Life In Rose Farm

We sold the farm.

And somehow… we’re still here. 💃

Six years of our lives—every ounce of blood, sweat, tears, dollars, and every fiber of our being—went into planting over 6,000 cut garden rose bushes to create this European-inspired haven in Magnolia, TX we came to call Life In Rose Farm. And despite climate challenges, pest pressures, and disease issues, these roses not only rose to the occasion… they thrived 💐

This morning, we walked the acreage with our girls—the very land that was once nothing more than open pasture for horses and cattle to roam. We reminisced on our earliest days of farming, when our dreams were big, our eyes were bright, and our tails were bushy. We were so full of hope… and so unaware of just how much this land would ask of us.

Today is a bittersweet day as we officially transfer ownership of this property to another lovely family 🥹

But here’s the twist we never saw coming…

Though Shaw and I no longer own the land, we’ve been asked to continue stewarding it by operating Theresa - Life In Rose Farm (NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC) here as usual.

A year ago, when I felt the nudge to scale back in order to spend more time with my children—hence the decision to sell the property—I truly thought I was nearing the end of this rose-growing chapter. I thought I had to give up one beautiful thing for another. Because let’s be real… something always has to give. Can we really have it all?

But somewhere between the prayers, the silence, the tears, and yes… even the negotiations with God, He offered me a third option:

Stay with Me, and I will give you relief. 😭💕

So I trusted.
And I obeyed. And He provided indeed. 🕊️

And in doing so, I realized this calling to grow roses, and to spread beauty and joy to our Southern community and beyond, was not over after all. 🌱

I’m still working out the details with my employer (ahem… God) and my landlord (the new property owner), but for now, I wanted to finally share this long-awaited news with y’all.

Thank you for your love, your patience, your understanding, and your support through this transition. I’ll share more in the months to come, but for now… we’re here to stay, and we’re here to serve 🙏

The final leg of our family trip to Asia was spent in Japan — eating our way through Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo, exploring the cities, and learning to navigate the trains with the help of our friends. 💕 Full hearts, full stomachs, and time so well spent.

One unexpected gift from this part of the trip was attending a Vietnamese Mass in Osaka (of all places) at my parents’ request. It had been over a decade since I last attended one, and halfway around the world, surrounded by young Vietnamese students studying abroad, the world suddenly felt so small.

We met a few other Vietnamese youths while dining out, and hearing their dreams of studying/working in the U.S. was deeply humbling. In that moment, we felt even more grateful knowing that the dream they longed for is the life we get to call our reality 🙏💝

It also made my dad’s decision to bring our family to America all those years ago feel even more meaningful ✨💐

You’re the “reel deal”, Shaw 🎣 Now we just have to work on getting you out there fishing a little more.

Happiest Father’s Day. You’re our favorite 💕

How many of us put off the very things we want or need to do, only to keep making excuses for why we haven’t started yet? 🙋‍♀️ Like, I’ll do it as soon as this happens… I’m usually pretty good about diving right in, but lately I’ve been struggling to get my kitchen garden started at home.

We finally made it home from our family vacation late last night—or maybe early this morning 😅 The longest we’ve ever been away from home, let alone leaving our rose farm personally unattended. We came home to a little drainage and water damage issue, but aside from that, the dogs and the roses seem to be thriving… and that’s all that really matters.

No matter where we are in the world, we somehow always end up searching for a garden. If we’re not in our own, we’re wandering through someone else’s—soaking in the beauty, gathering inspiration, and collecting ideas for what we want to grow next 👩‍🌾

From hunting down the edible garden at our hotel in Phu Quoc, where they grow fresh Vietnamese herbs for their restaurants, to trekking over an hour from Tokyo into the suburbs to visit Keisei Rose Garden, home to Japan’s largest rose producer—we somehow always found ourselves chasing a garden.

Our timing to Keisei was a bit off, so many of the roses were between flushes, but we still came across a few varieties we also grow here at Theresa - Life In Rose Farm (NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC). It always gives me a mix of humility and pride to see the same roses we grow in the southern U.S. thriving alongside those in climates far more favorable for them 💝

Funny how priorities change. What once felt like happiness in the form of material things has slowly been traded for home and garden treasures.

Now that I’m back—refreshed, inspired, and reenergized—I’m ready to step into this next phase of my farm and gardening journey, just as God has called me to do 💐