Family – itsbrittanyporter

March 29, 2022March 28, 2024

Easter Ideas with Resurrection Focus

We are going to be more intentional with Easter this year. I felt convicted about how much we focus on Christmas, but if Jesus had just been born and not died.. he would just be a man and my sin would still separate us from God. But our entire faith is based on the fact that he died and rose again conquering death and the grave so that I can receive the gift of intimate relationship with God and eternal life.

Here are some things we’ve done in the past and loved.. and some new things we are interested in doing this year!

Palm Sunday– the Sunday before Easter (matthew 21)- printable maze, pin the tail on the donkey, reenact the scene (one kid or parent is the donkey, lay down coats and palm leaves), palm branches with traced hands, books: the Donkey that no one could ride, The Donkey who Carried a King
Family Bible Study
- Leading up to Easter there are a lot of Bible study plans available on you version bible app– here are 2 I found that i like. The first one is for younger ones (or kids that can’t sit that long) and it comes with a video. The 2nd one would be more for middle school and up.
- There’s also a you version bible app for kids that we love!

2. CRAFTS http://www.trueaimeducation.com/resurrection-craft-for-easter/, holy week

3. MAUNDY THURSDAY PLAY (the Thursday before Easter, to reenact the scene of the upper room and ending in Jesus’s arrest).

Easter-Thursday-Playright Download

4. HOST A SEDER PASSOVER FEAST Remember the exodus and God’s mercy and deliverance with this themed dinner. this website makes it sound so fun!: https://monogrammedmischief.com/2018/04/10/our-kid-friendly-messianic-seder-whew/

Haggadah: program/bulletin of the night’s agenda (have a kid create the outline of the night and print it out or make copies)
exodus component: movie (prince of egypt?), Book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV1Ctjb8ALg
seder placemat: have kids draw the people coming through the parted waters or baby moses in a basket
passover centerpiece: make a representation of the exodus using various crafts/ materials- we used lego people
seder plate: something that represents the bitterness of slavery (maybe grapefruit, salt and vinegar chips), the salty tears (salt water, capers,, God’s provision (egg), mortar for bricks (apple sauce, yogurt), passover lamb (chicken nuggets, turkey)- you can use ANY food to represent these things… or set them out in the center of the table
wine or juice (4 little cups): symbolizes freedom
matzo/ breaking of bread
fun games and things to represent plagues, music, red scarf over door step other ideas here (bowling the 10 plagues, passover detective (tell the story with some mistakes, and see if the detectives can find them, edible plague basket, seder grab-bag game etc)

4. Resurrection Eggs… telling the story of Easter

5. Resurrection Party– This is the day our debt has been cancelled, that our savior rose defeating the death and the grave, conquering evil and shame, and gave us a new life in Christ. We should celebrate like no other!

Bingo cards– i print at office depot on cardstock! you can upload online and pickup curbside
Treats that represent the resurrection – breakfast of donut and donut hole to represent the grave opened
music playlist – click here for my spotify playlist (rattle by elevation worship, homecoming by cory asbury, come out of that grave by bethel & brandon lake, living hope by phil whickham, man of sorrows by hillsong worship, graves into gardens by elevation worship, come alive by the belonging co.)

June 8, 2017

Inspiration | How to Want Less

With a world heavily focused on social media, it can leave you wanting MORE. Like, all the time. Like, even when you get that something, it doesn’t satisfy. I’ve been challenged in two ways recently.

Tell your finances what to do instead of them telling YOU what to do. No matter what your income, you still won’t have enough. It is a bottomless pit and a way to suck margin right out of your life if you don’t create a budget. I’ve realized that I’ll find SOMETHING to buy at target, online shopping, or at the grocery store that I didn’t set out to get.. but because I had a little extra sitting in my account, I bought it. And at the end of the month, I was still finding myself strapped, because I didn’t budget. Even WITH more work, even WITH a raise, even WITH extra income.. you will never have enough until you learn to budget and live within your means. Also, tithe comes first. God can do more with my money than I can.
“If you feel like you never HAVE enough, it’s because you don’t believe you ARE enough.” Pastor Steven said this a few weeks ago and it resonated with me so much. But I couldn’t help wonder how I would even go about believing I am enough. This sermon by Perry Noble really was a great follow-up to that question. Hope you have time to watch it, but if not, here are the main points:
- In Christ, I am COMPLETELY FORGIVEN. Romans 8:1 There is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ.
- In Christ, I am VALUABLE. I was fearfully and wonderfully made. I was created on purpose. I was custom designed by God. The value is determined by the price someone is willing to pay.. the son of God died for me.
- In Christ, I am UNCONDITIONALLY LOVED. God accepts us in our mess. He loves us because we are His children made in his image- not because of our PERFORMANCE but because of our POSITION. Every person that is in the Bible needed God’s forgiveness.

I am going to put these on sticky notes on my mirror as my affirmation for the day.

Here’s the full sermon: Getting Past Your Past.

March 30, 2017

5 Tips for Better Instagram Photos

LIGHT- Lighting is everything. No matter what filter you add, you can’t change where the light is positioned. First, Find natural light (windows, outside, etc). If you are inside, turn off the overhead lights and try to move your subject (food, kids, dog, clothes, etc) to the window light. If you are outside in broad daylight (meaning mid-day-ish), find shade. Try not to take a photo with a light right overhead- it casts crazy shadows and is totally unflattering. Aim for light behind, light beside, or shade. Tap the subject to get the right exposure/ light on your subject.
BACKGROUND– Decluttered/ Clean backgrounds. I like to find solid walls, a similar pattern like a bush or flowering tree, or even the garage/ side of my house.
CROP-If you can’t find a plain background or if the back ground has too much going on.. zoom in. Don’t be afraid to crop and not get the whole picture. Sometimes the details are more meaningful and you can only see them if you crop out the rest.
COLOR- if your subject’s outfit does not compliment the photo, but you still LOVE what you’ve captured, convert it to black and white / add a BW filter. This does not correct for lighting, BUT it can correct color.
EDITING/ FILTERS– Download VSCO in the app store if you haven’t already. This is my favorite app for editing photos. This takes it to a whole other level than using instagram filters. You can apply a preset/ filter and then there are so many tools within vsco to adjust that affect on your image. My favorites are brightening, temperature, and exposure. If you want to cool off your image (decrease the yellows/oranges/reds in the photo) slide that thermometer to the left. If your image is too dark, you can kick up the exposure to the right to help. If your image is too bright, you can slide it left. This can help when your whites are too bright. Play around and create your own! You can copy and paste your edits to make all your images uniform.
My VSCO library.. not everything I edit is posted on IG

Editing Options / Light Behind

Filter Choices/ Light in Front

March 19, 2017

Lennox’s First Birthday | Bear Bash

Lennox is the sweetest little boy. My favorite things are how he always crosses his ankles when he sits, he puts out his bottom lip to offer me a kiss, and when he says “hello.” He seems to be a good mix of my other two so far. He loves to put things into other things to see if they will fit. He is completely content with a box and a couple of items to drop in and pick back out. He loves baths and kicks his legs back and forth with excitement.

I’m so thankful for my little bear cub and it was such a fun time celebrating his first year!

I’m learning that I don’t need to “MAKE” everything — ain’t nobody got time for that! My mom made the fruit skewers, we bought the food, and I diy-ed some printable and made the cake toppers. I think with each kid you learn to plan a little better and manage your time a little bit more. I don’t stay up the night before trying to do everything! I come up with a theme, make a do-able guest list, and create somewhat of a budget. Then, I come up with my “must- haves” which is typically a cake from our favorite bakery in town, gold balloons, themed or color coordinating plates/napkins, favors, and good food. Everything else is 2nd in terms of budget- depending on the theme of the party. Hope that helps you stress-less if you have a party to plan!

Here are some pics from his party, links of items are listed below 🙂

Cakes- Southern Gourmet in Matthews, NC | Biscuits Catered – The Flying Biscuit | Chicken Minis – Chick-fil-a | Toppers: DIY- black bears from Hobby Lobby, Brown Bear– Amazon | Gold Balloons, Stick Pencils, White Gummy Bears, Meri Meri Plates & Napkins, Wooden Cutlery, Plaid Runner– Amazon | Bow Tie- Little Mister

March 19, 2017

Lennox’s First Birthday | Bear Bash

I’m so thankful for my little bear cub and it was such a fun time celebrating his first year!

Here are some pics from his party, links of items are listed below 🙂

March 19, 2017

Lennox Gray : 6 months

Lennox’s half birthday fell around christmas time, so we signed up for mini sessions with sassyfras studios. It was freezing cold and windy and it was 1.5 hours away– which gave me plenty of time to do my makeup in the car haha. They always make something out of nothing and I was so happy to get some photos of our family of 5. Outfit details below.

Lennox: Hat- Swallows Return, Moccs- Bedtime Rebel on Etsy | Kinsley: Green Jumper- lovey lake, bows-cloudless Sky Design | Me: dress- Free People, Earrings- Reclaimed

March 19, 2017

Lennox Gray : 6 months

Lennox: Hat- Swallows Return, Moccs- Bedtime Rebel on Etsy | Kinsley: Green Jumper- lovey lake, bows-cloudless Sky Design | Me: dress- Free People, Earrings- Reclaimed

March 17, 2017

Lennox’s Newborn Photos

I can’t believe I’m just now sharing my favorites, but in honor of his first birthday, I’m looking back at some firsts. We absolutely adore Lauren and Christen from Sassyfras studios and cherish these photos SO much! It is a reminder to me to love life in all its craziness because that is where the beauty lies. (and it doesn’t help to have Sabrina from Be Pretty come do your hair and makeup 😉 ha!