Our Story
“The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.” – Exodus 14:14
Like honey – We are messy, yet beautiful. Our family has experienced loss and love throughout the years. We wanted to share our story with you so you would begin to understand why we believe our little family of six is so special. Darren lost his wife in the fall of 2013 to cancer. Meagan became a single mom through divorce that following spring in 2014. These were dark and sad times for both of us and our girls. But we prayed. We had family walk with us through grief. God showed us such love and kindness through the people he brought into our lives as they loved us through the pain.
In the stillness of finally surrendering to God’s plan for us, Darren and I found each other, blended our little family, and now we live in a little white farmhouse in Lexington, TX. We had the sweetest little baby bee join our family in the early spring of 2018 and we call her Nash Fain, after Darren’s side of the family Fains Honey. Along with Meagan’s grandfather who had over 300 hives in LaSalle County, I guess you can say honey runs through our blood and deep in our family trees. We raise raw, natural honey – straight from our farm, to your table.
our honey story
Darren was born and raised right here in Lee County. The land in which we stand has been in his family for over a one hundred years. There is a homestead still standing with original barns, and orchard and farm equipment from the tun of the century. This place is special to us. This is where our bees call “home.” This is where our family calls “home.” This is where our girls will grow up, running through the pasture, picking wildflowers, meeting friends at the tank to fish, playing in the garden, and lying under the post oaks. This is our dream. God has brought us here and we see Him in every flower, bee, smile, and meal we share at our home. Learn more about our farm here!
The road to this place wasn’t easy. There was death, divorce, loss, and pain so great – I honestly cannot put it into words. What you see wasn’t what our family had originally planned for our lives. But, God. We do not know why or how or when – but we do know that He is GOOD. He is kind. He has brought us so much happiness and joy after such pain and sadness. We look at each other often and cannot believe the love, joy, and rest we find in our love and our family. We have truly been redeemed – but this is nothing compared to the redemption to come when Jesus returns.
Darren had been feeling the “pull” to become a beekeeper for years. As a teenager, he would spend summers at his grandfather’s farm in Llano, TX to learn beekeeping from one of the original founders of Fains Honey. He spoke of those times often with such happiness. With a gentle “push” from his wife three years ago – he took that first step, bought two hives, and brought them home to Lexington. We lovingly call these hives our “A-Team” – as they have been our major producers! 🙂 Since then, we hav added 9 more hives and 14 more will become home to Leeco Honey this spring.
The Lexington ISD art and agriculture students painted our bee boxes and it has been so much fun to look out at the bee yard and see Lee County (literally) written all over the hives. This community has embraced us and our small business with open arms – we are truly grateful for their love and support. In fact, if you come visit us, you’ll most likely see one of our neighbors wearing a #supportyourlocalbeekeer t-shirt around town! We love them!
Leeco Honey has been more than just a honey farm. We do more than raise bees, harvest honey, and share with friends. This honey farm has truly built community here in Lee County and beyond. We have made more friends, shared a meal with more families, and learned more about God than we could have ever imagined. They have all poured into us in ways – that again – I have no words.
We live on Farm Road 1624. We experienced a “gentle nudge” from God when we made the connection that one of our favorite Bible verses was also “Words like honey, sweet to the soul.” – Proverbs 16:24. We looked at each other and just knew we were where we were supposed to be – where God had planted us.
We want share our love for honey, for community, for agriculture, for small local business, and for Jesus with our family, friends, and community. You are all friends. You are all welcome to sit with us at our table. This is more than just bees and honey. This is celebrating God’s gifts and sharing those with others.
Thank you for walking with us as we grow as beekeepers, as Christians, and as your neighbors. We are so blessed with YOU in our lives!
