Joanne Heim

When School is Out (Toben)

It is most noticeable in the mornings. As I write this, Joanne is still moving in and out of sleep. Emma just got up a few minutes ago but is still in bed playing with the iPad. Audrey is still asleep and will probably remain so for the next couple of hours--that girls can sleep in! Of course she was probably up until midnight doing some form of crafting. But the point it that is is quiet. Normal mornings are noisy! Everyone is up and moving. Breakfast is being prepared and eaten, outfits are chosen and put on. Hair is getting done (or maybe not). Teeth are being brushed, etc.. But this morning, on the second official day of summer vacation the house is utterly silent.

I love it!

We got the girls their pool passes this weekend. That means either one of them can go to the neighborhood pools by themselves whenever they want. Emma went once and it wasn't particularly warm and it was particularly breezy. So I dropped her off and told her to call me when she was ready to come home and that I would come get her. So about 5 minutes after I am home I get the call, "Dad, I'm freezing!" Looks like she jumped the gun on the pool thing just a little bit. But there will be many fun days at the pool in the future. The main pool is not the most handicapped friendly place but I think we can still get Joanne there without too much trouble. The other pool is a peice of cake.

Prayer Requests:

1. Praise: Joanne is sleeping better over the past few weeks then she ever has. What a blessing for both of us!

2.. Making some big decisions about school next year for the girls. I can't get a hold of the right person at Denver Christian to see what the deal is with our financial aid packet but I am guessing that Emma will end up back at DC and Audrey might give Cherry Creek a try. We have started that conversation with Audrey but still have a lot of ground to cover before she would be OK with that. Please pray that God directs! I would desperately love to keep both kids at DC but it just might not be possible.

3. Please pray for traveling mercies for both my mom and Joanne's folks. Both are at funereals this week--my mom for her Dad and Gran and Papa for their brother in law. These are sad time when you lose loved ones. Pray for thier spirits as they celecbrate the lives of these two men and give them comfort.

Toben

Sad News (Toben)

Last night my 92 year-old grandfather passed away after relatively normal hip replacement surgery. HE woke up after the operation and asked for a root-beer float. The doctor said he didn't think that was a great idea. So my Papa said, "What about a glass of buttermilk?" Again, denied. So they wheeled him back to his room, he fell asleep and a couple of hours later they think a clot went to his heart and he passed away, very peacefully.

It is too late tonight to go into more detail and there is so much else that happened today (like Audrey's graduation) that I want to share, but I really need to go to bed.

Prayer request:

Please pray for our entire extended family as we grieve the loss of this great man.

More soon.

Toben

Update (Toben)

Just checking in. Here's what's gone on for the last week:

Joanne's folks are off on an adventure to visit dear Cousin Francis in Memphis. I think she is 96 and still sharp as a tack. Talked to them yesterday and they were in Hot Springs Arkansas. They get back this weekend.

Joanne got her foot x-ray yesterday. There is some concern that she either has some ligament issues or perhaps a small hairline fracture in a couple of her toes. Her bone density is really low having spent so much time in a cast. The doctor should look at the x-ray in the next couple of days and will get back to us. Hoping for an answer that is actionable because her toes really hurt!

Splurged yesterday and got Joanne a mani-pedi. She told me I might want to bring a long something to read as it might take a little while. It ended up taking two hours! But she felt pampered and very pleased so it was worth it. Took a couple of us to work on her left hand as it wants to curl in on itself but the nail tech was very patient and we got 'er done!

We had a stray cat adopt Emma this week. Emma named her Leslie--I have no idea why. But anytime your kid names an animal you're in trouble. Leslie has hung around for the last week and she is scaring our baby bunnies so we carted her off today to the Buddy Center (Dumb Friends League) in Castle Rock. She is a very sweet cat but...

...we have to protect our bunnie family that lives under our deck. They have been with us since we bought the house and we really treat them like pets even though they aren't domesticated. We feed them some veggie scraps and name them and generally enjoy having them as neighbors. Couldn't have a cat around messing with their turf!

Went to estes Park last week with my mom and dad and Bethany. They rented us a house just outside of town that was perfect! Dad, Beth and I got to go on a beautiful hike. The last half mile was snow field. I did OK on the way up but came down on my rear! Slipped, fell and got snow up my shorts where generally you don't want snow to be! After I stopped and stood up I did a very interesting dance to get the snow out of my pants! But still the weather and the scenery were amazing!

Emma and I got to go fishing. Day one: no luck. Day two: we landed a small trout. But that's all it takes to satisfy Emma and results in a win for her in her battle against the little trout on what she has claimed as "our fishing spot." Joanne and Beth sat by the river and enjoyed the great outdoors and cheered us on. It was so beautiful and I know Joanne enjoyed being out and about, especially in such a beautiful spot. Hoping to get some more time up there this summer but they are re-doing the roads in Rocky Mountain National Park and traffic, even on a slow day, was a nightmare! This summer is going ot be a hot mess for visitors.

Got our initial financial aid offer from Denver Christian. Not good. I have exchanged some emails and we are going to see if there is something more the school can do. In the meantime we are trying to talk to the girls about other options but it would be heart-breaking not to be a DC family any more. That school has been amazing for our family and we love it dearly. I will keep you posted on what happens next as a number of you have expressed interest in helping out (for which we are deeply grateful and humbled).

Sister Kristen was supposed to have a garage sale last Saturday but wouldn't you know it: we woke up to rain and temperatures in the low 50s! Not good garage saleing weather! So she is going to give it another shot in the next few weeks--maybe even this weekend. I'll post on that if it's going to happen that soon.

Emma has her awards ceremony tomorrow at school--she is getting the Presidential Academics Award for maintaining a high GPA all year. She will be thrilled! It's a secret so no one tip her off. I am pretty sure she doesn't read the blog so we're OK on this end.

Audrey has Middle School graduation on Friday and I will be speaking. I am going to talk about all the things I wish someone would have told me when I was 13. THe list is LONG but I think I have narrowed it down to a few categories. Feel free to leave a comment about what you wish someone had told you at 13.

Then it's SUMMER BREAK! I am so excited for the girls to be home this summer. Last summer was a weird one because Joanne was just home from the hospital and we were still reeling and trying to figure out life. But things are more stable now than they were then so we should be able to provide a better experience for them including daily trips to the neighborhood pool!

Whew! I guess that's about it.

Prayer requests:

1. Pray that we can find some relief for Joanne's poor toes. Anyone who has ever broken a toe knows how painful it can be to get around and that's what Joanne lives with 24/7. So getting and answer and a solution would be a big deal.

2. Pray that DC comes through with the financial aid we need to keep the girls there.

3. Pray for safety for Joanne's folks as they make their way back across the country. So glad they got to have an adventure and now just need them to have a safe return!

Toben

 

 

Garage Sale (Toben)

Joanne's sister Kristen says plase go visit HERE!

Thanks!

Toben

Denver Christian (Toben)

A couple of you have asked if you can help contribute to the girl's schooling next year. What a blessing! We are still waiting to hear what our financial aid package will be for next year. As soon as I find out where we're at I will share that with you and if you wish you can just contribute via the school. Thanks so much for your love and support. It is truly overwhelming to see how God has encouraged us at just the right times over the last 15 months.

More soon,

Toben

Speaking of Strokes...(Toben)

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at the National Day of Prayer luncheon in Colorado Springs. Joanne's Dad and my folks were there and the real treat is that Joanne was able to come too. It was so great to see her there at the head table while I was on the stage! She looked beautiful and it was such a big deal that she was able to make it--not easy on her body to ride int he car and sit for long periods of time.

Anyhow, I had about 20 minutes to speak, I prepared my notes, I ran through it in my head a bunch of times and then I got on stage and realized that I had about 10 times too much content!!! I just about froze up. After all, it is hard to encapsulate the last 15 months in any amount of time, let alone what the Lord has been teaching me through this new reality. But I made it through. I left thinking that I had totally bombed! But the event organizer sent me the most gracious email. Just what I needed!

Pretty funny that the last group I talked to were middle school students! The NDP crowd was definitely on the older side. Funny thing: I have been asked to be the 8th grade graduation speaker! The kids got to vote and they asked me to come back. I am totally blown away by that! I am going to work very hard to come up with something they will enjoy on their official last day of middle school. I want to make them laugh but give them a little to think about along the way. So if anyone has the key to eigth grade humor, feel free to fill me in.

Audrey is in South Dakota with her class. I am thankful to God for many things, and one of them is that I am not an adult chaperon on that trip! Actually that's not entirely true. I would love to be with those kids, but I would come home and have to sleep for a week! Audrey brought so much candy with her (I probably let her overdo it) that those kids will be sugar-fueled to the max. I hope they are having a fun time. There is a no technology policy for the trip so the kids don't have their precious phones or laptops. I think that's great! They should enjoy each other's company with only 15 school days left in the year.

I guess that's about it. My parents will be with us overnight wile their floors get refinished and it will be a treat to have them around. Massage therapy for Joanne tomorrow and some special one-on-one time with Emma.

Prayer requests:

1. Should hear in the next week or so about the girl's tuition assistance for Denver Christian next year. We are definitely praying for God's provision so that we can keep the kids in such an amazing school!

2. Praise! Joanne is sleeping so much better. She had some of her meds adjusted and a new medication added and it really seems to be working. A good night's sleep makes a great deal of difference in quality of life. So thanks be to God for 8 solid hours a night (and sometimes more).

3. I am truly thankful today for our family therapist. He is a relatively young guy but has a lot of wisdom. We are slowly healing as a family as a result of our time with him. Still a long way to go, but I see progress like little green shoots peeking up through the soil!

Toben