Meet A Mom: Lisa Langford | San Antonio Moms

Today’s Meet A Mom Monday we are featuring mom of 4 & owner of Bountiful Grazing – Lisa Langford. Former Arizonian turned Texan – living in Boerne, TX.

For now, Lisa specializes in Charcuterie with products ranging from boards, cups, cones, crates, snack cups and more. She has some really exciting things in the works so be sure you’re following along on her social media

Oh – and did I mention we’ve teamed up and are hosting a giveaway! One lucky winner will be drawn at the end of this week. Be sure to head to our Instagram page to enter for your chance to enter & win!

    What is your name, how many kids do you have and what are their ages.

    My name is Lisa Langford.  I have 4 boys, Case (17), Rail (16), Jesse (13), Ledger (11)

    Tell us a little about your backstory – what you did before you were a Mom, any schooling – what did you study/degree in?  

    I was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona.  In school I excelled at math, so after highschool, I went to college and graduated with a teaching degree.  I taught highschool math for 1 year and decided that I wanted to do something different for a career.  I wanted to do something that used my creative side and enrolled in cosmetology school.  Halfway through school, I met my husband, we got married, and by the time I graduated, I was 4-½ months pregnant with our 1st child. We decided that I would stay home and raise our children while my husband supported our family financially.  And that is what we have done for the past 18 years.  My college degree and cosmetology license have come in very handy as a mother.  I have been able to homeschool my children at different points in their education as well as tutor them when they need it.  I also save a ton of money on haircuts doing it myself at home.  🙂

     

    Where are you from originally and how long have you been living in Boerne?

     I was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona.  I lived there until January 2020, when we moved our family to Boerne. We have been here a little over a year.

     

    What is your favorite thing about raising a family in Boerne?

    My favorite part about raising my family in Boerne is the culture and environment here.  The area we were raising our children in, before we moved here,  was going downhill fast and it was having a negative impact on our children.  We wanted to find a place that would offer an environment more closely aligned with how we  wanted to raise our children. We love the manners, patriotism, safety, strong schools and kind people that live here in Boerne.  My boys are already kind, respectful and patriotic human beings, we just wanted to nourish and help protect that side of them in a town that aligns with our values. 

     

    Greatest gift about being a mom?

    The greatest gift about being a mom is really all of it.  But if I have to pick one gift, I would say it is the gift of watching my children develop from small children into amazing young men.  My greatest joy comes from watching my boys as they develop into loving, respectful, dependable and hardworking human beings.  Watching them take a really difficult situation and decide to power through it rather than quit, to work really hard to overcome their trials and succeed has been incredible to watch.

     

    What’s your least favorite “mom” job?

    I don’t have to think about this question for even one second.  My least favorite mom job is making dinner every night.  We have many food allergies and different food preferences at my house, so finding meals that everyone can eat is a huge chore.  Many times, I end up making 2 variations of the same dish so everyone can eat it.  

     

    One thing people would be surprised to know about you 

    I think people would be surprised to know that I’m a big math nerd.  I love math.  I love numbers and have an ability to remember number sequences much easier than words or names. I have memorized my debit card number, my bank accounts numbers, mine and multiple family member’s social security numbers, and mine and my husband’s drivers license numbers (none of them were memorized intentionally.  It just happened.)  

     

    Favorite local things to do in the San Antonio and surrounding areas?  (With kiddos or just for mom!)  

    Because we are fairly new to the area, we love exploring the hill country.  We often drive up to Fredericksburg because my boys love the skate park there.  I love driving through the countryside. I love seeing all the animals on the ranches, like the zebra ranch on the I-10 between Boerne and Comfort, the llamas on the 474, the longhorn cattle on Sisterdale Rd in Boerne, or the family of deer that eat the grass in my front meadow every evening around dinnertime.  

     

    Do you have a family favorite restaurant in the area?

    Yes, a new restaurant opened up in Boerne in 2020.  It’s called Las Guittaras.  They have the best chips and salsa in the area.  I love their chicken mole enchiladas and my husband likes their chile rellenos plate.  Definitely the best mexican food we have found in Texas.  

     

    Best mom hack – that makes your life easier.

    The best mom hack I came up with is vacation packing lists.  It started years ago when my children were younger.  Every time we went out of town, I would have to pack for myself and each of my four children. Packing  was so overwhelming and stressful for me that I decided to try something new. I started making packing lists for my kids.  I created a master packing list on a spreadsheet with the name of each packing item, a visual picture (for the younger children) and the number of each item they needed.  Then I tweaked the list depending on where we are going.  I have a packing list for the beach, the woods, the snow and for camping.  When it’s time to pack up, I print a list out for each boy and it is their responsibility to get all the items on the list.  They are not perfect at it and sometimes they forget things like their toothbrush, (even though it’s on the list), but that’s okay because it eases my stress, helps them to be responsible for themselves and teaches them an organizational strategy (list making).  Although my kids are teenagers now, I still use these lists.  Best mom hack!

     

     

    Tell us about your career outside of being a mom?  Where are you located (if applicable)?  How can people purchase your product?

    I am launching my business, Bountiful Grazing, hopefully in April or May 2021 .  I am in the process of getting permitted by my county.  At Bountiful Grazing, we will provide charcuterie grazing tables and other charcuterie products (like charcuterie boxes, cones, cups, bowls, lunch boxes, etc) for events (like weddings, parties, luxe picnics and celebrations), businesses(like corporate events, realtor open houses and closing gifts, company parties, etc.) and bulk orders.  We are also looking into some other add on options like donut walls and cheese wheel cakes.

    We are located in Boerne, Texas but do not have a brick and mortar yet.  You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook at @bountifulgrazing to stay up to date on our launch, to see some of our charcuterie creations as well as see tutorials and instruction on how to make your own charcuterie board and other charcuterie elements.  As soon as we launch, you will be able to see details about what services we offer on my website www.bountifulgrazing.com.  

     

    Tell us what your inspiration was behind starting this career and what your mission has been.

    One day, while on pinterest, a pin came across my feed that caught my attention.  It was the most beautiful table full of gorgeous food I had ever seen. It was my first exposure to grazing tables.  They are wildly popular in Australia, which is where this image was taken.  From there, I started to build a website with the goal of building it into an informational niche blog on charcuterie and grazing tables and eventually provide digital content and online classes.  Then one day, my husband had a client who was looking for somebody to buy charcuterie boxes from.  He gave her my name and that got the wheels turning in my head that maybe I could also do it as a catering business.  So I decided to do it. I have big plans for Bountiful Grazing that I will implement as my business grows.   

     

    How important is community and honesty in motherhood for you?

    I am a big believer in being honest about life, about motherhood and about the struggles and challenges that they bring.  I think too many moms suffer in silence because they think they are the only ones dealing with certain issues.  When you go on social media, it appears like everyone else has a perfect life, with perfect children and an immaculately clean house.  It can be depressing and feel defeating.  I think if mothers can come together and talk openly about the issues they are dealing with, it would help ease the loneliness that we sometimes feel when dealing with challenges in motherhood. 

     

    Best advice for moms who stay at home but looking to do “something” (whether that means going back to work or starting their own career from home) 

    The best advice I can give to moms looking for something to do is to be realistic about the season of life you are in and make your decision according. What are you willing to let go of or sacrifice to make time for a career?  How will it affect your family?  How much time are you willing to devote to your new job?  Because this decision affects the whole family, it is important to weigh these matters.  Only you know what is right for your family and home.   

     

    How important is it for you to have a passion outside of being a mother?

    I think having a passion outside of being a mother is critical to our happiness.  A lot of moms get so wrapped up in their children that they forget they have needs too.  Or we may justify that it is selfish to take time for ourselves when our family needs us.  But the reality is, we need to do something that we love, that fills our cup so that we have something to give our family.

     

    Best advice for mom guilt?

    I had terrible postpartum depression with 3 of my 4 children.  I quit nursing my first child after 2 months and my 2nd child after 2 weeks because of the toll it took on me mentally and emotionally.   I felt extremely guilty at the time because I believed that I failed as a mother, that others would judge me for bottle feeding my kids.  But as time went by and I grew as a person and mother, I started to realize that the guilt I feel as a mom is not because I am an inadequate mom, it is because of the rules and expectations I put on myself of what a “good” mom does.  Once I came to accept that life isn’t going to go according to my plans, I had to learn to pivot and be okay with what I was capable of doing with what mental, physical and financial resources I had at the moment..  

    There are times when, frankly,our best effort doesn’t meet ours or others expectations of us.  However, if you can honestly say to yourself, “I did the best I could with what I had,” then you have no reason to feel guilty.  The best I could do during my postpartum depression was bottle feed my children (in fact I didn’t even try to nurse my last 2).  And you know what, I have great kids who are healthy and strong.  

    Who has most influenced you to be the mom that you are today? 

    I can’t say it was one person in general, but mainly, I looked at many influential women in my life and took what I liked and left what I didn’t like.  

     

    When parenting gets hard – what’s something you tell yourself that gets you through?  

    The biggest thing staring me in the face right now is my oldest child approaching his 18th birthday.  I’m not ready for him to go.  This is hard.  

    When things get hard, I remind myself that my children are only with me for a short while.  They will be gone all too soon. So I try now to overlook things that I thought were a big deal before and just enjoy them for who they are. 

    Name one thing you hope your kids look back and remember about their childhood and you as their mama?

    I hope my kids remember their childhood as being nurturing, safe and loving.  I hope they are grateful that they had a mom who was able to be at home when they were growing up.  Most kids don’t have that luxury and I hope they realize what a blessing that is.  But most of all, I hope they come out of it knowing with 100% surety that they are important to and loved by their mom.  

     

    To learn more about Bountiful Grazing:

    Website: https://bountifulgrazing.com

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bountifulgrazing/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bountifulgrazing/

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