5 minute read
FEATURE A CREATIVE HOUSE OF MANY
A CREATIVE HOUSE OF MANY
by Carla Howatt
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There are people who fall apart amid chaos. When things go bad, they rant, shake their fists at the skies, scream and then crawl into a fetal position. And then there is April Wiens.
To be near April is to be at the centre of a calm oasis. Nothing seems to rattle her and get her upset. Certainly nothing seems to surprise her. It isn’t as though nothing exciting or chaotic happens in her life. Quite to the contrary. To understand April, you need to know a bit about her childhood and her life today.
A Bio Child in a Foster Family
Her fathers upbringing included some tough times which resulted with him being cared for outside of his home. That care was quite often worse than what was going on at home which was very confusing and scary. These experiences later inspired him and his wife to become foster parents with the hope of helping kids avoid a lot of the hurt and pain that Bruce had experienced growing up. So, from the time she was twelve years old, April’s parents fostered children.
She looks back on that time fondly and remembers her father trying to make a difference not only in the foster children’s lives, but in hers as well. Waking up in the morning to the sound of Zig Ziglars Born to Win soundtrack blasting throughout the home was not an uncommon occurrence as he was forever trying to impress upon them numerous lessons in life.
One time while on a family picnic, their father took them to a large hill near the river. He instructed the kids to find the largest rock they could carry and made them climb to the top of the hill with it. Once there, he handed them a marker and asked them to write the words “I Can’t” on their rock. He then led them over to the bridge above the river and told them to throw the rock in. From then on, they were no longer allowed to use the words “I can’t” in their home. They could say “I don’t want to” or ‘I won’t’ but they could never say I can’t.
Of course, life was not all hauling rocks and self-help gurus, there were also water fights inside their home, lots of singing and plenty of laughter. April’s mother was the calming influence and balance to her father, an unflappable and serene woman. The greatest influence in April’s life.
A Life of Her Own
When April was 20, she met Kevin Wiens. Towering over her at six feet tall and a lot of muscles, Kevin was very quiet and calm. They married a year later and within a few years had their first baby. When their daughter was about two years old, the couple decided to look into fostering. Kevin had worked at youth ranches and group homes for troubled teens, so he knew there were plenty that needed their help. At the age of 26 years, April became a foster mother to a sixteen-year-old.
April explains there was never a question of whether they would foster young children or teens. “I have a very sarcastic and blasé way about me that works well with teenagers,” she says. “Young kids need lots of hugs, and they have lots of hands-on needs. We prefer conversations about all the big stuff and coming up with ways to connect and heal and quite frankly, sleeping in”. She also liked that when they had a breakthrough with teenagers, you could visibly see the change and know that they got it and they were beginning to heal.
What is her goal for her foster kids? For them to see a new normal. April wants them to know that welfare, abusive relationships, as well as alcohol and drug abuse are not things they have to accept as normal or expected in their lives. She wants them to see a different way of living, while still honouring where they came from.
More on Her Plate
In addition to raising multiple teenage foster children, April has three children of her own that are now adults. She lives with fibromyalgia and other health stuff, but that hasn’t stopped her from living her life to the fullest. And busiest.
She is the co-founder of What She Said Creatives a gift company that prides itself on being ‘funny without the f-word’. From the beginning, the biggest problem with their company was that they were successful much, much quicker than they had planned. They weren’t prepared for the high demand and worked hard just to stay caught up. Now the sole owner, April is considering expanding into some new product lines and growing even more.
As if that isn’t keeping her busy enough, she also started a business with her husband to teach their foster kids a variety of different life skills. The House of Many Design creates items that are designed with foster and adoptive families in mind. There are cards that welcome children to the family and t-shirts that say “Yes, they’re all mine and no, I don’t know who their fathers are”, as well as some practical items such as six and nine multi-cup holders or a “chat box” that encourages teenagers to express themselves.
Whether it is dealing with school suspensions, running kids to counselling or working on safety plans with kids that are really struggling, April keeps a cool head and a calm attitude as she lives out her calling and impacts children’s lives.
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