Today’s “One Word, One Goal-2012″ series guest is a fabulous blogger and a successful entrepreneur. Plus she’s just as cute as a stinkin’ button! April from Funky, Vintage, Lovely.
I met April last spring, and I LOVED her instantly. Like, she makes me laugh out loud. And she dresses so super cute. And she is real. And she feels like my long lost friend. That I found!
She runs an absolutely adorable online shop: Funky, Vintage, Lovely
You can tell that her sense of style just spills over into her business! She is seriously amazing. I can’t begin to tell you how much I admire the things she does in her life. But I’ll let her tell you more about that…
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I have a confession. I’ll admit it. I stretch myself too thin all the time. And, it’s probably not going to change anytime soon.
My family bought me a magazine for Christmas because one of the headers read….’Learn to Say NO!’ It was funny. We all laughed.
I was beyond honored when Lara asked me if I would participate in her series. I’ve always read about others One Word…but have never really joined it. I was excited for this invitation…plus I absolutely adore Lara…her personality, her design skills, her confidence, her short hair, her spunkiness, her geniuness…I can’t wait to spend a weekend with her at Snap Conference in a few months!
I thought a lot about what my word would be. I knew life wasn’t going to slow down anytime soon so I wanted a word that would help me feel like I was focusing on a few ‘things’ that have been nagging at me.
I knew immediately that I wanted my word to incorporate a few areas of my life that were feeling inadequate….my relationships, my body and my spirituality.
I chose….
NOURISH.
nour·ish (nûrsh, nr-)
1. To provide with food or other substances necessary for life and growth; feed.
2. To foster the development of; promote:
3. To keep alive; maintain: nourish a hope.
I’m smitten with my word. I say it over and over in my head. I’m excited about what it will mean to me this coming year. I want to NOURISH three important areas of my life.
- Relationships with Family and Friends: I have always dreamed of regular date nights. Not just with my husband, but with our children. Father/Daughter date nights, Mother/Son date nights, Mother/Daughter date nights and Father/Son date nights. Ideally these would happen two Fridays or Saturdays a month with a traditional date night with my husband also once a month. But remember…I am stretched thin. So to NOURISH these relationships I am hoping for those special date nights to happen at least once a month. Our children are growing fast and we only have a few more years with our daughter home. I don’t want my dream of ‘date nights’ to be a regret. I also want to better NOURISH my relationships with friends. I want to make more time to hang out, to laugh, to cry, to connect with other women because I believe those connections are so important.
- Nurtrition: I want to NOURISH my body better. I start my day pretty regularly with a high sugar intake. I’m not going to promise that huge changes will be made, but I want to be more aware about what I’m putting into my body, because let’s face it, when we feed our bodies with healthy food choices, life seems a bit more easy to manage. I usually feel better about myself and have way more engery!
- Personal Relationship with God: When I get stretched too thin, unfortunately my personal prayer is the first thing to go. I am too tired, I feel like I’m asking for the same things over and over, I forget. My soul feels lost because I lack spirituality. I want that to change. I want this relationship to be consistent. I want to NOURISH it through more regular and sincere prayers. Feed it with some scripture study. I want to carve out that important time to NOURISH my soul.
On top of all of our daily crazy that happens in our home, which is probably very similar to all of yours, and causes me to be stretched too thin, our family decided recently that we would become a licensed foster care home for infants.
It was a prompting I couldn’t dismiss and Dave was on board. We started the process in July, became licensed the last week of November and received our first placement on December 2nd. We welcomed a sibling set….a 6 week old newborn sweet little boy and his sister, a 13 month old that is everything little girls are made of…. Her nickname some days is ‘Pistol’ but most days she goes by ‘Little Miss.’
I have felt so fulfilled in this experience so far. We have fallen madly in love with two children that are not our own. We know what our role is with these children….to love them, to provide for them, to give them stability….for as long as they are in our home. They will be in our home for a while , but in our hearts forever.
Imagine my delight when I read definition number 2 for NOURISH….to foster!
It confirmed that I picked the right word for me.
See what I mean? April is amazing! But the thing that is the best about her….is that even though she’s a complete angel…she’ll laugh at a good off color joke with me. That’s what makes people awesome in my book!
Run, don’t walk, to check out April at the Funky, Vintage blog as well as her darling shop.
Beautiful post. I want to meet you April (I’ll be at Snap, too)…and I’m off to check out that gorgeous jewelry in your shop right now!
She’s so fab, Kari. You’re gonna be instant buddies!
Hi Kari! Can’t wait to meet you too. I so need a weekend away with girls! And, I think you might have found something you like in the shop?! Looking forward to packaging up something pretty for you!! Thank you.
♥ april
Have to wish April luck with the fostering. We too are foster carers and know how tricky it can be. However you have totally picked the right word for you in so many ways. All the best x
So much respect and gratitude goes out to both of you. What an amazing service you are giving!
Nicki! Thanks for the ‘luck’ wishing. I can already tell this is going to be a difficult journey involving a broken heart at some point.
But so far so good. Napa County has amazing foster care training. 30 hours of classtime…with real life experiences and all kinds of info from current foster parents. We felt more prepared starting this journey than most people we talked to. With that said…I’m sure we are up for challenges that we are not expecting nor can prepare ourselves for. Glad to know we are not alone. Thanks for your kind comment.
♥ april
Oh my gosh…All these great words are killing me. I am starting to get word anxiety…
I love dear April. She is without a doubt one of the most fun people I have ever met. I think one of the reasons she may be stretched a bit thin is because she is such a giver. Love her.
She’s amazing. And that’s EXACTLY why she’s stretched so thin. Can you imagine? But she’s fantastic! And that’s what counts!
Tauni….love you too. You girls have all been too kind with your comments. And I do feel the need to give. It makes life happier. It is just in me. Although my hubby wishes I would ‘give’ more in the making lunches department. Never have, never will! My favorite hymn: Because I Have Been Given Much…I Too Must Give. It better be played at my funeral!
This is great! I love One Little Word. I’m actually hosting a 1LW Linky party over at my blog, if you want to pop over and see!
http://itsourlongstory.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-one-little-word.html
There’s only a few hours left for this week!
What a great series and a great word!
I am already a fan of Funky Vintage Lovely!
My one word for 2012 is JOY!
I explain why here:
http://worthyoftheprize.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-2012-word.html
Happy New Year!
I am fortunate to be able to call April a dear friend. Thanks so much for asking her to post for you blog. What you see is exactly what you get with this girl!
Love you Molly….more than you know. xoxo
I am sooooo LOVING this series Lara. You are a freakin GENIUS!! My blog post is coming soon I told ya about & I am definitely quoting you! =) LOL
This is AWESOME.
Lara, you describe April perfectly. She’s all that and then some. Love the word. It’s making me think some.
Such a great word to have for the year.
It is a perfect word for you. I thought the same thing when I saw “foster” in the definition!!! God is good that way.
You inspire me with date nights…I need to get on that in my family!!!
xoxo
paige
April, I totally miss you!!! I had so much fun getting to know you at CE and this post just makes me want to know you more! You are dang sweet!
LOVE IT April! Such a great word and reminder! Thanks for sharing your sweet self and your word!
Wow! April you are so amazing! I love your word. It is one I could use more of in my life as well!
Hi April,
“Nourish” is also the word I have chosen for my journey through 2012. I found you through a google image search of the word nourish to add to my FB profile. Loved your post. Hope you are nourishing and receiving nourishment in 2012.
God Bless,
Kelly