18 years married and we’re still laughing like teenagers and making out like newlyweds.

Can't think of a better time to share BIG 6 romance hacks that keep our marriage sweet and spicy!

But first a little background on us... I met the love of my life at 17 years old on a hot, warm summer night before I entered my senior year of high school. Both of us were busy, driven to reach our goals and focused-- I planning my college career and focusing on securing an academics and sports scholarship, and Derek was finishing up his last year in college and launching his first business. I had plans, he had plans-- but ultimately you never know what is in store when love enters the mix. Finding love so young was the last thing either of us expected, but "Cupid" had other plans... And let me tell you this, his plans were way better than ours!

When we are together there is pure JOY-- something I had never experienced before meeting Derek. There is nothing I can not tell my husband— and how is this the case? Because he is literally my best friend. He has this way of calming every anxiety or stress. When we are together there is no worry of what the oncoming future holds because as long as we have one another— we are A-OK!

After dating for just two months, Derek asked me to marry him. It was all so surreal! We were married a year later. We've now been married for 18 beautiful years and have three amazing sons.

We have had many good times, but no marriage is perfect every moment of every day. I had a lot of "self" to get over. By nature I was a type-A, always-anxious performer, that needed to learn to chill out. I was an independent woman -- but the truth was, I was stronger, better, happier when I was with Derek. Relationship stress always occurs in a marriage for a variety of reasons, but as I grew in learning to value myself — regardless of my performance, and realized I was worthy to be happy no matter the conditions, all the little relationship battles disappeared. Best of all, I learned to love myself and therefore love others better.

It’s not enough to tell someone you love them. The things you do speak volumes. That is how you communicate with your partner how you feel about them. We overcame every odd: Marrying young, different backgrounds and goals! If we can ignite a spark for an amazing marriage, I truly believe anyone can. It's not always easy, but it's worth it! I'm married to my best friend, my leader, my confidant and the man of my dreams. These are a few of the most powerful ways I know to show my sweetie that I love him and how we've built an incredible marriage!

1. I choose to love every day, despite how I feel.

There have been plenty of times that I have felt like I missed the mark-- but when I do these acts of love I always feel like I'm winning. I kiss him in the morning. I remind him of all the many reasons he's the man for me. I fill his mind with good words and he knows I'm his biggest cheerleader. I flirt with him all day via text and I make sure I'm not "too tired" for him in the evening. When you realize that love is an action, you can overcome the feelings that sometimes make you want to mindlessly checkout of life.

2. I allow myself to be vulnerable.

My natural tendency is to want to keep things to myself — especially if I’m struggling. I had to learn to open up to heal my heart and keep our relationship strong. I now get honest about how I feel — no matter how scary it feels — and my husband listens and comforts me. He helps me process my thoughts and together we work through issues.

3. I stay healthy.

I was overweight for most of my life and when my husband and I married I was over 100+ pounds heavier than him. While he loved me and called me "beautiful" regardless of my size, my health issues affected my confidence, my health and my energy levels. I made the choice to get healthy and live the rest of my life strong after the birth of our second child. Derek supported me every step of the way and even joined me in my quest for to live a healthy lifestyle. I wanted to feel confident, and dare I say sexy, with the body I had?! There is nothing sexier than a confident person. I now feel happier, healthier, stronger and better now-- at almost 40-- than I ever did in my 20s! More importantly, if you want to live a long life together, you have to prioritize your health.

4. We share our dreams and chase them together.

I have always had a dream of empowering and inspiring people to live their best lives. My husband has always had a dream of being an entrepreneur and living life by his own terms. After the birth of our third baby, my husband told me he wanted to resign from his 15 year position and chase his dream of building his company. At the time I was a stay at home mom and there was no guarantee income would be there for our family of five. As not just his wife, but his best friend, I 100% supported him making our dreams a reality. A few years later when I dreamed of going back to school and becoming a Master Nutritionist and opening my own clinic he 100% supported me. Chasing your dreams together and spurring your partner on to chase theirs is an incredible way to bond.

5. We keep finding ways to surprise each other.

I have to admit my husband is incredible at this one! I never know what little treat or surprise he’ll bring home for me. I often find flowers, love notes and little gifts waiting for me— and for no reason at all. He truly dominates this love language of gift giving and surprises. However, remember, surprising one another doesn’t always have to be a gift. Sometimes, a beautiful text saying how much you love and appreciate your partner, making the bed, or hopping in the shower with them is also a welcome and sexy surprise! FYI: There is nothing sexier than a man vacuuming! That’s a fact that every woman can verify!

6. Never lose the honeymoon phase.

The honeymoon phase is a fraction of your relationship, but that doesn’t mean you can’t recreate that excitement! This means putting effort towards your friendship, towards your love life, adventuring together, and tons of communication and investment of time together. We set aside time every night to talk and laugh. We also workout together daily and make our gym time a fun time to flirt and encourage each other. We also make it a point to go on a weekly date where we dress up and have a REAL date— where he opens my car door, I wear something cute and we leave the kids with the grandparents. We also make our anniversary a BIG deal! We usually plan a romantic getaway and really honor our relationship. We believe that what you truly value, you will invest time, effort and attention to. Our marriage is our number one priority — and that foundation has created a love story that will expand our lifetime and beyond.