Today, Paane and I celebrate 8 long years of marriage together.

You guys, Eight!! wow.

Last year I shared 7 life lessons I’ve learned since being married to Paane and so today, I’m adding my 8th (because you care lol). We may see the world differently, but we long for the same – eternity is the goal.

If anything after 8 years, our aim isn’t to be right but to love.

8. We don’t do favoritisms when it comes to the kids…ahem… lol But Paane has a soft spot for his Princess Luna. A couple of weeks ago, they had a disagreement that left Luna in tears. Because he was rushing to get to work, he wasn’t able to resolve the issue with her and they both left being mad at each other. Paane in our marriage isn’t one to leave a conflict unresolved, I do that all by myself lol I’ll give him the silent treatment – and won’t talk to him for several days. So I knew he wasn’t going to leave to work without trying to resolve some kind of resolution with Luna. He came back into the house and tried and because she’s as stubborn as me, he left to work feeling defeated. I tried to help become the mediator, so when he got to work, I FaceTimed him so that Luna can apologize. Imagine this grown man, sitting in his work truck and his daughter uttering the words, “I’m sorry Dad!” It’s those three little words that will have a grown man sobbing in his work truck lol

Thank you, Paane for being so quick to forgive & forget, because sometimes it literally takes me days to even recognize I’m in the wrong. 😉

7. Missionaries are his favorite people on earth! If he sees them walking, driving or biking he makes an effort to say hi, wave or even honk at them lol Maybe it’s because I didn’t serve a mission or have a missionary son out yet – but I oftentimes don’t share his compassion for them *i know, I know.. lol* The biggest adjustment for me has been learning to just shut my mouth when I see him take out his wallet and empty all of our cash for them lol or that one time he asked me to buy them McDonald’s and I chose to ignore his request – and as I turned around he’s swallowing back tears as he said “What if that was my sister serving in the Philippines?” Needless to say, we bought them each a gift certificate to eat at McDonalds lol I know the blessings we’ve received today is only made possible because my Husband is the way he is and has a heart of gold! If it was based on mines…. that’s a different story

6. He has this innate ability to love, and to love hard! If you’ve come in contact with him, you’ll soon realize that whatever he has — he will freely give to you. Mi casa es tu casa.

5. He also isn’t shy to hustle for a deal when it comes to purchasing things lol I’m always flabbergasted with his timing because he’ll choose to ask the McDonald’s worker (a random one at that!) for an employee discount after ordering $35 worth of food! You best believe I’m squirming in my seat wishing there was a giant hole next to me that i can just fall into! lol

4. When we first got married, I couldn’t work because I didn’t have a visa. So, Paane provided for us financially. I saw him working various jobs and graveyard shifts for minimum wage collecting trash at our local hospital to be able to provide for us. No job was ever too small or insignificant for him if it meant providing for his family.

3. Every Sunday I’d wait for him after church (most times in the car, for 20mins or more!) while he talks to EVERY single person at church! He’s such a social butterfly . He’ll get in the car and tell me, “Hun, did you know your Aunty so and so came to church today?” Annoyed that he took so long I’d often reply, “Oh good to know. I’m sure she’ll be there next week ”

2. I’ve often joked that I hate… hmm hate is a strong word lol I don’t like children lol I have no choice but to love mines, because I mean, they’re mines! Lol but, I really don’t have the patience to deal with them. Paane will volunteer to watch/carry/babysit everybody’s kids because he genuinely enjoys being around them.

1. There’s no such thing as shortcut when it comes to the Lord. We struggled as newly weds living pay check to pay check because Paane worked a minimum wage job, which meant we were going to rely solely on his income. Most times when it came to paying fast offering, I usually suggest just paying the exact minimum amount we would use for the missed meals, so that we can have left over money on hand. But, he has often reminded me numerous times that if we pay a “generous” amount the Lord will be generous with His blessings. We’ve personally seen the fruits of those blessings when we pay a generous fast offering.

Happy anniversary Paane! I can’t imagine doing life with anyone else but you. Love you forever.