The Heymann Family Journal

I’m not the one that has a 5 year plan. I use to plan, then I became the mother of 5 busy kids. They basically have the schedule, and I plan around them. It would be impossible to manage things any other way. But I’m packing boxes, and thinking about the new “Big” house. And it’s clear to me that Nicole may not live with us in 5 years. She will be 22 years old (almost 23). She will be done with art school (most likely). And Thomas will almost be 19 years old. He will also be headed to University (most likely). Philip will be 18 and most likely training for a trade. Only Jessica and Sarah will be with us for a longer term (most likely). Know one knows if they will live to see next week. God has our days numbered. I’m only guessing here. But it does not make allot of sense to spend a large sum of money to renovate our attic. They boys will be fine in the basement as long as we put in big windows. And when Nicole, Thomas and Philip all move out Sarah will be lonely. I se...

Hey look, I didn't forget! I love you Mom! I will try to call you today! Juergen took the fast train to Paris today. He can get there in 3 hours. That's pretty amazing! He comes home on Friday. Tonight Thomas plays drums at Jesus House. This is a special youth service. He has never played in a real band before. I'm excited to hear him play. Nicole will be working the sound board. In the mean time I'm cleaning and packing!

Juergen is picking up some pizza. He goes to Paris tomorrow on business. I feel like we both have moved mountains of paper work, and "things to do" in the past 2 weeks. But we are getting it done. I'm boxing up nearly everything. Today we sorted old shoes, and board games. There is no use moving shoes that don't fit anymore and puzzles and games the kids have out grown. I hope to start packing books tomorrow. I'll have a box for what I will keep, and one for what I will get rid of. I'm determined to get rid of allot of things! I'm taking the pictures off the wall. Getting ready to paint. I want the house to be clean, and the walls empty. People should have an easy time picturing their stuff in my house. So my stuff is getting packed now. Please pray we can sell the house easily. I don't want to be paying for 2 houses. Thomas plays drums in a band tomorrow night. There is a special youth service called Jesus House. Because Juergen is ...

Today Juergen and I went on a tour of the workshop and care center in Bruchsal. It was very clean and well organized. The director was very kind. She seemed to know the name of each and every person. That was impressive. There are 500 people there. Around 300 disabled people and another 200 staff. It was a bit overwhelming for us. Jess goes to a school with mentally slow people. This place has a variety of needs and also ages. The oldest person is actually 71 years old. Many are very physically challenged. It was overwhelming to see so many disabled people. Jessica is in many ways normal. I sort of wish the director didn't show us the whole place. It's giant and I'm just emotionally overwhelmed! It was very nice, but seeing the needs of the people got to me. But Jessica would be in a small group with 4 to 8 people. Her room would be quite. The staff was very nice and also positive. They keep a very good schedule. Each week they go shopping, have physic...

The chief reason I want another house is not beauty, it’s function. I’m very interested in growing some of my own food, keeping chickens, and having more energy independence. I don’t think we can be “off the grid” but we can have a wood stove, some solar and maybe even some wind energy. But I can not help but think of beauty. I want to make that house and garden beautiful. Yes I know it can all burn! But God is creative. He made the whole world both functional and beautiful! How can we balance the two? How much money do we spend on insulation, and solar? How much do we spend on wallpaper and plants? And when you know so many families are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, you have to ask why should we have a villa? I’m listening to an audible book called “out living your life”. There is a pretty good chapter on hospitality. We use to have international students (most from Japan) live with us. We use to have a guest room. Before we got Thomas, Philip and Sarah ...

what do you think?

Today Nicole and I went to the building supply store and looked at bathroom tile. We found some tile we think will work nicely. It is off white wall tile with a brown mosaic tile for an accent. Then a nice terracotta tile for the floor. They also had nice shower boxes and sinks...but I may get those at another store. OBI was the store. They also have a special price on the supplies you need to renovate the attic. We definitely need to look at their "deal". It maybe something for us. I'm wondering if they also have the people who can do the work for us? It could be an answer for us? I also bought book boxes there. I think we must own 30 boxes of books. But I love my books, so I want to keep them! I am enjoying having Nicole home this week. She returns to school on Monday and I'm sad about that!

Nicole and I met a friend of mine for breakfast. Then I cleaned Jessica's room and the bathroom. Cleaning Jessica's room would make anyone tired. I also packed the boy's books, and started a box for unwanted toys. Of course I cooked lunch, shopped for food, drove the kids and... and... and! I'm looking at all we have to do to get our house ready to sell. It's allot! We got a bid on the the bathroom. It looks pretty good. We will probably go ahead and let these people do it for us. They can do it right now, and we need it done soon. We have seen their work and they do a good job. I think I want to find a house cleaner. I want my windows washed and my kitchen cabinets cleaned. I would like to sell the kitchen with the house but who would want my kitchen unless it's spotless? We also did some yard work today. When I sit down I feel like I would fall asleep. I'm really tired!

Nicole finished her high school exams yesterday. I'm sure she passed (well). She still has a 10 minute oral exam in May. But basically she is done! So she has the rest of this week off. We went to IKEA for breakfast. I saw this cool kitchen. I love it! I was surprised to love a black kitchen, but I total do! But it cost over 5,300 Euro with out the appliances. I'm sure I can find a better deal...but perhaps in this style? I love the Island and the white sink. The funeral was done well. There were 100's of people. We stood outside the chapel, because there was no space. I hope that brought a small degree of comfort to the family. Matthias was loved. But they had to receive the hugs from all those people. I think that must have been bitter sweet. They were very courageous. I am praying for their rest and peace. The weeks have been so awful, and the way ahead will be very hard. I remember when Jessica had heart surgery when she was 3 months old. Our world came to a stop. It se...

Juergen plans to comes home early so we can go to a funeral. I prayed for the family, and I am so sad for them. I'm sure they will receive a great deal of love and support, but the loss is very great. On the one hand you thank God for the amazing blessing of a good husband and father. Matthias was such a great person. But he left a giant hole. I'm sure the pain is huge. I prayed for healing...and I had hoped God would have healed him. I hoped they would not see this day. But now I pray God will carry them today, and in the days that follow. I'm confused about healing, and why I don't see more healing. But it isn't my job to heal, only to ask. And now it's my job to trust, and to accept. I know that Matthias loved God. I'm certain he is in heaven. The real issue is the years that stand between his family and friends, and their reunion in heaven. Time can be a friend...but in this case it's an enemy. But in time the grief will not be so st...

Juergen found out that the people selling the house do not have to pay taxes on the increased value. So hopefully we can do an honest deal with them...we pay taxes and they don't. He will talk with them today. Maybe we will buy the house? UPDATE: Juergen called and said we had to do this 100% legal or not at all. But he also assured them that they wouldn't need to pay the high taxes on the capital gains. The law has changed, and we will be the ones paying the taxes. So they are fine with that. We want to notarize things this week. God willing it will work out fine. If it doesn't work out then I know God has a better way for us!

Juergen was on the big stage at the SAP arena, and Nicole did the art work. I'm always proud of Juergen, but Nicole is now a professional artist! What a strange week. So many highs and so many lows. I've been so proud and so glad, so confused and so sad. I really need a boring week, my emotions are pretty tired. I don't think I'm going to get boring! No...not going to happen!

I sit down and I feel like I would fall asleep. We talked with the owners of the house. It was a long talk, and in the end we said we would buy it. They need to have it notarized before April 1. Their son is a part owner, and he will be going away to school on April 1. So we have 10 days to pull the paperwork together. We need to get some advice on how to do this correctly. They wanted us to do something not legal...and we can not do that. It could be a deal breaker! They aren't German, and maybe it's normal busness practice back home? I'll give them the benifit of the doubt. But really, it maybe we don't buy the house because we can not do things their way.

I'm into sustainable gardening. I'm challenged to plant a garden for now (a movable garden) and plan a garden for the new house. And as great as the new house is, I'm moving for the garden. We will move from 300 square meters to 1300 square meters. I'm so excited! But even with the extra space, I can not plant everything! I want fruit trees, vegetables, flowers and chickens. I need space for a greenhouse and space for compost. I already have a good idea of where we will put stuff. The owner put in a large well. I have free water! Any ideas on the very best fruit trees? If you could plant a tree, what kind would you plant? What's your favorite apple, pear, plumb and peach? I have space for one nut tree, what kind should I plant?

A banker came to our house and gave us an amazing deal on a house loan. We got 3.25% fixed for 20 years. We get no penalty for switching banks, and no penalty for paying the loan off early. We want to pay it down early because of our advanced age! We have money for the house, and the renovation. We also have insurance in case Juergen dies. I hope this does not happen, but we want to be wise. So it looks (God willing) like we will buy our house. We still have to sign a contract with the owners. That looks like it will happen next week. It could still fall through, but it looks like a go. Juergen's boss told him about this Bank. It saved us almost 2% on the loan. Amazing! It is the PSD Bank. They are a German bank that is 135 years old. They only do house loans. I'm amazed at the money we are saving by doing business with them. Check them out if you are shopping for a house loan! http://www.psd-bank.de/ So now we need to fix our house up and try to sell it. We ar...

If we put the boys in the basement we need more light. We could cut bigger window. This could mean fooling with beams that hold up the house. I don't like that. Perhaps this sort of thing could meet our need? I also want another stairwell cut into the basement. I found out they have chain saws that cut concrete. Maybe we can cut a hole into the floor and add another entrance into the basement. Maybe in the living room? I just want the boys to be near by...a part of the house. I think we can make the basement very nice. The rooms are there. It would be much cheaper to heat those rooms, and renovate those rooms. But you have to go outside to get to the basement. Unless we add another staircase, the boys would be in a separate house.

It's kind of a hard day. 3 years ago Juergen's mom died. I miss her. We also have a friend that had a very bad heart attack last week. I heard yesterday that he was brain dead. They expected him to die yesterday or today. I haven't heard anything yet, but I'm feeling allot of sadness for his family. He was only 51 years old. His wife is a friend of mine. She has 3 kids about the same age as my kids. I can easily imagine the grief she feels now, and will feel for a very long time. I am praying for them. I know it must be so awful, and I feel really bad for them. I haven't planted my garden yet. I'm not really sure what to do with my yard. We will probably move in August or September. I can put the tomato's in buckets. In fact everything I put in buckets could be moved. I haven't even started anything yet. I think I'll plant seeds today. It is a day to mourn, but tomorrow we must continue to live. To live we must plant seeds. Up dat...

About 25 years ago I was a full time campus pastor at San Diego State University. Every rent check was paid from the gifts of people who felt lead to give to our ministry. I often didn’t know where the money would come from, but it somehow came. I felt lead to pray for a white Toyota van. I prayed for months, maybe even a year. Then one day I got a phone call from my dear friend Berry. He was at a Toyota dealer. He told me to come meet him there, he found a car he wanted to give us. I showed up and he was ready to buy us a brand new mini van. I have to be honest, it was more then I had asked for. In fact, as I drove this new car off the lot my thoughts were “God, how will I pay for the insurance on a brand new car”? Everyone around me was so excited! They all thought Wow! But I felt over whelmed by the small details. Today God has opened the door for us to buy a house we have desired to own. I’m pretty sure we can get a good loan. I’m pretty sure we will find a buyer fo...

I found a garage in Leimen we maybe able to rent for the next few months. The idea is to start boxing up everything we want to keep, and move it into storage. That is the books, and book shelves, the photo's and art, the nick knacks and camping supplies etc. Everything that clutters up our house. Get rid of what we don't want, store most of what's left. Then we can paint the walls. An uncluttered house looks better, and sells easier. I also found a kitchen for sale on e-bay. It looks like it could be perfect. It's a bit "old fashion", but big and solid. It's only 1 euro right now. If we bought it I could use the money I saved to send Nicole to Bible school. I would need a garage to store the kitchen until we moved. It needs a new counter top, sink and appliances. But I like it! I'll ask Juergen about it. He will want a new kitchen I think. But he may surprise me. He is into saving money too.

Nicole has her German abitur exam today. I'm praying for her. I'm also thinking allot about where we should put the boys in our new house. The attic is possible but expensive. The basement has 2 rooms available. This would be easier, and cheaper to prepare. I just need to get use to the idea. Nicole wants to go to International House of Prayer for 6 months in the fall. I'm not sure how that can work. I guess she can secure a place in Art school, then take next year off. She wants to do this, and the time would be best before she starts school. But the timing for us is not so good. It will cost between 5000 and 6000 Euro for us to send her there. That's money we can not spend for an attic remodeling job, and or a new kitchen. So we will see. I'm seeing what we can do to make our basement very nice for the boy's. It isn't really the rooms that bother me, it's having the boys in such a far off location. I can not hear them "getting into...

Juergen speaks in the SAP arena today. Kind of a big deal! Nicole has 3 abitur exams this week. Also a big deal. I'm praying for Matthias, our friend who had a heart attack. They didn't think he would live through the weekend. He is alive, but hasn't fully awaken from his coma. He has moved his fingers. I think that's a very good sign. I'm praying for a miracle! Not a half baked miracle, but a full recovery. Juergen had one of 2 meetings at the bank. It looks pretty good, but we will not have a clear offer on a house loan for a few days. But it looks pretty good. God willing we can set up a notary appointment in the next few weeks. I’m trying to keep my perspective. It is only a house. Houses can be swept away by tidal waves and floods. But our days are numbered by God. I’m trying very hard to stand on this truth. God will not allow our friend Matthias’ life to be cut short, and his appointed days to be taken from him. But none of us is guarantee...

They put the kitchen in the old living room. I like the space, so I want to keep it there. We will put a wall between the living room & kitchen. I don't want people watching TV when we eat dinner, and I don't want to see the dirty dishes when I'm watching TV. I found this kitchen from a dealer on e-bay. I like it because it goes with my china cabinet and sideboard. I am not ready to order anything, but maybe something in this direction. I really want it to look like an Italian farm house kitchen. A place you want to be in for hours at a time! They will be taking their kitchen with them. That's pretty normal in Germany. Here is how it looks now...

If we buy the house (we plan to buy it but nothing is in writing yet) we need to build 2 bedrooms in the attic. This is the attic. It's actually pretty large. We need to ask an architect what can be done with it. Is the floor strong enough? Can you cut the beams on the side to give more head room? What can we expect to pay? Juergen is able to do most of the work himself. He can use it as a time to teach the boys about how to use a hammer. Juergen has a meeting with the bank on Monday (God willing). A friend of ours had a serious heart attack this week. He is the same age as Juergen. I'm excited about the house, but pretty sober too. After all, it's just a house. It would be pretty meaningless if I lost Juergen. I'm praying for Matthias to live and recover. His wife and kids need him.

Juergen called and told them to hold the house for us. He has an appointment with the bank. We also need to check out the schools next week. If everything checks out OK, we will buy the house. I feel peace! They want to move out in August or September. This gives us 5 months to pack, and sell our house. First we will have our bathroom renovated. Nothing is in writing yet but I'm pretty sure this is our house! WOW!

Juergen and I went and took a long look at the house that's for sale in Bad Schönborn. It is owned by a very nice Turkish family. I don't care much for their taste in tile, but they are a very warm hearted family. I felt really welcomed in their home. Much of what they have done to the house sort of ruined it's classic character. I guess that's both good and bad. It was a rich mans mini villa. That could be kind of intimidating. I would never have the heart to change that. But they ruined the door frames, and put awful tile over the floors, moved the kitchen, and put stucco over all the wallpaper. So now all you could do is accept the house as "less then grand". It could be made into a family house. More simple, and not at all intimidating. If I have the money I would replace the tile, paint the walls, and build a wall between the living room and kitchen. But I like the place better "less grand". I am after all not very grand myself. ...

I got a knock on my door. It was 3 of Philip's friends. They said I had to come quickly, Philip was being beaten up. I put my shoes on, told Sarah I would be right back and raced out the door. I found Philip in a tree. 3 Russian teenagers were threatening him. He was walking through their housing complex. He told me he was trying to take a short cut to the playground. The boys chased him up a tree and throw rocks at him. They said they would beat him with sticks. He came out of the tree. I said I would call the police if they didn't leave us alone. We came home, and I was pretty upset. I've never once had trouble with the Russian kids before. We have lived here almost 8 years. But they are gang like about their turf. Philip shouldn't have been there! I made it clear to him never to go there again. He seems fine. It's been 3 hours and I'm still shaking!

I'm so stunned! Juergen and I decided yesterday we want to live in Bad Schönborn, and no where else. So today I did a web search on houses being sold privately in Bad Schönborn. The first house I found was a house we saw 3 1/2 years ago (Aug 2007). At the time it needed allot of renovation, and we were not ready to move. But every time we look, we have looked for something like this house. Someone bought it, renovated it, and now sells it. I even prayed this morning that we could find something like this house. It has new water, new heat, and new electricity, and a new bathroom. We would need to build rooms in the attic, but it has a big attic. The garden is very large, and it's very near to the S-Bahn station (the fast train). You could be in Heidelberg in 15 minutes, no problem! Juergen and I both love this house! If we could have a house, this would be our "ideal" house! Well, ideal for what we need now. It's not on a hill with a nice view. It...

It's starting to look like spring outside. I took the pictures of plants on our street. Tomorrow I clean up my yard (God willing). I'm a little down. Juergen spoke to an architect today about the house in Bad Schönborn. It would cost too much to add on to the house. That's the bottom line. So I'm really sad! I know that the right place will come along in it's time. But I have seeds to plant, and very little space to put them. I need to register Jessica for a day care program, but I don't know where she will go? I know in my head that God will reveal his perfect will in his own time...but I'm pretty sad I will not have that amazing garden. Wait is not my favorite word. But this is the word…so even if I feel like crying I will wait.

Here are photo's of Nicole's high school art exam. She had 5 hours to create 2 surreal pictures using black and white copy's of pictures and chalk. She didn't know ahead of time what she would have to do (no time to plan). She didn't even know if she would be creating a collage or doing a sculpture. She practiced with chalk ahead of time, just in case. And her grade was perfect. She got 15 points out of 15 points. This was the first of 6 exams she has to take for her graduation. Because she wants to study art at the University, we considered it the most important test. I'm so glad, and so proud!

I feel like I have to be SUPER MOM but I don't always have the power! I cut my finger making Sarah a mask today. She has a carnival party at school, and she lost her cape and mask. And Thomas doesn’t want to do all his homework. I think he is trying to get kicked out of his new school because he has no friends. If only I had the power to create a few best friends! I made a cape and mask and I pray the friends will come. I’m certain he would do all his homework, and make the school work if he felt he belonged! Super mom can worry…she does that really good!

Jessica visited the workshop in Wiesloch today. They work in the mornings and hang out and do fun stuff in the afternoons. If we send her there we can not live in Bad Schönborn. She probably can not have a place for one year because they are building. In the mean time, she could continue to go to her school (well, most likely). We can not send her to Wiesloch if we live in Bad Schönborn but we could live in St Leon Rot. We lived in Rot when we first moved to Germany. There is a very nice house there that was used as a driving school. I use to be a driving teacher (no kidding)! I think we will ask to look at this house. It's very big, and has a very nice garden. It is a close bus ride to the s-bahn (fast train)station. It would only take 38 mins for Thomas to get to school. I'm not sure if Philip could go to the good school in Bad Schönborn? Bad Schönborn is very close to Rot. And Sarah could continue to go to her school, but it's a long bus ride! Maybe the dri...

My first farm house is sold. I guess that's bad news for us, but I'm happy for the owner. He is a nice guy. It does UN complicate things. I can only look at the 2nd farm house. And interest rates are beginning to go up. If we do something, we need to do it very soon!

Next week the kids have a vacation. We don't plan on going anywhere. Nicole and Thomas will be at a retreat in the church for 4 days. Nicole has her final school exams in March. So I bought the kids new skate boards. I bought them on e-bay and they should come on the weekend. Ever since we visited the skate park in Bad Schönborn they have been asking for new boards. They aren't the highest quality boards you can find. I figure if they want "top of the line" they can save for it. But perhaps it will make a move to Bad Schönborn easier if they know they have a skate park around the corner? Juergen talks with the architect on Friday. We will get an idea of the costs of adding on to the house. If it's reasonable, perhaps will will buy the farm house with the big yard?

One can of beer, a can of cola (not diet) one cup of mouth wash, one cup of dish soap and a teaspone of instant black tea. Mix together, spray heavely on the soil. Wait on week. Spray again. He said you do not feed plants, soil feeds plants. This mix prepares the soil so it's ready to feed the new plants. So I will spray my soil next week. I will also start some seeds that can be planted in the soil in a few weeks.

For the soil of the tomato plants he uses ground up corn cobs, hair and the inside of a baby diaper. He also added a metal pipe to water the plants at the roots, and he plants the tomato very low in the ground so it will produce many good roots. I also think tomatoes need ground up egg shells for calcium. This prevents end rot.

For containers-for each bucket of soil add coffee grounds 1/4 cup Epson salt 1/4 cup 4 egg shells dried and ground up for raised beds-50 Sq feet 2 lbs lime 5 lbs plant food 1/4 lbs Epson salts and for the ground- 100 Sq feet 25 lbs plant food, 1 lb sugar and 1/2 lb of Epson salts