Guest Post: Mandy

Happy Father's Day!  Today, I bring you another guest blogger: Mandy from She 
Breathes Deeply.  Oh, how I love this sweet girl!  I am inspired daily as Mandy writes 
about her life with the most positive attitude and infinite amount of faith.  She has the 
most beautiful spirit and I draw so much comfort from her words.  She is a wife and mama 
to the precious Lily Beloved.  I hope that they are enjoying their first Father's Day as 
a family!  Visit this beautiful space soon, you will be so happy you did!  

Hello Soul Singing Liv readers!  This is Mandy from 
She Breathes Deeply.  I am so happy to be here with you 
all today while beautiful Olivia is enjoying her vacation!

Let me introduce myself a little bit.  I am a blog 
obsessed, tattoo wearing, tea drinking, christian 
yoga practicing, wife to a wonderful man named Kyle, and n
ew mama to a sweet little baby named Lily.  

I am brand spanking new at this whole mama business.  I 
never could have been prepared for the enormous love that 
would take over, and permanently reside in my heart for my 
baby girl.  This love is overwhelming.  Before having Lily, 
I remember thinking, "I love my husband so much, and I 
can't imagine having enough room in my heart to add to 
that love."  I was unaware of how big your heart can grow 
when you have a child.

But today I am not here to talk about parenting, or the 
joys of mommy-hood.  Today I am talking about someone else 
very near and dear to my heart… My best friend, my soul mate, 
the love of my life… my husband, Kyle.

I wasn't prepared for how much having a kid would effect 
my marriage.  Everyone knows that a good marriage takes a lot 
of time and effort… But, after having a kid... the 
entire dynamics change of your home.  During this time I think 
it is SO important to draw closer to your husband.  As 
any challenge in life, whether that be having a child or 
whatever it may be, can either draw you closer to your 
husband, or push you further away.  It is REALLY easy to get 
so get caught up in the whirlwind of having a baby and 
neglect your marriage somewhat.  Here are some things I 
have found to help keep your marriage on track.

1.  Make time for each other.  I know this sounds SO obvious… 
But time can be tricky.  My husband works two jobs (yesterday 
he worked 17 hours in one day!), and I take care of our 
little bundle of joy (which is a full time job!) all day.  By 
the end of the day we are pooped, to say the least.  Weekends 
are our saving grace.   As hard as it is on me to leave Lily, 
we try to have Grandma babysit every once in awhile so we can 
get away for a couple hours and focus on each other.  This 
time together leaves us so refreshed and refocused on each 
other.  Plus, it feels like we are dating all over again.  I 
even feel giddy when Kyle goes to hold my hand!  : )

2.  Use all your methods of communication.  Kyle and I send 
ooey-gooey-lovey text messages back and forth through out the 
day while he is at work.  It is nice to know, even though he 
is hard at work, and I am changing poopy diapers left and 
right, we are thinking of each other through out the day.

3.  Show affection.  As soon as Kyle walks through the door 
from work, he wraps me up in a huge hug and kisses me.  
This means the world to me.  Even though we don't have 
endless moments to cuddle and be romantic like we used to when 
it was just the two of us, I still cherish the hugs and kisses 
I get from my husband when he walks through the door.

Marriage is a beautiful and wonderful thing to be cherished… 
I love my husband with all my heart, and I want him to know 
that… no matter how many children we someday having 
crawling around our feet!  

Come visit my blog at www.shebreathesdeeply.com and say hello!

Love,

Mandy