Marriage Retreat: Not the Movie {Take 2}

Saturday morning, while we were at the marriage retreat, Ryan got his first taste of ugly, decaffeinated morning Bekah. We didn't have coffee at the hotel and our search for a McDonald's in walking distance of the hotel began as a Siri-induced failure in some biting wind and cold. It wasn't pretty and I felt horrible. And so began the challenging portion of the weekend.

We sat in more sessions with Gary Oliver and continued to learn good things about emotions and how they factor into marriage. We also reported in on our little game from the night before. {Nothing provides a get to know ya time like standing in front of 200 strangers and reporting your findings on a lovers game.}

 

Seriously. Bangs, Bekah.

The main portion of the retreat was over at lunch time, so we went back to our room for a much-needed nap. {Because you know, the girl with the bad hair needed a do-over on the day.}

That afternoon, we met up with our friends to go out to eat with an early dinner reservation. We stood by the door to the parking garage to wait for them...all the while being passed by a flood of heavily made-up tiny cheerleaders and their parents. Whew! That was a lot of someday-estrogen passing us by. We were scared! {As is evident in this photo.}

We had dinner at Biaggi's, which is a fabulous restaurant in Fort Wayne. It was essentially the only real meal we had the whole day, so we made the most of it!

 

And after that...of course, we needed a Starbucks date! Here I am with the other girls in the group! On the left is Lorissa, who was a new friend I met at the retreat. Then there's Lori, from my church, and Sara, also from church {and you may recognize her from our wedding, too}!

 After our date, we went back to the retreat to watch Jim Barron's illusion show. He did a great job - always enjoy watching his shows!

Sunday morning, Ryan was so kind {or maybe so scared he'd see a reprise of Saturday morning} to walk down to Subway to get us some breakfast and coffee. {Mouth full of food - sorry.}

And then we went to the closing part of the retreat...a worship service. It lasted 2 hours and moved me to tears. Definitely the most meaningful part of the weekend. On our way home....little date through the car wash....

Though the weekend brought out a lot of wounded and challenged pieces of my heart...I'm so glad we went and I'm excited to move forward in becoming a better wife...becoming the support and encouragement he needs!