Peter and I were talking with our good friends, Brenda and Bill, one day about marriage conferences and retreats. I said in passing that I had always wanted to go to one but we had never made it yet. Brenda and Bill had both been to a couple so they had a lot of things to say about them and different things various organizations offered. A couple months later Brenda and Bill surprised us and told us they had booked a Couples Retreat for us in Tampa and Brenda had even called my mom to make sure she could watch the kids for those dates. The conference was 3 days long, starting on Friday and ending today, and had various
sessions within it. There were a lot of topics covered including, communication, threats, God's plan, conflicts, intimacy, and legacies. There were more topics included but I can't name them all. There were also several application projects that we each had to do individually and as a couple together. Saturday night we were have a date night together so Peter and I went to one of the local malls and ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I wasn't really sure what to expect from the weekend, I was really excited to go but I didn't know how much I would get from it. Peter and I have one of the strongest marriages of any couple that we know but we also know that there is always room for improvement. Just from the first couple sessions we went to Friday night I was already learning knew concepts and opening my mind to see "his side" over "my side". One of the applications we had to do was answer a few questions about what drew us to each other when we first met, what kept us attracted after we got married, how we appreciate each other's differences and how the other's character helps us grow to be a better person. As you answered the questions you were supposed to write them in form of a love letter and then read the letters to each other. I cry about every 45 minutes anyhow so this was no easy task for me.
When I finished my letter I read it to Peter (stopping a few times to calm the tears) and then Peter read me his. It was so amazing the things that he said to me, things that I had no idea he felt. Everything was positive of course but to hear how I inspired him and how I did things that made him change his ways or thoughts for the better just blew me away. He didn't agree with the letter I wrote to him but everything I wrote was completely from my heart. By the time the conference was over today I was really amazed at how much I had learned not only about marriage but personal and specific things about Peter that I didn't know even after 13 years of being together. We had a great time and we both took a lot from the conference. There are a couple more getaways coming in this next year that are actually closer to home so we are going to try and get a bunch of our friends to go to it because we honestly thing everyone can benefit from it.
Javan LOVES firetrucks so when my friend told me that they were having a workshop at Lowe's and the kids each got to build one I thought it was something we definitely had to do. The girls had each gone the day before with my friend, Cindy, who runs a daycare. Cindy had arranged for her kids to go to Lowe's to build Police Cars and asked me if I wanted to join them since I had the day off. I wanted to of course but I had a doctor appointment in Daytona at the same time so Cindy said she would take the girls 
with her. She would have taken Javan too but she can only have some many kids in each age group and she already hit her quota for his age. When I picked up the girls they proudly displayed their police cars and told me all about how they built them all by themselves and how the light on top really worked. Today after the Farmer's Market I took the kids to Lowe's and they quickly set to work after getting all their tools and supplies. 
Javan was a big helper but also let me help. Once his truck was done he went to work driving it all over the area we were stationed at while his sister's finished his up. This truck doesn't have lights but it does have a working siren. Javan has not put his firetruck down and when we got home he brought out his other firetrucks so they could all say hi.
