The Heymann Family Journal

This is Nicole singing Amazing Grace. Now that our house warming party is over I'm thinking about New Years Eve. I would really love to have another party on New Years Eve. This time I want to have a pot luck, and worship night. When I was growing up, we would have candle light services on New Years Eve, praying in the New year. I would really love that.

You tube disabled the audio from this video because of copyrights. And if I can get the permission I'll post some very cool BW photo's of the band. These side show photo's were taken by my friend Ralf. Thank you Ralf! You are great!

The heater stopped working. Our big house is very cold. We just found out that our oil tank needs to be filled. It would not bother us much if we expected it. But the past owner said the tank was full. I guess they either lied or had the oil pumped out. It was their oil. We never got a written statement that the oil went with the house. We just didn't expect this. But we are able to get oil today. The price is even pretty good. So God willing the house will be warm for the party. And as for the past owners? God bless them. I'm sorry they lost their beautiful house. I'm sad for them. They should not have said that the tank was full. I really would have bought the house with or with out the oil. It's going to hurt our budget, but we will be OK. I'm just glad we are able to get oil at such a good price ...and right away.

The big party is in 2 days. Most of the cooking is done. I need to clean the house and set up things inside the tent. Juergen is taking a half day off tomorrow. Really, it should be fine. I guess it's like everything else I do. I clean the kitchen, but it doesn't stay clean. I vacuumed the floors but they get dirty fast. So most everything will need to be done again on Saturday. But Saturday I'm also cooking the rice, potato's and noodles. I'm finishing the dishes I've made this week. So I wish I could clean now and trust it would stay clean. But that's just not my reality. I'm sure Juergen and Nicole will help me finish the work in time for the party. And I really hope I can calm down and manage to enjoy the whole event. Next time I'm having a pot luck. I'm not sorry I cooked all week. You only turn 50 once. But I don't think I'll ever do this again. The weather isn’t very good either. I wish it was warmer and clearer...

Most of the people that ask about our house in Leimen are realtors. But we got to show it to a very nice family today. They are going to check with the bank and see if they can afford it. Juergen also shows it 2 times tomorrow to real families, not real-estate agents. I'm hoping it sells soon. But I'm encouraged by the new interest. Thank God interest rates have even gone down. That will make it cheaper for a family to buy it. We also got allot of work done on the yard today. Our party is in a week. I’m getting very excited about it. It will be a very good party I hope. Even the weather is suppose to be nice. It’s good to work hard (and we have worked very hard for months and months). And after the hard work, it’s great to celebrate!

In Germany look here... http://www.geschenke-der-hoffnung.org/index.php?id=69 packages need to be in by Nov 15th.

Juergen and Philip got the tent up. It's awesome! I think we can fit 80 people in there. And I think that's about how many people will be at our party (between 60 and 80 people). The kids and I cleaned the driveway. We pulled weeds, moved potted plants and swept. We also started cleaning out both garages. Maybe we can finish that job this weekend. There are 3 people looking at our house (God willing more) this weekend. We have seen much more interest. I guess people are now pulling money out of stocks and investing in houses. Heidelberg area is a good place to invest. So we are more hopeful we can sell the house soon. It's all grace! Today is the last day of the fall vacation. Monday all the kids go back to school (including Jessica). It will probably take awhile before Jessica can attend school (the workshop) full time. Until then, I have to drive her back and forth. But she is pretty bored at home. Hopefully she is ready for a life outside of the house. ...

The jumbo party tent came today. The party is in about 10 days. I really should wait to put up the tent. But the kids have vacation this week. My boys need to build real stuff (not just Lego). So I'm letting them put up the tent. I hope we don't get any bad storms that blow the tent away! That's a risk I'm taking! The boys need real jobs, they need to grow up. Philip is really getting into building real stuff. He built the trampoline, and the sofa sleeper. I wish I could find him a part time job building things. It would be so good for him!

So today is Halloween. It's a holiday that's only just catching on in Germany. My kids went back to Leimen where the trick or treating is pretty good. I was prepared to hand out candy but we only got one group of teenagers at our door (none wearing a costume). So in the end, I have 2 times as much candy as I started with! I'm pretty sure the kids do not mind! Nicole and I watched the movie "Miss Potter". Loved it! I also got a DVD of "the Kings Speech" for my birthday. So now I'm going to watch that. Tomorrow is a holiday in Germany. We get to sleep in.

This looks really good.

We are trying this in the oven.

I had a strong impression a year ago. It was out of the blue…I was not praying or anything. It was almost like a flash of a TV screen before my eyes. I saw tanks on the streets of America. And there were really bad race riots. Something bad had happened. It was on Nov 3, 2011 at 10am. I don’t know what to make of this. It was nearly a year ago, but Nov. 3, 2011 is next week. I hope it was nothing. I’m praying it’s just my wild imagination. I believe in prophecy. I’m not a trained prophet. John Paul Jackson says that God gives some people a gift of prophecy. And that that’s basically the ear to hear Gods voice. God is the signal, we just have the equipment to pick up the signal. I don’t want to see riots on the streets of America. And I hope I’m wrong about this. Maybe I saw it to pray it does not happen. But just in case, I’m writing it down before hand.

We get to show the house this weekend. I hope we can finally sell it. It would be so nice to not think about it anymore. That would be such a grace!

I got the funniest birthday note on face book. It said welcome to the top of the hill, from there you can see forever. That made me laugh out loud! 50 is a pretty big number. To be honest with you, 30 was much more traumatic. I think the thing that's killing me is I thought I would be wise by now. But I have 2 teenage sons, and raising them makes me feel like an idiot. Oh I need perspective. The thing I've been meditating on in the month or so leading up to this big day is the need to live in the now. To really take the time to taste, smell, and feel totally in the moment. I can not manage to stop the clock, but I can appreciate the treasures of the day. And there really are amazing gifts every single day. The down side to living fully in the now is, each drama my teenage sons play out before me feels far too wearing. So now I realize with them I need to be able to appreciate what is there and trust that God will develop them into men of worth. You appreciate the...

Jessica broke the frame on her new black iron bed. I'm not 100% sure Thomas put it together right. It was not very well made. But anyway, it bent so bad that it can not hold the box spring. I went to IKEA and bought her a new frame. Now I'm thinking about making a "flower bed" out of the old frame. I have seen photo's of this idea. I think it's cute garden art. I could just through the frame out but I might as well use it. I'm thinking "bed of roses". What do you think? Maybe with red roses, lavender and clematis? It's a black iron bed but I guess I already wrote that. I'm getting old! I turn 50 tomorrow. That seems unreal! But some of the best people I know are already 50+, so I guess I'll manage it too.

I keep praying for a buyer.

The new pro-life documentary "180" is gaining national attention with its message that compares abortion to Hitler and the Holocaust. Christian TV star and street evangelist Ray Comfort said he felt pro-choice advocates needed a radical message. Every life has worth, but Jesus died for us all. He forgives even abortion.

I took Nicole and Jessica out to breakfast today. Afterwards we shopped. Everything in the store is covered with Christmas lights already. I'm planning on stringing lights inside the party tent too. We want to attach this paper table cloth stuff to the tent ceiling first, then the lights and maybe some fall decorations. And I also bought this hot air generator that runs on gas. It can generate a good blast of heat so our tent will be cozy! I hope it isn’t very loud! Maybe we can also string lights on the trampoline? We want to cover the garden with lanterns. There will also be a bon fire. I bought marshmallows yesterday. I need to find some sticks or something so we can roast the marshmallows. I hope it doesn't rain. I’m glad we still have a few weeks to pull everything together. I’m looking forward to this party!

We still want to sell our house. I don't know if that means we will not rent the house, just not yet. Instead I studied the traffic on our house for sale blog. Most of the traffic came from one newspaper and not the internet site I thought was so good. We stopped advertizing in that paper a few months ago. I decided to place a new add in that paper. I also dropped the price to 299,000 Euro. That is a 11,000 Euro reduction in price. Hopefully we can now find a buyer. We are taking a loss at this price. And if we still can not sell I guess we will rent. I'm not at all worried. I could be happy if we sold the house, or rent the house. I have peace and I just want direction and wisdom.

Juergen and I have pretty much decided to sell the house in Leimen if we can. But the market is poor, and we haven't shown it once in 2 months. Not very encouraging! We have been encouraged by friends to get a realtor involved in the process. I'm pretty sure they would just drop the price to get a buyer. We could manage that ourselves (dropping the price I mean). Today a friend from church said they knew of an American family that really needs a house to rent for 3 years. So what should we do? Keep paying the mortgage for an unknown period of time, or rent? I'm inclined to rent. I realize the housing market may get even worse in the future. Military families could leave with short notice. But they pay top money for rent, pay big deposits, and have to give you 3 months notice if they leave...or pay 3 months rent. So a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. If it's a nice family I am inclined to rent. I can trust God with the future. None of us knows what...