Can You Be a Country Superstar AND Also Be Totally Down to Earth?

Can You Be a Country Superstar AND Also Be Totally Down to Earth?

Just in case you've ever wondered.... the answer is a resounding yes!

If you're new to my blog, we are friends with Hillary from Lady A. She dated a very good friend of ours several years ago. She came to our house several times and hung out with the family. She was about the sweetest thing I ever met. She doted all over the kids; bringing them gifts and being very attentive to them. She even sat with Shelby and wrote a song in the book she gave her for her songwriting. At the time, Lady Antebellum was just starting. Her boyfriend at the time would say, "They're going to be big." But, it was one of those things where I was like, "Yeah, do you know how many people think they are going to make it big?"

I did know she had an amazing voice. We asked her to sing for us and she sang a song she wrote for her high school graduation. We were blown away by the voice and the song.

When Hillary and our friend broke up and we were devestated. We loved Hillary and the guy she was dating. I decided I wanted to stay in touch with her. So, we exchanged so emails and I committed to pray for her on a regular basis. I can only imagine how tough the music industry is. AND......

Do you know how big Lady A is? Do you see what happens when I pray??? Ha!

ANYWAY.....

Hillary, being exactly who I thought she was way back when, has remained in touch with our family... even facebooking with Shelby the day after winning Grammy Awards and once while walking out on stage for a concert. Who, that busy, has time for a 12 year old?

Shelby never gets tired of seeing Lady A in concert and apparently, Hillary never gets tired of Shelby asking for tickets because she gives them to us regularly. Sunday, she was at a fair near our house. Hillary left us tickets at will call and we planned on seeing her at some point in the evening.

After a series of unfortunate events including cell phones not staying in range, we were not able to see Hillary. I had 3 disappointed girls, as Shelby had brought a friend. I also had one disappointed little guy. Disappointed... but they handled it very well.

Being an adult, I totally understood. Plus, I'd just be sick of people if I were her.

But, do you know what Hillary did Monday morning at 10:30 am after driving through the night all the way home to Nashville? She called our home and talked to all of the kids and apologized all over the place for not being able to see us the night before. She and I were then able to catch up for the next hour.

Are you kidding me? She absolutely did not have to do that. We totally understood PLUS would it even have mattered if we were ticked off about it? She doesn't need us.

But, that's the kind of character that is Hillary Scott and that is the reason I liked her the moment she walked through the door of my house. Our conversation reaffirmed that she is the real deal.

So, if you have a daughter that needs a famous role model, I know one.

And, once again, there is at least on Country Music superstar who is as down to earth as they come.

Go LADY A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hillary with the girls a couple of years ago when we went out for pizza after one of her concerts.

I LOVE That Dog, I Love That Dog, I Love That Dog

I LOVE That Dog, I Love That Dog, I Love That Dog

At least that's what I keep telling myself.

One day last week, we went to the pool for 2 hours. 2 HOURS. I didn't know what to do with the dog because we'd taken her with us wherever we went over the weekend. So, I put a long leash on her and roped her to the banister in the kitchen.

This is what my carpet looked like leading up to the kitchen when I returned from the pool.

Thankfully, our friend who gave us the perfect dog, has some experience laying carpet and we just happen to have an extra piece.

The next time we left her we put her in a cage I borrowed from my cousin. When I pulled in the driveway and opened the garage door, who should come running out of the garage? Oh, well it would be THAT dog,! Taffy. She somehow got one wall of the cage down. AND, since she was out and about, she decided she would claw at Paul's red Buckeye door.

The next time I left her I went to Zumba. I looped a ribbon in and out and in and out of the cage and then I tied it around that particular door so that she couldn't get the door down. When I came home from Zumba and opened the garage, guess who came running out?

Good guess!

Oh, and since she was out, she decided to go ahead and work at that door a little more. There was some nice red wood shavings laying around the garage floor. To get out, she somehow managed to chew the ribbon off despite the fact that it had to have been almost impossible (I said... almost) to even get her teeth to the ribbon. Once again, the door was lying down flat.

Today we went to church and I decided to use a steel- linked chain collar to hold the door together. No way can she chew through that! Go ahead and try!!!

When we came home and opened the garage door, Little Miss Houdini came trotting out of the door with a look on her face like, "Is that all you got?"

Oh yeah! There were more wood shavings and since that must be getting a little old by now, she decided to do some jumping and try her mouth at the blinds that stand 4 feet from the ground and used to cover the whole window.

The cage door... bent. I'm not sure how she squeezed her ever-loving body through it... I just hope she tore some flesh on her way out.

Seriously, does God just sit up there cracking up at me?

I thought this was the perfect dog. I mean... I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this dog has some separation anxiety. Yep, she's got issues! That's for sure. Then she trots around the house looking all innocent and sweet. Curls up next to Jackson and gives me the look like, "All little boys need a dog."

Someone needs to tell her that one year....I gave a dog to my kids for a Christmas gift, and then 4 or 5 months later, I gave her away. I've got no heart. She's living here on borrowed time.

I Lost

Despite my picketing, my threats to never again do laundry or make dinner, and my promise to leave the country, we have a dog living in our house.

I guess, if I am going to be truthful, it's partly my fault.

I always have a story.......

Paul started this whole thing a couple of weeks ago saying he'd found the perfect dog. One of the guys he mentors and his new wife, felt horribly sorry for this perfect dog because they were gone all the time. By the way, the perfect dog, according to my husband, does not bark, chew, run away or eliminate it's bodily fluids in the house. The perfect dog according to me... lives anywhere but this house. Anyway, he asked if we could have the dog and despite desperately trying to obtain the dog, the dog had been given to someone else who would not give it back. (I did the silent cheer.)

But, Paul was convinced that Jackson needed a dog. "He lives in a house full of girls and we hang out with friends who mostly have... only girls. The boy needs a dog! All boys need a dog!"

Yeah, whatever.

The kids got wind of this perfect dog, which is another story, and they began scouring the internet for another perfect dog.

Well, Friday, I was on Facebook and I saw a friend who was trying to give away a Cocker Spaniel that was supposedly a great dog. "Yeah, well, then why are they getting rid of it?"

But, something possessed me to call Paul and tell him about it.

Now, why would I do that?

So, he called and then calls me to tell me, "April!!! It's the perfect dog!"

All these perfect dogs are appearing out of nowhere.

I agreed to go "see" the dog. It just so happened that we were going to my mom's that night and our friends and the dog only live 5 minutes from my mom.

We stopped to see the dog.

It was like seeing Emme for the first time. I couldn't believe how little the dog was and I couldn't believe how cute the dog was.... and I don't even like dogs FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

We took her out into their huge, unfenced backyard that connected to endless soccer fields. Our friend would walk far away and yell for her and she would would run right over to him. I could tell right away that she was a sweet dog... and then I heard her story.

Her name's Taffy, by the way.

Our friends, Jacob and Sheila, just moved back to our area from the deep south. They have 4 children under the age of 6, and they are living with her parents until they find a house.

They were not planning on a dog. One day, however, they went out to a farm to buy something. On the back of the property, Taffy was chained to a pole. She was matted and had at least 20 ticks on her. She had two gashes in her back because the neighbor boy would come over on occasion and beat her. Taffy, was used to breed, and since the last batch of her pups didn't sell well, they were done with her. "You can have her if you want her" the farmer told Sheila and Jacob.

Sheila, also not a dog lover, looked at Jacob as tears ran down her face and said, "We can't leave her here."

Taffy has been living in Sheila parent's house for the last 3 weeks. Despite being a great dog, she is just too much for them right now.

We left Sheila's parent's house with Taffy in the back seat nestled between my 2 dog loving children, Gracie and Jackson.

We've only had her for 2 days and the family is in love with her.

Even I love her... but only a little bit:-)

I lost the battle. I swore we'd never have a dog. Darn it!