The Heymann Family Journal

We are visiting Juergen's dad. I wish you all a safe and blessed New Year!!!

Erma Bombeck - Another Christmas season bites the dust (Editor's Note: The following column is one of 195 included in ''Forever, Erma'' (Andrews and McMeel), a recently published collection of the best-loved writing from America's favorite humorist, Erma Bombeck. This column originally appeared Jan. 1, 1987.) You say you've had enough people around to last you a lifetime? You say if you don't get some time to yourself you may start braiding your hair and humming? You'd like to clear everyone out of the house and be able to have some quiet time alone? Read my lips and slowly repeat after me: ''I am going to take the Christmas tree down.'' You will only have to say it once and feet will scurry, doors will slam, car motors will turn over. In 30 seconds you'll feel like the last person on Earth. No one loves a Christmas tree on Jan. 1. The wonderful soft branches that the family couldn't wait to get inside to smell have turned int

Christmas Truce On Christmas Day in 1914, German and British troops held a temporary ceasefire known as the 'Christmas Truce'. Both sides sang carols, exchanged Christmas greetings and gifts, and there are even stories of soccer matches taking place. In the above photo, German troops decorate a tree in their trench.

Once a year Juergen and the kids make me breakfast. Today is that day. They are downstairs cutting oranges for fresh juice and toasting English muffins for the eggs Benedict. Juergen and I ate this same breakfast 19 years ago on Christmas; we were married only 2 months. We have had the same breakfast every year since. It is our tradition. A few years ago I stopped making the breakfast, and now Juergen does it with the kids. I like that part of change! Thomas calls the hollandaise sauce Holiday sauce (cute). My mouth is watering….I love tradition!

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The pictures didn't turn out so good. My camera doesn't work well in low light. We had fun and the kids all got what they had hoped for. Juergen was kept very busy making sure everyone had batteries and that the software was instilled. I cooked dinner and cleaned up afterwards. I know it doesn't sound fun for mom and dad. But it was really nice to just listen to the kids so happy playing and laughing. I imagine one day Juergen and I will be alone at Christmas. That will be nice in its way, but I'm sure I would miss these days. As Erma Bombeck once wrote... "There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child." Today I am very tired. I finally got Juergen's cold. I am going to crash. I hope your day is wonderful! I look forward to calling my family in America. I wish we were together.

Juergen took the kids to Church while I get the tree ready with the gifts. We open our gifts on Christmas Eve. We do not tell the kids the gifts came from Santa or the Christ child, they come from us. We give gifts because the wise men gave gifts to bless Jesus. Tonight when they get home we will all light a candle and say what we want to give Jesus this year. This will be hard for Philip, Thomas and Sarah but it's a tradition we want to start tonight. I've got time, and prayers to give him. I also want to read the whole Bible in 2009. I also want to teach my kids more about Jesus. Maybe next year this will not be so hard for them. Then they get the gifts and later we will eat. A funny story I want to write down before I forget... Juergen went to the store today to buy us this special hair dryer and a juicer. The hairdryer helps you fight lice. It dries out the bugs and the eggs. Sarah gave us all lice this past week. We washed everything, and used a special sham

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I shopped and now I am ready to drop! I got all (God willing) the food a family of 7 need for a week of celebration. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THE STORE for awhile. I am DONE, FINISHED, RETIRED, on VACTION!!! What will we eat? Well, I have had Mexican food every Christmas Eve of my life. My Dad's family is from Mexico . I don't have tamales but we do have the stuff to make corn tortillas. We also have Sauer Braten with red cabbage and mashed potatoes on Christmas day. German's celebrate two days of Christmas. On the morning of the 26Th we will eat (God willing) eggs benedict with Hollandaise sauce, and fresh squeezed orange juice. What special things do you eat for Christmas?

I had the kids help me with the cleaning today. Philip cleaned the bathrooms, Thomas helped mop, Nicole vacuumed, and Sarah helped dust the stairs. It's amazing how good they work two days before Christmas. I've never seen such a happy cooperative work crew!!! They know Mom buys the gifts!!! I finally get some respect!

HERE is the Global Rich list. According to this list, we are in the top 1% richest people on the planet. The truth is, you probably are in this group too. Most of the world lives on less then $5 per day. To whom much is given much is required. How do you spend your money? $8 could buy you 15 organic apples OR 25 fruit trees for farmers in Honduras to grow and sell fruit at their local market. $30 could buy you an ER DVD Box set OR a First Aid kit for a village in Haiti. $73 could buy you a new mobile phone OR a new mobile health clinic to care for AIDS orphans in Uganda. $2400 could buy you a second generation High Definition TV OR schooling for an entire generation of school children in an Angolan village. I don't know who is behind the global rich list, but I encourage you to think about what you have. Chances are, you have a lot. Give some of it to the poor. Buy one of our tie dyed bags , or give some to another good cause. You are rich. Your money, even

I hope you will visit my new fundraiser blog and order a Tie Dye bag. 100% of the money made from the sale of these bags will go to the Christian Care Foundation for Disabled orphans in Thailand. All the important information is on THIS WEBSITE . My 5 kids will be doing tie dye over Christmas vacation. They will each dye 10 bags (all signed and numbered). If you order a bag you can request one from Jessica, Nicole, Thomas, Philip, or Sarah. The bags cost only $5.00 each + shipping. You are also welcome to donate more money because it all goes to help make life better for disabled orphans in Thailand.

Philip and Nicole both need eye glasses. Philips eyes have changed radically. Nicole has never had glasses before. Her right eye has gotten weak. I think she will look cool in glasses.

Juergen took Philip and Jessica to a specialist for a QEEG (brain map). You can find out many things about what is working and not working in the brain. Certain disorders like ADHD have a pattern that shows up on a QEEG. Philip had a surprisingly normal brain with an average IQ (104). He does not have ADHD. There is only one area of his brain not working well. This has everything to do with language processing. We do not know why this area doesn't work, just that it doesn't. Every other area of his brain is healthy. That is very good news. Now we can really focus on the why, and how to treat it. He goes to another clinic in January. This information should help us focus on an effective treatment for Philips learning problem. I am surprised he doesn't have ADHD and that he is so much smarter then he is testing. This is great news!!! Jessica did not cooperate with the full testing. We only really know we could do Neurofeedback therapy with her. They did man

We got our tree. German's often don't get the tree until Dec 24Th. I like to enjoy it longer. I tried to get a few pictures of the kids by the tree. The batteries in my camera were fading so this is what I managed.

It is made of hard plastic. It is old, maybe 1940's? It's missing the sheep and I think an angle from the box it came in. They always gave Mary blond hair in Europe. I have a wooden Nativity that’s made from olive wood. It was made in Bethlehem. A good friend gave it to me as a gift. I actually keep it up all year around. I like this plastic set. I was telling Sarah the story of the wise men bringing baby Jesus gifts for Christmas. We tell our kids this is why we give each other gifts on Christmas.

Thomas,who is from Thailand made this bag in school. I'm wondering if I couldn't get some really high quality shopping bags that the kids could Thai dye and we could sell them as a fund raiser for an orphanage in Thailand we know that helps disabled kids?

You can buy this sort of thing for your yard. I think it would look great in my back yard. I have a very small garden but this would make it really special!!

This after noon (for over 5 hours) I took care of a classmate of one of my sons. This kids mom is getting a divorce because her husband beats her. Last year a friend of Sarah’s moved after his mom got divorced for the same reason. Every bone in my body hurts. It's half from the stress of caring for this kid. He is a nice kid, but hyper active and probably pretty stressed from what is happening. I'm also stressed at the idea of a man hitting the women he is supposed to love and protect. I could not be a counselor. I just could not bear the emotional pain too many people carry. To be honest with you, I don't even like being around parents of disabled kids. Most of them stress me out. Too many of them lack hope. I can not carry them. My hands are already full. Part of the reason I adopt is because it turns a sad situation into a situation of hope. It's what I can manage. I could never handle the pain of so many. My heart breaks. I'm sure we will have

Juergen had a full weekend. On Saturday he put up Christmas lights with the kids. They are pretty simple by American standards but we are very pleased with the results. On Sunday he took a walk with Nicole in Mannheim. They went up the TV tower and also watched some knights fighting by the river. He's such a great dad!!!

I just bought a collection of classic Christmas stories on MP3 . You can buy it on Audible.com It is over 5hours of great listening. Now I'm going to grab a cup of tea and turn on my new electric fireplace and listen to a Christmas Carol! Juergen put up the lights. The gifts are all wrapped. I'm getting ready to enjoy the season!!! No stress! "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, Read by Tom Casaletto "The Gift of the Magic" by O. Henry, Read by Dick Hill "Is There a Santa Claus? (Yes, Virginia...)" by Frank P. Church, Read by J. Charles "A Visit from Saint Nicholas ('Twas the Night Before Christmas)" by Clement C. Moore, Read by Bill Weideman "A Winter Walk" by Henry David Thoreau, Read by Jean Reed-Bahle "The Seven Poor Travelers" by Charles Dickens, Read by Michael Page "The Fir Tree" by Hans Christian Andersen, Read by Sandra Burr "Santa Claus at Simpson's Bar"

The only "normal" thing we have for Thanksgiving was pie. We had apple and pumpkin pie. I have made maybe 5 pies in my whole life. I never was much of a cook. They actually turned out well. I also made real whip cream. It was great! We had a very nice dinner. After dinner we watched Prince Caspian on DVD.

I always find it odd being in Germany on Thanksgiving Day. While my family is getting ready to gather together for the feast I was at the Doctors with Philip all morning. We are trying to figure out why he has learning problems, and why his hands are so weak, and why he has speech problems. I got a hand full of referrals to specialists. The first was an audiologist. I went to the audiologist to get an appointment. The next appointment is in May 2009! No kidding!!! I took the appointment, but I will look around for something sooner. My feet hurt from walking from one clinic to the next. I basically got nothing done. Now I am making our traditional Thanksgiving turkey soup. I never actually go to the expense and trouble of cooking a whole turkey. Actually, my stove is so small I don't think I could fit a turkey in it! I cook a turkey soup with potatoes and vegetables. We eat bread and salad. I'm going to try to make an apple and pumpkin pie too. Some of the Thanks

God is a friend of the poor...are you? This is the new Compassion Art CD. I hope I can buy this at the Delirious concert. You can buy it online at WH Smith Store in the UK. I think it will be available in the US next year?

Juergen got us tickets to see Delirious. They are on their goodbye tour. The concert is near Frankfurt next week. Now I just have to find a babysitter. Our faithful babysitter just got a job out of town and we need someone new.

This is an angel for the top of a tree. It was made in Nürnberg in the year 1900 so it is 108 years old. Cool!!! It has survived 2 world wars. I hope it can survive us!!!

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"Thousands of anti-government protesters partially shut down Bangkok's main international airport, some armed with golf clubs and long wooden sticks. All departing flights are canceled but officials said incoming flights would be allowed to land". -CNN I personally would not mind being stuck in Thailand for awhile! The last time we were there we missed our flight home. We forgot the days and just missed the flight by a day. That last day was very expensive but worth it!!! I would love to escape this dark cold Germany and go get stuck in Thailand!!!

I saw this on a friends blog. Oh it is so sad!!! Zogby Poll of 512 Obama Voters from 11/13/08-11/15/08 97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates The results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions 57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing) 71.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing) 82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing) 88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing) 56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing). And yet..... Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes Only 6.2% failed to

We have made real progress with Thomas this year. He has ADHD and now controls it with drugs. The drugs are a life saver. He is a different person. The main side effect for him is that it is hard for him to sleep. We are working on getting an adjustment to his medication. Hopefully he is "out of the woods". Philip on the other hand is in a deep hole. We think he might be dyslexic. If anyone knows about this let me hear from you. We are on a list for a clinic that does diagnostic work on many levels. It may take until March to get an appointment. I continue to work with him on his reading program (fast forwards). It helps but only a little. He really still can not read. It is a painful process. I think I will try to get him a full QEEG (brain map). I would love to do hyperbaric oxygen therapy with him but insurance will not pay for it. If I can get a PET scan then I will at least know if he has a blood flow problem in his brain. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy hel

We had snow on the ground this morning. I can hardly believe it's already acting like winter. The winds have been very strong and cold. Juergen got me an electric fireplace for my birthday. I also got a mantle for an early Christmas gift. Isn't it beautiful? It sits in my bedroom. I am loving to lay in bed and listen to books on mp3. What a great way to de stress!!! Now I just need to get Juergen to paint my bedroom. A bedroom should be more then just a extra storage room. That is what my bedroom has looked like for years (a storage room). I’m working on it!!!

Coming to our house for Christmas

John Paul Jackson discusses strange and heavenly events on earth.

We sat around the breakfast table this morning trying to come up with a name for our new car. It's a big car so we want some kind of fat name. Thomas kept interrupting us talking about helicopters. He is obsessed with helicopters. It gets kind of irritating when all someone wants to talk about is helicopters or another subject like, politics! I'm so glad the election is over!!! Anyway, we thought of Monstro the whale from Pinocchio, Aunt Fannie the robot from the movie Robots, and The Arch as in Noah’s Arch. I like The Arch because our car is a big boat and it's always filled with wild animals. Have any name ideas?