08/20/2026
Raising your own food is hard. ❤️
You get attached. You love these animals. You spend countless hours caring for them, working with them, and getting to know their personalities. And then comes the part that never gets easier.
We have to remind ourselves why we chose this lifestyle in the first place.
We raise these animals so we know where our food comes from. We know they were raised right. We know they had a good life. We know they were cared for, handled with kindness, and, most importantly, that they knew love. We know exactly what is going into our bodies and into the food we put on our family’s table.
This part is especially tough on Michael. He has spent so much time working with these lambs, preparing them for 4-H, and building a bond with them. But he also understands their purpose and understands the lifestyle we have chosen. That doesn’t make saying goodbye easy—it just means he understands why we do it.
I’m sure tomorrow will be hard when he walks his lambs into the pen at the locker and says that final goodbye. There will probably be some tears, and that’s okay. ❤️
We are incredibly grateful for Lisbon Locker for taking such good care of our animals and for making this part as quick, humane, and painless as possible.
This is the hard side of raising your own food. It isn’t always easy, but for our family, it is worth it
