Meet Julie Brasington of Happy Home Fairy in Fort Lauderdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Brasington.

Julie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I had my first baby 10 years ago and got to stay home with him after five years of teaching 2nd grade. In those early months of being a new mama, I couldn’t believe how difficult and lonely it was! I also struggled with a good amount of fear about every new little thing. From vaccinations to feedings to schedules, I found my once confident self floundering. I thought motherhood would come naturally to me and I would be able to shower more than once a week and sleep more than a few hours at a time. Then, one day, a friend sent me a link to a “blog” written by a mutual friend. The post was about the author’s little boy and a medical issue he was facing with his eyes. He was going to need surgery. As I read on, I was profoundly touched by the courage the author expressed. She spoke of her faith and desire to trust God, even when she didn’t understand or know what the future held. I felt uplifted and challenged to apply the same boldness in my own mothering. If she could be okay with her child having surgery, then I could spend less time worrying about bottle brands and doctor visits. Bolstered with newfound hope, I couldn’t wait to share my story, too. I wanted to encourage and inspire other moms who felt lonely, fearful and inadequate. I wanted to provide fun and simple activity and tradition ideas to help moms focus on building connections and memories with their families. I wanted to share easy recipes for busy days. And I wanted to offer the hope of a home that could be happy even when circumstances are tough. That’s when I opened up WordPress.com and started Happy Home Fairy!

Has it been a smooth road?
From 2009-2012, I wrote for my blog regularly and began building the sweetest little community of moms. I didn’t know what these women looked like or where they lived but we bonded over stories like that time my son had a rectal prolapse and I almost quit being a mom until God sent me a balloon with a very special message. In April of 2012, we had our second son and that’s where things got a little crazy! You see our second son was born with respiratory distress and we ended up spending 3 months in the NICU at Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital. I shared regular updates on Happy Home Fairy about his health as well as my struggles in the middle of such a challenging and uncertain time. Thousands of people began following our story and praying for our family. Writing for Happy Home Fairy became a lifeline for me as I found so much daily encouragement through these precious people who chose to be a part of the hard things with me. I didn’t even know these people but the internet linked our arms and blew fresh hope into our lungs. This season especially tested the “happy” part of my blog’s name. I certainly wasn’t happy most days and our home was facing a terrible trial, but we ultimately learned through our church and blog community and through our faith that our home could be happy because we had one another, not because everything was perfect.

Fast forward to 2019 and we have added a 3rd little boy to our crew and I now work full time as a preschool director. Life is busy! Plus, our 3rd little guy doesn’t value sleep, so we spend the better part of the night together partying. I’m too tired most days to write and create Pinterest worthy images for a post! I would say that the hardest part about blogging now is keeping up! With the rise of influencers and social media and algorithms, etc., it has been hard to stay on top of the latest trends. I only get to blog about once a month now and I don’t have the most business-savvy knowledge about growing and maintaining an online presence, but my heart has not stopped wanting to share with other moms the lessons I am learning about joyful mothering in the middle of imperfect circumstances.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Happy Home Fairy – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Happy Home Fairy is a wonderful resource for moms looking to find simple ways to create connections and memories with their families. I love sharing fun (always free) printables like lunch notes, cute pun-ny gift tags, conversation cards, and games. Everything I share I hope helps moms have a positive experience with their kids and even their husband. I love sharing about marriage too. My husband and I struggled after the stressful birth of our second and I blogged about how we persevered and came out on the other side better and more connected than ever. I share simple recipes for those crazy school nights because a big part of happy homes is gathering together around a good meal. I am also passionate about acts of kindness and ended up having an opportunity to write a book about ways you can change the world one act of kindness at a time. I love sharing preschool-aged projects, crafts, and activities since I work in a preschool. I love helping other teachers find ways to make learning fun. Finally, I love holidays and sharing simple ways to celebrate at home.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Ask me this question in a year okay? Haha! I am not sleeping much this first year of our 3rd baby’s life and so I have slowed down on the production side of my blog. But I know it’s not time to stop yet. I am just being patient with myself, posting when I can, and staying open to new ideas. I would love to write another book and maybe even a cookbook one day! I also have a BIG Dream to one day write and produce videos for kids featuring simple Bible verse songs to help them memorize and apply to their lives.

Pricing:

• Buy my ebook The Kindness Antennae on my site for just $9.99!

Contact Info:

• Website: happyhomefairy.com
• Instagram: @happyhomefairy
• Facebook: @happyhomefairyblog
• Pinterest: @happyhomefairy
• Twitter: @happyhomefairy
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Heather Holt Photography

Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.