A Mini Cow Changed Our Lives Forever | Milk & Honey Ranch

What happens when a software engineer from South Africa loses everything, buys a mini Highland cow on a credit card, and builds a miracle from scratch? This week Lori and Taylor sit down with Brent and Daniela Phillips of Milk and Honey Ranch in Burton, Texas — and their story will stop you in your tracks. From the Texas Snowpocalypse that changed Brent's outlook on life, to a $7,000 cow that launched a thriving agritourism business, to Daniela's near-fatal car accident that somehow became the turning point that changed everything.

This episode is less about cattle and more about what these animals do to people - the magic they carry and the lives they transform. Grab a tissue.

Key Takeaways

Mini Highlands can be a genuine business foundation — not just a hobby. 

Private agritourism and experience-based stays are a growing opportunity for small farm owners. 

Keeping faith and showing up one day at a time can carry you further than any master plan. 

Animals change people — including the people who own them.

Episode Highlights

Brent shares how one mini cow grew into a ranch sleeping 164 guests across 41 stays. 

The story of Daniela's accident, her miraculous nine-day ICU recovery, and how strangers booking the ranch kept it alive. 

The moment Brent told an influencer he'd run naked down the street if it helped his wife — and why he'd do it again. 

Plus Matthew McConaughey just bought a mini Highland from them.

Timestamps

00:01 — Welcome & introduction to Milk and Honey Ranch 

01:20 — How a tech guy from South Africa ended up with mini Highlands 

05:41 — Losing everything and finding a new path 

07:17 — Buying the first cow on a credit card 

09:42 — How cuddle sessions turned into a sell-out business 

17:11 — Expanding from mini cows to a full agritourism resort 

21:56 — January 2024: $5,000 in the bank and a phone call no one wants 

25:17 — The power of prayer and a community that showed up 

31:05 — Nine days in ICU — and a year and a half of bookings 

34:50 — Where Milk and Honey Ranch stands today 

42:49 — Location, visiting & what to expect

Visit Milk and Honey Ranch at www.milkandhoneyranch.com or find them over on socials @milkandhoneyranch

Follow us on social media so you don't miss out on any advice, auction updates, or crazy farm stories!

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TikTok: @Hornsnhoovespodcast 

Website: hornsnhoovesauction.com

Production Credit: Edited and produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Hey everybody, welcome back to Horns and Hooves. We have a very special two guests here. Um, a very special couple from Milk and Honey Farms. We are so excited to have them here. If you guys have not heard their story, I have not heard their story. I got to looking at their social media. Their social media is amazing. I need to go visit, visit their place. Oh my goodness, it's just heaven. It's heaven. That's all I can say. And let them tell a little bit about it. But oh my gosh, like it's giving me chills right now because I had to go look at all their social media pages. And I definitely need to bring my granddaughter down to see you guys. See, we are a lot of us, you know, some people have rough starts. Some people get started and they they sell and then they get started again, or they find out, you know, they've got bumps and stuff along the way. And so we like to hear some of the stories that other people have. But first, we're gonna start off with tell us how did you guys get started into the highlands?

SPEAKER_00 1:12

The the mini cows.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

Yes, the mini cows. The mini cows.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

It's one of those things that, like looking back, it was such a genius move, but living it out, it didn't feel like that at all. I've always been in tech, so all I've ever known is software engineering and everything like that. And so none of us, you know, even knew a farmer growing up. Definitely didn't know about highland mini cows or or any of that. So uh a few life events uh led us to to want to buy some land because I realized um just how useless I was outside of the computer. We had the a huge, you know, in 21 we had that huge snow apocalypse come to uh Texas and shut down everything or the ice apocalypse.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

And I was there when that happened.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Yeah. Yeah, we had no food, we had no water, we had no heat. Uh all of this in America, it was like crazy that this could even happen. And it just really highlighted for me that I really there was a whole side of life that I'd missed out on being very comfortable in technology. But I remember going to the moment for me was when I went to Home Depot because we had some broken water pipes and everything now, and I got inside of Home Depot, and I was like, Who am I kidding? I don't know what to do yet.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

That sounds like me. Home Depot is overwhelming for anybody, though.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

I was like, no, you know, we we need to learn this this whole other side of life, and and my whole thing was I believed it would instill a gratefulness, a new level of gratefulness versus entitlement, which is so hard not to have in America because we are so blessed in America. I'm one of those guys, you know, when when everyone was like trashing America on social media and stuff like that, you know, I'm the immigrant, like defending America. Like, how dare you say that about America? We uh uh so we bought the land and my wife was was not too excited about it, and she was happy for a weekend vacation. She wasn't happy to become a farmer's wife.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

And uh that's understandable, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

And uh, you know, my daughter cried every day, and uh it was it was it was a tough um you know, it was a tough start. There was only like a barn, like a real barn here. There was there was nothing else to even move into. And so we started our journey in a barn. All of this leads up to to answer your question of the the mini cow, but when the war broke out in Ukraine, uh we had converted our garage into a little hotel to to house people because we never ever planned to have people on our on our land. We weren't starting a business, we weren't like this wasn't uh a petting zoo, you know. My plan was friends and family, and nobody else was coming through those gates. And um, and then we we we lost in one night we lost everything. That sort of a uh a loss is very telling about who you are and and what you choose to do next. Because you you you're basically starting over, and so the the the I ended up putting this hotel that we had built. Um, I ended up putting on Airbnb just to try to save the Rodge to try to bring some income in and um yeah, you know, and that started to book. So this leads us to the mini cows.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

So now so you came over from South South Africa, right? Is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yes, but long ago, like long ago, okay. I came when I was 22, I'm 47 now, so like okay 20 something long ago. Yeah, yeah, 20 25 years. And so now people had booked, had had had booked, we were booking, and we were trying to figure out how you know we can get people to to come stay. And so uh these mini cows were all over Instagram, and so uh one of the cleaners actually uh sent me a message and said, uh, this person is selling a mini cow and uh you should buy it. And anyway, so it was like $1,500. I didn't know how much these things were, and I was like, man, $1,500, that's a lot of money. I don't know if we can if we can do that. And anyway, I went to buy it, and there was a scam, which turns out there's there's a very lucrative scam.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

There's a lot of that, unfortunately. There is uh I wish they'd I wish they'd find something else to do with our days to make money.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

So they know people are desperate and excited, and you know, and then they just play on people's emotions. Fortunately, we didn't lose any money in it. Good. Um, but uh, but it did get us thinking down the road of of uh these highland mini cows. And so this was all theoretical at this point, and so then we found a proper breeder. We asked them how much it was, and they were like, it's seven thousand dollars. We're like seven thousand dollars. Like, does this does this cow lay golden eggs? What what what is the the the story here? And we were so desperate to have to take chances because what you know we we we didn't have enough to survive, so we had to take chances, and sometimes desperation can produce incredible results. So I bought this this cow on a credit card uh because we didn't have the money, and then we did our first cuddler cow, like almost sheepishly and embarrassed. Like, we're gonna charge you to come like pack this cow. If we don't love people are gonna come, but we're gonna try. Well, well, anyway, like 30 people came to the first the first cuddler cow, and we did like jacood. I think we ran at a loss because we were we were we were trying so hard to like please everybody and make it an event, make it such an event, and I mean we've come so far since then, but but 30 people signed up to come see this mini cow. They were like, you know, do you think we could do it again? And I was like, I don't know. I think all 30 people who wanted to see a mini cow ready cake. I don't know. I don't think there's more than 30 people who it used to do who want to see this again.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

It's so what year was this? What what year did this happen?

SPEAKER_00 7:20

I think this would have been in 22. Uh so this would have been in 22. Okay, and uh the first the first mini cow we we got, we still have her, her name's Penny. Oh, and uh and so we got Penny, and so then we did it again, and this time we put 50 tickets out, and 50 people booked it. And we that's awesome. No, something's wrong here, you know, like what's wrong with these people? Yeah, what's wrong with these people? I remember to come better cow. A lady called me, she said to me, She said, I'm six hours away. I'm thinking about coming to your um mini cow event. She said, Is it worth it? I said, No. I think hilarious not for 12 hours of driving, it is definitely not worth it, you know. And so, you know, we just kept doing these and and and we laugh now, you know, the saying about a cash cow. This little cow, no exaggeration, has brought thousands of people to the Raj. Now our events are like 150 people and they and they sell out, you know, immediately. And well, I mean they they sell out, uh not always immediately, but they sell out often, and it's crazy. We have had people fly in. I mean, we just had gas from Scotland. I mean, this is where these cows come from. We just had gas from Scotland, fly to the ranch to experience the cows. I'm like, you could have done this.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

You guys have had the good Lord blessing you so much throughout the way.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Only only about God's grace, because uh a lot of the things we did, I mean, we were just we were stamping in the dark. Uh, we didn't know what was gonna work, what wasn't gonna work, but it was all we had, and and and I think about there's a a story in the Bible about this little boy with with some fish and loaves, and like there's 5,000 people that need to be fed, and this little boy has got like some loaves and some fish. You know, that's how it's felt many times. Like, what we have is is almost like I'm embarrassed to even offer it, but then it works, and we're like, wow, and then and then you know, people will fly out to meet with us because they want to do what we do, and they're like, Okay, tell us your process, tell us your master plan.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

I'm like, master plan, like we might buy a mini cow and offer tickets and hope it works, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

And and uh that was my master plan, yeah. You know, and then you get your mostly everybody's happy, but then of course you get like a bad review, and somebody's unhappy, and you know, now I saw your video on your bad or your kangaroo wanting to shut you down for your kangaroo.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Yeah, we've had people trying to shut us down.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

We've I mean it's it's it has been it has been one thing after another, but everything that has happened to us has made us better, both as people, both as a business, like every attack we've had has never pushed us lower, it's only forced us to be better. I love that. Uh uh, but these little cows, they really have been magical cows. And if I think about that seven thousand dollars, that seemed astronomical at the time. I mean, it was the best investment financially, I think I've ever made in my life buying that little cow.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

So that's what I tell people when they when they bark at pricing. I'm like, you guys just don't understand. There is something magical about these cows.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

They are amazing. Um, we ended up getting a um later, we ended up getting like a rescue mini cow that was very sick. They didn't think he was gonna live. We we got him and we took care of him and everything like that. And and he lived for like another year. His name was Charlie, and he was just like, everybody loved this guy. He he was in a wedding, he was the sweetest, sweetest little guy. Then I'd make all these videos with him in my house, you know. We'd make pancakes together, and I mean all of these things. You can go back and see these videos.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

He I seen one last night.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

Yeah, he's he he was the sweetest little guy, and then and then he passed away. And let me tell you, the comments and that that we got in our social media of people who had personally seen him, I could not believe. I mean, for sure, if I had passed away, there wouldn't have been the comments. Charlie changed my life, and you know, I was sad and I came to see Charlie. I mean, all these things about Charlie, like hundreds of comments, and it's just it's it's they they are so special. Uh it's it's hard to describe because they're not just a cow, you know, they they they are something else.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

I truly believe my cows. People think I'm crazy around here, but I my cows, I think they know what I'm saying when I'm talking to them.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

Yeah, I think they do. Do you guys have a mini donkey too yet? A couple mini donkeys?

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Yeah, we've got some mini donkeys. We're actually we've got three. Those are the best. Two parents and a baby. Uh pancake, syrup, and butter are their names. And uh they they also, you know, delightful. And I must say, my goal for the ranch was never to build a business, it was never, you know, that came out of desperation. But my goal for the ranch was for my family, all of us, myself included, for us to be transformed as people. You know, the first time we lost a little goat, his name was Rocky. I mean, I was surprised at how sad I was. Like I was like, like this is like deep pain. I am feeling it, yeah. I understand, I do, and it has made us better people. It has made us better people. My my my my kids are are way more compassionate on on animals, on nature, they you know, all of these things, and I'm very proud for um we changed.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

And I feel like it gives kids now a chance to be outside. There's so many video games and whatnot that and TV. And I love my granddaughter's 10, and she loves to be outside with the animals. She's got she's got her own chicken herd that has grown from 25 to she hashed out 46 out of 56 eggs the other day. But it gives them that too, something to to do outside and be outside and be in nature versus being in the video games and the TV.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

I second that my kids. I grew up like that on my grandparents' dairy farm. Best childhood. And that was one thing I told my husband. I was like, I don't want this living in town. I want the ranch, I want this. And it is hard because we have a couple of businesses, but like it is worth everything. I mean so yesterday, a little story. Uh, there was a little kill deer. Um, sorry, like Nebraska State bird, this little tiny bird, okay, running around. And we're down by our critic, and one fell in. And my six-year-old was like panicking. Oh my gosh, like he's running over and he's getting this like little tiny bird out of the critic and getting it up with his mom. And it was just like one of those like aha moments. Like, this is what it is about, like the compassion with the nature and the being inside. And I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way. And you're able to offer that to people though, that like they don't get that chance, like city life, that's where it's gonna be. Like, that's what it is. And then you're able to offer that is just huge, and your ranch is beautiful, it is a dream.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

Yeah, so you started out with a couple mini cows and bringing people in to look at the many cows, and then how did it expand from there?

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Originally, I'd built like a little compound, right? It was a house for myself, for my mom, and for my brother and sister-in-law, and then we had the six-car garage, which we then converted into what we called the hotel. It was a four-bedroom, two-bathroom uh place. And I had also bought a mobile home for the housekeeper because we were gonna have a housekeeper, but then the next day is when I lost everything. But I'd already paid for this mobile home, but we didn't get a housekeeper because poor people don't have housekeepers. And so um, and so when the the hotel started to book out, my brother and sister-in-law ended up moving into town, and so I put their unit on Airbnb. Then that started to book out, and then uh I was really hesitant and embarrassed to put this mobile home on Airbnb just because of worrying what people are gonna say and you know, everything like that. And so, but it was all I had, and so we put that on on Airbnb and called it the cabin. And I mean, that first time the guests checked in, look, we were like, you know, they're gonna say this isn't a cabin, you know, this is a mobile home, and uh people loved it, you know, and it's still you know, it's still one of the the best days. So we had you know, we had all those stays going, and then I found uh a contractor that I said, like, I so the bank wouldn't lend me any money, so I couldn't fuck, I couldn't go that drive. They wouldn't even lend me like $200,000, $100,000, because I had no financials, nothing in the bag, no 401k, no savings. And so I found this contractor and I said to him, like, I can't pay you big big amounts up front, but if you can help me build these, like I can put them online, and as people book them, I'll give you the money. At that time, we had just been Airbnb, but I worked direct booking, which was such an important change to the business because otherwise we could never have done this. So that when people booked, they were booking a stay that didn't exist, like not even a foundation. And so, but I would put it available in like three months, like you can from three months book it now, but in three months you can arrive, and then they'd booked it, and then we're like, Okay, get going. And I mean, we we we got so good at it that we only needed a month, and so I would put new stays on a month out, and then people would book it. You know, I'd make AR-generated images of what the stays were, you know, it was close to what I imagined it would be. Yeah, and then people would book it and be like, Oh, it looks beautiful, can't wait to be there, like yeah, beats it. That is so awesome though. You do.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

I hope it's ready.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

And I mean, uh, we we had all sorts of, as you can imagine, with construction, but uh one of the funny, it wasn't funny at the time, but these units we were building, we had a month to do it, and uh uh a mole dug a hole into the side of our our pond, and he didn't even drown because we saw him later, but he he dug a hole into I think the water shot him straight out, and so our pond drained into where we needed to build, and so and we couldn't find this hole because it's it's uh it's not like he went straight in. He came in, he went left, he went right, he was he was a drunk mole, and he wandered all around and eventually made a hole in the side. So we we lost out two weeks that we couldn't do power, water, anything like that, and it's it's already booked, and guests are coming anyway. That unit we finished five minutes before the lady arrived. We were like just like finishing stuff with She Raft, and she had a great stake. But that is how it's been. I mean, we talk about living on the edge and flying close to the sun, it has just been risk after risk after risk. We we never had enough that it was like, okay, you know, we shouldn't take this risk because you know, now we're stable. We we were never stable, so we didn't really have anything to lose because everything was on the edge of being lost anyway, and so we just had to had to keep trying. But um, so uh uh January 2024, we had five thousand dollars in the back. So this is after losing everything, uh you know, we had built these three casitas, plus we had these other units, so I think we had like six six days at the time at the at the start of 24. My wife's like, this is our year, you know. We were writing our goals and everything, December 23, January 8th, 2024. I get a call that she's been in a terrible car accident, and and they don't they're not sure she's gonna live. I had I was so glad I had lost the money before my wife's accident and and not the other way around. Because losing the money and and and and being so hopeless and like feeling like I don't know what we're gonna do. Um and and seeing God and his faithfulness carry us through. It prepared me for when my wife was in the accident because I was just coming fresh off his grace and his kindness of picking me out of the dirt where we should have lost everything, and and he just he kept us going. You know, I didn't I didn't panic, even though the news was terrible. I, you know, I didn't cry, I nothing through that whole that whole period. You know, I just my role in this was obviously to keep my family together and to be there for my wife as much as I could in whatever capacity I could, but I wasn't the one that could save her. That it wasn't my doing. It's not like I could rush in and rip her out of something, you know. Uh uh it was gonna be a miracle, if anything. And but obviously the ranch, you know, the ranch was at at that time I wasn't even a thought, and and so we stopped all our social media. And I remember an influencer uh reached out to me during this whole period because we stopped everything, and I was just posting personal stuff about my wife and everything. And I think we had 30,000 followers at the time, which was a big deal. I mean, a big deal. That is a big deal, huge, yeah. And this this influencer had a million followers reached out and and uh we had done some work with her, and she said, Brent, like you're committing social media suicide by bringing prayer and God and you know all your personal stuff into your business uh profile. I rushed back to our set. Why do I care about the business or my social media or anything like that when my wife's life is on the line? Like I will run naked down the street if it will help my wife get better. Like I I I could care less, you know. And so that's what we did. We stopped all marketing, everything like that, and just made it about uh uh you know, praying for my wife, and then you know, as as good things happened, we would shared.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

The power of prayer is amazing. I absolutely believe in that.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

I think there were several million uh uh people praying, uh uh, you know, during that that whole time, and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen because it wasn't limited to a skin color, it wasn't limited to a political party, it wasn't limited like everybody just cared. And I don't even know why, because there are tragedies every day.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

But everybody's making my eyes leak right now, I'll tell you that much. Wow, you know.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

Uh uh, so that first night, you know, and I said stay by your phone because they're gonna have to cut open her head and relieve the pressure. I mean, her face was. Crushed, her lung was collapsed. I mean, everything. I mean, she was changed. Oh my goodness. She was unconscious and all of that. They're thinking we have to open up her head. And that's how my father died. He had swelling on the brain that opened up his head. Oh no. He never made it. And so obviously, uh, you know, they they wouldn't let me stay there. You know, I was I was uh waiting, you know, and they never called at three o'clock. And I tell you, uh, I not getting a call, I just it was it was like this whole journey was already done for me because I didn't get the call. And I just knew that if if the Lord wasn't gonna He wasn't gonna torment us about saving her life and then her not coming through this thing. I knew that if she lived that night like the rest is done. I got you know, I went back up to the hospital at 5 a.m. and it wouldn't actually head till till about six, and then they're like, you know, she's we you know, sorry, she's in a vegetative state. We don't know like when she'll come out, and I was like, God, that's great. I'll take it. Vegetative state, no problem. Like you're speaking my love language, you know, I love vegetative state.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

She's alive, she's alive, and that was it.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

Um and my jury from that moment, it didn't matter the news because they then told me, Hey, she's out of a vegetative state, but like we are unable to tell you how much brain damage and stuff she has, and she's crippled and blind. This is what they told me. This is she's crippled and blind. I'm like, I love cripple and blind. You you speaking my love language, like I'll take like I'll I will take my wife in any condition, like anything. I will I'll I will take her in that condition and I'll take it gladly. And you know, she kept progressing and she got to this, so she didn't know who we were. And you know, a video she couldn't really follow commands and she couldn't read, and I mean a lot of stuff, but it it didn't matter. You know, I was that that husband that like my wife wouldn't call me to get tampons from the store, like don't wants me to do stuff like that, you know. And here I am taking my wife to the bathroom, and it's like an honor, like a deep, deep honor to care for my wife. And I and I and I remember saying to the Lord for giving us that opportunity with the ranch, I understand it's over, right? I mean, there was there was no way for the ranch to survive with 5,000, her in the hospital. I mean, the first day she was there, it cost me $10,000 just to keep her in ICU. Uh we had this like Medishare thing that that wasn't gonna pay. And so financially it was over. But I was like, Thank you that we had this opportunity because I watched her transform my family. And I said, and with my wife, if this is what you have for me, like you want me to care for my wife for the rest of my life, I will take you to the bathroom, I'll bath her, I'll I'll do all these things, and I'm gonna do it so well that when I get to heaven one day, you're gonna say, Well done, my goodie faithful servant, because this became my mission to care for my wife. I I remember like just saying, like I accept it, like not like reluctantly or like okay, I guess I'll do this.

SPEAKER_03 24:57

Like, yes, I will care for my wife.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

And I mean, she just continued to get dreamer and better.

SPEAKER_03 25:02

He doesn't have to care for me like that.

SPEAKER_02 25:05

He doesn't have to take you to the bathroom.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

That's amazing. But unbeknown to me, while all of this is going on, we're not asking for money, we're not, you know, doing any of these things. All I'm doing is with true joy sharing these videos about my life. You know, one of my favorite ones is I mean, so she still doesn't know who I am at this time, and I mean, she's very slow in in her thinking and and you know, all of this stuff, and she's all banged up and everything like this. And you can you can find this video and and and I'll and I'm recording. And I mean, I'm I I stink, I haven't bathed in several days. I've just been at the hospital and I'm the best. I'm wearing the same clothes, and I'm like, hi, I'm Brent, and I like to party. And then I I put the the phone on her and she's like, I'm Daniela. I also like bird. It was just it was stuff like that that we were just having such fun. I remember thinking, like, I'm having more fun in this RCU than I remember on our honeymoon. And I think because the joy of her being alive was just it just made everything turned everything else up to 11.

SPEAKER_03 26:13

Wow, I had no memory of that still now. So she was having fun. I don't even remember.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

I have to tell her, but you have to go back and watch the videos, yes, exactly, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:27

And uh um, but unbeknownst to us, people were finding the ranch and booking. By the time we had got out of the the the RCU, which was nine days, she was supposed to be in the RCU for six months and then nine months of rehab. She was in the RCU for nine days.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

That's it.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

That's it.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

Holy cow! I'm a radiology tech, I'm currently retired, so I am just blown away by that.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

It's it's a it's a it's an absolute miracle, and you know, we got to host all the nurses that that were with us during that whole time here at the ranch, which was such a celebration. Oh, how and they were amazing because the doctors, I mean, I think doctors have to just give you that bad news or the reality, but the nurses always found something good to tell us, uh, you know, some something, and it makes a huge difference. But people had booked the ranch and ended up booking the ranch for a year and a half into the future. So, what should have been the end of the ranch became the true uh start and beginning of what Mock and Honey Ranch is today, because after not having any finances to move on, we had a year and a half of a fully booked ranch to now use to build the uh the future. So in 2024, the year that should have ended us was the year that we built uh and did more than any other year uh uh before that. We built our cafe, we added like you know 10 or 12 more stays. We I mean all of this stuff, and the people that came were not just guests looking for a stay, it were people who uh did it on purpose to support us, to support us, and so it was the most beautiful, wonderful, encouraging people. Like it felt like Christmas every time a guest shipped in because they were just so excited and kind, and like we've been praying for you. How's your wife doing? And it was amazing. A year and a half later, we were still meeting people who were like, We booked during your wife's example. I'm like, it was a year and a half ago. They're like, we've been waiting a long time to come here. I'm like, well, I hope it's worth it. I hope you didn't drive six hours.

SPEAKER_02 28:39

So you so you're telling me if I want to bring my granddaughter, I better get on booking it now.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

But it's correct. Now now we've got lots of stays at uh but it's been uh it's been it's been such a beautiful journey. I think we've got like six mini mini highlands now. And we're about to get uh we're about to get two more, and uh Matthew McConaughey just bought a mini highland cow from us.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

Wow, that's amazing!

SPEAKER_00 29:06

And he found us. He didn't reach out, his people reached out, but um that's still so cool.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

Yeah, you have a huge following, and what you've done is absolutely incredible. And the journey is huge, yeah. Your journey is huge, it's so huge. Because now, how many? So that probably the time span was probably 2004-5. On that, when they from the time she was in the hospital till people were still staying a year and a half later.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:39

Or is that still now?

SPEAKER_00 29:40

It's still happening. Oh, that's yeah, we still meet people that no, we still now that's more than two years, two and a half years, and we still it's not as it's not as often from that time though, but we still meet people who y'all come and say, like we, you know, we we saw you during this time.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

And uh so what have you expanded to now? So that was your start then. Where how how much have you expanded now?

SPEAKER_00 30:04

So when we started, you could sleep eight people, right? We by by the first of June, you'll be able to sleep 164 people.

SPEAKER_02 30:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

Wow. Oh my gosh, that's so 41 stays.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

I just want to clap. That's so awesome. Amazing, amazing.

SPEAKER_00 30:22

You know, uh, one of the stays we just built this little western town was the first thing we could get a loan for. The bank gave us a loan, and that sleeps 40 people on its own. But other than that, you know, we we never had a loan from the bank for everything else that we did. We built off because people booked in the future, you know, and were kind to support us, you know. So this was not like some grand business scheme, and look at what we've done, and we're amazing. It's like if it wasn't for the kindness of people and the grace of God, like we would not be having this conversation.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

I love how humble you are about it. I think that your journey just shows people that it can be done. Stick with it, stick with your stick with what you're dreaming and your plans. There's always going to be bumps in the road. Some people might have bigger bumps than others, but there's always gonna be those bumps. And you can make anything possible. And I really think through the power of prayer and leaning on the good Lord above.

SPEAKER_01 31:21

Like, I love watching your stuff, like it's like a whole ministry in itself. And then for that social media influencer to like reach out to you and be like, Oh, that's suicide. Like, no way, like that impacts so many people, and like how far it's brought your journey. Like, I love it. I love listening to your inspirational and your funny stories and all these things. Like, I thoroughly enjoy it. I follow you. So yeah, it is it is great. It is great what you have turned all these, you know, tragic things into just their miracles, and you just keep sharing the word, and I love it. Yeah, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 31:57

And now you have glamping, I seen.

SPEAKER_00 32:00

Yeah, we that was that was another that was in 2024. Yeah, that was a was that in 2024. I don't know if people are gonna are gonna like this, you know. It it it so everything we've done, it's it's it's it's a risk, like even the western town, you know. We're building this western town and uh, you know, all of that stuff, and then we're like and then it's built, and I'm like, I hope somebody's gonna book it. Oh, it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

I love it, I love it. Oh gosh, I can't wait to come visit. I I seriously am going to bring my granddaughter my second dad.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

We were supposed to go our family trip this year, it's supposed to be to Yellowstone. And I've been on the phone with my husband all morning, and I'm like, look, I just keep sending him, sending him. I'm like, can we just can we go to the ranch instead? I was like, please, like the boy my or my oldest is constantly like he wants to go to a beach. And I'm like, well, this isn't like the beach, but like, hey, it's got a beach. It looks like a beach. Ollie would have to be a big one.

SPEAKER_02 32:59

It looks like a beach. The pond, the water looks like a beach, and what and right?

SPEAKER_00 33:06

It is it is a lot of fun, you know. It's it's a lot of fun, and um, you know, of course, we we we we get amazing, you know, feedback online, and of course we get you know, we get a lot of hate of people like I can fly to Cabo to an all-inclusive resort, and I'm like for the same price as it is for per night. And I I wrote back to one of them, I was like, listen, send me that deal because I'll come with you. If you can do if you can do all of that, I want to come to Cabo too.

SPEAKER_01 33:35

Yeah, nice, I love it. You also don't need like security armed guards outside your hotel to make sure nothing happens.

SPEAKER_03 33:44

I mean, nice, great.

SPEAKER_01 33:46

That looks way better to me.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

So, you guys have expanded into not just many cows. You what else do you have there?

SPEAKER_00 33:54

So, I I mean, I we got everything I could get, uh, you know, uh uh legally. And uh what was so funny is I didn't know where you got animals, so all of our chickens came from eBay, and you know, somebody listening to this going like you go and get chickens on eBay, yes you can. Yes, you can. You get them as hatching eggs. And so our guineas, our chickens, and all of that came as hatching eggs, and we hatched them, and so we got to birth them and then watch them grow, which was amazing. Our cow, our first cow, not the mini cow, uh, we've got a dairy cow, came from Facebook Marketplace. And you know, can you imagine scrolling through Facebook Marketplace and there's a cow for sale? You're like, who the heck is buying a cow Facebook marketplace? Us.

SPEAKER_02 34:39

We were you are, I am, and uh goats came from Craigslist.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

That you know, so we've got all these different animals and everything now, and now we've got uh, you know, somebody who's head over, we call uh head of animal affairs, and uh you know, so they they get to have a an amazing life. People who are, I mean, kids are going through FFA. We just like what another goat. Uh she's like yeah, can you take care of my goat Blaze?

SPEAKER_03 35:07

You know, it's so nice for them because now they can come back and visit, they can visit, and and and now Blaze is with all his buddies already, and and he's getting love and snacks, and yeah, I mean it's just it's and of course we have the amenities of the pool and the pickleball and the um obstacle course and golf simulator, and yeah, we got a golf simulator in there.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Couldn't build a golf course. Well fancy one, right? We built a a cool golf simulator, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:36

Firewater activities are awesome. Pickleball and what else did you say?

SPEAKER_00 35:41

Yeah, we've got tennis, we've got basketball, uh, we've got you know trail hikes, we we've got ski shooting, uh e-biking, canoeing, and I mean we we we're adding stuff all the time, but you know, but it's it's the special moments of of a small surround a fire, which you think, well, you can do that at home, but you don't, you know, people don't. Oh man, that's so true. And and so it's when you come away that you know you actually you you know for that time you you actually focus on the family and then you leave going like now I want I want this to be more of my uh everyday life, and that's what we hope to be. We we really hope to impact the couple, the family unit, the uh you know, whatever it is, to rethink what life is about, which is the the people in your life. That's our biggest thing. Like if we can help people to reconnect, you know, fathers with their kids, couples, moms, uh uh, you know, take a break and uh just enjoy the kids because life is so hard. And we want to just be that that little respite. So when people come, we you know we try to take care of them, and it's it's a privilege. It it it honestly is. I I I said to someone the other day, going into hospitality is is the hardest thing I've ever done, but it is such a privilege because it it it transforms you when you're in a restaurant and the waiter messes up your order, like oh yeah, you like it's okay. Like, I guess I'm having the chicken, you know. It's it's because you realize just how hard everybody's trying, and yet mistakes happen, and that and you just you you become a more graceful, gracious person.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Yeah, so true, so true. Oh my gosh. So, where are you guys located?

SPEAKER_03 37:19

We are kind of halfway between Austin and Houston. So, um, really close to Brainham in Texas. A lot of people know of Brainham. So we're about 15 minutes from Brainham.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

So if somebody flies in, can they Uber to you guys? Is there an Uber that goes to Is there an Uber?

SPEAKER_00 37:37

There are Ubers from Houston and Austin. It's uh it's a little harder catching an Uber back, but we do have a guy who drives down.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

It's about an hour and a half from uh Houston Airport or Austin Airport, either one. So you're probably better off renting a car, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

Yeah, I mean it works both. We you know, shuttles, big groups, you know, organized shuttles and and things like that. Because once you get here, you've got everything, you've got all your food, you've got all your amenities, you don't really have to go anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 38:03

Um so is that what you guys have for like food wise? Is it you have restaurants like there or as a hours?

SPEAKER_00 38:11

Yeah, we've got a we've got a um a cafe and we have a fruit truck, and uh so depending on the crowd and what's going on, you can you can go to the fruit truck and get burgers and fries and all that, or you know, we can do you know fancier fog to table dinners, and uh we've got all our greenhouses and all our beds and that where we you know we we try to grow as much as we can ourselves. Uh we don't um we don't provide any of the meat from our fall because all of these animals now have become you know pigs, and some guests are like, is is Rosie still around? Yeah, Rosie's still around, you know, the 600 ton pig. She she said she misses you, she sends her love.

SPEAKER_02 38:54

I have one of those too. I have Arnold, uh Cooney Cooney that you know they say can get up to what 150 pounds. That's like 450 pounds.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

He came from me, he's always up to no good. Uh yeah, he came from me, and uh, she likes if he eats what the cows eat, you know.

SPEAKER_02 39:14

He free ranges.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

Ours like to go out and graze, and so yeah, he's a he's a spoiled Cooney Cooney, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

He does what he wants to do. My husband's not a big fan, but he he does what he wants to do. This is you know, I'm actually I'm heading to Houston the first of June. I might have to swing by.

SPEAKER_00 39:34

You please, please come visit us. We would like that.

SPEAKER_02 39:37

We will definitely do that. Oh, is there anything else that we you that you can think of that you want to share with people before we close out?

SPEAKER_00 39:47

When awful things happen in life, don't project that this is now gonna be forever. When handled correctly by the grace of God, you really come can come out better. You'll come out different. Like many times that old life, you'll never be the same. But you really can come out better in the future. That you look back, like with my wife's accident, like with us losing the money, all of those things, and and go like I wouldn't change my story at all. Like so much good has come from it, and and and so everybody goes through tragedy, everybody goes through things, and when it happens, don't panic, just take it one day at a time, but expect the future to be good.

SPEAKER_03 40:25

Don't expect it because God is always good, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

That he is.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Wow, bless you guys, and thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 40:37

Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_02 40:38

Your story, just yes, your story, just like I keep getting chills, honestly. Like your story is just amazing, just the way you handled it, going through it, just really.

SPEAKER_01 40:49

Yeah, what do you turn your social media into? It's just like thank you, whole ministry in itself, which is beautiful. Thank you. It's great, thank you very much.

SPEAKER_02 40:57

Thank you guys so much, and we're gonna thank our awesome listeners for tuning in. And we will see you see, or you'll listen to us next week on horns and hooves, where we'll have another guest um to bring on. Thank you guys, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Thank you.