Marriage is Wonderful

To any women out there who are holding out for the best man in the world ... it's too late. I've got him! I can't even begin to describe how much I love my husband and how grateful I am that I married him! I love him more and more every day. It just feels so normal to be married and to wake up next to Ben every day--it seems like I've been doing it since I can remember. I love it!

Well, enough gushy stuff.

The wedding was wonderful. I'm pretty sure I was floating on a cloud all day long. Ben stayed with his parents in Rochester the night before we got married so he came separately to the temple. He had been sick for the two weeks previous and started new medication the night before. He arrived at the temple looking a little green. We got to wait in the celestial room for a little while which was really nice. Everything was really peaceful. Ben was able to collect himself and by the time they took us to the sealing room he was smiling and holding himself up pretty well. All of Ben's brothers and sisters were able to come to Palmyra which was absolutely fantastic. For a while we didn't think they would all make it, but in the end, they made the trip and I think they were all glad they did. What a blessing it must have been for Ben's parents to see all their children in the temple on the same day. The sealer gave us some wise words and had us look in the mirrors which are hung on the opposite walls in the sealing room. He pointed out that we probably couldn't see ourselves very well, but that we could see many multiples of our chosen companion. As long as we always focused on seeing our companion and serving them, we would be much happier in marriage. After we were sealed I went and put my wedding dress on and we went out of the temple to take pictures. It was so hot and sunny that I think we were squinting in most of the pictures! Poor Ben didn't do too well out in the heat and so by the time we got to the reception he was feeling a little nauseous. We had a very nice reception across the street in the Palmyra Stake Center and left there about 3:30. As we were leaving, my brother Jacob and my cousin Carter pelted us with marshmallows from their marshmallow guns. I had also forgotten to lock my car so they had filled it with balloons, paper cups, plastic utensils, and tulle.

The first part of our honeymoon we stayed in Belhurst Castle which is on Seneca Lake in Geneva. Seneca Lake is one of the famous chain of Finger Lakes in upstate New York. We stayed in the Turret Room, which was in the attached Vinifera Inn portion of the castle. The room was beautiful and had a nice view of the lake. Both Saturday night and Sunday night there were wedding receptions going on so they were playing music until midnight in the ballroom which was right below us. Ben was really tired so we didn't venture out until Monday when we went over to Skaneateles. I always have to visit Skaneateles whenever I go home to New York. And, if possible, I eat lunch at The Sherwood. We went on a boat tour of the lake which was so relaxing with all the windows down in the boat and the wind blowing across our faces ... After the boat tour we ate a late lunch at the Sherwood and headed back to Belhurst.

We left Belhurst on Tuesday morning and after stopping at my parents house in Smithville Flats, drove a total of 13 hours to Kill Devil Hills, NC, which is part of the Outer Banks. We spent the second half of our honeymoon there, and went parasailing, regular sailing, minigolfing, ate some good food, and even attempted swimming at the beach but instead got beat up by the Atlantic Ocean. We decided the beach isn't all it's cracked up to be but we still had a lot of fun. We also did a lot of resting because Ben still wasn't feeling up to par. The hotel was a major step down from the Belhurst, but it had a free continental breakfast with Belgian waffles, and it was right on the beach.

We left there Friday morning and drove 11 hours (I drove most of it) back to Grayson where we have been settling in. We opened all our presents from New York and then I finally got those put away before we had our second reception and got more great stuff. I have so many toys to play with now it's so much fun! We got several pieces of crystal which I'm not quite sure what to do with yet because I don't have a good place for them in my small kitchen. This kitchen didn't seem that small until I tried to put a lot of stuff in it and then ... well, you can understand. We've had to rearrange things once already and I think we're going to have to rearrange again! We're not sure yet where we're going to put our food storage or how we're going to do all of that but, we'll figure it out. I don't have a job right now so I'm playing homemaker which is really quite a busy job, even without kids! Suddenly the laundry is multiplying twice as fast as it used to and there's a neverending sinkful of dishes! Speaking of which ... I'd probably better get back to work. But, it's nice to be able to blog again and I'll be back soon--promise!