Gatlinburg Retreat...

We are home from our first marriage retreat! It was AWESOME to say the least! We keep saying how badly we wish the weekend wasn't over! We went to Gatlinburg with some of the married couples from our N-Weds group. We didn't get in until about midnight but all stayed up talking until about 2a.m. (which is a rarity for me)! We woke up and ate a yummy breakfast and then had our first 4 lessons. The lessons were 15-20 min segments from the iMarriage seminar and then we went off by ourselves as a couple and discussed 5-6 questions, then came back together as a large group and repeated the process. For those of you who have not heard of iMarriage, it is FANTASTIC! It discusses how a big "I" marriage can never work, you must put your spouse first (before yourself, not God) and be a direct reflection of God's love and grace to and for your spouse. This was such a large concept for all of us to grasp. It seems simple but actually thinking about God putting you here to show all of His love and grace, and all of your gratitude that you have towards him to your spouse, is easier said than done! After our last morning session, we ate some delicious soups for lunch, and then we headed out to town for a walk around Gatlinburg. It was FREEEZING!! We had a great time walking around with Kristin and Tyler and then decided to split ways while we went on the skylift and they went to the Ripley's museum. Okay, Skylift while it is FREEZING...not such a good idea! But fun anyway! After we were all too cold to keep walking, we headed back to the house to get started on dinner. Greg and I and another couple had to make dinner for Saturday night. So I brought lasagna and brownies and they brought the salad and garlic bread. The ovens were a little slow so I was worried the lasagnas would burn (they were not getting done in the middle) but everything turned out okay in the end =) After dinner, we played a pretty interesting game called "Win As Much As You Can" it's too detailed to explain, but it was a lot of fun watching everyone sabotage the other teams because no one understood that we were SUPPOSED to be benefiting everyone...oh well! Then we split into gender groups, guys in one house, girls in the other, this was one of my favorite times and Greg agreed. It was nice to hear some similar situations going on with other couples so that we could all chip in our own advice or take away great advice from others. After almost an hour and a half of that, we head back to the guys house AND THEY WERE STILL TALKING...we were all SURE they'd be watching football but apparently they needed it too! We all ate some brownies a la mode then sat around in the living room just chatting until well past midnight! Sunday was breakfast, lesson, and leaving...so sad! We seriously had such an awesome time with everyone! And the discussions that we were able to have from the questions given and the topics mentioned in the seminar were incredible. We are so incredibly blessed to have found this church so that we can be in a group like this. Over lunch we talked about how sad it was that we only have a year and a half left before we "graduate" ...how sad!! But anyhoo...I am done with finals YAAAAAY! And now I get to start on some new books =) So I am off to cuddle up in bed and read! Here are some pics of all the fun! More will be on facebook.


In the Skylift...


Shopping...




Me and Kristin in "God's Corner" hehe


Right before a lesson...with Greg and Barbara (the leaders)


Where we stayed, yes, it was slightly creepy.


***And for those wondering, these weren't taken with the new camera, we have to get a case for it first before we take it anywhere***