Mother | Naturer | Nurturer

My name is Johnna Holmgren, mother and certified Forest School Instructor. I reside in Northern Minnesota, with my four daughters and loving husband. In the land of glistening snowfalls, walleye fishing, and hot summer nights, I enjoy cold dipping in Lake Superior, baking, cooking, and adventuring in winter! Through summer, you will most likely find us gardening or deep in the woods.

An adventurer and an outdoors-woman, I seek to bring authentic appreciation and enthusiasm to mothering. I genuinely believe this life is meant to be lived with deep gratitude and curiosity. I believe the role of a Mother carries profound significance and that in many ways,

we hold the key to unlocking a life beautifully lived and entirely felt.

For my whole life and since meeting my husband at age 13, I’ve dreamt about motherhood. Then when I finally grew up, I was thoroughly surprised to be met with such societal and conversational anguish toward mothering.

It felt as if the very same week I discovered I was pregnant with my first child, women were advancing towards me in great speed to warn me of the depths of hardship, victimization, and total dissolution of joy. My heart was weighted. I asked myself,

“Was this the only way through motherhood?”

It was then, that I became determined to seek an alternative path and dare I say, possibly… just maybe, appreciate this motherhood journey?

I can testify that there will be hard days, unyielding seasons, and days or weeks that feel lonely and isolated. I found that there is loss, there is pain, and there is a massive requirement for grit.

The coldest and darkest moments of winter can exemplify the toughest seasons in motherhood. I am fascinated that we can lean into the cold, hard ones too and come out potentially feeling stronger, softer and more brave than we ever knew was possible.

There are sleepless nights in which the necessity of outpouring and nurturing is demanded and essential every hour and yet, deep down, we do desire to give everything to attend to these little souls towards wholeness.

Nevertheless, a decade later, with four living babes in my arms, the quest for connection, wonder, and the obtainable gratitude in motherhood is still the heart center of everything I do. I desire to enjoy the years of motherhood while in them. Don’t we all? Each time I birthed one of my daughters in the woods, it continued to re-spark my flame for embracing motherhood in a new way.

I believe there is a wild and wonderful connection at hand between giving my life, heart, and home to a loving God, extending a consistent presence in nature, constantly seeking towards authentic kinship with our children and joyfully embodying the role of motherhood. These woven together have great capacity to guide us into deep satisfaction and wholeness as mothers.

I believe in the good of motherhood. I believe in childhood preservation and in the great power we have to consciously slow down their younger years and satiate them with closeness and connection. I’d like to continue to hearten other Mothers in anyway possible towards endurance, encouragement and beauty through our all encompassing journey and ever-changing seasons of motherhood.

You can experience portions of our life on Instagram (@FoxMeetsBear) where I am regularly sharing about my family’s experiences outdoors and ways I am seeking to bring nourishment, nurturing, and gratitude into the home.