Hi, I'm April!

Hello Friend!  I’m so glad you’re here and can’t wait to learn more about you and how I can help! In the meantime, let me tell you a little about our journey!

I’m April, wife to Jay, and Mom to six kiddos, our dog Henry, three goats, and 12 chickens! We are living out our lifelong dream in a farmhouse built in 1896 on 3.5 acres in the Pacific Northwest. To say we are busy, is an understatement, but we are loving every single minute growing our own food, simplifying our life, and teaching our kids the joys of running wild and free, hard work, harvesting, and preserving food, and focusing our hearts on gratitude and grace. There’s something so rewarding about getting back to the basics. I believe that God gave us everything in nature for us to live life to it’s fullest!

We didn’t always live so naturally, however. Funny enough, I had several friends talk to me about essential oils for a couple of years. My typical response was, “yeah, yeah, yeah…snake oils.”  It wasn’t until I landed in the ICU with severe breathing issues while six months pregnant, that I was desperate enough to try anything. I was full of anxiousness about the safety of our unborn baby, wanting direly to be home with our other kids and not knowing what that even looked like. My dear friend brought me a little bottle with an oil blend called “Breathe Again” and told me to roll it on my chest. What the heck could it hurt? To my complete surprise, almost immediately I took the deepest breathe I had taken in months!! I had no idea just how bad I had been struggling to breathe normally, as it had gradually gotten worse over time. The huge elephant on my chest lifted, my lungs filled and that little tiny seed of hope took root.

That moment set our family on a trajectory of learning all the different things that were negatively impacting my breathing issues. We started looking around our home and the products we used and had never even realized they were full of toxic chemicals that were not only negatively impacting my ability to breath, but were also filled with ingredients known to disrupt hormones, cause liver & kidney damage among many other things. I was shocked to discover, that literally everything from from what we were using to “clean”, to the products we were putting on our skin and in our bodies, every single day were literally tearing us down. It was downright scary…and overwhelming to be honest.

In the famous words of Maya Angelou, “When you know better, you do better.” I started paying attention to ingredients having learned which ones to avoid and looking for natural options with ingredients I could read and pronounce.  ONE BY ONE, we started swapping things out, and before long I realized, I was no longer fighting for every breath, I wasn’t getting debilitating migraines, and wasn’t even having to use my inhaler. Friends, this was HUGE!! I could go outside again, walk and hike without getting winded, chase my kids…I could live. That little seed of hope had taken root and was growing into something SO much bigger!

It didn’t stop there; our journey was just starting. When I had purchased the starter kit, it came with a whole plethora of oils! We were trying everything, experimenting, learning, plugging into the amazing and supportive community of “oilers”. What we found was that we were all sleeping better, more focused, better able to work through emotions, and when our first year passed  we realized that none of us had even been sick! We used to pass sickness around our family for months on end, and for me, it usually led to bronchitis, missed work and gatherings and an exhaustion that never let up. For the first time, I actually felt empowered to take care of my family and KNEW I was creating a legacy of wellness; physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and socially. Our kids already have such an amazing head start, knowing what their bodies, minds and hearts need, and they can get it nature.

Looking back, I SO regret wasting those two years. If I had only known then, what I know now, there was so much that we never would have had to suffer through. I knew that I needed to help others that were struggling and needing hope, encouragement, empowerment and freedom! I wanted to come alongside the tired Mommas like me who were worn out, run down, physically and emotionally exhausted, and show them a different way. I wish I could explain how it fills my heart to link arms and learn, support and grow together. I want for others, what we have found, and we’ve enjoyed building a community of people doing just that! We are GROUNDING ROOTS!

Although I have a million other stories to share, I’m interested in YOURS. What are you struggling with or curious about? May I walk along side you through this journey and cheer you on, and celebrate each success? How can I help? Message me, and I’d love to join you for a chat and give you some hope!