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Woohoo! 🥳 The kids are at Grammie’s and we went to a wedding! Got to get dressed up, see Ryan rock it as the “professional officiant” (this is what the wedding coordinator called him), eat a free steak, and even dance a little! 💃🏼🪩 My favorite thing that Ryan said during the ceremony was that God made Adam wait for Eve. He paraded all the Mr. and Mrs. animals in front of him long enough until Adam’s longing matched God’s good gift. The timing was then right, Adam was ready to fully appreciate and treasure his Mrs. “Man”. To be honest, I almost didn’t attend the wedding with Ryan! I wasn’t feeling great and the idea of being home without kids all day to catch up on cleaning and laundry was pretty appealing. But the little nudge in me said DO NOT MISS THIS. I wanted to hear Ryan’s message and watch him lead this precious couple’s ceremony. I knew it was important to him that I be there. So because I treasure him, I went. And I wasn’t the only one treasuring today! Ryan thanked me for coming with him, he danced with me even though I knew he would rather die than be on the dance floor, and he let me run into the store on the way home to end the day with some chocolate. So here’s to treasuring one another - looking first to your spouse’s interests before your own, being their biggest fan, and telling them they look super hot in the fancy suit. I mean, after all, he is a professional. 😁

🥳This is 42!!!🥳 I got to sleep in, workout, take a shower, AND go grocery shopping alone all in this one day! It’s like the planets aligned! Oh wait - they actually did today! 😂✨🙌🏻 Grateful for a precious village of friends and family (that’s you all) who remind me of what’s right and true on this journey of obedience to Jesus. One doesn’t have to sleep in, workout or have a deliciously absurd amount of sweet potato fries 🙋🏻‍♀️🙈 for dinner to live life to the fullest in Christ. He is enough and He is good and I’m so thankful for another year to serve Him! God loves you! 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙 “I will bless the  Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the  Lord; the humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me; let us exalt his name together.  I sought the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed. ” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬ 🎉🎂🥳🎈🎊🎁🦄🧚‍♀️✨

When you’re in the middle of wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve and spike a fever and suddenly you’re feeling the worst you have felt in years and you can’t get out of bed to go to all of the family Christmas celebrations… <<< Swipe left <<< So your mom shows up on your doorstep to bring the celebration to you. 🎄😂 Merry Christmas from the Brasington family! ❤️💚❤️💚

Last week we came home after being stuck in traffic for over an hour to a mailbox full of bills, no plans for dinner, complaining kiddos, I ended up not being able to do something I really needed to get done, and everyone was on the verge of getting sick. I went to the back of the house to take a deep breath as things were getting especially tense, and that’s when I heard the sound of glass breaking. Zion came running back to me holding the pieces of a beloved ornament. He was crying. He had been playing football in the house. I wish I could tell you I responded with grace and a warm comment like, “Things don’t matter, people do.” But I did not! I actually ordered myself to just go straight to bed. Then in the middle of the night, I sensed the Spirit of God wake me up with that image of Zion, crying and holding the broken ornament pieces. The thought came to me that don’t we all walk around carrying our own broken ornament pieces? Maybe it’s not a literal broken ornament, but we all carry difficulties like a stressful day at work, fear for our children’s well being, estranged relationships, anxiety about current affairs, etc. We all experience hard things and act sinfully. We walk around with our ornament pieces looking for someone to fix what is broken. The whole reason Jesus came on Christmas was to do just that. He, himself, experienced every kind of brokenness this world can offer and yet responded perfectly, showing us the better way of faith, hope, and love. He came to be the refuge from our fears, the long suffering, forgiving love in our relationships, the lifter of our burdens, the steady calm when it’s Christmas Eve and everyone has fevers and you haven’t wrapped one gift yet. 🙋🏻‍♀️ We can take our broken ornaments to Him and find complete restoration because He came on Christmas. So there I was, in the middle of the night, receiving this word, and knowing I needed to reconcile with Zion. I needed to reassure him that the broken things would not be held against him... because of Jesus. I held my sleeping child in the dark and whispered the words of a precious liturgy by @justinwhitmelearley … (Continued in comments…)

Today I did something that has been on my Bucket List for years! 😅 I cooked a turkey! 🦃 And it was a 20 lb-er to boot! Isn’t it funny how the things that scare us the most typically end up being not that bad? I confess that the amount of overthinking I did about cooking a turkey almost kept me from ever doing the thing! I mean, there are a lot of ways to cook a turkey. And don’t get me started on the gravy! 😵‍💫 But then God sent me a few friends and a sweet mama - all who were there for me even in the early morning hours of searching for giblets (no, I never did find them) and trying to figure out if I did the cheesecloth right. They let me borrow their roasters and fat separators and consistently cheered “You got this!” in my ears. I also surrendered that bird to Jesus and He was faithful to see me through. Often you have to narrow down the voices and fix your eyes on Jesus to find your victory. Then our great fears can become great adventures. 🙌🏻 So today I am thankful for God’s presence to strengthen and comfort in hard things! And I am thankful for His people who are willing to love me through the hard things! This is God’s best - His perfect design for us includes trusting Him and enjoying His many benefits through the faithful love of others. Happy Thanksgiving, sweet Happy Home Fairy friends! Thank you for being a great benefit to my family and to me! I adore you all! 🧡🦃🧡🦃🧡 Psalm 107:8-9 "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

Who can you message right now and thank for being an example of God’s goodness in your life? “Return to your rest my soul. For the Lord has been good to you.” Psalm 116:7 🍂🧡🍁🍂🧡🍁🍂🧡🍁 #thekindnessantennae #kindness #bekind #godisgood #thegoodnessofgod

Today is Obi’s 3rd birthday and we couldn’t be more thankful! The transition to having a dog almost sent me to heaven and I think it’s taken me this long to finally accept that the floors and basically everything will never be clean again, but this dog has changed our family for the better. 🐶He is always happy to see us. 🐾He is a tremendous comfort to Ryan. 🦴He knows when one of us is sad and he looks for ways to make it better. 🐶He loves to be chased around the coffee table. 🐾He can destroy literally any dog toy we give him. 🦴He jumps on us when we get home from school and it’s the best thing ever. 🐶I thought getting a dog meant he would eat anything and everything, but he is exactly like my children. Will eat any meat, will not touch veggies. Also I have never been more stressed than when we have grapes in the house. 🐾But you should know his most favorite thing to eat is tissues. Any tissue he can find. Especially the used ones straight outta the garbage. 🦴He gets so proud when he catches iguanas in the back yard. We feel pretty good about it, too. 😜😣 🐶He is the perfect dog for us! We love you, Obadiah Jude! 🥳 #goldendoodle #goldendoodlef1b #dogsofinstagram #doglover #happybirthdaydog

Had the BEST time in the Netherlands! But super happy to be back. 😅 #lovemyjob

About a year ago, our church came to Ryan and asked if he and I would go to the Netherlands for a prayer conference. How could we say no?! But as the day of our trip grew closer, I grew more and more fearful! With the election tensions, travel out of the country seemed way too scary! I went into serious overthinking mode. And yet the Lord was so kind to me even though He had to drag me kicking a little. I would have preferred the familiar day to day grind rather than believe God had a new thing in store. Now, I feel foolish for resisting such a beautiful gift. What if Moses never went? He tried real hard to get out of it, but God said with tremendous compassion, “Off you go.” To reap rewards! To advance the kingdom! To benefit God’s people! To glorify the Father! To experience His goodness in fresh and new ways. Fear is a thief that WILL steal your joy, peace, and gratitude. To preach to yourself >> The Lord PROMISES to guide us in paths of righteousness for HIS namesake! He promises still waters and green pastures! He promises to be with us wherever we go! Oh, to trust Him without question as a loving Father. Forgive my spiritual amnesia, Jesus. 🤍 I’m so thankful for this week of worship, new adventure, precious people, growth, beauty, and uninterrupted time with Ryan. I think Amsterdam is a new favorite city and I’m already dreaming of going back. 😆 Tot ziens, Netherlands! 🇳🇱 God used you in my life!