In 2014, I was diagnosed with a serious autoimmune liver disease. A medical diagnosis like that is life altering and potentially deadly. After many years of suffering, I received the gift of a miracle liver transplant in 2021. A sweet friend I had known all my life gave me half of her liver in a living donor transplant. I was literally given the gift of life.

Going through something like this changes who you are. It makes you realize what is truly important in life: your faith, your family, your health, and your outlook on the world. Having to go through the worst of my illness in the middle of the COVID pandemic was not for the faint of heart. The strict rules, the isolation, the uncertainty, it was a wild time in our country. But I thank God for every minute of my journey, as it has shaped me into who I am today.

All of these life experiences, along with tremendous discernment from the Lord, led me to desire a simpler and more beautiful life. I was tired of the daily rat race and trying to keep up with the Joneses. I needed more quiet and more peace. So, my family and I made a wild move. We made a list of the values we were looking for in a place to live and started crossing off states that did not match. That process led us to a handful of states in the Southern United States including Northern Georgia, Eastern Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and Upstate South Carolina. I wanted land and a creek. Coming from Colorado, I wanted warmer weather. I was looking for good people who worked hard and still had manners, people who had a strong faith and loved America. We ended up in the Upstate of South Carolina, chasing a dream of becoming homesteaders.

We are now two years into our journey of learning to homestead. We live on eleven acres in the middle of the forest, and I am learning everything I can. We have chickens, and I have learned to cook from scratch and bake all our own bread and goods. I have studied a great deal about preparedness and, in the coming years, hope to continue building out our homestead to include a beautiful thriving garden and some additional livestock. I am really hoping for a milk cow, but my husband says that is where he draws the line. We will see who wins, ha ha.

When we first moved to South Carolina, we did not know a single person here. Building a community took longer than we anticipated, but that community has come from seeking to buy all of my food and products locally. Along the way, I have met the most amazing farmers and homesteaders, and they have truly inspired me.

In the fall of 2024, I listened to a Homesteaders of America podcast featuring Samantha from Frederick County Homesteaders. She shared about the organization she started in her county and how they were hosting “Farm Crawls.” I was so intrigued; it lit a spark in me that I could not shake. In fact, I drove to Virginia in June to take part in their Farm Crawl and loved every minute of it.

So, in September 2025, I, along with a great team of volunteers, hosted the first ever Oconee County Farm Crawl. Somehow, we got twenty local farms to participate and open their gates to our community. We called it a “self paced tour of Oconee’s most charming farms.” We hoped to sell maybe two hundred tickets to the event. To our surprise, we sold two hundred tickets the first week. We ended up capping ticket sales at five hundred and sold out a month before the event. It turned out to be one of the most fun and meaningful events I have ever been part of. Several of the participating farms had the best day of sales in their history. The community’s response was overwhelmingly positive, with people already asking for more.

My heart for the event was simple: to connect our community with our local farms in hopes they would start buying their products directly from them instead of the big box stores.

I walked away from that event with my heart bursting at the seams with joy. Creating beautiful experiences for people to encounter our amazing farmers and homesteaders has become my passion. I am so grateful to Homesteaders of America and all the great homesteaders who continue to inspire me to learn and grow.

I hope my story can inspire people across the country to gather together and shine a light on their local farms through events like a Farm Crawl. I am so passionate about it that I have started my own business to further the cause in my own county and offer my help to anyone who would like to bring an event like this to their area. 

There is a movement of people desiring a huge life change, just like I was. I think we can all feel it, that sense that things in the world are not quite right. Now is the time to encourage others to take a step toward starting their own homesteading journeys. And events like a Farm Crawl are a wonderful place to start.

Homesteading has taught me patience, humility, and a deep appreciation for God’s creation. Each morning, as I step outside to feed the chickens or walk along the creek, I am reminded that this life is a sacred gift. It is not about perfection or productivity; it is about purpose, peace, and gratitude. I am living proof that God can take even the hardest seasons and turn them into something beautiful.