Weekend Getaway

Our 7th anniversary is coming up on the 10th of this month. We were planning to getaway next weekend, but it worked out better for us to go ahead and slip away yesterday. My brother and his new bride selflessly sacrificed most of their weekend to stay overnight with the youngin's while we retreated to the beautiful Homewood Suites Hilton in Cary, NC.

The kids had a great time with Uncle Andrew and Aunt Sarah (we like saying Aunt Sarah!). They had a great time together - Wendy's, Jumping Beans, going to the park...yeah, we were afraid they wouldn't want us to come back for sure.

Well, Ashley and I had our fun, too. We enjoyed an absoluely delicious meal at Carrabbas Italian Grill. I highly recommend the Pollo Rosa and the Chicken Bryan. Absolutely delicious! And I know my Italian food! A little pricey, but well worth every cent.

Then we decided to find a hobby shop in search of a new game. As some of you know, we have always enjoyed spending time together over some board or card game. It is a great thing for my pride, because I usually do not end up the winner when facing my wife. We found this really fun game at a very interesting little hole-in-the-wall hobby shop (they are always quite interesting). If you like zombies and model trains, this shop is for you. As for us, we were quite wierded out, but it was an adventure nonetheless. We ended up buying this card game called FLUXX. It is a very fun game! And I actually won once! To make it even funnier, we picked up the Monty Python version of the game. Absolutely hilarious! I'll have to explain it in a future blog.

After rescuing Monty Python from the zombies, we raided the local Food Lion for some Rocky Road. Then it was back to the hotel for a stroll through a wooded trail. For me, that was the highlight of the whole retreat. During the walk we talked about our marriage over the last seven years. If you know our story, then you will know that the first few years were quite rough. God's grace is so good, though, and He is why we have a healthy and thriving marriage today.

I think the other best part of the trip was the fact that we didn't have to wake up at any certain time (except before they stopped serving breakfast), and we didn't have to change a diaper the whole time. Just the two of us, Rocky Road, Monty Python, and a wonderful time!

Thank you, Andrew and Sarah for sacrificing your weekend for us! We look forward to doing the same for you someday! And praise be to God for setting us free from the darkness that clouded our lives for so long! Our marriage is a beautiful illustration of your reconciling us to one another and to yourself. I can never praise you enough for my beautiful bride, and awesome family! May the Lord bring us many more years together!