For Every Family & Family-To-Be
CONFESSION...
Sometimes I just want to crawl in to bed, forget that I have a husband and a family, and close my eyes until next week.
Don't get me wrong. There are days that I do that. Well, not close my eyes till next week. But I definitely neglect my relationship with my husband at times.
If there is anything that I remind myself of on a daily basis {besides reminding myself of the blessings God has given me} it's this...
I AM NOT JUST A MOTHER, I AM A WIFE.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that I wasn't solely put on this Earth to raise my children. To love, nurture, and shower them with every ounce of my being. To wrap my arms around them and squeeze them tight.
Although all of those things are important, they mean nothing if I am neglecting my marriage and my spouse. Wouldn't you agree?
From the beginning of our days as parents we vowed to one another to keep our relationship a priority. To not let the kids take over our world. And to remember that without each other, we are not the parents that we want to be.

I can remember when we had our first son, Parker. Wow, what a game changer that is when you add a baby to the family.
Suddenly we found ourselves getting in to a routine of"tending to the baby's every need" and neglecting any and all of ourv own needs.
Date nights? Non-existent.
Couch cuddles? Non-existent.
Long talks about {insert anything}? Non-existent.
Make-out sessions? Rare.
Sleep? Never.
Pretty soon we were so tired and exhausted from being parents that we had nothing left to give to each other. That's when we decided we needed to re-evaluate our life plan.
By the way, do you have a life plan? Have you sat down with your spouse and talked about what things are important to you in life and what things you want to accomplish as a couple, as parents, as professionals?
If not, it's a great conversation to have. You may realize how different your dreams and goals are from your spouse's. But it's even better to try and come up with a plan to make your life goals co-mingle.
Just because you got married and now became a parent doesn't mean that you can no longer have an identity of your own.
And sooooo the change began.
We started making our relationship a priority. It started with a simple bed time. No, not for us. For the baby.
It was crucial to our marriage and so important to be able to end the day on the couch together. It gave us time to just be together with no interruptions and no distractions. Adult conversation. Snuggles. And yes, even time for intimacy.
Don't blush, y'all realize that's how we got 3 kids to begin with, right?
Fast forward 7 years and things have changed quite a bit. We've added children. We have more responsibilities. More websites to run. More church activities to attend. More T-ball games.
But one thing that hasn't changed...the priority of our marriage.
I can't stress how important it is to find something that you and your spouse can do together. It's completely and 100% fine to have separate hobbies, but finding a common hobby is so important.
The title of this email could have read anything...it could have said "I'm not just a blogger, I'm not just a daughter, I'm not just a Christian, I'm not just a decorator, I'm not just a {fill in the blank}....I'M A WIFE."
Next to Jesus, my marriage is my top priority. When my relationship with God and my husband is thriving...all other things will fall in to place.
So, what about you...what steps have you taken to make your marriage a priority? Or, if you aren't married yet, have you thought about what kinds of things you will do to make your marriage successful?
Just hit reply to this email and share your ideas and thoughts with me. I'd love to hear!
We share a lot about our marriage on our MARRIAGE MORE PODCAST. Our desire is to help other couples design their perfect marriage. We'd love for you to take a listen!

Love,
Mandy Rose
mandy@houseofroseblog.com
HOUSE OF ROSE
