10/12/2026
❤️ The picture that started it all. The story behind Mini Friends Farm. ❤️
Meet Johnny Cash. 🐷
Brandon’s first show pig, who made it to the State Fair! (Don’t ask what place he got because I honestly don’t remember. 😂)
But I remember something more important than a ribbon.
Watching Brandon stand before those judges, terrified to speak. We had spent HOURS rehearsing.
And then something happened.
He opened his mouth and it ALL came out. Everything we practiced. He talked about HIS pig like a professional.
Tom and I watched in amazement.
That was the moment we knew we were onto something.
Brandon showed animals for years. Eventually, I decided it would be easier to have them at home.
And somehow, SOMEHOW, I convinced Tom to leave our subdivision and build a farm. 😂
Our first open farm day changed everything. We watched other families find the same peace in our animals that Brandon had found.
These animals weren’t just helping Brandon. They could help others, too.
Here’s what I want parents raising neurodivergent children to hear:
Find what THEY love. Not what YOU want them to love.
With Brandon’s brothers, we could introduce something and encourage them to love it.
With Brandon? NOPE. 😂
If the passion wasn’t there, it wasn’t happening.
Looking back, I should have understood sooner. That’s one of my “shame on me” moments.
I was a trained teacher. I knew the signs. But as a mom, I wanted to live in my little la-la land.
When private testing results came back, it was like someone handed us a manual and said, “Here’s Brandon.”
And I felt PEACE.
Finally, we could meet him where HE was instead of trying to make him fit our expectations.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. That child STILL puts us through our paces DAILY. 😂
But that little boy standing before those judges showed us something incredible.
Passion. Confidence. Purpose.
He wasn’t doing it for us. He was doing it because HE loved it.
And apparently, when your child finds his passion, you buy land, build a barn, fill it with animals, and start a nonprofit. 😂
Mini Friends Farm started with a little boy named Brandon and a pig named Johnny Cash.
Sometimes the thing that changes your child’s world ends up changing yours, too. ❤️🐷
