[BDBohnzie]

How? I proposed at home, rose petals leading her to me on one knee. We had already started talking about marriage and once I got the ring designed and made, I picked a day and did it. We got married on the 5 year anniversary of our first date, and had lived together just over a year. So during that year, we were able to make adjustments to each other's habits. This past April was our 4 year anniversary.

If you are getting ready to propose and plan, remember this. Your wedding reception is just a big party for your family and friends that you are paying for. Do not let the guest list and money spent exceed what you are comfortable with.

Why? I proposed to my wife because she is not only my best friend, but she accepted me for who I was. She never tried to change who I was or what I was about, and I find myself very lucky. Now I'm adjusting into fatherhood, and there are definitely more bumps in the road than when i was adjusting to marriage.

Kids/Spark? With 2 kids that are 15 months apart, the spark is on a very low flicker right now, but we both understand that and try to do little things for each other when we can. And while our needs for each other are suffering a bit with the kids constantly getting our attention, our relationship hasn't suffered at all. We both have picked up slack for the other, and are doing the best we can raising our girls. My wife has a tough time having people watch the kids (not a trust issue, but a wanting to spend time with them issue, which I completely understand as we both work and don't have much time during the week with the girls), but we're slowly working on that so we can have some Us time. That's important, to have alone time away from the kids.

Advice? Communication is the key. If you can't talk it out with each other without one constantly getting hurt, it'll only make things worse in the long run. It's something my wife and I are constantly working on, as we're similar when it comes to sharing feelings. However, if you can get through a typical argument and both sides are content, you are on the right track.