Welcome to our Ventura County “Mom to Know” series!
We are featuring moms right here in our local community to highlight the wonderful things they are doing as mothers, business owners, community members, and friends. Each featured mom will be entered to win a single mini-session with local photographer JESSICA FRANCIS PHOTOGRAPHY.
A special thanks to Jessica Francis Photography for offering a mini-session and capturing the special moments in a mom’s life.
Jessica Francis Photography –
for the quirky, adventurous, & wildly in love
Serving quirky couples & playful families in Ventura County between Thousand Oaks & Santa Barbara, CA
We are honored to feature our 2nd “Mom to Know” in Ventura County!
Meet Rachel
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your family.
I am 32 years old. Married to Nick for 5 years. I am the mother to an adorable 16 month old, Hunter, a 13 year old beagle-mix, Alfie, and a 2 year old shepherd-mix, Capo. I am a full-time working mom and Nick is currently a full-time stay-at-home dad. We moved to Oxnard in June 2020 and have really enjoyed settling into this city!
2. What do you do for a living?
I am the head pastor at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.
3. What do you love about living in Ventura County?
I love the vast opportunities of fun activities that Ventura County offers – hiking, the beach, so many restaurants, wineries, etc! We lived in Ojai for 2 years prior to moving to Oxnard, and feel like we are really feeling at home here in Ventura County.
4. What are your favorite local things to do/places to go?
Nick and I do love visiting the beautiful Topa Mountain Winery in Ojai. We absolutely love Oxnard Beach Park, the Oxnard farmers market, the Channel Islands Harbor, and our fav breakfast place currently is Henri’s (according to my NC native husband, they have some of the best Chicken Fried Steak).
5. Is there a hidden gem in Ventura County you love?
Not off the top of my head! But would love to know of hidden gems to enjoy.
6. What do you do to reset and recharge?
Painting/art (I just began learning to watercolor and it’s been great), game nights with friends, date night with Nick, hiking, spending quality time with Hunter, Grey’s Anatomy & How I Met Your Mother.
7. How do you see yourself impacting our community?
Hopefully in a positive light. Especially with my role as a pastor, I have an opportunity to reach people of all walks of life with sincere love and compassion. And even beyond the church, I hope that I make authentic loving relationships with other people and families.
8. Brag on yourself! What are you proud of yourself about?
I’m really proud that I exclusively pumped for 9 months!
9. What piece of advice would you give women right now?
You are doing great. Society pressure is to look, act, speak, love, love, and mom a very certain way. And honestly, we need to be WAY more gracious with ourselves and give ourselves a hell of a lot more credit. If we look, act, speak, love, live, and mom with honest-to-goodness heartfelt love and compassion, then we are doing great.
Want to Nominate a Mom?
If you know a mom who needs to be nominated, we would love to know about it. Use the form below to nominate her!
Beautiful article and spirit! What an amazing Mama! We are missing their light here in Upland!