About

Hi! I’m so glad you visited today! I’d love to share a little bit about me and how this all started!

I moved to the Monterey Bay area in 2006 but it wasn’t until a few years ago I began to really appreciate and enjoy the beauty of where I live. It’s easy to get busy and take things for granted, but through bike and horseback riding, I began to enjoy the world around me.

It’s amazing to me how every encounter in nature is a different experience. Whether at the ocean or in the mountains, my heart is stirred by the wonder of creation. It could be feeling the mist of the roaring ocean on my face or the warm scent of the giant redwoods, each moment creates a memory all its own.

In an ever changing world, I am so grateful to the Creator who has so lovingly given us the wonder of this beautiful place we live. Everything, from the tiniest of creatures to the grandeur of a sunset, is a wonder to enjoy.

Capturing these moments and sharing them on social media brought me such joy, especially seeing how it brought happiness to those who saw them. It inspired me to take this next step and, make them available to everyone, and hopefully encourage someone with my journey. I hope you are encouraged too!

A JOURNEY OF HOPE

ISAIAH 53:5 “…AND BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED”

In April of 2015, I was hospitalized for an opiate overdose, a moment in time that shifted my world forever. The addiction had began years before, needing pain relief for different health issues. Over time I became dependent on them and other prescription drugs, using them to try and control pain, depression and anxiety. I never started out wanting to be addicted and like everyone else that ends up like I did, life often felt hopeless. I felt distant from my family, my friends and my God.

When the feelings of despair were at their worst, God truly rescued me. I ended up in the ER on 4/12/15 and it was best thing that could have happened. I no longer could hide what I was trying desperately to escape. I had to finally face my addictions, and changes had to be made if I wanted to survive.

With the love of family and friends and treatment, I was able to turn my life around. It was not easy and it took time, but God was with me every step of the way. He is truly my strength and my Savior.

Like many of you, 2020 was a challenging time in more ways than I could have imagined. As a person who has struggled with addiction, anxiety and depression, being isolated was not ideal, and the shelter in place orders were at times very difficult, and brought new challenges into my recovery journey. It was moments of bike riding, or visiting our beautiful coast that provided some of the much needed outlets that helped me to stay strong. Many of these images are what I had captured during some of the most difficult times.

When I see the sun light up the sky in some of the most magnificent ways or hear the roaring of the ocean as the waves pound the rocks and sand I am reminded of the power of God and how mighty He is to carry us through any trial. Sometimes I would feel like a grain of sand on the beach, but He would remind me that though there we are many, we are all created in His image and loves us so much that He would sacrifice His son Jesus so that we would never have to be alone or lost again.

Today, He is using my life to help others in their recovery journeys and I am truly grateful for this. These brave men and women remind me that life is a gift, and to never take a single day for granted.

Thank you for reading my story! -April

If you would like to know more about recovery, please contact me or click on any of the links below. Feel free to drop a line and share your story too!