It started with a few chickens and a small garden.

Believe it or not I wasn’t raised in the farming lifestyle. I was a good ol’ city girl, well a small town girl who lived in a subdivision most of her life. I got thrown into it when I said “I do!” to my farmer. So instead of drowning I decided to swim. It started with a HomeDepot shed and ten chickens. All I could think was “this man better know how much I love him”. Shortly after the chickens came a small 10 x10 garden. I was so excited, my farmer was out growing thousands of acres of crops and raising beef cattle, and here I was, bound and determine to grow food for our growing family. I failed miserably my first year! The best thing I grew was weeds and lots of them. But like my will to not drown as a farm wife I decided I would chalk my fail up as a lesson. The following year my garden was bountiful and the more I learned the bigger the garden got each year. By 2012 we had two little boys and a half acre garden. The boys were obsessed with everything John Deere and Dad. So as my days (pregnant with our daughter) grew quiet, the boys were out farming and I felt a void. What am I good at? Who am I if I’m not out running a tractor, herding cattle, cooking meals or being a stay at home mom? While on a tractor date, which is every day in the summer if you want to see your husband, I told my farmer how I felt. He reassured me that without me this farm and ranch we have built together wouldn’t be the same. Yep, me, the city girl had grew and built a farm life! His words warmed my heart but didn’t fill it. So the next day I spent it out in the garden with my boys picking flowers and produce to drop off to the older generation, farm wife neighbors. This was my most favorite way to spend the busy summer days. Sitting on the porch with a fellow farm wife listening to all the triumphs and fails this lifestyle brought, their garden back in the day, and how much joy my kids and the flowers brought them. I don’t think any of them realized just much those few hours meant to me. My heart was full and my mind was quiet.

It was a late summer night in July, I was out in the garden weeding, and my farmer just got done swathing hay. He pulled up a chair next to me and sighed. We both sat there quietly, just breathing in the smell of dirt and tomato plants. He then said, “This.”. I was definitely confused. He then went on to say he heard I was over at Mrs. X’s farm all day and that the boys and I took her a bunch of flowers from the garden. I replied with a yes, I told him how much her company made my day and all the garden secrets she shared with me. His smile confused me even more. He explained his wrinkly grin and one word comment. “This is you. A mom who shows her kids how to get dirty and grow a garden, how to love the land, and all the flowers and animals. in it. How a simple action of taking flowers to an old farm wife can make their day brighter. What you do in your garden makes you happy and you share your happiness with others . This is what you should do to fill the void.” 

So here I am years later. With three beautiful farm kids always in tow, growing thousands of flowers on two acres, in the heart of our family ranch. Sowing every seed in our small greenhouse, planting every seedling in the field by hand, and cutting every flower with a happy heart.