Wisconsin Life

gentle guitar music

This might look like the French countryside. And yet, this lush field of purple blooms grows in Sauk county.

Aron McReynolds

You may know lavender is native to the Mediterranean. Wisconsin is not in the Mediterranean.

laughter

Aron McReynolds

For Laura and Aron McReynolds, these rolling hills covered in lavender mark a new beginning.

Laura

We had just sold our business and our house and moved up here. We really didn't have an idea of what we were going to do. We were going through a really difficult time in our family, and our marriage sort of fell apart.

Angela

In that dark hour, Laura found hope for better things to come.

inspirational guitar

Laura

I remember seeing a picture of a lavender field, probably in Provence, France, and through that chaos in our lives, I really felt that sense of peace.

Angela

So, on a whim and a prayer, the McReynolds charted a new course.

Laura

When you have that inspiration, you kind of know in your gut that it's a big leap of faith and you trust that it'll work out. I knew nothing about growing lavender.

Aron

And then, we took a hair-brained idea and started to do enough research. And we're like, "Hey, this could actually work." And then, we went for it.

Laura

What drew us to this area was the beautiful scenery, the beautiful nature. So, we found that nature, for us, was very healing in our family.

Angela

In that move to Wisconsin, Laura and Aron knew their young family had to come first. They created a new life and drew inspiration from an abandoned family farm.

Aron

Well, it was something we really wanted to do as a family. Lavender might not be their favorite thing. They can still do things that they love and that they're good at.

Angela

Each of their three children pursued a passion. Gracia, she is 12. She is my "people person."

Gracia

Now I'm gonna tell you some jokes. Why does Batman stop taking Robin fishing? Because he eats all the worms.

laughter

Aron

She's always thinking about other people and just a joy to be around. Have a nice day!

Angela

Next in line is Micah.

sheep bleats

Aron

Micah has a gift with animals. He loves animals and they love him.

Micah

I wasn't really crazy excited about the Lavender farm, but, I mean, I figured if we could have animals, then that'd be pretty fun.

Angela

Gabriel is the oldest.

Gabriel

So, this is one of our hives on the property.

Laura

Gabriel wanted to be a beekeeper. He was always definitely afraid of bees when he was a little kid and he wanted to conquer that fear.

Gabriel

Bees are really fascinating creatures for a variety reasons, I think.

Laura

He was kind of a walking encyclopedia of beekeeping for a while.

Aron

Really hear the bees humming when you're out here. It's pretty awesome to be able to work with your kids all day long and see them shining.

Angela

With the help of their kids, the 40-acre farm has grown, too, into row after row of lavender and is open for tours.

truck engine

Aron

We have 25 different varieties of lavender on the farm. This is some of our French lavender. And with your other hand, gently rub those leaves and smell.

Angela

It's said that lavender's sweet, floral scent has healing properties. And this farm has done just that for the McReynolds.

Laura

I think healing, being able to transition from something in this spot that was difficult and being able to do something for our family that required a lot of courage, a lot of change, it actually was something that drew us back together.

Angela

Rooted in family, together they found comfort in this blanket of lavender.

Laura

Knowing that we built this with our hands and we put in all the sweat and love and tears. I see a lot of hard work.

laughs

Laura

I see a lot of memories. I see times that the kids loved it and times when they didn't. Sometimes, I see the weeds.

laughs

Angela

Bringing this abandoned farm back to life brought new life back to their family. For Aron and Laura, this journal entry sums up their pilgrimage to find peace.

I had felt something I hadn't in a while

joy in the middle of pain. We knew in that moment that God had met us here in the deep utter places of darkness, pain, and brokenness. We knew if God could do that for us, he could do that for anyone. So, we set on a journey to create a place where people can come, breathe in the sweet aroma of lavender, and reconnect with each other despite all of life's distractions.