Marriage Retreat...one week later!

Matt and I were able to attend a marriage retreat at the Hole in the Wall Lodge in Akron, IA last weekend. My wonderful mother-in-law was willing to come up and stay with the boys so we said "yes" to this awesome opportunity and took off for a weekend of refreshing our marriage!  We had an amazing time, finding out new things about each other, meeting new friends in similar phases of life with young kids, and learning to have fun together again amidst all the little stresses of life.
We've now been back to reality for a whole week and I'm finding that we have taken several things we learned last weekend and applied them to our lives and to our marriage.  Matt is finding lots of little ways to help out around the house, now knowing that even clearing the table after a meal can help tremendously.  And I've been trying really hard to say thank you for all the things he does for our family...especially after a long day home with the boys when the last thing I want to do is pick up one more toy!
Will this "bliss" last?!  Probably not...at least not like it is right now.  Reality will creep back in more day by day, but now I feel like we have been given the tools to deal with them a bit better and have more insight into what the other might be feeling or seeing differently in a situation.  God designed our marriage, and designed us to be two different people within it.  Only with his help can we truly remember to Love & Respect one another and build upon a divine union so as to make our Father in Heaven truly proud of us!

Our wedding day, June 4, 2005 (photo by Sarah Winston photography)