Today it’s been 8 years since Mike and I got married. We dated just 4 months before the proposal and actually got married 2 days after our 6 month dating   (just 8 months after we met)! We were only 21 when we got married and we still had a lot of work to do to grow up. But we’ve grown a lot in the last 8 years and I’ve learned a lot from him. Here are 8 of the best things he taught me along the way.

He and the kids are my family now! – 2 years after we got married,

We already bought our first house, lost our jobs and our house was about to be foreclosed. So, Mike joined the USAF and we moved to Colorado. I have never lived far from my family (parents, sisters, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends) and have had a hard time adjusting. But even 1000 miles from home, it was there for me. And I survived.

#2. You don’t have to give THINGS to someone to let them know you love them! – A few years ago the Air National Guard sent us to a Marriage Retreat. I learned our “love languages” there. His Words of Affirmation. Mine: gifts! (As if this were not a surprise). I just realized that he shows his love for me in different ways. He was doing them all along, but I ignored them. He’s sweeping the house… he knows I hate it. He pulls the lid down… honest… I never had to ask him!

By Manali