honeymooning it up

At this moment I am sitting in "Brothers Coffee Shop" in Gaylord, Michigan with the most beautiful woman in the world, my wife. Ya it's definitely weird to call Karen my wife, but i still find the word continually coming out of my mouth. I can't believe we are finally married. Just over a year ago I met Karen, a few weeks later she became my best friend, a few months after that I fell in love with her, half a year later I asked her to marry me, and now here we are on our honeymoon. Marriage is a surreal feeling, one that can't be described with any amount of words. It must be experienced. I have only been married for one full day and I can already feel a difference in my life.

Our wedding was simply amazing. It was the most stunningly beautiful wedding I have ever been to (of course I am biased). You can see these pictures of Karen on our wedding day but you had to be there to truly witness how gorgeous she was. It's an interesting feeling being in a room with over 300 people and only being able to focus on one of them. I could not take my eyes off of her. Over the past few months I have had many images of her on our wedding day, but they all fell short of how magnificent she looked. Below is the happiest moment of my life, and judging by the look on Karen's face it was hers too.

So now we are on our honeymoon in northern Michigan. It's beautiful up here. We are staying in a cottage on a lake and the view is amazing from the living room. The only disappointment so far is the lack of snow on the ground. I thought that December in north Michigan always meant snow but i guess not. It is nice to just have a whole week off of doing nothing. So far our days have consisted only of games, sleep, and you know what ;)

I feel so close to Karen already, connected in a way that only a few days ago didn't exist. There is a mystifying power in marriage, one that can be felt immediately after the sacred union. It is no longer just Jordan, it is forever Karen and Jordan.

Our honeymoon is amazing, but part of me can't wait to get back to start our real lives with each other. Continue to pray for us as we start our family, the Gardners. Now its time for me to go, Karen wants to go get some cough medicine. We are heading back to the cottage for a nice dinner, some popcorn and a movie, a relaxing fire...and I can't tell you where it will go from there!!