Family Reunion

Heeelllloooo friends. To be honest, I didn't even know I had a little bit of a following, but I've heard from enough of you, that I now feel a little more obligated to write. And so tonight, I do. In a small amount of pain. I fear that I have sustained a, self-diagnosed, "over-use" injury to my left foot. I have yet to go and get X-rays to confirm my suspicions, however. I gave myself about a week to rest, away from the gym and high impact activities....but all that came to a screaching halt when I went to weigh-in for the weight loss competition at work. Up one half of a pound, folks. Not awesome. So tonight, not only did I hit it, I hit it hard, throwing in a little teaching of the BodyJam after I took pump from Torturous Tiffany. So I've iced and reclined....and settled in to give you an update.



This weeks recipe came from the inspiration for my blog: Sean's Family Reunion

Black Bean Cilantro

3 - 15oz cans black beans, rinsed

1 cup corn (frozen or canned, but drained/rinsed)

1/4 cup tomoato, diced

1/4 cup pepper (any color, or mix and match!) diced

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 Tbsp jalapeno, minced (or more, for the daring)

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Juice of one lime

Throw it in a bowl, mix it up, and serve it!! It's delicious, and a dish I went back to a time or two...in leau of desert :)



And instead of a Bible Verse, I've got something else that inspired me. I've just finished reading The Case for Christ by Lee Stroble, and I liked the quote he used to finish the book. He quotes C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic...or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonesense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.



I've not read a lot of C.S. Lewis....in fact, I haven't read ANY C.S. Lewis, but I do know his story. That he was a man who went on a quest to somewhat disprove the existance of our Saviour, and ended up finding Salvation and a Lord. And of course, I'm a fan of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I'm not sure if I spelt that correctly. It looks funny. ANYHOW....I do believe that he has a FANTASTIC point here. Jesus obviously had some amazing and incredibly moral things to say. However, he would be classified as a bit of a mad man by any standard, if he were anyone else. I just think that this is good food for thought.

Sooooo.....the latest big adventure for Sean and I was Mitchell Family Reunion 2010...wooo!! I got the pleasure of spending five relaxing days in a cozy, comfy little cabin at Wallowa Lake. This is the first family reunion I've been to on this side of high school. As a kid, it was always about running around, exploring, and finding all of the most exciting hidden hiding places within a 1 mile - if you were lucky -radius of all the adults. So you had NO idea what family reunions are really about: wine, potlucks, and NAPS!! I got a TINY bit of reading in.....but seriously. Food and naps. How did this never occure to me before?! Of course, it wasn't ALL complete sloth and gluttony, we WALKED to the ice cream shop and back. And it must have been a quarter of a mile up to the horse pens so that I could pet and feed them (some things never change, guys). There was a fair amount of laying in the sun, which feels REALLY good after a dip in a freezing cold lake. When Sean and I got in, I believe the conversation went a little something like, Sean: "Ok, I think I'm used to it now." Kaila: "Are you used to it, or are you numb?" The lake is crazy, because it's SO clear that you can see the bottom, and you assume you can touch....only to have that all too slightly terrified feeling when you go to set your foot down, and nothing is there to catch you. But swimming around with the kids was a blast. We also rented a kayak (<-----PALLUNDROM) one day and played around swimming in the middle of the lake, and induldging in a little bit of that childish innocense, exploring untouched shore line and pointing out hidden waterfalls. Of course, the typical marital conversations ensued..."Why are you turning us so much?" "Why do you assume I'm the one with the inferior rowing skills?" Yada yada. Marital bliss, in the truest form! We also took some time to go into Joseph, and were able to check out the Joseph Museum, where Sean's family is highlighted as one of the original settlers of the town. A quick trip out to the grave yard to see some of the family tombstones, and I got a pretty conclusive feel for the family history in the area. However, the last night, as most family reunions go, was the icing on the cake. The night we all got together, and finished off the incredibly random meal that was made up of three days of left overs, and tried to finish up all the excess booze hanging around. Good fun, good conversation, and good ideas. After...MAYbe a drink or two over the line, brilliance struck. GO KARTS!! Sean and I took two turns, each of us getting to drive once. I don't know if this is better as a child who can't drive yet.....or an adult who is OVERLY competitive, and concerned about beating all the little kids on the track. We had such a good time, and left with a committment to go back again next year, family reunion or not! It was very relaxing, and I think the first vacation we've taken where it wasn't go-go-go the entire time.

We've got a lot of vacations planned for the next year or so, and it seems like we've been off to a few very good starts. So I'm really looking forward to blogging about more. But for now....the short pause in my day is over, and I'm back to reality.