Love Beyond Measure

 

 

On the surface, one could look at this picture and see a traditional family; two parents, five children. The photograph is quite obviously an informal one, as there aren't any signs of matching clothing. All this is superficial. To fully experience this photograph, one must take a moment and go far beyond the superficial. That is where the real story unfolds.

 

This is my family. My father stands in the back, a very unassuming figure. Of average build and weight, nothing appears to be remarkable about him. It only takes one look in his face to see the kindness there. A smile spreads across his face, gently tilting down on the the left side. It lends him an air of mischievousness, and rightly so. Salt and pepper hair and reading glasses in his front pocket, he portrays his forty-eight years accurately. His right arms rests liesurely and lovingly on my mother, his wife of twenty-five years.

She is a woman of average height, wearing her customary denim skirt and modest top. The color of the top is a bright and cheery pink, very flattering with her graying black hair. Her sandals are the sensible ones that give support. She smiles easily at the camera, a customary expression for her, judging by the smile lines around her eyes. The glasses on her face are a current style, a definite upgrade from the old pair she wore. Overall, she looks like a mother, not drawing attention to herself, but giving all her time, energy and love into the family surrounding her.

My oldest brother Benjamin (Benjy), age 21, stands at the far left of the photo. He appears very confident and comfortable with himself. A dress shirt neatly tucked into a pair of dark jeans makes up his business casual look that he depends on every day. The usual blue colts cap is missing from his head, his matted hair being the telltale sign. Wire framed glasses somewhat hide his tired eyes, the only visible indication of his extreme work schedule. His beard grows coarsely and covers much of the lower half of his face. One arm hangs to his side loosely, and the other is wrapped around his girlfriend.

Brittany is easy going and fun to be around. Her wide smile and open face proves that point. Taller than all of the girls in my family, she is obviously the one that is not related. Light brown hair with a hint of red mingled in is in direct contrast to our family's deep brown hair. Yet, even though she could appear to the casual observer as the outsider, she blends well with our family. The family envelopes her, making her feel right at home. One hand rests on her hip, showing her spirit and determined attitude. After all, she was the one who helped convince Benjy that they were long overdue for a visit home.

Next in line of age would obviously be the girl in the deep pink ruffled shirt: me. I am seventeen and I do not appear any older than that. My looks are a strong mix of traits from my Mom and Dad. My body shape resembles that of my mom, as does my smile. From Dad I got the sparkle in my eye, giving the impression that I have a good sense of humor. The long, modest denim skirt adorning me is worn and faded. A cotton shirt shows that I care about looking nice, but also that I do not spend much money on clothing. I am playing with my hands, a habit I fall to when feeling self concious or impatient. My right arm rests on a teenage boy.

Perhaps someone with no previous experience with Down Syndrome would not take special notice of Isaac right away, but after another look anyone can see that he is not "normal." His eyes are the telltale almond shape of a person with Down Syndrome. The smile displayed on his face is tight and unnatural; he never has liked posing for pictures. Sport shorts, a construction yellow t-shirt and some knock-off brand of crocs complete the fifteen year old look. Three pens are perfectly placed in the shirt pocket, evenly spaced to the ever calculating eye of their owner. An outdated gray changepurse is clutched tightly in Isaac's hands, carrying the money he likes to use for his lunch. His arms and legs are kept carefully from anyone.

To his lower left the youngest leans awkwardly on the steps. Mary wears an orange shirt with black bermuda shorts. A bright and cheery smile serves as an accessory to her neon shirt. She inherited a very similar smile and overall look as I. Her dark brown hair is drawn back into a ponytail and, for extra measure, secured with a thick black headband. The freckles fanning out on her face could deceive the observer into thinking she were younger than her fourteen years. It is a face very deserving of the child with the baby of the family status.

We are joyful, connected, accepting, forgiving, and unconditionally loved...we are a true family. Though a picture may express a thousand words, no picture could capture the depth of the love my family has for one another. It goes beyond words that could be uttered in this world; perhaps in Heaven we will find the words to speak that can allow others to fully grasp the meaning of family.

 

 

 

Party Time!

It is birthday season around my house! 4 of the 6 people in my family living at home have their birthdays in September and October: Mom, Grandma, Isaac and I. I just have to say, I LOVE BIRTHDAYS!!! Ask anyone in my family :)

 

Mom's birthday is September 30th, so this is a little late. For her birthday Mary, Isaac and I made dinner. For her birthday dinner she requested tacos with all the fixings, homemade taco shells (she made them...), and chips with salsa. I must say, they were really delicious!

 

 

The cooks!

 

 

Yum! For dessert Isaac and I made an extreme chocolate mocha cake. I found the recipe on Pinterest (where else?) and it was seriously the best. cake. ever. Also the messiest...

 

 

As gifts Mom got several fall decorations, a journal, measuring cups, soap from bath and body, money and cards. Her favorite season is Autumn, so we used that as a guide for what to buy her. If you are looking for cute fall decorations, look at Hobby Lobby! Their stuff is super cute and reasonably priced.

 

 

The next birthday is mine! My birthday was today :) I had a really fun day at the Feast of the Hunter's Moon (if you have never been, look it up!) and then with a party just a few hours ago with the fam. It feels so strange to be 18. As a friend texted me earlier, "welcome to being an adult for the rest of your life!" Somehow that thought really just made me wish that I had somehow savored childhood more!

 

I didn't get any pictures of dinner, but I chose meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, fruit salad, and chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Once again...YUM! Mom made all of it and she did an amazing job of it too!

 

The collage above is all my gifts, as I am sure you figured out! Grandma gave me the two shirts in the top right corner that I have been eyeing for weeks at Target! The blue shirt has little birds all over it and a really cute belt. Mary gave me the silly gifts, as well as the $25 towards a laptop case. The silly glasses actually have a windup thing on the nose that moves the eyebrows and moustache automatically. Of course I look incredibly dignified when wearing them... Mom and Dad gave me a full KJV travel Bible and a pretty watch to wear on dressier occasions. I have been wanting a full travel Bible that had the old testament as well as the new testament, and this one is ADORABLE. They even got my name engraved on the cover! Isaac (in other words, Mom) got me two JJ Heller CDs. Since I drive to school 3 days a week I will really appreciate some new music to listen to!

 

Birthdays are really wonderful. They are such a great time to evaluate your life. Some things I want to do in this next year include reading the entire Bible in chronological order, keeping up with a journal, and growing in my walk with the Lord. Also, I really appreciated the love and support from others on this day. It is so neat to feel that love and to be able to give it back.

 

Blessings!



The Problem of Perfection

What is Perfection?

 



Perfection: somebody or something that has reached the highest attainable standard.

That is the definition I found when I typed define: perfection into Bing. But REALLY, what is perfection? As a Christian I believe that it is something that we should be striving for every moment of our life. God is perfect. Jesus set the perfect example for us when he came in human flesh to this dirty and sinful world.

Sadly, this is not the what the world is striving for. In the world, perfection takes on a menacing face, haunting our hopes and dreams, destroying confidence. Perfection has come to mean the Pinterest-perfect home, the new and perfect car, the perfect body, the perfect job...really it is enough to drive me insane! Peer pressure points each of us to find that "perfect" whatever.

Here is a startling revelation: We don't have to be perfect.

 

Now, please realize I am talking about in the world, not spiritually. God does not call the Christian to wear the right clothes, have the newest technology, or be like everyone else. Yet that is what we work toward, isn't it?! Yet God calls us to separate ourselves from the world.

 

Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

In fact, this verse in Romans says separate yourself from the world IN ORDER TO find the perfect will of God!! Perfection is not the world!

 

Perfection is NOT Paula Deen cooking. Wouldn't God rather us serve others with whatever we have instead of never inviting people because we can't serve them gourmet or gorgeously presented food?

 

Perfection is not the size 2 body, or the size 8, or the size 16...or the size anything!! It is not the perfect short, revealing dress meant to garner attention. No, true perfection would never dare stoop so low. Wouldn't God prefer us to know we were created in His image and are therefore a beautiful creation NO MATTER OUR SIZE?! Wouldn't He rather us show our beauty through our hearts and attitudes than through revealing clothing?!

 

Perfection is not the car that screams wealth, that purrs like some sort of jungle cat, or that turns heads wherever you go. God wants us to live modest lives...and this my friends is not modest! It is something the world tells us we need.

 

Perfection is not having the most beautiful "stuff." It is not having the most talent or making the most beautiful music. When we come to judgment day, what will having the most beautiful stuff do for us? Nothing. God does not care if we cannot play the piano, sing, dance, write, etc. as well as the next person. Wouldn't God rather us using the talent He has given us to the best of our ability not to the best of their ability?!

 

God loves you. He does not want us to be perfect in the world's standards. He wants us to live to His glory and honor, holding the banner of Christ high. To do that we can be a terrible cook, we can be a size 4 or a size 14, we can own a hunk of junk car, and we can fail at carrying a tune. All God wants is for us to love Him with all our hearts, to listen with our spiritual ears to His direction, and to serve His people with love using whatever talent we have been granted.

 

So what is the problem of the world's standard of perfection? It isn't perfect. It makes us think that if our lives don't look like a fairy tale we are doing something wrong. Using that standard, any of us could get caught up in the pursuit of wealth and fame, the pursuit of stuff. 

 

So please. Don't be perfect. Don't strive to fit in with the world's standards. That is the last thing this world needs.   

 

Our world needs the love of Christ. So run, seek, and find that path to spiritual perfection that Christ has laid before us. Though I know I will never reach the level of perfection that Jesus exhibited, it is the journey to get there that counts. And I know He will walk beside me all the way if I earnestly and unwaveringly follow that path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indiana Beach

Our library did a special deal this summer, as they do most summers, which allows anyone to get into Indiana Beach for free if they read a certain amount of books. My family LOVES to read, so it was not a chore at all!! Armed with our free passes, Mom, Mary, Isaac and I headed to Monticello for a day of fun.

 

 

The only part of Indiana Beach that Isaac does not enjoy is the noise! Every time the roller coaster went roaring past he would quickly cover his ears.

 

Waiting for the Scrambler to start spinning

 

Mary HATES all the rides that spin or are fast, which rules out almost all of the rides! She went on the River Queen boat tour, the bumper cars, the ferris wheel, and also did Adventure Point with us. Otherwise it was just Isaac and I that did all the thrilling rides!

 

 

All three of us loved Adventure Point! First they buckled us into harnesses and then you followed a path, either the lower one or the one that was pretty far off the ground.  Mary did the lower one and Isaac and I did the higher one. Sometimes we were walking on beams, sometimes ropes, and sometimes on little stepping stones. I was impressed with how well Isaac did! It was really an impressive feat for him, considering how little balance he has! Mom decided to just watch and take pictures. :)

 

The music express was Isaacs favorite...until I squished him because of centrifugal force. :/ Oops! 

 

 

Mom, Isaac and I rode the swings together.

 

Isaac also really enjoyed the ride that takes you from one side of the park to the other. This was our overhead view of the taco shop.

Mary and Mom passed some of their time doing the arcade games and the game booths. She won a basketball from a 3 point basketball shooting game and also two stuffed dogs from a balloon toss.

 

 

It was such a blessing to have a day of fun with my family. It was a good end to our summer as well! Now Isaac is back in school, I start college on Monday, and Mary will start school after Labor day. Real life begins again :(

 

Have a blessed day!! Hopefully I can post again in the next few days!

 



All Fired Up!

The other week when my cousin Carrie was here from Oregon we went to All Fired Up one afternoon for some pottery fun. All Fired Up is located in West Lafayette and it is a pottery place where you get to choose a piece to paint any way you like. Mom, Mary and I have been there several times and we LOVE it. My Lehman cousins Kim, Danny and Edie joined us for an afternoon full of fun and creative concentration!

 

 

From right to left: Kim, Mary, Danny, Carrie, Edie, and Me

 

Edie with her bag of free (really buttery) popcorn...another reason to go!!

 

 

So many choices! After much deliberation we all picked out a piece to paint and then chose our colors.

 

 

 

There are TONS of colors and there are a couple different types of paint as well. Mary loves to use the speckled one.

 

 

Danny starting on his baseball bank

 

 

Carrie did two small dishes; one plate and a small bowl. Mary did an ice cream dish that had wavy edges.

 

Edie chose a butterfly mug, which she did an amazing job with! She did it completely on her own and came up with a cool design.

 

Kim chose a large cereal bowl for her project and did a really pretty purple on the inside and a gray on the outside.

 

I did a little gray box and then did a curly design all over. It took forever!!!

 

 

Our (almost) finished projects! We had to leave them there for a week so they could be glazed and fired, or whatever they do with them. :)

 

Here are a few of them after being fired and glazed!! They all turned out great and I am already enjoying using my box. Mary has used her ice cream bowl a few times already and it really adds fun color to our cupboard.

 

I hope I just inspired you to go to All Fired Up! It is such a blast, especially when experienced with friends or family. If you go, be prepared to spend a lot of time there. It is so hard to decide what to do, what design to use, what colors....oh my. The finished product is so fun to have, but my favorite part was definitely spending time with my cousins and having a great afternoon filled with creativity.

 

So grab a friend and get those creative ideas ready

        

              ...it's pottery time!!

Boundary Waters!

Here it is...FINALLY!!! I realize this is terribly overdue, but life has been a bit crazy the last couple weeks!! Now that things are slowing down a bit I have the time to share about my AMAZING trip into the wilderness.

 

Welcome to Boundary Waters, located in Northern Minnesota and Canada. It spans 1,090,000 acres and is home to moose (or meese as we were fond of calling them) and bear, untouched by human habitations. 8 girls from the Remington/Wolcott young group, including myself, set out to have a wonderful "vacation" of 4 days and 3 nights out on the lakes.

This is our group!! You may be wondering why this photo looks as though it was taken in the nineteen hundreds, and there is a good reason for that. We used disposable waterproof cameras starting after a day or two because we had an unfortunate *incident* in which the digital waterproof camera was lost to the bottom of the lake. Lost, but not forever!! All of us girls are praying that a fisherman catches it and turns it in. For the time being, however, we have these pictures. This picture was taken at our outtake, after a long 4 days of canoeing.

 

Back to the beginning...

We went through Cliff Wold's Outfitting Company, located in Ely Minnesota. They provided the meals, tents, sleeping bags and equipment. All we had to do was bring our small amount of personal gear. We couldn't take much because we had to make some portages. Everything had to fit into 8 packs, 4 of those being tents, sleeping bags and cooking supplies. When we got to the outfitter I was super excited. Adventure was in the air!

 

 

Before setting out on the water, we were each "assigned" a canoeing partner for the trip. This is Katie and Kayla loading their canoe at the last campsite. Ruth and Alisia, Kim and Mindy, and Jo and I made up the other three groups. Jo and I christened ourselves "canoebies", pronounced canoe-bees. Really, don't ask me how to spell it. It is a mix of canoe and buddies, because it takes WAY to long to say canoeing buddies, yah know.

 

 

Each night we stayed at a different campsite after canoeing an average of 9 or so miles a day. The average speed for our group was 1-2 miles per hour. Out on the water we played a TON of 20 questions, we sang praise songs, talked, or just paddled along in silence. It was peaceful and the scenery was so pure. There were no smoke stacks, noisy roads, or homes. We were surrounded by a beautiful sky, tree line and an occasional island. God's creation.

 

 

 

One of our portages was on Canadian soil!

 

The first day we ate lunch in our canoes. We quickly realized that was not the best thing to do. The 4 canoes had to be linked together, then the food had to be dug out of the pack and passed around to everyone. It was a lot more difficult than it sounds!
 

 

 

 

Also, since it was the first day we had to deal with the confusion of figuring out how to make the juice. Now, making juice may not sound difficult, but you have to use correct measurements. Let's just say our first jug was really nasty and diluted. From there on out, we put several mixes into one jug to make some pretty interesting drinks. In this case, interesting wasn't necessarily good! We used water straight from the lake. That first day it was an orange-ish tint, but every day after that it was clear. None of us got sick, so it must have been ok!
 

 

After lunch on that first day is rained. At first it was just a drizzle, but pretty soon it advanced into a pretty steady rain. Because of that, we stopped a little early to make camp. The picture above is of Ruth unloading her gear at the first campsite.

 The first thing we did every time we paddled into a campsite was soak ourselves with bug spray. The mosquitoes were AWFUL. However, one of the girls on the trip reminded us of the book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom. We had to find some reason to be thankful for the bugs. By the end of the trip we decided that we were thankful for them because they made us grateful to be on the water (the mosquitoes were not out on the water AT ALL...what a blessing!) and they also made us thankful for our homes that are sheltered from the hordes of bugs.

 

 

 

After coating ourselves with the spray we set up tents. It ended up that the Wolcott girls were in one tent and the Remington girls were in the other one, but we really do get along together!! :)

 

 

 

Next we started a fire for dinner. Kayla was the fire starter of our group! The first night we weren't able to have a fire because of the rain. Instead we huddled under a tarp and cooked on the propane stove we thankfully had along. The other nights we were much more authentic and made our own fire. We weren't allowed to burn paper or cardboard, so we had to rely on all the twigs and pine needles we could find. Kayla did an amazing job though and it made dinner possible. One thing you definitely need to take note of in the picture above is the quantity of food. There were only 8 of us and look at that ENORMOUS tray of polish sausages!! Each meal was large enough for 8 hungry lumberjacks, and we would get to the point of feeling sick, especially when we had to eat hash browns. Honestly, just typing those words makes me feel sick to my stomach. They were delicious...just not when you had to eat an entire heaping plateful of them PLUS whatever the meat was :P BLECH.

 

Following mealtime was the dreaded clean up. Everything was completely sanitary and sparkling clean by the time we were done. Good thing it didn't really matter to anyone, because all we had was lake water to wash our dishes in. We used hot water to wash...and then cold water to rinse. Somehow that defeated the whole purpose.

 

After eating and before turning in for the night we had to hang the food pack in a tree to keep bears away. There were a whole bunch of guidelines for how high, how far out, and how far from the branch the pack had to be. We, meaning Kayla the tree climber, Alisia the rope tie-er, and Katie the rope holder, were just glad to get it in the tree!

 

 

 

 

One of the most difficult, and oddly fun, parts of the trip was portaging. You really should be impressed right now. Seriously...just look at us! That is what we all thought until we saw the guy from the outfitter pick up the canoe and set it on his own shoulders at the end of the trip. We just let him...no sense in losing our sense of strength at the end. Of course, we could have done that if we wanted to. We really just wanted to work on team building!
In all seriousness, those canoes AND the packs were really heavy. Each portage required a mantra, "this is a vacation, this is a vacation."

 

This mantra also came in handy when I had some sort of a reaction to the bug bites. That bump on my arm was huge, itchy and hot to the touch. It was sure a good lesson on how to be content in all circumstances.

 

One night we were a bit surprised when a turtle wandered into our camp! He seemed confused, but kept coming back to the same spot and then he would get startled by us. Finally he found his spot and started digging. A few of us girls started watching and after watching him painstakingly dig a pretty deep hole, we had a nice surprise. HE was a SHE. So we proceeded to watch HER lay 12 eggs!! How amazing! That night they had packed popcorn for us, so we popped popcorn and stood there in our own personal theater watching the best National Geographic ever. We were all so amazed by this small example of God's amazing creation. We watched her lay her eggs for almost 2 hours, until she covered the hole back up and went back to the water.

 

I have saved the *best* for last...

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to La Latrine de Wilderness. Please notice the weed growing inside of it, the bushes surrounding it and remember, mosquitoes don't care where they bite you. Let's just say none of us enjoyed the latrine.

 

Now I am just going to throw some random pics at you...

 

Watching Kayla chop wood at the second campsite

 

Oh no! Mindy is stranded!!

 

 

  

Eating our almost unbelievable portions of granola...just one more thing I won't be eating for a LONG time.

 

Jo, Kim and I at the rapids we paddled out of our way to see

 

 

The dreaded bag of potatoes :P Alisia is hanging the clothesline in the background.

 

 

In the van on the way back to civilization

 

As I am sitting here writing this post, I am finding myself missing being out in the wilderness. I absolutely LOVED the trip, and I would go back in a heartbeat. I was so blessed to share in the experience with those 7 girls. We learned a lot about each other and I know that I feel closer to them than ever since Boundary Waters. However, the most amazing part of the trip was GOD. He really used the trip to allow us to learn more of Him through an amazing bible study (thanks Ruth!) and through His astounding creation.

 

Thank You Lord for gathering us closer to You through this experience and for Your great creation which pointed us toward You.

 

 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

 

Genesis 1:31

 

 

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