Navigating the different seasons of life is always a challenge, but a challenge of the best kind... because at least it's never boring, right? When Cole and I married, we instantly started a family. Surber came and we had decided to wait 4-5 years before the next. God had other plans... :) Forbes surprised us quickly and was born only 19 months after Surber. We have absolutely loved having them be so close in age, and we thank God that it happened the way it did. Then, COVID... (bleh) and we paused just as did the world. We'd always thought we'd have a big family - at least 3, maybe 4 or 5 kids. Here we are with 2 and I think we are both equally ready to send Cole over to snip snip hurray. Why am I even blogging about this? Because this new season of life we are in is so beautiful. It is fulfilling, challenging, exciting, and exhausting all at once - but never not beautiful. We have enjoyed pouring some of our energy into ourselves and our own interests. Cole has a green thumb and we are excited to see how that impacts our small business. I have picked up a book for the first time in a long time and fell in love with reading. Our boys are finding their own personalities. They are happy ... thriving even. It's all so beautiful, and we are blessed we get it call it our life.

Stay the course, and always trust in Him.

How did we get started making candles? That is a great question. I would have never guessed years ago that I would be pouring candles in my basement -- but here I am, killin' it. ;) When Cole and I started dating it became apparent very quickly that he had an infatuation with smells. He loves things that smell good (who doesn't, right?). We were burning candles daily. We'd buy them anywhere we went. Going on a trip to the city to see grandma? Let's get a candle! Running into Aldi real quick? Yessss, they have candles! Walmart run? You guessed it... CANDLE! When I became pregnant with Surber and we started to focus more on our health and what we were exposing ourselves to, we started researching. The "fragrance" industry is TOXIC, y'all. There is no simpler way to put it. What goes into a "fragrance" or a "fragrance oil" is disgusting nine times out of ten. Many countries have even banned ingredients that are still allowed in the U.S. And we aren't talking one or two banned ingredients, we are talking tens and hundreds of nasty ingredients. Fast forward a few years, we were on a tight budget. We decided to make toxin-free candles for our family and friends for Christmas. It was an affordable and thoughtful gift. WELP... everyone loved them. And we did, too! So I just kept pouring... and pouring... and pouring... and here we are. What started as a small batch for family turned into this small business. 

Crazy to think that we are opening a little portion of our sweet homestead to the public in TWO days for our shop's Grand Opening. Although we are still in over our heads with this little adventure, we couldn't be more blessed... 

Now we're here. ;) My what a journey the past few years have been. Cole and I re-met in 2013. What is re-met you ask? Welp, we went to high school together but did not talk. Like, at all. Anyways... back to 2013, it didn't take long before he slid into the DMs and it didn't take long after that for us to be "Facebook Official." (Is that even a thing anymore these days?) I had long hoped for someone tall, dark, and handsome with a good family and a kind heart. God delivered. That is for sure. We fell hard and fast and here we are now. We might not have known it at the time, but He had a plan, and our lives are forever blessed by each other's company. Fast forward a couple years and we had Surber in 2017 and Forbes (surprise! baby!) in 2018.

We'd always prioritized our children's health and Cole was raised to have a green thumb, however, it wasn't until 'rona hit us in 2020 that we dove in deep. We were both at home quite a bit of the time and were able to really devote more time to our house and land. My brother-in-law was living with us at the time and I remember asking him to come help me fix up a garden one day while Cole was working. His response was something like "Um... okay?" So we fenced off a garden. :) Our first year, it was rather small - maybe 10x20? Then later on over the summer, came the big one. I can't recall the exact day of the week, but let's say Tuesday... Tuesday I came home and told Cole that I had bought 46 chickens and they needed a coop before the weekend when I had to go pick them up. FOURTY SIX CHICKENS. Talk about an impulse buy. My angel of a husband made it happen. A few days later, *BOOM* the chicken coop and run of my dreams. So at this point we are #chickenfarmers, right? I'll tell you what - raising chickens isn't for the faint of heart. It's messy and stinky and sometimes gruesome. There are predators and mites and diseases that can wipe out your whole flock in days. However, we love those little feather flockers and stuck it out through it all. We now have a very healthy flock of around 36 birds (I don't know exactly - I don't keep count anymore). As for the garden, it grew over twice the size the next year. Our yield was great and we even had plenty to share with family and friends. Not only was it large, but it was TASTY. There is nothing quite like a tomato fresh out of the garden. 

That is the cliff notes version of how Hidden Creek Homestead came to be. After years of reading and learning and idolizing Rosemary Gladstar, we finally made it happen and we want to share it with others. Welcome to the journey! We are glad you're here with us.

With love,
Kayla