have not found what we are looking for. He promised me he would keep looking. I am blessed he is supporting my search. We make a good team, and this is very very important.

I watched big beautiful snowflakes fall slowly on my windshield tonight. I was driving the kids from point A to point B. Philip got out of the car and picked up the broom to sweep the walk way. I didn’t ask him to do it…he just did it. I thought wow, what a grown up thing to do. What a responsible and grown up thing to do! It’s nice to be taken by surprise in a good way now and then. When you have 2 sons with ADHD the surprises are generally negative. What a great surprise!

I'm interested in the colors of the late 1800's because that's when the farm house was built. I watched this video of the Impressionists, I reminded me of my trip to Paris with my brother Rick.

It was a cave and it wasn't sweet. Jesus came to faithful and meek people who were hidden away in a strange place. But a star lead people great and small to witness his birth. They gave gifts that helped Jesus and his family live in Egypt for years...it saved his life.

Well, we see the house (God willing) tomorrow afternoon. It will already be getting dark. I think we will need to bring our own lights so we can get a good look at the place. A friend that teaches house renovation at a school will be coming along. I praise God for the connection and insight he can give us. Chances are he will say it is too much work. The house was built in the same year Lincoln was killed (1865). Imagine! It needs new heat, new electric and new water. The top floor needs to be built...walls, insulation , heat etc. I know we haven't got the budget to do everything. For example it could use two new bathrooms. But the bathrooms work, and they really don't "have" to be done. It's just a cosmetic thing. I really want new stairs in the house. The stairs that are there are very steep and small. For safety I want new stairs. I can live with less then perfect. The question is, can we afford the important stuff...and how much time will i...

We couldn't get anywhere this morning because of the snow and ice. Jessica’s teacher couldn't get to school, we couldn't get into Heidelberg. Sarah had to stay home. We had appointments that had to be rescheduled. It makes me wonder, if just a little ice and snow can cause such a mess...what would we do in a real emergency? I didn't expect to be home today, but I'll try to make the most of it. Sadly, Juergen and I were going to go out to breakfast before we had our final meeting to become Jessica’s guardians. I guess we would have spent the morning talking about the farm house. Maybe it's better we just wait to talk...we need more information. We hope to see the place again on Saturday. This time we want to bring someone who understand major house renovation. Poor Juergen. I want the house allot...he dreads the work involved. I wish we didn't need to decide now. But just because it's hard doesn't automatically make it wrong. Something’...

Yesterday the realtor called and said the farm house I like the best needs to be sold. The women that owns it is in a Nursing home and her family needs to pay for her care. They want to drop the price. We need to decide soon. They will list the new price next week. It will probably sell fast. I think the price is very good now. Still, I had hoped to put off any decisions. It's Christmas. And renovation will be costly and time consuming. I didn't want to think about it just yet! We need wisdom about this. There are not many houses like this one...but the work is great. I would love to have the house, but I hate the work involved. We may very well say no. I hope we agree to say yes, but we really have to both agree. I think we will try to see the house again on Saturday. The realtor is going on vacation for 3 weeks. Perhaps we can tell him yes or no in January. I really wouldn't want to deal with this now, but our timing is not always Gods timing. Perhaps, a...

I have been receiving many Christmas letters this year. My friends are good writers. It’s amazing to me how they manage to capture a whole year in two or three pages. I thought about trying to do the same thing. I honestly think it’s impossible. There are 7 of us. Life is full, and I know you don’t have the time to read what we have been doing and thinking over the past year. Just read our blog. That will cover some of the high lights. For now, I thought I would just mention we are doing well. Juergen and I are still holding hands and walking in good unity after 19 years of marriage. I love my man! Juergen turned 50 years old in June. We got to celebrate the day with some good friends in Cyprus in a villa overlooking the sea. My brother Rick was the cook, and he blessed us all! Having Rick in Europe was totally great! I lost him in Paris...I'll never forget it! Jessica turned 18 years old. She still has autism. We had to go through a legal process to become her pe...

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A good friend stopped by for coffee this morning. She informed me Christmas is next week. Everyone in the house has an advent calendar...everyone but me. Where have the days gone? I'm certain we lost a week. Christmas is already next week! I have the packages all wrapped. I need to make a list to make sure I've got it all covered! I am feeling so mellow...are you certain its not summer time? I feel like taking a long nap on the beach. My body clock says its July...but the weather says its December. I wish I were in Thailand for Christmas! It gets dark at 4pm here. How can anyone feel correct when they have no sunshine? It's entirely too cold and dark. Naps are the only answer. Let's all sleep until spring!

Anne (Sally Hawkins) fell deeply in love with handsome young naval officer Frederick Wentworth (Rupert Penry-Jones) at the age of nineteen. But with neither fortune nor rank to recommend him, I just love a hot cup of tea and a good movie...

Before "You've got mail" there was The shop around the corner. You can watch it in 10 parts on you tube.

It took me nearly 2 hours but I wrapped the Christmas gifts. I only need to pick up 2 more gifts and I'm done! I also had to wrap the trees and roses outside. It is suddenly getting cold. I don't want my fig tree our Japanese maple to get damaged. I cleaned up the garden and covered the furniture. We may even get snow tomorrow. I should sleep well tonight because I'm so tired!

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Nicole got an A on her Autism report! That's my girl!!!!

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Nicole is doing a talk on Autism in her Biology class tomorrow. This is a personal topic to all of us. I just told her about how Jessica would have the worst temper tantrums when she was 3 years old. I would carry Nicole on my back in a carrier, and Jess would be in the shopping cart. Juergen worked over time for a start up company in Irvine. He was gone all the time, I had no friends because we had moved from San Diego. I felt like I was drowning. Jess was so badly behaved people would say to each other (just loud enough for me to hear) some people shouldn’t have children!!! We had no idea why she had lost all her language skills, and became a wild raging animal. We went from expert to expert. This was 1994 and they were not calling it autism. They had no answers and no hope. I would cry all the time. But my tears would scare Nicole so I had to control my tears. When Nicole took a nap I would cry so hard I would get up off the floor and left a puddle of tears. It was t...

http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2009/12/06/chang.china.bio.energy.cnn

I found the most beautiful house for sale today. It cost way too much...but maybe we can talk them down on the price (way down)!