Strong Bonds

Rob and I got the pleasure of spending the weekend at the Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat in Norman. This is an Army event that is focused on maintaining strong marital bonds, especially through the difficulties that are a part of Army life.

First off we got to stay at the Sooner Legends hotel in Norman for FREE! Woot Woot! It was a really nice hotel. Now if you know me you know I am NOT a Sooner fan, pretty much because Sooner fans drive me crazy. But the hotel was nice, clean and it's locally owned. I would definitely recommend it. It doesn't look very nice from the outside but the rooms are nicely sized and have great fluffy beds, plenty of space, nice bathrooms and it is maintained very well!

Best of all, we were kid-free for the weekend! We are so blessed that Max and Stella have awesome god-parents in their lives. But they got their weekends criss-crossed and Amie ended up with all the kids (our 2+their2) practically for the whole weekend on her own! She is one strong Mama! Thankfully Max and Jacob play together really well, Stella was good and Cailin got picked up by her Grandma.

We spent Saturday in classes and doing activities together. For lunch we passed on the offered M.R.E. for Rob and went to Billy Sims BBQ for lunch. Neither of us had been there before and we were pleasantly surprised. AGAIN it is covered in OU paraphanelia but the food was good. :)

After we finished our classes all I wanted was a nap! We went to our room, shut the curtains and passed out for a 2 hour nap. King Size bed, no children hogging the bed plus a dark cool room=HEAVEN~! It was really nice to relax together. After getting up we headed out to dinner at Cheddars and then went to a movie. We saw this

Super Dumb but funny, as usual for Will right?

Sunday morning we got to sleep in! (Amazing I know!) and then had breakfast and finished our classes. We learned a lot about improving our communication and pinpointing even those small issues that break down so many marriages today. Sadly divorce rates in the Army are HIGH and during/post deployment they are even higher. I am so so thankful that God is blessing our marriage today. Five years ago we didn't know what the future would hold. 10 years ago we had NO clue what life would be like a decade later. Rob and I have endured our share of struggles, both public and private but God has knit us together into something that I truly believe is unbreakable. We have been broken and we chose to come TOGETHER to heal. I thank God EVERY morning and EVERY evening that I get to lay next to my husband in bed...even when the kids end up hogging the space. I am so honored to be his wife and the one he has chosen.

Thanks babe for taking me away for the weekend. I love getting to spend time with you and hear what you are saying without screaming kids in the background. I love holding your hand and I love laughing at things with you. I love spending time with you and I love being an Army wife, even during deployments. ;) I wouldn't change our life for anything in the world. ILYx3