The Heymann Family Journal

Sarah is learning to read in English. She reads very well in German but now in English too.

Juergen and I are almost done with our book.  Now what?  We have 2 weeks vacation. 

Our party was very special last night.  We ended up with 11 students.  The food was great.  We sang some Christmas songs, read a story, played a game, and exchanged gifts.  I also asked them to share a story about a gift.  It could be any gift (Christmas, birthday, graduation).  And we heard some very good stories.  But one story really touched my heart.  This one student was growing up somewhat poor.  He had no shoes.  And he was to meet his friends to have a picture taken.  His father knocked on his door to wake him up.  He said he didn't want to go because he had no shoes.  A few hours later his dad knocks on his door again and asks him to get up.  He says no.  Then the door opens, and a box of shoes is there.  The father says that Santa had brought them.  He still has the photo that was taken of him with his friends.  With tears in his eyes he told us how great a gift it was to own a pair ...

I'm just finishing last min. cooking for our International Christmas party. I cooked a Thai Shrimp soup. It smells so wonderful. We have students from Myanmar, China, Germany and Brazil coming tonight. A total of 9 guests. And I’m so happy! Merry Christmas Everyone! God Bless You with his joy and peace. “The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” -Albert Einstein

I'm going to make this soup with shrimp and Thai rice tomorrow.

Juergen gave me 3 Chris Tomlin CD's for Christmas. The Christmas CD is so beautiful! I also got a new MP3 player and docking station so I can hear my music and audible books in the kitchen and the car. Perfect! The kids all seem happy with the gifts they got. We have 2 more students coming to our party tomorrow. I have some cooking and cleaning to do.

One thing I've observed   about my adopted kids is they get sad around birthdays and Christmas.  They want so much not to be disappointed, and they don't really believe they will get the gifts they hoped for.  Thomas was always the worst.  I would have to ask him exactly what he wanted, buy it, wrap it, show him the box, and still he did not believe he would get it.  He was almost 7 years old when he was adopted.  In that time of waiting for a family, he suffered allot of disappointed hopes.  It is so hard to hope.  And for me, it's hard.  I want to surprise them, and not disappoint them, but not spoil them with 100% of everything they had been dreaming of.  Philip and Thomas have gotten better about holiday expectations.  But Sarah had such a long face at breakfast today.  It was like she was already trying to comfort herself because she did not really get what she wanted.  I don't ever recall feeling that way as a kid....

I just spent 4 1/2 hours shopping with Nicole.  Now Juergen is out shopping with the kids.  He always takes them to the Hardware store for my gift.  I guess its the only store he knows his way around!  It’s the last day of the Heidelberg Christmas market.  I never got around to going.  I think that's kind of sad.  People travel from around the world to see it, and I just found myself too busy again.  But I am getting excited about the vacation!  Juergen has 2 weeks off, and I am so happy about the break. We did get a reply back on our Christmas party.  So far we will have 4 students from Myanmar   (Burma)  and one friend from Germany.  We may have a few more guests, but with our family of 7, 5 guests is a good number.  And I'm finally getting excited about things.  It's no fun to work hard cooking, cleaning and shopping when you don't know anyone is coming.  So our family Christmas is scheduled for tomo...

I have a party planned for December 24th (Christmas Eve) but I'm still not sure anyone is coming.  I'm not really sure what to do about that.  I may end up canceling the party?  And we had planned to go to Juergen's dads house on December 25th.  But now Richard is feeling stressed about having us there (all 7 of us).  I have to admit I was so surprised he agreed to our coming.  So it's no surprise to me he is having 2nd thoughts about the plan.  We are now thinking about going the first week in January when the kids are in camp.  Then it will be 4 of us instead of 7.  But if that is still too stressful, Juergen will go by himself.  The kids were looking forwards to seeing their Opa, but we want to bless him.  If it's too stressful for him, we will do what ever he wants.  He is getting very old.  And it's easy for us to adjust.  Today the kids had their last day of school.  The vacation is 2 weeks long.  Ju...

If the world ends tomorrow, what will you do today?   I'm going to clean my house, cook lunch for my kids, and keep getting ready for Christmas. I’ll taxi my kids around all afternoon.   And do laundry.     If it really all ends I'm just happy with who I am. I love my man, I love my kids, I love my house and every good thing God has given me.   I’ve seen the world.   I’ve done great things.   It could all end and I would be at peace! Jesus is my Lord and King.   I don’t think it’s going to end tomorrow but I’m ready.

Juergen hired a van and picked up the sofa and 2 chairs I bought on eBay.  The boys helped him move everything.  They both failed to put something in my advent calendar, so I said they could help Juergen and that would be my gift.  And it was a gift!  Gifts are funny things.  Some people are good at gifts, and others have challenges in this area.  I'm afraid my dear husband is gift challenged.  But really only on the "special" days like birthdays and Christmas.  He never really knows what to give me when he has to give me something.  But if you know him, you know he is very generous.  He is always doing stuff for me.  Like renting this van to pick up my stuff.  This year I've made Christmas even more difficult for Juergen.  We are having our family Christmas on Sunday Dec 23rd.  We are doing it a day early so we can open our house to International students on Dec 24th.  And so normally Juergen would do his sh...

I wanted to buy Jessica a new TV chair for Christmas. I found 2 leather chairs and a sofa for 1 Euro on eBay. Someone in Heidelberg is moving this week and needed to sell these things right away. So now Juergen needs to rent a truck and pick them up. But the sofa and coffee table will go in Sarah's bedroom. She can read on the sofa, and color and play Lego on the table. And Jessica gets 2 over stuffed leather chairs for her TV room. Pretty good!

None of us is perfect but some of us are givers and some not so much. I'm having trouble teaching one of my boys how to give. He sits around expecting the world but does not consider me at all. Maybe that’s normal for the age but I can not help seeing it as a bad thing. And it's not like I need anything. I am worried about a lack of character. I want my kids to be happy. You can not be happy if you are only a taker. So I demand they give, but that is only leading to rebellion. But I'm praying some level of understanding will enter the mind of my thick headed son. It's better to learn this lesson now. I don't want his wife walking out on him because he is a selfish jerk. I'm not sure how much responsibility a parent can take for selfish kids. But my kids are spoiled, and maybe this is my fault?

We are thinking about a used car for Nicole & Jessica to share. This is an old ad for the A class Mercedes but gives good detail about the car. It is the safest older small car on the road. You can not find a 10 year old car that is more safe. And because we live in Germany there are allot of these cars for a pretty good price.

You can tell I'm very tired. I spelled workshop with out the k. Jessica's wonderful teacher took these pictures today. Jess is doing wonderfully at the workshop. She even saw 2 new born sheep today. They were born very late in the season & must be kept inside all winter. Jess also eat lunch with the others today. This was a first. She gets stressed out in crowds, and doesn't like being in groups. But today she eat with the group. Little by little she is happy there. Her new teacher is wonderful with her. Sadly for Jessica, there is a very long Christmas break. So I am guessing there will be some ground to recover in January. But her teacher is talking about working with the I Pad. That could be exciting as Jessica learns how to communicate. I'm excited because Juergen is on his way home. God willing we will see him first thing in the morning. It will be such a relief to have him home. I have not slept well at all.

Nicole’s professor was complaining about the cost of everything in Switzerland. And everything there is very expensive. He said, "Nicole, why don't you paint something about that". I don't think he was serious, but she did anyway. It's sort of the old conman on the street corner "hey buddy you want to buy a watch". All these watches are Swiss. It's just a joke, but I think it's pretty cute! Comic style. And her Star wars sculpture of Greedo is nearly finished too.

When I was a kid I wanted to be a football player or a lawyer. I wasn't very good at sewing things . And my sewing machine has been borrowed by lots of people, hardly used by me. Sarah has the role of Mary (the mother of Jesus). I got a note saying that I should make her a costume. I'm thinking "what"!!! Who do you think I am? I'm not my mom, or my sisters. They are good at that. I'm good at other things. Should teachers assume parents have sewing skills? And I got a 3 days notice. So I dusted off the machine and started to tear up an old sheet. Thank God Sarah looks good in anything. I'm sure more then one grandmother, and mother will shake their head at my poor work. But I must say Sarah looks sweet anyway. Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new, This Child that you delivered ...

Nicole and I are trying to eat gluten free. I feel better. I would like to get my whole family g free.

My Mom, Dad, sisters and brother and their families got together for an early Christmas last night. Sadly I wasn't there. It would have been nice to have been there or even skypet them. I'm going to have to set up skype on our big screen TV so we can have a video chat. That would be really cool! I guess that's one goal for the next year. I have not heard from Juergen yet. I have not read any news of airline crashes so I'm guessing he got to America OK. It was a very long trip. He flew to Chicago then had a 5 hour layover before flying to Arkansas. He works there for 3 days then travels home. 2 long travel days for 3 days of work. We miss him! I got all the kids off to school. We have some fresh snow. I had to scrap the windows off the cars. All the little things Juergen generally does. He really is so wonderful! But now the house is quite. Nicole is still asleep. I should get some stuff done. I have a dirty house, loads of laundry, and no food to co...

It's snowing. Philip is walking around like someone has died. He wanted to go swimming with the youth group at church. But now the road is so icy, Juergen will not drive the kids to church. The swimming was canceled and the kids are playing board games instead. But we are staying home. It's not a good night to drive. It's certainly not worth risking your life for board games at church. Instead we will have pizza and movies. And I built gingerbread houses with Sarah. Mine didn't turn out well. The frosting was too runny. I ran out of powdered sugar. We used Nutella. It was messy but fun! I'm not eating gingerbread or pizza (sadly) because of the gluten.

Juergen, Thomas and I bought a live Christmas tree last night. It is a Abies nordmanniana, the Nordmann Fir. Our tree is about 4 feet tall. I think we can place it on a small table and decorate it for this year. Then I'll transplant it, and use it again for a few more years. When it grows too big, I'll either cut it down and donate it to our church, or just keep it in the garden. We don't have many trees. And in the mean time, I am ordering a few seedlings of this same tree. I'll plant my own small tree farm. In 4 to 5 years I'll start using trees I planted as seedlings. I can get 4 year old seedling for only 1 Euro. A cut tree cost 35 Euro. So God willing, I will get 10 years worth of trees for less then the price of one cut tree. And when my trees get too big, I'll have trees to give to my church. The angle on the top of my tree is from the 1900 Nuremberg Christmas market. The Christkindlesmarkt "Christ Child Market" is the most ...

Today is "Sankt Nikolaus" day in Germany. The tradition is to put a boot in the front of your door. If you are good you get cookies and candy, and if you are bad you get a tree branch. We put plates of cookies and candy on the kitchen table along with one gift. Sarah and Thomas both got trading cards. Thomas collects soccer cards, and Sarah collects Star wars cards. Philip got a ucalaly. It's not a toy, but a very good instrument. So maybe we will be hearing somewhere over the rainbow very soon! Jessica gave a gift to her teacher. She was so excited to give a gift. And she went with the others at the workshop to visit a small zoo. And she pet the goats. Trust me, that is a huge step forward! I spent the morning with Nicole shopping. And for me that was a nice  gift!   Philip and Thomas are both home from school now. Philip thanked me for his gift when he walked in the door. Thomas didn't thank me, but maybe he will someday? We all have areas we n...

Today the mailman delivered my baby redwood tree. It's only 1 meter high, but it will grow. There are 3 kinds of redwood trees. The giant sequoia , The coast redwood, and the Chinese redwood or Dawn redwood. The first 2 get a little too big for my garden. The Dawn redwood will also get very big , up to 60 meters high (but most likely 30 to 40 meters high). We are so excited about our new tree! I wonder if I should keep it in the house until the spring. I lost 2 trees last winter because of the cold. I wouldn't worry about it if it was established. It's a rare tree, I don't want to lose it.

Juergen and I are rereading this book. Juergen gets the 4th book "The Pale Horse" for Christmas.

I went to Sarah's school coffee. Juergen lost the invitation, and told me it was at 2pm. So I got there at 1:45 to find out it started at 1pm. And Sarah was in the Christmas play, as Mary. I missed it! But she wasn't upset about it. She was just glad I came. I'm glad she was not upset. I had a good talk with her math teacher. I'm still not sure she is making it in the 3rd grade. I told her teachers we will decide in January if we will put her back in the 2nd grade. The homework is just so stressful for her. There is just so much stress a person can handle. I think her weak foundation in German just hurts her. I don't feel it would be bad to get more grounded in math and German. She is a smart girl, and we think she will go much farther in the long run if she really understands the basics. It snowed today but nothing stuck to the ground. I think I might be getting a cold. I feel very tired. I need to drink more juice.

I am going with Sarah to a Christmas coffee at her school tomorrow. We baked some cookies. Nicole and I are trying to go gluten free, so I'm also baking a pumpkin cornbread. It smells pretty good in my house.

The origins of the Advent calendar come from German Lutherans who, at least as early as the beginning of the 19th century, would count down the first 24 days of December physically. Often this meant simply drawing a chalk line on the door each day, beginning on December 1. Some families had more elaborate means of marking the days, such as lighting a new candle or hanging a little religious picture on the wall each day. I made advent calendars for everyone in the house. The boys are getting candy, and some money to buy music for their iPod. Sarah and Nicole get Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck magazine’s from 1989-1991. I bought a very large stack of them on eBay. I also bought notebooks and plastic folders to hold them in. I was going to give the magazines to Jessica, but she wasn't interested in them. Jessica picked out a candy calendar in the store. So Jessica gets gummy bears. And I wrote 24 days of "things I Like about Juergen". So each day Juergen can read on...

I was thinking about buying a potted tree for Christmas that I could plant in my garden. So I looked at 2 stores today. I didn't find anything I really liked. Then I looked online at trees. I found the Chinese tree dawn redwood or Metasequoia glyptostroboides. It is a very cool tree! It is a smaller redwood then what you would find on the coast of Northern California, but still it gets pretty large. And it drops it's needles in the winter. So it's bright green in the spring, dark green in the summer, and red in the fall. And the branches are really interesting. Sort of like a giant bonsai tree. I have the spot for one giant tree in my garden. So I bought this tree on Amazon. The tree I got is one meter (3 feet) tall. It can get to be giant 50+ meters high and 3 to 4 meters around. And it does not mind the cold. I don’t think we will be using it for a Christmas tree, but I just got myself an early gift.

Juergen and the kids are bringing the Christmas decorations down from the attic. I have more decorations then I need. I'm hoping to put up the things I want to keep, and give the rest to the secondhand shop. I'm also thinking about buying a live tree this year. We have a spot in the garden for one large evergreen. So now I need to find the right tree. Something on the blue side I think!