Sharell and Kris Marlitz: Childhood Friendship Evolves into an Extraordinary Life for Towne Lake Couple
Sharell and Kris Marlitz Childhood Friendship Evolves into an Extraordinary Life for Towne Lake Couple
By Patricia Hudson
Sharell and Kris Marlitz’s story began in the hallways of their elementary school in Simi Valley, California, where an unbreakable bond of friendship was formed. “We played co-ed volleyball together and were best friends through middle school. We remained friends in high school; we did not date, but our connection was undeniable,” recalls Sharell. “Fate intervened at a local yogurt shop shortly after we graduated high school; Kris finally mustered the courage to ask me on an official date. That moment marked the beginning of an extraordinary partnership that has now spanned 16.5 years of marriage.”
“We instantly became inseparable with similar goals in mind, family values and a history that fostered a deep and unwavering trust,” reflects Sharell. “Kris had pursued a career in the architecture and engineer ing industry since he was 14 years old, eventually pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at Arizona State University,” comments Sharell. “We had been dating for just six months when Kris received an engineering job opportunity in Houston. I encouraged him to move, but he didn’t want to leave me behind. With a leap of faith, I left my beloved Simi Valley.”
Sharell and Kris married at just 19 and 20, and have been in Houston since 2007. Kris continued to further his career with multiple prominent engineering roles
throughout the city. “In 2020, Kris had a shift in his work/life focus and decided his goal in the near future would be to pursue his own engineering firm. Early in 2023, he officially created Novus Consulting, and began taking on projects for his company. By the end of the year, he was able to leave his engineering job and completely work on his own, running Novus Consulting full time,” explains his wife.
Inspired by church missionary trips, Sharell chose the nursing career path at a very young age. She graduated as a registered nurse with an associates’ degree from Lone Star College in December, 2011. Working full time in the trauma department at Memorial Hermann, Texas Medical Center, Sharell furth ered her education, receiving a BS in Nursing from Texas Tech University by 2013. She continued her education and graduated with honors from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) with a MS in nursing as a family nurse practitioner in 2017. “As our family continued to grow, I switched career paths from working at the hospital to working as a family nurse practitioner at a local urgent care and treated COVID19 on the front lines.
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(from left) Ethan, Bella, Sharell, Ava, Aiden, Kris, and Mikah
Inspired by my husband’s entrepreneurial spirit, I founded SM Aesthetics & Wellness in 2019 and opened my own clinic by the end of 2020. We specialize in Botox, cosmetic facial fillers, weight loss and hormone replacement therapy,” states Sharell.
Sharell and Kris have five children, three biological and two adopted. Sharell recounts their road to becoming adoptive parents. “Adoption was always a goal f or us. When we first got married, we attended adoption information classes through Houston's First Baptist. Oddly enough, we were notified in 2019 that Kris's second cousins, Bella and Ava, were in foster care in Idaho and away from their family. At that time, we were asked by the state of Texas if we would be interested in getting our foster license. Although it was an intimidating process, we decided to begin the licensing process. The total fostering licensing took about 9 months. We began the process in December, 2019 and received our license in August, 2020. At the time of fostering, Ethan, our oldest, was turning 11, our daughter Mikah was turning 8, and our youngest, Aiden, was about 6 months old. We included both Ethan and Mikah in our decision to adopt the girls. We were able to have monthly zoom meetings so we could meet and bond with the girls as a family. Bella and Ava were able to transfer from Idaho by the end of September, 2020.”
Sharell provided some sage words for those considering adoption. “Adoption is both a rewarding and challenging process. I would encourage anyone that is contemplating adoption to prepare for a marathon, not a sprint. It will be joyful and painful at the same time. From obtaining the foster license to the actual adoption process, the journey is rigorous and invasive with fostering classes and home inspections. Take the licensing and behavioral issues one day
at a time. Do not get overwhelmed by the intense ‘ToDo’ lists. We can all say that adding these children to our lives and watching them grow into young, confident individuals has been indescribably rewarding.”
The Marlitz household is filled with the love and laughter of five children. Ethan, 14, is a 9th grader. He recently made the high school prep baseball team and also enjoys playing football. Bella, 12, is in the 7th grade. She enjoys singing in the school choir, gymnastics and playing volleyball. Mikah, 11, is a 6th grader and is active in gymnastics, volleyball and Student Council. Ava, 9, is in the 4th grade, where she enjoys singing, gymnastics and playing with friends. Aiden, 5, is a kindergartener; he likes baseball, basketball and outdoor activities.
Ethan, Aiden, and Kris
Kris and Sharell have faced adversity within their family. “Recently, our daughter Mikah was diagnosed with germinoma brain cancer, a devastating blow that has left her 90% blind. While Mikah has made a full recovery from the cancer, the challenges still remain, but we remain hopeful. We have learned that ringing the cancer bell is not the end of the battle, but a milestone in an ongoing fight. The demanding schedules and rigorous follow-up treatments have taught us to treasure every moment together, finding strength and joy in our shared resilience,” reflects Sharell.
As we concluded the interview, Sharell shared some closing comments. “The Marlitz family's narrative is one of unwavering love, boundless determination, and an indomitable spirit. Our Christian faith, while not perfect, is also a large part of who we are as a family. Our story serves as a beacon of hope and encouragement to others, showing that even in the face of life's greatest challenges, there is always room for hope, growth, and the power of family. We are grateful to God, our family, wonderful community, and supportive clients throughout life's biggest challenges.”
If you know of an exceptional Greater Fairfield, Bridgeland/Blackhorse Ranch, Towne Lake, Coles Crossing, or Cypress Creek Lakes individual or family that needs to be featured in an upcoming issue of PinPointe Magazine, please email: texasteacher024@outlook.com.
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Season’s Harvest Café The Farmer’s Table
The Farmer’s Counter in the Heart of Cypress
Story & Photos by Metta Archilla-Ishida
The Season’s Harvest Café, also known as The Farmer’s Table, is now opening up a second location, The Farmer’s Counter, at 17110 House and Hahl.
T O EAT The Best of Cy-Fair
PLACES
Owners, Joanne Griffith, Executive Chef, and her husband Beket Griffith, Front of the House Manager, grew up in the Bear Creek area and remained close to Cypress even after they got married. Both loved the Cypress community they grew up in and wanted to make an impact on it in a holistic way. Joanne, a stay-at-home mom of five since 1999, aided her husband in ministry, as Beket was a church pastor and biblical counselor in prison ministry. Their journey to the restaurant life is an interesting and Godlead one.
Joanne credits her great grandparents and grandparents for her success in homesteading, farming, and organic living. She remembers tagging along as her great grandfather picked produce on his ranch in San Diego, Texas, then sold the freshly harvested goods to the locals. Joanne has fond recollections of spending time at the ranch hunting rabbit with a bb gun, swimming in the windmill water tank, picking peaches, and learning how to preserve foods though canning. These fond memories paved the way to the future success of the Cafe.
The main factor that led this dynamic couple to holistic eating and healing was when Joanne endured a variety of health issues and at the time, there was not much available by way of natural remedies. This is when Joanne began her own personal health journey and her discovery of clean eating/living.
By attending health seminars, visiting health food stores, and spending time at libraries, Joanne learned how best to heal the body through good fats and superfoods and by engaging in trial and error and hands-on research in the kitchen. Joanne and Beket’s newfound perspective embodied the wholesomeness of nuts, legumes, dried herbs, local honey, and seeds.
Joanne says, “Because we were on a very tight budget, I learned to take the kids for drives out in the countryside and
found farms that would let us pick our own fruits, where I could also buy vegetables and eggs. I was baking bread and making butter, almond milk, jams, and nut butters. It was fun learning the ins and outs of a healthier lifestyle coupled with homesteading.”
The heart of Season’s Harvest Café is personal, says Joanne; “In reality, the Café isn’t my own concept at all, but God’s. ‘Eat as close to the way the Lord made it, live as close to the way that He intended.’”
The original Farmer’s Table location at 17303 Shaw Rd, Cypress, TX 77429 is now offering gardening classes so that others can benefit from the healing of having their hands in the dirt, experiencing the morning sunshine, growing their own food, and building community. The Café offers a sanctuary where they serve whole, real food, a little bit of country to experience nature and farm life, and a farm store where clean local foods, products, and meats can be purchased.
and resources. Joanne says, “We needed a prep kitchen to help in the expansion of these efforts so instead of adding a building onto our farm, we chose to build out a new kitchen at a close location.”
The Griffiths continue building the new location, to reach a large customer base that comes from the Cypress area of Blackhorse Ranch and Bridgeland. The Farmer’s Counter will offer an expedited counter service with a full espresso and juice bar, hot teas, smoothies, and chef-curated family style dinner meals that can be preordered for pick up. This location will also include a bakery; all baked goods will be offered fresh out of the oven, including their own homemade breads.
Season’s Harvest Café / The Farmer’s Table 17303 Shaw Rd. • Cypress, TX 77429
Phone: 832-534-8686
seasonsharvest.farm
Days/Hours of Operation:
The journey from the original Café to a second location was cultivated from more of an educational experience and wanting to reach more of the community with classes, events,
Sunday & Monday: Closed Tuesday – Thursday: 8am – 3pm Friday: 8am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm Saturday 8am – 3pm
Bridgeland Community Hosts Veterans’ Memorial Day Ceremony
By Kay Burkhalter
Memorial Day is a solemn day to honor and remember those United States service members, who died in the service of our beloved country. The Bridgeland Community Supports Veterans, Inc. held its annual solemn Veterans Memorial Day Ceremony for the Bridgeland community on Monday, May 27th at Lakeland Village Pioneer Park. The ceremony opened with the presentation of the flags by the Boy Scouts, then a prayer, a memorial speech. The ceremony concluded with the playing of taps and the wrapping of ribbons around the trees, commemorating service men and women who died in the service of our beloved county. Let us always remember and honor their names.
Seniors of 2024
Share Their Future Plans
Kay Burkhalter Photo Credit: Patricia Hudson
