Let's Talk Clermont

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Episode 6 of Let's Talk Clermont. We recap the May 6 special election results, including State Issue 2  and local levy outcomes. Then we talk with Sarah Cox, co-owner of Rustic Grains, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, faith, homeschooling, and rebuilding after tragedy. 

[00:00:11] Unknown:

We've been living in sin so long.   All   Alright. Welcome to the sixth episode of Let's Talk Clermont. I appreciate everybody tuning in.   We're gonna get right to it with the May 6 special election results.   State issue two, that was,   the capital the state capital improvement program, which is gonna raise funds for   to build things like, local roads,   bridges, stuff infrastructure type stuff.   That passed statewide pretty handily.   Interesting to note it did fail in Clermont.   This was one of three counties in Ohio where it failed.   Pickaway, South Of Columbus, and Coshocton County, which is South Akron, East Of Columbus,   being the other two counties.  

I just thought that was interesting.   The Pierce Township Police Levy, that was going to add 2.9 mills of property tax,   to help fund, you know, police operations, replace some cruisers, stuff like that.   That was defeated. About 60% of the people in Pierce   Pierce Township,   voted against that one.   The West Clermont Local School District, that was gonna be a bond and income tax combo.   1.76   mills of property tax   and,   point 25%   earned income tax   also defeated.   A little over 80%   of the people in that school district,   decided against that one.  

If you remember, there were also, two Sunday liquor sales that would, that needed to be approved.   Both of those passed.   So that that pretty much does it for the, special election.   The next thing I wanted to talk about, we'll look at Ohio,   the Ohio legislature, see what's what's going on going on there.   An interesting bill I found was house bill 28.   It's kind of involved, but it it's about our property taxes.   So I I think it's important.   My wife, Katie, keeps telling me I need to shorten these up, and then I find something like house bill 28, and I go I go down a rabbit hole. And suddenly the podcast is three hours long. But I'm gonna I'm gonna try to make this short,   and if it moves through the legislator   the legislature,   to the point where it looks like it might pass, we'll devote a little more time to it.  

But to understand house bill 28, you need to go all the way back to 1976   and look at house bill nine twenty.   What house bill nine twenty did in the seventies   is it cut the millage and property tax   whenever a reappear reappraisal   pushed the property values higher.   So if you had   a property tax and   your   property values went higher,   the property tax would actually decrease   to keep the dollar amount the same. So what it essentially did was is it keeps each levy   levy's revenue at the same dollar amount that was approved by the voters. So, essentially, what this does is it erodes   the the millage rate as time goes on and property values get higher.  

And why did they do this? I'm not old enough to remember this, but maybe some some of you are. In the seventies,   inflation was a was a big problem, which I'm sure actually everybody today can appreciate.   So you could get yourself in a situation where your property could be worth significantly   more over a short period of time, which would significantly spike your property taxes.   So what does house bill 28 do?   It repeals something called replacement levies.   What replacement levies are is they allow taxing authority, so like your county or your school district or whoever has the authority to collect money from you in taxes.   It allows them to   replace all or part of an existing levy at the rate at which it is authorized to be levied.  

So what does that mean?   That means   if   over time, thanks to house bill nine twenty, the effective millage millage rate, as we said, decreases.   So replacement levies would essentially just reset the original millage rate,   which would then increase your property taxes.   Now this differs from a levy renewal,   which keeps an expiring property tax going at its current effective rate.   So that means that your taxing authority, whoever that is, collects about the same amount of dollars   that it did the first year that the levy   was enacted. So   it's not increasing,   property taxes at all.  

It doesn't reset the millage rate upwards.   So I think, hopefully,   you'll kinda be able to see how that could be a little confusing for voters, the difference between a replacement levy and a   levy renewal.   And so with and, again, what house bill 28 is gonna do is it's going to completely eliminate,   replacement levies.   So that's just a snapshot.   House Bill 28 does some other things,   that we'll look at if it gets further, like I said, if it gets further in the legislature.   It's already passed the house and it's currently in committee in the senate.   So, we'll be keeping keeping an eye on that.  

Some other news from around the county.   Pierce Township Zoning Commission needs volunteers.   So if you're you're wanting to get involved in Pierce Township,   they're they're looking for people to sit on the zoning commission.   What that means is you you meet monthly and you just review zoning application, zone changes.   You participate in long range or long term, planning projects.   I think it'd be pretty neat, to be on a zoning commission, actually. You'd you'd get a lot of say in,   how your township develops. So if you're in Pierce Township and you think that sounds good, check out their website. You can find more information there.   And I guess we'll,   another thing Katie thought would be nice is just a light item.  

And here it is. Skyline breakfast is coming to Milford and Loveland.   It sounds like Skyline did kind of a pilot breakfast program at the at the airport,   and since it was successful, it's gonna come to Milford and Loveland.   I think it's just normal breakfast fare. I I don't know if it's good or not.   I like Skyline, I think, obviously,   but I don't know. Skyline breakfast. I'll be honest, little skeptical of a Skyline breakfast,   but, we'll be able to try one soon.   So that's, that's really all we have for the news.   Next up, we've got our interview like always, and we talked to Sarah Cox at,   mustard seed market, rustic grains, and   I thought I I really enjoyed the conversation,   like always. I know I always say that, but I always do.  

We talk about a lot of stuff. We talk about, you know, owning a small business and owning a family business and how that works. We talk about how our faith grounds   her business and her family and and how she incorporates that into her life. Talk a little bit about homeschool.   We get into homesteading a little bit. So it's a it's a ranging conversation, and I I,   think and hope, that you'll enjoy it.   We'll just jump into it, and I think we'll start with who you are and what you do. Yeah.  

[00:07:51] Unknown:

My husband and I, Daniel, own Rusty Greens.   We also host mustard seed market that happens in Clermont County and Highland County, as well as we operate the tea trailer. Yep. So the T trailers I actually had the last time I was at Mustard Seed, I think I had a an Arnold Palmer. Okay. Yeah.  

[00:08:07] Unknown:

I don't wanna be definitive about this, but it might have actually been the best Arnold Palmer I've ever had. So Well, thank you. And I'm not just saying that. I promise I'm just not saying that. Yeah. So the T trailer is our newest per se venture.  

[00:08:19] Unknown:

We started it last year. We truly needed a drink vendor that could come and operate at market. So   in looking around the county and looking around the city, we couldn't find anybody that was nonalcoholic if we're a nonalcoholic venue. So we ended up deciding, you know what? We're just gonna start our own. So we,   we have I've been making Daniel this sweet tea for the last   twenty years of my life. So,   when we opened the or we're trying to decide what we wanted to do, we're like, you know what? Let's just sell our sweet tea. And then it just kind of evolved to this menu that we have now where we serve sweet tea, lemonade, and then all kinds of sodas. Mhmm. We have over 20 different mix ins that you can mix into your drinks and kind of make all these different creations. We're like a sonic on wheels. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's great. We absolutely love it. It's one of it's it's fun work.   You know, going to all the different events and setting up and creating all these things that people love. It's it's really fun.  



[00:09:18] Unknown:

So   you've got quite a bit of businesses, it seems like. You know, rustic grains, mustard seed market, the tea trailer. I feel like I'm forgetting No. That's pretty much it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. How how'd you do all that? I mean, that's a lot. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. How How   how'd you do all that? I mean, that's a lot. Yeah. I mean, one business is a lot, but three is.  

[00:09:35] Unknown:

Yeah. So,  

[00:09:36] Unknown:

Rusty Grains has been around for the longest. So we started Well, I I don't mean to interrupt. Rusty Grains is that's like custom  

[00:09:42] Unknown:

working. Yeah. So it's kind of transpired   over years. Okay. So we're we're,   well, let me give you the backstory. So we started Rusty Grains in 02/2017   just as we moved into a new house, and I wanted new furniture. Yeah. And Daniel, we didn't have the money at the time, so Daniel just decided to create everything for me with his grandfather's tools in the shop. There you go. And then we had people over and they're like, oh, those things are so cool. Like, make me one. So we're like, maybe this could be like a side hobby. Yeah. Yeah. So we listed, that was the time where you list, like, all your things on marketplace. Yeah. So we listed stuff on marketplace, and we had over, like, 3,500   responses in a matter of a week. Really? That it took us, like, three weeks to dive into and try to do bids and stuff like that. And that Bidding. That's no Yeah. That initial response   gained us, like, a year and a half worth worth of custom work. Wow.  

And that's kind of what kick started Rusty Greens. Well, then we started doing events and going and doing markets all over the   city, to the point in 2019,   we were doing like 35 markets a year. So we were going anywhere and everywhere, bringing all of our stuff. It got to the point where we started wholesaling a lot of inventory because we just couldn't keep up with the quantity of what people wanted when we would go to these markets.   And then the fire happened. Yeah. In 2019,   which kind of changed everything for us. So we spent the next two years kind of rebuilding our life, rebuilding rustic grains, rebuilding what we had, you know, gotten to up to that point.   We at that point, we were doing trailer sales out of the trailer in the backyard,   shipping stuff off of the back of the mudder, like, you know, just trying to keep up with business as it was.  

And then in 02/2022,   we had,   a or 02/2021,   we had attended   a show down in Downtown Cincinnati. Mhmm. And god truly, at that show, laid on my heart that we were supposed to start a market,   which is what mustard seed market is. So   it kind of shifted our perspective, kind of shifted from rustic grains to mustard seed market where our main focus is mustard seed market.   Rustic Grains is still here. There's still some things that we do,   but Rustic Grains has kind of morphed to that's who we are. Right. We're just the Rustic Grains crew. Everybody knows us as Rustic Grains. We don't necessarily   retail like what we used to do. Daniel does a little bit of woodworking on the side,   but our main focus is mustard seed. Okay. Truly to bring   a place here in Clermont County   to shop small businesses, give them an opportunity   to showcase their products, showcase their   goods to the public in a faith based,   you know, community way. Mhmm.  

This year, we expanded Mustard Seed, and we're actually moving to Highland County as well. So we'll have Clermont locations,   three different Clermont markets and then two different Highland County markets.   So it's just been it's been a journey.   But this is kind of where we're at of Rusty Grains is our core. We will always be rusted grains crew, but mustard seed is really where our focus and our our heads are right now. I'm good. Real fast. Yeah.   It really doesn't help that I'm still all, like,  

[00:13:09] Unknown:

Just a little bit there. Yeah. Sorry. No. You're good.   Oh, no. I lost my train of thought.   So if we can   talk about,   because I think for a lot of business owners, one of the   probably most difficult things is just getting your name out there Yeah. And getting momentum.   What what did you find was   the most  

[00:13:33] Unknown:

the easiest way to do that? Or, like, what was the most You know, there's so many different avenues, and there's so many different things like what you were saying. It's hard. It is very difficult. It is one of the most challenging things is owning a small business is just trying to be made known. Right.   And in our very first years, we truly jumped at every opportunity.   Every opportunity we possibly could. Anybody that showed interest, anybody that wanted to talk to us, anything that we could try to get our name out, any   free marketing. You know, that was our biggest thing because at that time, like, we weren't a business that was making money.  

Any any way that we could do that, we always   jumped at the opportunity. And then over the years, that's kind of transpired to,   you know, just community and,   again, making yourself known in the community based off what you do. You know, markets really leveraged our,   promotion of our business,   whether they came into our storefront per se on a market weekend or not.   We always did sponsorships. We always Yeah. You know, so that when that market was promoting the market, we were promoting ourselves right alongside of them. Right.   So just really   creating strong partnerships and creating strong relationships that you could work together and be seen together.  

We pass out a ton of cards. We do a ton of postcards. And now that we have mustard seeds, social media brand awareness is so important.   And, again, running,   you know, we run social ads and stuff like that just to,   you know, create a brand awareness that when they see   that brand, when they see the mustard seed market logo, they know who we are. They know the connection of rustic grains. So we've been very strong at, you know, our branding kit and making sure that everything is cohesive and everything looks the same. And so I think it all plays hand in hand when you talk about marketing and strategy and making yourself known as creating a unique brand that is different, that   people   their eye goes to, you know, and aesthetics is so important.  

Creating that and then tossing everything else in with community and partnerships and relationships and all of that to create this package of uniqueness that set yourself apart for your business. Did you   did you do that profe did you get somebody to do that professionally or did you just know how to do that? Yeah. So we we started doing a lot of it on our own in the very beginning. And then we have a really great friend. They're actually like our best friends. Yeah.   That she is a graphic designer. Good. So her and I have worked hand in hand over the years to create something that's so special. Yeah. And,   I'll cry when I use it. Like, it truly is our heart. Like, when we when her and I go to the table with what we're trying to create,   heart of what I want the business to look to look like in her heart because her passion is in it just as much for us. Yeah. So I feel like that comes through so much in our branding and so much in everything that you see that's mustard seed or rustic greens related   because it has so much passion and heart put into it. Yeah. That's I mean,  

[00:16:45] Unknown:

branding is,   it's really good that you found a designer. Like,   my business is marketing. I'm a I'm a freelance Right. Copywriter. Right. So   you see a lot of people get it wrong. And it's it and I think what they what they miss out on is that part portion of it. It's it's that Right.   Branding is really   like, you have to put heart and soul into it so that it's truly   unique and authentic. Right. You know, you look at some, I don't wanna,   I guess I don't wanna   disparage any large corporations   by name, but you look at a very large corporation and it's all, it's like a camel, horse designed by committee, right? Yeah. And it's just so flat and stale. Yeah.   It's just completely sanitized.  

So it's it's good that you found because I think that's Right. That's one thing that especially when it comes to branding, you've got to find designers and people that really Yeah.  

[00:17:39] Unknown:

Find anybody Right. That can do a design. One for us, like for her to be put in our our path, not only as being our best friends, but then also   having the role that she has as already being a graphic designer. Like, that was a godsend for us. Certainly. You know,  

[00:17:54] Unknown:

like, she she has been a godsend for us because it's expensive. Yeah. Oh, it's not cheap. All of that stuff is expensive. It's not only expensive, but a lot of firms, especially bigger firms, will   take you through a whole bunch of rigmarole that you just don't need. Right. You know? Right. And we've worked with,  

[00:18:09] Unknown:

you know, a lot of other, you know, companies and partnerships and stuff. And we always just go back to, like,   it's just it the passion and the heart that we give and she gives is just amazing.  

[00:18:24] Unknown:

I'm sorry. I don't mean to cut you off. You're good. You're good. But I think the other thing that   it was good to hear and I especially,   I don't know this for a fact, but my suspicion would be a lot of small businesses,   or people who are have an entrepreneurial   spark and they're like, one would start something. And then I think they can fall into a trap of, well, it's social media. Just gotta be out there on social media brand awareness. But that community part   is,   I would say, one of the most important things. Yeah. You have to be out. It's business is always people. Right. Always gonna be people. Out   there talking to people. And I think a lot of people miss that. Yeah. And it's hard because,  

[00:19:00] Unknown:

you know, it's just Daniel and I. Yeah. So to be able to create community when we do have four kids that we homeschool, you know, and all the things like   we've had to let some things fall. Yeah. Because it just doesn't make sense for our family. Not that it didn't even necessarily   make sense for our business. It was just too much. Yeah. And we've gotten trouble in the past because we do try to take on too much because we are entrepreneurs at heart. We are we can do it. We can do it. Let's start something new. Let's do something new. And then you get into it and you're like This is what I'm gonna do. Oh, I just can't do this anymore. And, it makes my heart sad because   they are   such great aspirations.  

Yeah. But not everything works out. Not everything pans out. But the community that supported us on all of those crazy ideas and on all of those things, you know, has been huge. And there's been a purpose and a season for all the things that we've done. Yeah. And I think God has used us in different seasons because,   you know, our business is probably a little bit different than a lot of businesses because   our business is our business is very much faith driven. Sure. You know, and very much,   God spoken driven, if that makes sense,   to the point of we spend so much time in prayer trying to determine what God wants. We don't we don't really care what we do. Right. Right? We don't care if it's mustard seed, if it's rusty grains, if it's going and selling tea. We don't care what we do. We just want God to use our hands for whatever purpose it is that he's given us. Fact   that   it could be here today and gone tomorrow. Right. You know, it's all it's all up to God because we are just doing this to advance his kingdom anyways. Yeah. And I think that's another thing that a a lot of people, especially when they start up businesses  

[00:20:48] Unknown:

you know, I say this because I've gotten wrapped up in this before,   where they just it's kind of   cold. It's like, you know, like, well, what's my, you know, what market am I serving and what are my numbers?   You know, you can get wrapped up in the the numbers of a business   and you completely forget about   what some people would say intuition, I would say, I would call God. Yeah. Like,   there's a lot more   gut and   intuition involved with business than I think a lot of people   realize. I can't remember what I was listening to,   but,   actually, I think it was a Joe Rogan podcast and it was all about,   kind of, you know, paranormal type stuff. But they were saying   when they talk to people who are very high up in the military, because it was all about remote viewing and stuff like that. Anyway,   that lower level people when they were trying to convince that this was actually a real thing, they were very, very skeptical and didn't believe in it. But as they got higher up the military echelon,   the leaders were all on board because to get to where they were,   they had to operate on   feeling and they chose right. Mhmm. You know?  

So that was kind of a a little bit of a diatribe, but I I don't know. I feel like a lot of people don't they don't let God into that. They don't let their their feelings and their intuition get into business, and they try to do it by the numbers. Yeah. You know? You know, and and it's hard. That's a hard that's a fine line to walk. Yeah. Because, I mean, you can't just like, well Yeah. I'm not making any money. Walk, but, you know My family's starving, but Exactly. You know, I'm following my gut. You know, and and sometimes, again, that's where that faith comes in, which is something that we,  

[00:22:32] Unknown:

you know, take to the mountains Yeah. Or say, you know,   and   there there are definitely ups and downs in business. And   right now is so hard. Yeah. Right? There are so many lows in small businesses right now because we are trying to compete with so many big brands Yeah. And so many viral brands that have gone, you know, viral in the last whatever.   But,   when we started this business, that was the verse God laid on our heart was Matthew seventeen twenty, which is faith is a grain of mustard seed. Mhmm. And at the time,   postcards. We'll put that on all the things. But, you know, it's been the progression of the last   ten years,   you know, eight years of being in business that   we have to put our faith in him because there's days that there's weeks, there's months that we want to close the door because Yeah. We're not it's nothing we're not making any profit. It's not making sense.  

Food on the table for our family. Like,   why are we doing this? You know? Right. And then it all comes back to, are you gonna trust me? Yeah. Are you gonna trust me to provide you and take care of your things? Or are you gonna walk away? And we always   continue to trust him and he always provides and he always takes care of things. And that's why, like, when you come, when you look at our branding, go going back to our branding and our marketing and our when you come to Mustard Seed, you see all the yellows. Yeah. Everything that you see, all of our family wears yellow. You know, there's a reason for all of that because those are the things that we can do on a daily basis to continue to remind ourselves that it's worth it. Yeah. That God is worth it. Our faith, putting our faith in him is worth it.  

[00:24:14] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. I   Yeah. I absolutely agree with all of that.   I do wanna talk because it is a family business. Right? Yeah.   Having   worked around several family businesses of all sizes,   strengthens the family and, you know, everybody or or it absolutely tears the family apart and everybody hates everyone. Yeah. So   I I guess I'm,   my question then would be,   how do you incorporate family into the business in a healthy way? Yeah. So  

[00:24:49] Unknown:

it's   it's tricky. It's it's,   again, like everything, it has its ups and downs. There's days that Daniel and I aren't talking because something went awry and we are not on the same page or something. Right. You know, but it's also so   fun to watch us all sit, you know, at the kitchen table over supper. And Daniel and I are talking about   Crozley's interjecting like, Hey, mom, have you thought about this? Or Noia's saying, No, I want to do that. That's the volunteer job I want to do. You know? So finding a way to incorporate all of them into unique ways has been very important for us   and creating environment where they want to be a part because they see and that that intuition,   they feel.  

When we when we start setting up, which happens this weekend into next week,   their inspiration   and their   drive and want to participate   is everywhere. Yeah. Like, they they feel   the positiveness,   the  

[00:25:55] Unknown:

Positivity. Positivity.  

[00:25:57] Unknown:

They feel that when they up words. That's fine.   As a as a homeschool mom, we do that. Right? It's it's sent the Internet. We can do whatever we want. They feel   they feel the impact of what that market brings Yeah. On the weekend. You know, the weekends that we set it, we set it up. They feel the impact of that, which   makes them want to be so much more apart. And and giving them I think what's been huge for us is I know I'm you know, Crosley is 13,   Alden's,   10, Noya is six, and then we have a little one who's two. So they do there are youngers in there. Right? But giving them specific roles. Sure. You know, Crosley, you are managing the little saplings. Like, it is your job. You need to make sure they're taken care of and setting those expectations for them, but giving them a big job. Yeah. Right? So that they feel that,   oh,   I this is my job this weekend. You know? Like, it boasts their shoulders, and it gives them the confidence Yeah. The skill set that they need to become entrepreneurs   if they were to so choose. Well, I mean, it's  

[00:26:58] Unknown:

and that's I like, I I'm a I love family businesses because as a it's so nice to see when it works. Right.   Big part of the success of it is probably your faith and having   that solid foundation that you can go back to. If you didn't have such a solid faith, I would imagine it would it could crumble pretty Yeah. Pretty quickly. Yeah. And there's been rocky roads, right? Like I'm not saying that everything's hunky dory. Like there has been  

[00:27:24] Unknown:

very   difficult situations that we've had to walk through as a family business between our immediate family, between our extended family that's come to help. Like   been a lot of rockiness that we've had to deal with. But at the end of the day, again,   all of us coming back and knowing that our hearts are in it for the right reasons. Yep. We're here to support each other. They're here to support the market. They understand the mission of what we're trying to do, you know, to spread the light and to spread God. And their to spread   God, and their mission is the same. It brings us all back to the same place. Yeah. You know, so and we, you know, when we the very first day that we set up at market, when we take access to the office, we have a big whiteboard.  

Board. And on that board, my words that I always write are grace and pivot. Mhmm. Because throughout that weekend, there are gonna be situations that happen Mhmm. Where   we don't know the situation. We weren't there. We didn't hear it. We don't know what happened, but it all comes back to the office. Right?   Everything we hear everything in that office that happens on those grounds and to have grace with each other of,   you know, being there for each other, supporting each other, understanding that there could have been mistakes happen or there could have been whatever Oh. Happened. So having grace, but   then also using that grace to pivot that situation   to figure it out and move forward. Yeah. You know, so those are two huge words for us as a family are just grace and pivot. I really like that.  



[00:28:48] Unknown:

I really like the combination of grace and pivot. I very early in my career, I,   worked PR media for have you ever heard of the hot air balloon festival in Middletown? Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, this was ten, twelve years ago, but I ran the PR media for that. And   I imagine a market is very similar in terms of when you the day of the event,   it is   just managed chaos. Chaos. Yeah. I mean, it's like I you're just running around like a crazy person. Things are falling through the cracks. You're   this guy, and then this guy needs something, and then this person over here, and there's people complaining about I don't know what. Yeah. And so   it's just it's a it's a crucible. Like it's a very stressful and it builds, right? It's like,   like, okay, it's gonna come. And then a week out, you're like, alright, it's almost here. Then three days before. It's craziness. You're just, you're running everywhere. You're like,   I did things that weren't nowhere near close to what my job was supposed to be, but it's like, you know, oh, you got a truck. Great. We need to move this over here. Right. We need to move so  

[00:29:50] Unknown:

I mean, it's it's hectic. Yeah. So I really like the grace part of that, especially because And I think a lot of people would be surprised to know, you know, they think, oh, this mustard seed market, it's this huge event. You probably have so many people behind the scenes that help. No. No. No. No. Up until   market   week Mhmm. It's Daniel and I. Yeah. There is no one else. Yeah. We we run ideas off my parents and his parents and whatnot just to like, hey, give me your feedback on this, or what do you remind me what happened last year about this. But the the full on managing of everything is Daniel and I. And then set up is Yeah. Daniel and I. Yeah. Like, Daniel and I are there, and our kids are there every single day from whatever time to whatever time to set everything up. We don't have I like that from whatever time to whatever because it's truly   whatever time until whatever time. There's there's been people in the past that have come and helped, you know, set up and we're so appreciative for, you know, their support. But then again, when when people start thinking about like weekend of, so Friday through Sunday when we're there and the gates are open, there's a very small   few that volunteer. Yeah. You know, like less than fifteen, ten to 15 people that volunteer to run the whole entire thing. And it's big. I I if people haven't been there, it's a it's a big market. Yeah. I mean, it's I mean, we shake up over five acres. Yeah. So over five acres, around 100 vendors, indoor, outdoor, you know, and we do a lot of   above and beyond things at the market that, again, from an outside community perspective, people probably don't see. Even   know about them. It's what our hearts want to do Yeah. You know, to treat the people that are on-site,   with us, our vendors and such. And, you know, we have we have people of volunteer,   which is   either my mom or Daniel's mom. Yeah. You know, that is a a vendor accommodations. They go around and make sure every vendor is taken care of. You know, we have our people at ticketing. We have people working the T trailers. So   handful of people that help pull it together. But those few volunteers that are there are amazing. Yeah. You know, they're amazing.  

And again, their hearts are in it for the same reasons that our hearts are in it for, which makes it, you know, makes that office   side of it so much. Yeah.  

[00:32:09] Unknown:

Well, it's   it's funny you say that because it's true of all events.   The   really nice stuff that you do for people attending is never what anybody notices. Right. Everybody's gonna notice the little thing that went wrong. So it can be very disparaging  

[00:32:24] Unknown:

when you put these electrodes in and They notice that stuff and then they they're quick to hop on social media. Yeah. Right? Oh, yeah. And say, oh my gosh, I'm never going back to that event again because blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But what they don't understand is the impact that makes on the people that have put so much time and effort into it, you know, because we do try to make sure every I is dotted and every T is crossed and everything, every person that walks through that door   best way. So when we hear those comments,   it deflates us. Yeah. You know, and we wanna make it right. Like, what happened? How can we fix that for you? How can we, you know, and then you get those trolls that never Yeah. Yeah. They never respond. They they just they just wanted to get the stink out. Yeah. And we were the person they did that on. It's  

[00:33:08] Unknown:

I mean, like most things, social media is a double edged sword. It's it's Oh, yeah. So cost effective for marketing.   Out so easily, but it's   rife with trolls and people who are just grumpy. Yeah. They're just grumpy. I remember at the balloon festival,   because one of the things that I did that I was very proud of was I really got them into social media.   Would   come to the festival would defend us in the comments. Yeah. So and that's a great place to be because then I don't have to go in there and be like, well, I don't know. But balloons are kind of fickle things, hot air balloons. Yeah. You never know. Yeah. One year was too hot because there wasn't enough temperature to reach between the hot air and the ambient air. And so you have to go on Facebook and like, sorry, the balloons aren't gonna fly because it's Yeah. Like, try explaining that to, you know Yeah, thousands of people. Thousands of people. That are only coming to the balloon. You can see the balloons like, sorry. Well, the year we were supposed to go, it got rained out. Yeah. So it happens. Oh, my God. There was this time I was,   I was promoting the event, and I'd finally gotten a camera crew to come.  

And they show up on the day that it's raining. So it's me on, like, channel two news Yeah. With rain just pouring down behind you. Let's see the balloon. Come on down to our event. We got more than balloons. You know, there's   tons of cool stuff. I promise. I hope it stops. So it's just all those things. You just can't plan for it. They're unpredictable. You never know.  

[00:34:31] Unknown:

And rain like that on a weekend, that is an outdoor event Yeah. Can be a complete It'll kill it. It'll kill it. And not only kill it for the vendors, but also the promoters, right? We've worked all of this time. And again, so many people think, oh, like, you know, mustard seed, they make so much money and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. People don't understand how much it costs Yeah. Put on an event. Yeah. Like That's a lot. We don't make money until people start walking through the door because of all the expenses that we have to even  

[00:35:02] Unknown:

this is our fourth season. Okay. Because the other thing that takes a while is a kitty, like a Yeah. A a reserve. Right? To build up. If it does go poorly  

[00:35:11] Unknown:

Right. You have a backup. You're not selling your house. Right. You have a backup. And   there's markets that have   been that way and there's markets that have not been that way. You know, there's markets that have been complete washes out and we lose money. You know?   So it's it's definitely a roller coaster ride and,   you know,  

[00:35:29] Unknown:

it's it's a hard business. It's not forever. But I mean, entrepreneurship   is not forever. Yeah. Like, truly is not forever. Yeah.   Again, an old job I worked in, Cincinnati, a place called Centrifuge. Yeah. Have you heard of it? Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For people who don't know who it is, what it is,   it's I always describe it as kinda like a chamber of commerce for startups.   But   you see you see the really good entrepreneurs, the guys who are just   dialed in and focused, and   they just have an energy that is it's just different. It's just a different kind of person who because there are there are ups, there are downs, there are   the lady I worked for, she'd what she called them, like, the   lying in bed, you're like, oh, this isn't gonna work. Yeah. I'm gonna be Your head is just your brain.  



[00:36:16] Unknown:

Spinning. Yeah. You know, and there's there is definitely   burnout. Oh, yeah. You know, burnout is a real thing. And,   you know, even taking that week vacation to go and forget, you don't forget about all of it. It's still right that as an entrepreneur,   it's not a nine to five that you just walk away from. It is cons it is an everyday   mindset shift of it's your livelihood. Right? Like, this is how we put food on the table for our family. It has to work. If it doesn't work, what are we gonna do? You know? And, again, that's where,   for us,   we we know that we've been called to do this. Yeah.  

Doubt, we know this is this is the season that we're supposed to be walking through right now. Yeah. So until that door closes and God opens up another season, we're gonna continue to pursue it and know that he's gonna provide, right? He's not gonna call us and put us on a journey that he's not gonna gonna take care of us as we're traveling through it. Well, and I think that's you'd you'd see the entrepreneurs that didn't do so well, and I think that's what they were lacking.  

[00:37:17] Unknown:

I would say everybody needs faith, but   in absence of that was that would be just a, like, a very deep   sense of purpose. Yeah. This is who I am and this is what I do. Yeah. If the peep the guys who would kind of fizzle out would always just kinda have one foot in. Right. You know?   Something like that, you just need to it's it's a leap of faith. You need to leap into it. And I think, again, when you come back to, like, family and, you know, we talk about the kids,  

[00:37:45] Unknown:

the kids see that in us. They know that this is all in. Right? There's no There's no temptation for them too. There's no jumping ship and going and doing something else. This is what we've been called to do. This is what we're doing. And they see the the ups and downs right alongside us. We don't hide anything from them. They see when there's beans and rice on the table, or they see when there's steak on the table. Right? Like, they see the difference, and they see the highs and the lows of all of it.   And, again, to the conversation we had off mic earlier  

[00:38:15] Unknown:

I'll try to loop back to that because I really enjoyed that.  

[00:38:19] Unknown:

You know, it really does   give them such a sense   of humbleness Yeah. And   understanding   of   what faith looks like and what the faith walk and trust looks like as well as hopefully it's instilling that entrepreneur spirit in them. Yeah. If it was to be something they wanted to pursue in the future. Well, even if it's not instilling an entrepreneurial  

[00:38:43] Unknown:

spark,   it's still such a great education. I mean, your kids are gonna be when they go out into the workforce, they're gonna have   eight excuse me, eighteen years of just Work. Hands on work business experience. To some that would be good. To to some that would not be so good. Well, I, you know, I   I went to college and I enjoyed my college experience.   But I know, especially today, I just don't think it's for everybody. Yeah. But and so to be able to give a child   a very  

[00:39:16] Unknown:

hands on education throughout their childhood. Yeah. About like, this is how business works. This is Right. How you get this done. It's not easy. Yeah. Even if they do, they go to a company or whatever. Yeah. They're still gonna have that. It's so cliche, but we do tell the kids all the time, you work hard to play hard. Yeah. Right? Like when we're working, there there are workers and there are shirkers Yeah. Is what I was always told growing up. And we are trying our hardest to raise workers that find joy in working. It's not   work. Right? Quote unquote work. It's it's fun work. Right? Like, we can have fun while we're working. We can   make some, you know, so that's what we try to instill in them is just   work, work hard, but there'll be time to play Yeah. Also. Well, if if you know, this is the thing that I'd  

[00:40:03] Unknown:

I don't think anybody ever I don't know if anybody ever told me this, but no. Somebody has told me this, actually.   But it's it's that old thing of, like, find what you love and then find out how to make money doing it. Yeah. It's pretty easy to find what you love. Yeah. You know, like, it's you know what you love to do,   but making money at it. Right. That's the tough part. And so   money just through businesses.  

[00:40:27] Unknown:

And It's hard. Yeah. It's hard because,   you know, you know, we get a lot when we go back to, like, people on social media. Why am I gonna pay $10 to come or $5 to come and shop? Like, I can just go anywhere and do that and not have to pay. Right. And what people don't understand is, like, again,   we're bringing over a hundred   small businesses. Right. You can't just go to the mall for that. You can't, you know and these are not these are not Hobby Lobby businesses. These are businesses that craft and create all year long. I think the one I remember was a guy who who did cutting these wood cutting boards. Yeah. They were I mean, they're gorgeous. Yeah. Art. I mean yeah. Yeah. Art.   He is if it's if it's you, I think you're talking about.  

I mean, we've had many woodworkers come through, but there is one gentleman specifically that,   it's his hobby.   And he creates all of these wooden toys and cutting boards and bowls and everything from scratch. And one little thing   will take him   hours   to complete. And he's selling it for like $20 Yeah, I know. And it's like, you're not even making any money. But again, it's his passion, right? It's it's different. It's hard to sell something   that is a passion,   but people  

[00:41:38] Unknown:

a lot of times, people don't see that passion and want to pay for it. That's You know, it's tricky, but That's but my wife is an artist, but she's many things. But she's a very good artist. And she recently went last year,   to the Milford   Art Festival. Yeah. And she did very well. Yeah.   But she was always so self conscious, like, should I really charge people this much?   I'm like, Katie. Yes. Yes. Yes. I just watched you paint this thing for like hours. You should.   Like, come up with an hourly lead. Like, that's how you put a price to that. How much time did you put in? Right. She she was like, oh, I don't know. I feel bad. Like, no, no, no. Yeah. You've done labor and people want this. Right.   So I especially for   people who create or are creatives,   I think it's very difficult  

[00:42:23] Unknown:

to put a price to their creations. You know, and I think so many you know, over the years, so much   about through,   social and through, you know, just the environment about supporting small and shopping small. And I think it's almost become something that people just say Mhmm. But they don't really understand the impact of what shopping small can actually do. Right. You know, when   take us, for example. Whether it was Rusty Greens when we were selling our goods or here is Mustard Seed Market   inviting you to come in and shop all of these these   other shops, small businesses.  

You truly   are feeding our family. Yeah. Like, they we don't have another nine to five. Like, this is our full time job   of we're giving everything that we have to create and do this to create something for our family.   And   the value of shopping small is so big. Well, and it's not just  

[00:43:17] Unknown:

you, it's all of those things. It's all of them. Yeah. Every single, those are all people in your community. Absolutely. And it makes the community better. I,   reasons I started this podcast,   because I would always kind of talk a big game about, you know, everybody gets wrapped up in the national story of what's going on. But   what really makes a difference is your back like here. Right.   Knowing what people are doing Right. Next door to you Yeah. Is so, you know, I'd always go on diatribes about that. Well, I should probably do something about it.   Here we are. That's why we're here. Here we are. But   I think people   there's there's just so much value in looking  

[00:43:58] Unknown:

closer to home. Yeah. And trying to make closer to home as good as it can be. Yeah. And to put it into perspective, the people that the vendors that come to mustard seed market that weekend,   around   60%   of them are Clermont County based. Yeah. Which is huge. That's really big. So not only are you coming There's a lot of people would just a lot of people's jobs are just going to all over the place. Right. And we have a lot we have a lot of those vendors too. I mean, we have vendors that come from 60% is. Yeah. We have vendors that come from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, all the surrounding states. We have vendors represented that weekend. But the fact that we have around 60% of them that are local in Clermont County,   you know, that are   coming and supporting a Clermont County event, but you're coming and supporting 60 local Clermont County Vendors Yeah. All in one location. Yeah. Like, that's gonna thrive. Like, the impact that that has in Clermont County is huge. Yeah. It's  

[00:44:54] Unknown:

harkening back to that festival I work, but they'd always,   the newspapers Mhmm. Would always want, well, what's the economic impact? What's in it? They've got all these goofy formulas. Yeah. So I don't know if you've ever had to try to do, you know, okay. So you know. Yeah. There's like 15 different formulas and nobody really knows. And are they really even accurate numbers? Well, I got to the point where I would tell the papers. I'm like, look, I'm not gonna talk about that. Right. We had 50,000 people come into Middletown, Ohio over the weekend from all across the tri state area.   Yeah. That's the impact. Like, I have no idea how much money these people spend. Right. I have no idea, you know, how this is gonna help the community grow other than it's a beautiful event and people come from all over for it. Yeah. So that's the story. The story isn't that we brought in x amount of money to the city. Right. The story is this is a great event for the city. Right. That's the story. And I think it's very similar with mustard seed market. It's like,   who knows how it's impossible.  

Right. But you've got all of these people coming together supporting local businesses, and that that can't be anything but good. Right. You know? Right.   So if you don't mind,   I would just pivot away a little bit from mustard seed market.   I would like to talk to you about homeschooling. Yeah.   Why you decided to do it,   and   just struggles and advantages, things like that. So COVID really is what pushed us. Yeah. COVID did that for a lot of people. So,  

[00:46:17] Unknown:

Crosley was Crosley,   he's our oldest. He's 13.   He's going into   eighth grade next year.   Right? Yeah. He's going into eighth grade next year. The the the grades get mixed up in homeschool.   He's going into eighth grade next year, so we pulled him when he was in first. Yeah.   So we've, been doing homeschool for years. We absolutely love it.   One of the advantages for us is   the fact that our schedule is so wonky because of all the different things that we do and, you know, it's a what day of the week is it? It's a Wednesday, and you're here at 09:00 doing a podcast. Right? Like so just the flexibility that we need to be able to do,   a lot of the different aspects of life and of business.  

So we currently homeschool three of them. So we homeschool Crosley who's in eighth grade, Alden who's going into fifth grade, and Nolia who will be in second grade this coming year. We actually just finished our homeschool year last week. Okay.   So it's amazing. We absolutely love it.   It's not that we force them to homeschool because every year we do have the conversation. Like,   public school, like, let us know. Yeah. And they all just keep coming back to you, nope. Nope. We're good. Nope. We're good. I'm good. This place is beautiful. So I don't know why you'd wanna be sitting in the classroom. Yeah. So,   it's taken us   years to finally get into the homeschool rhythm rhythm of   curriculum   and   knowing that what we're doing at home is enough. So as a homeschool mom, you always have those doubts of,   Do they get enough math in? Do they know their history? You know, all these different things. So it's taken us years for me personally to get to the place of,   no, this is good. Right? Like, this is enough. They are learning enough.  

Again, I think part of homeschooling,   one of the pros is being a small business and what we talked about earlier, having them see all the thing and be a part of all the different things that we do. Because there's days that if Daniel has a tea trailer event, Crosley's going with him. Yeah. Crosley's the one that's taking your order and serving your drinks and stuff like those are skills that if they were in public school, they wouldn't get those opportunities  

[00:48:33] Unknown:

as much as what they get them outside of public school. Especially doing a service job like that. I've worked as a bartender   for   a couple   months. And, man Yeah.   It's rough. Oh, man. I People start throwing things at you and you're like, what did you just say? Oh, man. You get in the weeds Yeah. And it's just because we have a bar and then you have tables and you have a service and it's just   fast pace. Yeah. It's like I gotta do this and I gotta do this and I gotta do this. Yeah. But man, you also just get a great education in people. Because you know, I went to school and I went to college. Yeah. And I went off and did all the things I do professionally. And that was one of the, at least,   professionally.  

And that was one of the at least biggest shocks for me was just dealing with people. Mhmm. It's like, you know, you learn all of this stuff in a bubble and then you get into an office and you're like, oh. Right. I know how to do all these things. Person had an attitude today. Why did that happen? Right. And it's like, I you know, I've the hardest part of any job for me has always been dealing with people. It's not the job. It's all the different personalities. So  

[00:49:35] Unknown:

Yeah. So homeschool is is definitely a journey.   And for us, it's a year by year journey. You know, making sure that every year we still feel like what it's it's what we're supposed to be doing and that the curriculum is what we need it to be and all the different things.   We never want to push our kids to public if they're wanting to be home. But it comes with these challenges too. Yeah. You know, there's days that the full intent is that we're homeschooling today.   And then it just doesn't happen because of life. Yeah. Right? Like, propane is leaking and we have to find the fix, you know, like there's just randomness   that because you are at home,   homeschooling,   that life happens, that you can't get away from it. And you, again, have to come back to that pivot move of   we'll get it in tomorrow, or we might be working,   you know, laying in bed tonight doing vocab words. Right? So it is that you do have to go into homeschooling with the thought of it's completely flexible.  

Yeah. And   that's a very   different   term for me because I am a very rigid person. Yeah.   We are very   checkbox   list people. Like, me and Daniel are very much list people.   So to have this homeschooling journey of just we're butterflies   and can just  

[00:50:56] Unknown:

Well, I think It's interesting. I think the listing is probably what makes it my wife and I are not list people. We are very much butterflies. Yeah.   So I think the listing helps because I don't think my we've talked about homeschooling.   I don't think it's well, I just well, first of all, we're Catholic, so we wanted to be catechized. So we sent her to Catholic school.   But also it's   feel like if we were to homeschool, it would just be way too Yeah. You know, it would just it wouldn't work. Yeah. So to be anxious about not being on the list, I think, is probably what makes it work. Yeah. Well, we we've tried multiple different curriculums. And the first curriculum that we tried was very Monday through Friday checkbox. Here's everything you have to get accomplished.  

[00:51:38] Unknown:

But at the end of the week, we were feeling very much drained Yeah. Of, like, we had no here we are homeschooling. We're supposed to have all this flexibility.   We literally sat in the class room all day long and got nothing else done. Right. So then we switched to something that was more just like free flowing. So I I don't mean to interrupt you. So what  

[00:51:57] Unknown:

are there are these do these curriculum have names? Because I don't know very much about it. So the very first curriculum that we used was My Father's World.  

[00:52:03] Unknown:

Okay. Which is a great faith based curriculum. It has awesome   things to it, but it was too structured for us. Okay. And then we went to Gather Round, which is very,   open, very artistic, very   aesthetically   pleasing to the eye when you look at it. But Crosley was bored, like bored out of his mind, like, mom, this is not enough for me. So here recently, within the last couple years, we,   use,   classical conversations   Okay. Which is another face to face,   curriculum,   and we absolutely love classical conversations.   So we're in our   second year.  

One, two. I think we're going into our third year of using classical conversations, and we absolutely love it. Okay. So it's really finding I think that's the hard part as a homeschool family   is there's so many. I get very overwhelmed when there's too many options. Yeah. Like, just give me, like, five Yeah. And let me pick from those five. When there's a hundred, I get overwhelmed and just say, forget it. I don't wanna do it. Right. So I think that's how I was when we first landed on homeschool is there was just too many options,   and I think that can be very overwhelming for a lot of people. There's so many different   ideas and thoughts and inputs and communities and books and blah blah blah blah blah blah. You know, there's all this different stuff that   as a come as a newcomer to homeschool,   not a seasoned, you know, mom that's been doing it for twenty years, but as a newcomer,   there's just so much. So it's been tricky for us to get to what we actually feel like works for all of our kids. Mhmm. Because, again, we're teaching on three different school levels. Yeah. So we're teaching all subjects   to an eighth grader, a fifth grader, and a second grader. They all learn differently. They all learn differently. Like, Crosley is the one that could sit here at the table all day long and get all of his schoolwork. Yeah. All then, he needs to go get a drink. Now he needs to go to the bathroom. Now he needs to run outside real quick. Noia, she has a million and one questions about everything she does. So all of them learn completely different Yeah. Which means we have to cater, right, to each of their styles and each of their learning. And we feel like the curriculum that we've landed on now does that for everyone.  

So they can all learn be learning the same thing but at different levels, which makes it so much easier for me because then I'm not trying to teach three different curriculums and three different things. Like, we can learn as a family unit.   And it really is just that, a family unit because there's things that,   you know, throughout the day, I might get overwhelmed and say, I I have to check out for a minute. And Daniel has to step in and teach math Right. Or teach whatever. So we really do rely on each other. Even though I am their full time teacher,   Daniel does participate and help so much,   which I think knowing that I can rely on him or lean on him for certain things is huge when it comes to having, you know, a homeschool family. Yeah. Now there are things outside of  

[00:54:57] Unknown:

the home, like,  

[00:54:59] Unknown:

programs or Yeah. So there's definitely Yeah. There's What do you utilize? There's communities. There's all different types of communities. We've been a part of co ops and communities in the past.   I think,   you know, fight what what's really engaged our kids too is not only co op and communities, but also just extracurriculars.   Mhmm. So they're part of four h groups where they show animals at the fair.   Alden's in baseball. Noya's in ballet and softball. So Crosley's going into football. So just having other   curriculars Mhmm. Which it's taken us a while to get here to even want to   get to the place of allow not allowing them, but opening ourselves up Yep. To having a sports schedule or having a this this one has to go here. This one has to go here. But, again We're just getting into that. Yeah. It's it's already dropping a little bonkers. Well, with all the rain   with all the rain that's happened,   so Noya plays softball, Alden plays baseball with all the rain that's happened.  

Alden has to make up four games   between   today   and Saturday. Oh, man. And I asked his co I'm like, how are you supposed to do that? Like, four games. Alden, you better be ready to play any position because I don't know what you're playing.   So but,   you know, it can be challenging when you're managing multiple kids, but,   you know, Daniel's   mom has always   used the word with me bittersweet.   Yeah. And it really is this bittersweet time of   we're not gonna be doing this forever. Yeah. Right? Like, they're only gonna we're only gonna be running them to ball and softball and all this stuff for such a short period of their life. Yeah.   Instead of looking at it and taking it on as a burden,   taking it on as a joy that we get to do this because   in   as much as two to three years, they'll be driving. Yeah. And we won't be the ones that are doing it anymore. My wife and I talk about that constantly  

[00:56:51] Unknown:

about because it's it's tough raising kids, but even our the youngest is five,   Olive.   And,   man, she is a willful little girl. And she is very she can be very, very difficult Yeah. To to just manage. I mean, and   as far as this one goes, we've literally tried everything from  

[00:57:09] Unknown:

time outs to spankings. And it's just like she she has an iron will. That's our Lonnie. Yeah. She's the one we haven't talked about tonight. She's still sleeping in her room over there. Just let her sleep till she decides to wake up.  

[00:57:21] Unknown:

And, you know, we we get frustrated and tired at the end of the day. We I we just constantly remind ourselves, you know, like,   I don't even remember the headaches that she was giving us two years ago. Right? I'm not gonna remember these headaches. I'm gonna remember, like, when I went outside, walked around and rained with her because she just wanted to do that. Right. Like, I Right. It's it's   or, like, I took her to jujitsu the other day. Mhmm. Because I we don't think ballet is for her. Yeah. It's a little too structured.   She needs to be able to kick something. Well, and she keeps asking to fight and, like, teach me how to fight. I'm like, well, okay. I mean, if that's what you want Right. We'll get you to do that.  

But it's gonna be like,   there was a point in in the class where she was kind of afraid and then she went over sat down against the wall and there was another little girl there who was like pumping her up and I was like, man,   it   was a pain   to like wrangle this and get her here. But just that moment is gonna it's like a foundation moment in somebody's life.   Something and then you find somebody who helps you through it. Right.  

[00:58:26] Unknown:

Like she needs those things. And it's like I can't deprive her of that just because I'm a little tired. It's one of those things as parents we have to let go because we can't teach them all of that. Right? Like, it's those little opportunities   that happen that you look back and you say, Thank you for sending that person. Yeah. Right? Thank you for allowing that situation to happen in such a way. But   homeschooling is is interesting and fun, and we absolutely love it.   But at the same time, it has just as many challenges,   just as many ups and downs as running a small business. It's all it's all coincides with each other. Yeah. Well, it's it's also just really  

[00:59:02] Unknown:

it's really cool the way that you've done all of this, frankly,   from the business to the homeschool because it's just it seems so cohesive. Mhmm. It's just a nice cohesive   Yeah. Family unit. Yeah.  

[00:59:14] Unknown:

Yeah. And, really, like, you know, this is not who   conversation off mic, like,   when the fire happened, it truly changed us. And we kind of closed the chapter, closed who we were before the fire, and this is the new Us. Yeah. And we've had to step into that. It's very metaphorical too. Yeah. We've had to step into that and really take, you know, cliche, but really take the ashes,   you know, and make them something beautiful. Because we could have let that situation completely   discourage us, you know, hurt our marriage, hurt our family, you know, and we could be completely different people than we are today. Yeah. But but for God, right? But for God, we came through that on the other side, and we do have something beautiful   and something that we cherish so deeply. And   it's about the six people that sit at that kitchen table in there. Yeah. Right? Like, that's our heart. That's what we're doing all of this for is   for our family and for ourselves and for our kids. Yeah.  



[01:00:16] Unknown:

So why don't you talk about the fire a little bit and just what happened and Yeah. I don't want you to Yeah. So,  

[01:00:22] Unknown:

we're we're five years past, so it happened in 02/2019.   It was a tragic day.   I got a call. I was still working a full time job at that point.   What did you do before that? I worked at a local bank Okay.   And was a administrative assistant for the territory manager of the bank. So it was a pretty lofty,   pretty big job that I had a lot of responsibilities. So I was actually,   at a meeting in Westchester.   Mhmm.   And Daniel called me, and he's like, Sarah, the house is on fire.   And I'm like That's a weird phone call to get. And he's like, no. The house is on fire. And I'm like,   okay.  

And he's like, no, seriously, Sarah, the house is on fire.   And I'm like, oh my god. You know, then I start panicking, like, this is really what is going on. Right. And we get lost service with each other. Oh, no. So I couldn't connect. Was he at the house? He was here. Okay. Yeah. When it happened. I couldn't get back ahold of him   the whole entire time I was driving from Westchester. Oh, no. So I don't even know how fast I drove.  

[01:01:26] Unknown:

Off off camera, we were talking about,  

[01:01:29] Unknown:

because my wife Katie was in a car accident. So I know that drive. I know that drive of like, there's a tragedy that's happened and I have no idea what I'm about to walk into. Well, and I didn't know because since he lost connection with me, like, is he okay? Yeah. Is he not okay? Did he go back in? Like, when he says fire, like, what does this you know, you don't really know what it means. The same thing. Yeah.   Like, you know, you don't know what it means. So I got here, and we live on, like, probably half mile gravel drive back. Yeah. And when I pulled pulled in, there were fire trucks, ambulances, and water tanks literally all the way to the bridge down there. Yeah. So a half mile down the road, that's all I could see. And   when I was on   when I was maybe   five miles   from the house, all you could see above the trees where our house would have stood was   bellows of smoke. Yeah. So at that point, you're then, like, panicked. Right? Oh, yeah.  

So I finally was able I had to fight not fight, but I had to convince the   firemen and such to let me back through because, like, that's my house. That's my husband. Like, I need to be back there.   Ended up having to just park the car and run because they wouldn't let me all the way through.   So,   I landed in   the neighbor our neighbors across the street's   yard and   find like, at the at the time, I didn't see him. Yeah. Like, when I was looking at everything that was happening, there was no Daniel. Like, I was not putting my eye on him. And then finally, here, he came, like, poking out somewhere. And,   so it was definitely a traumatic day.  

Crosley was still he was in public school. That was his last year of public school, and he got off the school bus to it. Oh, man. So one of the memories that I have the most of,   that day were the firemen   yard   across the street with our boys, and they were playing football. That's really nice. You know, so just one of those things that, like Do you remember those people? Do you remember those things? And we had we lost   almost everything that day. There were very few things that were this table was actually one of the things that was able to be saved. That's cool. Yep. This was our kitchen table.   We also had a a bench, like a pew, church pew Mhmm. That was able to be saved. Daniel ran back in the house, like, probably 10 times. What what started the fire? Do you know?  

It was an accident.  

[01:03:49] Unknown:

So, of course Well, he said that, like, you started the fire.  

[01:03:53] Unknown:

Daniel well,   Daniel Woodworks. Yeah. Right? So we burn off our scrap when we're done with scrap. Well, that day he was burning scrap   and his scrap,   his feed pile, like where he would feed from. Yeah, yeah. It caught fire. And it went up the side of the house. Yeah. And it was a brick house. So when it hit the soffit, it just kinda took over the whole entire attic and then started making its way down. Yeah. So   that in itself added so much chaos to it because we had to do fire investigations. Yeah. And we had to talk to the fire chief, and they had to make sure that it wasn't on purpose and, you know, all the things that Well, I don't know what home insurance was like. Oh, that's a mess. Medical insurance for us was Insurance   was probably I was probably on the phone more with insurance people. Yeah.  

It took so the fire happened in October. We didn't get approval from insurance to be able to demo it until March. Okay. That's how long it set. And then we didn't get, like   this kind of kinda sounds like   I don't even know what the word would be, but, like, monetary   Yeah. Yeah. Like, after something like that, like, we had no money. Right? Like, all of our everything was gone. You know? We had to start buying clothes. We had to start figuring all this stuff out.   All of our inventory, our business inventory was in. Like, we had big shows that were coming up, you know, all the things, all the catastrophes.   But it took like   at least two and a half months to even start getting physical monies to be able to start replacing things. So it was a whole entire journey   that,   we   we ended up not feeling   to the point of even, like, our feet back on the ground for almost two years later. Yeah. And even now that we're five years out, like, you think,   oh, you guys are five years. You should be recovered from that. Goes. There's still so much that Yeah. Comes in on a, you know, daily, weekly, monthly basis. It's like, you know, with insurance, they put you on this, like,   blacklist   insurance where nobody will write you insurance. Right. We couldn't get business insurance for the longest time personal insurance for the longest time because we were high risk. Yeah. We just   just this year, just this renewal period in March, we came off of that blacklist to actually be able to get reasonable insurance rates and reasonable everything. Like, you'd I don't think   yeah. It's hard to comprehend all of the   trickle effects that can happen after something like this   that you don't know how to deal with. You know? Like, we've been walking prepares you. Nobody prepares you, and we even though, again, it was five years ago, we're still walking the journey now. Yeah. You know? It's still part of our everyday life that   things and the outcomes of it happening. Yeah. So but at the same time, like, you know, it put us in a place where   I have no doubt that God was behind the whole situation. Yeah. You know, yes, it was a tragedy. Yes, we lost everything. But looking back at it,   was it a tragedy?  

Yeah. Yeah. You know, like,   were any of those things really that important? Like, the six feet the well, at that time, we didn't have Lonnie. So the five people that walked out that day are still here. Yeah. Right? Like, we're still okay. We're still taken care of. God provided   this amazing house that we have. Like, we would have never,   in ourselves,   would have never taken the leap Yeah. To say,   we're gonna go buy a new house or we're gonna go like, he forced us   to do some things that   we had closed the door on. Maybe we ourselves had closed the door on. He forced that door open to say, no. Now is your time. Yeah. And   he also   you know,   the amount of   when we talk about social media presence and news and all of that stuff, community aspect, The amount of people over the last five years we have been able to tell our story to Mhmm. And bring glory back to God for   and   broadcast.  

Yeah. Like, the amount of podcast   and news interviews and   radio interviews, all the things that we've been able to broadcast   what God has done for us over this season of tragedy.  

[01:07:58] Unknown:

Yeah.  

[01:07:59] Unknown:

If it wasn't for anything else, it was for all of that. Yeah. Because   there is no doubt that any of the things that we have done over the last   five years have not been spewed  

[01:08:11] Unknown:

to give God glory. Right. Well, and it also I think one of the   unfortunate facts of life is that you don't get stronger when you're fat and happy. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's like you don't you don't grow. Right. You know, and so you need those   moments of, I think, intense tragedy   to really like, again, for my part, when Katie went through that accident, it was it was terrible. And we still to this day, like, she still   hurts. Right. Like, it's still a thing.   But,   you know, we our marriage wouldn't be nearly as strong. We wouldn't have   strengthened relationships in our lives. We our faith wouldn't be nearly as deep as it is.  

Well, I mean, I started freelancing not long after that because I wanted to be closer to my family. Like, I work at home.  

[01:09:01] Unknown:

Now I work at home because of that. And I was miserable at my old age. Right. Like I hated it. Well, it forces you, like you said, fat and happy. It forces you to shred. Yeah. Right? It forces you to shred the things that really don't matter and truly hone on the things that do Yeah. And use those to be to build. Those get really sharp, don't they? Oh, yeah. They do. The focus on those get really sharp. Yeah. And, again, like, it's that it's that make it or break it time of it could have destroyed our family. It could have destroyed our marriage. The things that Daniel and I had to walk through in that season   are unfathomable. Right? Like And it's tough for people to understand. You look back and you're like, oh my gosh. Like,   how did we do that? I look back think the same thing. There's no way. And and, again, like I told you earlier, like, it's only been five years, but I could not do those things now. No. Right? Like, I don't have the energy. I don't have the motivation. Like, god knew the perfect timing   for this to happen. Even though it was a tragedy, it was such a blessing. And   the outcome of it you know, look at mustard seed. Mustard seed is a repercussion of the fire. Yeah. Right? Like, this house is a reaper. All these things are repercussions of the fire that God has blessed us with, and we are just so grateful. Yeah. And it I man.  



[01:10:16] Unknown:

It like I said before we started recording, it's and I know I I don't wanna I'm sure tons of people will experience tragedy, but   I'm assuming we're fairly close in age.   It's just tough to find people that   I don't know. It it was just such an acute Yeah.   Tragic event. And out of nowhere too. Right. You know? Like, I go in the office one day   call like, oh, I think Katie's car is on the side of the road. Yeah. Oh, no. And then you try and figure it out, like you said. Right. That like I'll never forget driving to the hospital   and talking because when you talk to the hospital, they're trying to keep you going. Right. They don't want to tell you all the details. No, they don't want you speeding down 70 5 to try to get to your wife. They're like, no, she's fine. She's fine. So I'm like, oh, okay. Then you get there and it's like, oh, she's not. Not fine. And, you know,   not to go on about it, but I I do thank   terrible as it was, as just exhausting,   gut  

[01:11:14] Unknown:

wrenching. Yeah. But we're stronger for it. Right. Well, and what we talked about earlier as well, like, you know, times like that,   you can't take that on. Right? You can't take what happened to your wife on. There's no way I could have carried the weight of that fire No. On my shoulders and dealt with all of it. It forced us. It put us in a place of rock bottom where Yeah.   Rely on God because   we couldn't do it on our own. And other people. And other people. We could not have   we could have not come back on our own. No. Like,   so it it puts us in a place when, you know, when we started the business and he laid Matthew seventeen twenty on us, and we were like, oh, okay. That's cool. Whatever. Like, it put us in that verse. Right? That, like, we we had no faith at that point. We just lost every single thing that we possibly owned. Yeah. What are we supposed to do now, God? Right. And then look. Yeah. And then look what he's done. You know? It's just amazing. He he is such a good God. Like, it it puts you in a place of so much humbleness   that you almost don't even know how to handle it. Right? Like, you don't all you can do is   be on your knees thanking him Yeah. For what he's done for you. Absolutely.  



[01:12:26] Unknown:

I   I wanna pivot away from this a little bit.   I've been using that word a lot. Now you've got it in my head, I think. Pivot's a good word. It's a really good word. It's a very good entrepreneurial word.   I'm gonna go out on a limb. And   if it turns out not to be true, then I'll just cut this out of the interview. Okay. But   would you perchance describe yourself as a crunchy mom? Oh, I don't even know what that word is. Oh, okay.  

[01:12:51] Unknown:

Okay. What's that word mean? So there's just this whole I've seen it and I've heard it, but I've never really been able to hone in on, like, what Well, it is different. The definition?  

[01:13:02] Unknown:

Well, I don't know if I can come up with a definition, but it's Let's ask Google. That'd be a good idea. Let's ask Google. What is a crunchy mom? I'm gonna I'm gonna take a stab at it, and I would say it's a very   holistic,   natural kind of parenting.  

[01:13:21] Unknown:

Yeah. Natural holistic lifestyle and apply it to their parenting choices. Yeah. Modern medicine avoiding modern medicine, limiting technology, organic food, natural alternatives.   So I would say, am I a crunchy mom?  

[01:13:34] Unknown:

And, yeah, you don't need to put that label on you. The only reason I ask is because I find it that,   my wife has gotten   crunchier and crunchier Yeah. As time goes on. And I'm I'm, you know, I'm here for it. I   like, great. We're getting local beef.   Great. That's that's wonderful. We we're drinking raw milk. Great. It tastes wonderful.   But I just think it's an interesting phenomenon,   and because she's it's not like I go out to mom groups and Yeah. And interview moms. So I didn't know if that was something that you would describe yourself as. Because like I said, it's it's an interesting phenomenon that   I actually suspect is the reason   Trump got elected the way he did. Yeah. Because RFK, the crunchy moms love RFK junior. Yeah. And I think he delivered a lot of them over to his side. So it's like this interesting political force that's kind of Yeah. A rising.  



[01:14:27] Unknown:

I mean,   I don't know.  

[01:14:30] Unknown:

I If you don't wanna call yourself, it's no  

[01:14:33] Unknown:

I think we could re maybe cut all of that and restart the conversation because   would I say I'm a crunchy mom? No. Yeah. But my look on crunchy moms is, isn't that the same thing as, like, what back in the sixties and seventies homesteading moms were? Well, then that's kinda what it is. The same thing. It's just been given a different label. So to me, I'm more of a homesteading mom Yeah. Yeah. Than what I am a crunchy mom. Yeah. Because am I not gonna let my alternate a piece of cheesecake for breakfast this morning? Right? Like No. Like You know, I'm not all into a lot of that. But I don't wanna make it sound like my wife is like, we've just I have no sugar Exactly. Who dies in our house. Like, we eat McDonald's. Yeah. Do we do we make conscious efforts   to buy local and, you know, our freezers are full of beef. Yeah. Our freezers are full of deer. We grow our own chickens. We raise our own eggs. Yeah.  

We,   I cook at home every single day. I make them right. All the meals, I will make. I make the bread. I make all the jar the candies. Would be classified as a crunchy mom. So I do all of that from scratch here at the house, and that's just because it's our passion. It's what we love to do. It's not and it's more economical. It's It is. It's cheaper for me to grow my vegetables and can all of my stuff than what it is to spend $300 on produce every single week at the grocery store. So Katie cans  

[01:15:54] Unknown:

before she got pregnant, she was canning a lot. Now that she's pregnant, she's kinda   she's pregnant. Yeah. Tired. Yeah.   It's not our priority right now. No. Well, you talk about seasons and it's like, this is not quite the season to be baking bread and canning. Right. It's like, we have the kid and get through that. Yeah. You know, two, three years later, we can go back to what we were doing. But,   I think it's probably an unfortunate label to what like, what you said. It's just Yeah. It's just kinda what you people used to do. I aspire  

[01:16:23] Unknown:

to be my grandmother. Yeah.   Epitome of Oh, I hate to break you. I think that is the definition of a What I want to be. Right? Like, I want I want my kids to know   what it's like when we talk about working hard and playing hard. Like, that work hard not only is outside of the home, it's inside of the home too. Oh, yeah. Right? So I want my kids to learn how to cook. I want my kids to learn how to do a lot of those things. And and, personally, I just enjoy it. You know? I enjoy canning. I enjoy baking. I enjoy   creating things that gather us around the table. Yeah. Whether that be from gardening   to, you know, whatever it, cheesecake, whatever it is. I just   she finally woke up.  

I just personally we personally enjoy doing that. And again, it's more economical for our family, you know, for us to raise our own chickens and turkeys. And, you know We raise your own turkeys. We   raise our own turkeys.   To do all of that, our hope is on this prop piece of property, we can't have more farm animals than what we already have. But in the future, our hope is to eventually move a little bit further out where we have more land so that we can raise our own, you know, cows and sheep and all of that.   But it's just a it's a way of life that we enjoy. Yeah. I Yeah. So whatever classification Yeah. I quote unquote that gives us, I mean I took a risk asking about that, and I'm gonna keep it in. But  

[01:17:50] Unknown:

think you people would probably label you as such, but it's it's an odd label. Yeah.  

[01:17:55] Unknown:

And I think they just need to maybe not change the terminology, but make a new terminology that it's   of crunchy, it's grandma y. Grandma y. Like, can I just be in that category?   Like, I just wanna create so I had an aunt growing up. She was a great aunt, and her name was aunt Carmen.   And   when you went to her house, it was just   you felt free. Yeah. You felt welcomed.   She always had watermelon. Yeah. She always just   whatever you want, honey. You know? Just this atmosphere, and I just wanna create that. I wanna create this welcoming environment for not only friends and family that come, but also for my kids after they leave the house that they want to come back to. Like, this is the safe space. Right? This is the place that you know mom will always have a home cooked meal. Yeah. Mom will always have something in the dish on the, you know, the yellow dish on the on the counter. Like, that's just   who we are. That's what I love. Yeah. Well  

[01:18:51] Unknown:

and you you said it before, but these are these skills are getting lost. Yeah. Like, how many people actually know how to can Right. Safely. Right. I guess   all these funny things from my wife. I guess there's   a a rift in the canning community between, you know, whether you do it one way or Yeah. Oh, there is. Oh, yeah, there is. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Well, there's different processes, right? There's water bath and then there's pressure cooking. Yeah. And canning can be very tricky because,  

[01:19:19] Unknown:

you know, botulism is a thing. That's right. And it's can be dangerous. So   but, again, like, I learned from my grandmother. I learned from granny. I've watched her can. You know, she's taught me how to can, so I have all of those. I have all of her recipes of all the things I grew up on and all the jams and jellies and, you know, how we can go. Because my wife also loves jams and jellies. Yeah. Yeah.  

[01:19:43] Unknown:

She loves doing it every time she makes jams or jellies. Like, the first one she does   is always You test her back. I I I know.   But she she always gets so self conscious about it because she'll she'll literally   much of a recipe person. Yeah. She's one of those people who, like, start cooking something. Of this. Yeah. And then she'll it's like, why does this taste funny? I'm like, would you follow the recipe? She's like, yeah. But then I started putting this this ingredient, so I substituted it for this. Yeah. You can't ever recreate. I tell the kids all the time. I'm like, you want this again for supper? You ain't getting it because I can't recreate it. It's a one time meal. Well, it's and I think it's the difference between cooks and bakers because you can't bake. Yeah. Like, you can't bake a loaf of bread. Like, well, I'll just throw things in there and it'll work. More precise. Yeah. So it's   there's I think there's a definite difference because because I have enjoyed making sourdough bread a lot. Yeah. And Katie makes it now.  

I can't remember where I was going with that.   Oh, the jams.   The first batch, it's she it's always like she just throws berries in. I'll never forget. It was when she first started making jams.   I think she wanted to make some kind of like apple pie in a jar or something like that.   And   she looks at me and she goes, I I need you to go ahead and get some sugar. I said, well, sure. How much sugar do you need? She goes, I think I need 25 pounds.   I said, you need what?   You need 25   pounds of sugar? She goes,   yeah.   Alright. Okay. I'll be back with a sack of sugar for you. And then she makes, like, all these jars of jelly and jams. I love it because it tastes delicious. That's how we actually buy our sugar and our flour and our everything. We have I,  

[01:21:19] Unknown:

have big five gallon buckets that we fill because   I mean, we have six mouths to feed, right? And growing boys. So I'm constantly in the kitchen. Yeah. Making things and   I mean, we have a seller and we have all of them. I'm actually jealous of a seller. We have all of the back stock of all the things. We have four freezers full of meat. You know? So   but that's also   seasonal based off business. Yeah. Right? So when the business is doing well,   we anticipate   and we stock things Yeah. Yeah. In anticipation   of the lull seasons when maybe the business isn't doing so good that we're not, you know, I can't put food on the table because I what we were smart in planning it. Right. Well, that's how we went on a  

[01:22:03] Unknown:

it was actually right after the accident. We went on a vacation to Gatlinburg with just our our little girl. Well Yeah. We only had our little girl,   and my wife and I. And it was it was a really nice kind of healing thing because it's been so chaotic and we could spend time with the little one.   But we didn't have a whole lot of money. So Katie just brought, like,   canned   stews and Yeah. It was great. I mean, it was   it's it's a shame that practices like that seem to have fallen by the wayside because  

[01:22:35] Unknown:

there's just so much utility in them. Yeah. Well, and to be honest, like, for us as a family to go out to eat,   even to go to some place simple like Chick fil A Yeah. We love Chick fil A. Right? Yeah. But it's, like, 65 to $70 for us to eat at Chick fil A. I can put something on the table for less than 10 every single night. Yeah. Like, it just does economically, it doesn't make sense. We are a very frugal family. Yeah. Very frugal family. So   we have the guilties a lot. Yeah. You know, when we go and do that, we have the guilties of why did we just do that? Because, honestly, was it even that good? No, it never is. Half the time you go out to eat and you're like,  

[01:23:11] Unknown:

I wish I would have just made something at home, you know? You feel terrible. Like it the food's just but that's one of the other things that I've because it's not like I've lived my entire life drinking raw milk and eating fresh eggs. Right. Of course, I didn't live my life like that. But   then neither did Katie, frankly.   She grew up in Owensville, kind of a rural place. Yeah. You know, and her mother can't. But   I   the the biggest thing is just the eggs and the milk. It's like I cannot Yeah. For the life of me,   eat store bought eggs. Yeah. They just look funny. They taste funny. And the milk too. Right. Our chickens aren't laying right now. Oh, no. So I have to buy store bought eggs. So  

[01:23:50] Unknown:

let me backtrack a little bit. So mustard seed, we have this thing called little saplings Yeah. Yeah. Which our little saplings is our young entrepreneurs. Yeah. Well, that all started because I thought it was such a cool thing about it. That all started because our kids had   two years two or three years ago, had an abundance of eggs. And when I say abundance, I mean, like, 60 dozen. Yeah. Like, what are we gonna do with all these eggs? That's what you always hear about people who get chickens. Yeah. What do I do with all these eggs? So I told them, I'm like, why don't you guys come and set them up at the market? So they did, and then that's what inspired Little Saplings Yeah. To have all these little entrepreneur businesses.   Well,   our chickens are not laying right now. Yeah. And I've had to buy store bought eggs. And every time I go to the store, they stand in front of the cooler cases,   like, and tell me the chicken eggs are our nemesis. We can't buy chicken eggs. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. And they don't want me to buy these store bought eggs because they know how disgusting they are.  

Like, well, you need to make your chickens, make me some eggs. Yeah. Yeah. Get out there and make them lay.   So but yeah.   We just love the lifestyle. It's simple. But it is a lifestyle. It is a lifestyle. And there's something about   creating a space in your home that   you know, like, front porch sitting. Yeah. And   this is this is where we wanna be. Yeah. Right? Like, we've created this environment to be a place that we love. We're comfortable here. We want to be here. Like, you know, we can go out and have to run all of our errands, and we can be out for two hours, and the kids are saying, when are we gonna go home? Yeah. Right? They want to be here. This is their space. This is where they feel the most comfortable.   And I think a lot of that has come with we run our business out of our home.  

We run our school out of our home. So everything we do just  

[01:25:34] Unknown:

their safe space. Yeah. It's where they wanna be. That's you know, I I talk a lot. I don't know if I talk a lot. I've only had five episodes. But You'll get there. Yeah. I know. This is growth. Right? Well, I talk   I myself am hyper focused on just developments in the county. And I last week, I talked with,   Kaye Skiff and, Chris Klingman from Yeah. Clermont County Parks. Yeah.   And off mic, we were talking about just developments and stuff like that. I was like, you know, I understand that the county needs to grow.   But   I chose to live where I live right now because I like that lifestyle. Right. You know?  



[01:26:10] Unknown:

So and, again, it's not for everybody. Some people like to live in subdivisions and some people like to do it Well, and that's got why God created us all different. Right? He created us all different and all of us have different desires and wants and drives and motivations and all the things and this is just the one we choose. Yeah.  

[01:26:28] Unknown:

Let me I get let me check the time real fast   because I think yeah. I think we've been at it for about ninety minutes.   I think this is probably a good place to stop. Yeah. Do you wanna tell people when mustard seed is,  

[01:26:41] Unknown:

because it's the sixteenth, right? Yeah. So it's, in a couple weeks from now, I don't know when this will air, so maybe I should backtrack more. Yeah. Okay. So,   our next mustard seed is our spring event that's happening at Clermont County Fairgrounds, May Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Seventeenth, And Eighteenth.   We our best ticket option right now on our website is our weekend pass to get you in all weekend long and free VIP parking. Okay.   We you can pre purchase your tickets and get $2 off per ticket, or you can purchase at the gate, whichever is more convenient.   Outdoor vendors. All three barns are full as well as all of our little saplings will be there. Cool.  



[01:27:19] Unknown:

Cool. Cool. Cool.   Well, listen, thank you so much. Yeah. Absolutely. And I'm glad we finally got to do this. And again, I'm sorry for showing up yesterday. It happened.   Well, thanks thanks again.   I hope you enjoyed that interview.   Thanks again to Sarah for having us out.   Like most of our guests, I I hope she'll come on again.   And, unfortunately, I'm not gonna be able to make mustard seed market this year, but I think my wife will go. So that is definitely something we're we're,   she's looking forward to.   So let's, let's talk about some events.  

There's the bluebird monitoring   volunteer workshop. It's gonna be this Saturday, the tenth, from 10AM to 12PM   at Clingman Park.   And they're just gonna, train you to monitor bluebird nests,   nest boxes in in the Clermont County Parks. So you get to kinda be a community scientist, which I think is pretty cool.   And then that's completely free.   There's also the Loveland Food Truck Rally again on Saturday.   That's gonna be from noon to 8PM at the Shoppers Haven Plaza.   There's gonna be food trucks and beer and wine and music and fun,   and it's completely free. So if you like food trucks and and you wanna have a good time in Loveland, I would head there on Saturday.  

Again, this weekend, it's, it's pretty busy weekend.   There's the, fifty fourth annual Appalachian Festival,   and that's gonna be on,   Saturday and Sunday.   Saturday, it's gonna be, 10AM to 10PM, and Sunday, it's gonna be 10AM to 6PM.   And that's gonna be in, Front Street in Richmond.   And it's, just celebrates Appalachian heritage. There's gonna be, live music, some storytelling, some dancing.   It it does cost adults are $15,   ages five to 17 or five, and children under five are free.   But it seems like a pretty cool event. I think I think my family's gonna try to go there on at least Sunday.   It's a really busy weekend.  

So what else? We've got homeschool discovery day, Creek Crawl. That's gonna be Friday, May 16, so next week   at 1PM.   Location is the Catherine   Stagg Marr Park, and, again, I'm not sure I'm pronouncing,   that last name correctly.   So in case I'm not, it's 6662   Goshen Road in Goshen, Ohio.   It's gonna be a hands on exploration,   science exploration for homeschoolers.   They get to wade in the creek and learn about fossils and aquatic insects and creek wildlife,   and it's free.   But you should preregister,   because there's some space limits,   and you can do that at the Clermont County Parks website.  

Mustard seed market, obviously, why wouldn't we talk about that after having interviewed Sarah?   That's gonna be, May 16 from 4PM to 8PM,   May seventeenth from 10AM to 4PM, and May 19   from 10AM to 3PM.   That's with the Clermont County Fairgrounds.   And like we said before, it's, just, over a hundred local shops and small businesses. There's live music. There's really good food.   There's a lot of fun stuff for kids to do.   It's it's a great event,   and I, like, again, would recommend it to everybody.   There's a sweetheart stroll.   It's a a lantern lit couples hike. That's gonna be Friday, May 16 next week.  

It's gonna be 08:30 to 09:30PM.   And it's gonna be at Pattison Park, in kinda Owensville, Batavia.   And it's an evening date night, nature walk in the park lit by lanterns,   and you can pick up a lantern at the trailhead and just kinda stroll   through the park at sunset, which sounds like a pretty great date night.   And it's free, so that makes it an even better date night.   Let's see. What else we got? We have the Adventure Gear Expo, trip planning and ideation,   Saturday, May 17 from 04:30 to 07:30PM,   but you it's not it's not like a three hour event where you have to sit down. You can just drop in anytime between those those hours.   And you can learn all about the free adventure packs and gear gear loan program.  

You can get tips for your, for your next, you know, outdoor adventure, and all the park staff is gonna be there so you can ask them questions, look at all the gear that they have that you can borrow,   which sounds great if you're if you're kinda looking to dip your toe in the hobby of adventure.   The Spring River Paddle,   Saturday, May seventeenth from two to 3PM.   This is a guided canoe adventure on the Ohio River,   and you get to explore the river's ecology,   and, you may paddle into some backwater tributaries,   and that's weather dependent and,   river level dependent.  

Canoes, life jackets, all the equipments provided.   You should arrive fifteen minutes early, so 01:45.   It's free,   but it's only for ages 12 and   above. And then last but not least, the spring native plant sale at the Nature Center. It's gonna be on Sunday, May 18 from 10AM to 5PM   at the Roe Visitor Center,   and you can stock up on all your favorite herbs, native perennials,   trees, and shrubs,   and get your get your garden ready for this year.   So that's all we have for events.   Thanks again for listening. We we really appreciate it, and,   I hope you enjoy the show.