The Stars of Bethlehem

I LOVE this picture!!! Look at Miguel's hair flying from the ROCK he brings. :)
This was in the article that came out in the Columbia paper today about the Blues benefit.



Ruthie and I wrote a great song today! That's always a good feeling :) It comes so easy writing with Ruth. If you haven't before, you should go check her out!
Ruth Collins
If you go to her page, listen to "Lottery"! That's one we wrote together :)

Tonight I went to see my brother, Joe, and his family in the Christmas Pageant going on at my church in Columbia. They all did such a good job!!! My brother was a Roman soldier... and he wasn't very happy about his man-dress. :) Cameron was an angel, McKinley was a shepherd, and Tracy was the Star of Bethlehem. Cameron was directing everyone fervently during "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" even though he was supposed to just stand with everyone else and sing it. It was pretty awesome.

This is my beautiful niece McKinley (the shortie) and her friend Katie who was also in the play!


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Peace, Love, Fiddle, and Bre Strong!

Good News!!!

I just found out that I have been nominated for APCA's "Female Solo Artist of the Year"!!! WOW!!!! I am so excited!!!
First, Campus Activities Magazine and now APCA, too! (APCA stands for Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities)
I sure was excited about going to college my whole life - especially when I was frustrated with the artistic limitations of my high school. Colleges seem to be the "gift that keeps on giving" in my life though!!! My personal experience at Berklee was more than I ever hoped for. And now, I spend so much of my time getting to play at the greatest schools in the country. It's great - it's all the fun parts of college - no homework... I just show up for the party! :)

Today was a good day for my soul. I spent the first half of the day with my best friend, Sarah Valley. Sarah and I met on our first day of orientation at the Opryland Kid's Club. Her mom was giving birth to her youngest brother that day - so we always celebrate our "friendship anniversary" on Nathan's birthday. :) Been almost 17 years now!!!! Crazy!!! We've spent so much of our lives performing together, singing, dancing, going to concerts.... SO many good times. :) I LOVE that girl.

www.myspace.com/sarahvalley




And tonight I surprised my sister's girls and went to have dinner with them. All I remember doing all night was LAUGHING. We were telling our favorite stories of the girls. My sister, Stephanie, has 3 girls, Bailey, Shelby, and Ansley. One of my favorites of Shelby: we went to see "Beauty and the Beast" at the IMAX and when it was over, she said REALLY loud so everyone could hear "Mommy. Rewind it!!!"
Adorable.

We went to have ice cream at the Marble Slab, and the girls all bought me a dress for my birthday since I won't be home. We had so much fun!!!


When we got home, Ansley was watching The Opryland Kid's Club Video. That thing has been in heavy rotation in our family for years!!! She was so sweet watching it - she kept saying "Look! Natalie! You're on tv! WATCH WATCH!" :)

And then Shelby read me her favorite book of all time. It is so silly and adorable. "The Dumb Bunnies' Easter":


Look at that cute ring Bailey helped me pick out!!! :) I am SUPER excited about it.

So yeah. Good day. It's such a blessing to be surrounded with such supportive and loving friends and family. I am so thankful every day for what I have. James and I are both so blessed, and especially now that our two families are joined. We don't get to see ANY of them as much as we'd like, but I'm sure ANYONE who is reading this could say that about their own friends and family. It's not about being on the road.... or living far apart.... or even living in the same town. One of my favorite quotes/thoughts is from James' Dad. He says "Two people can be thousands of miles apart and be closer than 2 people who live in the same house."
It is SO true.


Before I close up shop for the night, I want to leave you with one more thing. I have to tell you about my friend Bre. She is one of the stronget and most beautiful women I know. A few months ago, I got an ecstatic phone call from Bre. She was sharing with me that she is pregnant. Lots of hollerin, clapping, and grinning so hard my cheeks were hurting ensued after she told me the news. Well, a few weeks later she called back with a much more serious tone. She had found out that she had breast cancer and would need Chemotherapy. I had NO IDEA it was safe to have chemo while being pregnant. But let me tell you.... Bre is a fighter, and if there is ANYONE in this world who can get through this, it is her. I tell you all of this because I think she is an inspiration. She is as radiant as I have ever seen her, yet I know she is going through one of the toughest stages of life. I only hope I can face all of life's challenges with her spirit. She reminds me of my Granny who kicked Breast Cancer's butt at the age of 86!!! Who does that?!?! Granny. She never flinched. And that is exactly how Bre is. Breast Cancer? Preggers? Bring it on!!!

This is Bre "getting one more laugh in before ALL her hair fell out" Yeah Mo-hawks!!!


And the day it all fell out. How beautiful is she?!?


A friend has set up a website for her and they are selling "Bre Strong" bracelets and t-shirts to help raise money for the astronomical medical costs. I can't WAIT to get mine!!! We are leaving so early tomorrow for Arkansas that I won't be able to pick mine up until we come back in a month. But I thought I would share in case anyone is interested!!! I know we have all been directly or indirectly affected by cancer of some kind. Whether it is friends, family, ourselves, co-workers. And something so simple - a $5 purchase of a bracelet will go a LONG way to help Bre and her sweet baby and her husband make it through this tough time in their lives.

http://brestrong.giving.officelive.com/

Peace, Love, Fiddle, and Bre Strong!!!
~natalie

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Yes, I am very aware that Valentine's Day was over a week ago... but today was the day James and I celebrated.... we drove 14 hours on actual Valentine's Day.... we probably ate at Subway... Wait. Subway has GREAT cookies. ok. Nevermind. I have NO grounds to be knocking Subway as an appropriate "Valentine's Day" destination. Maybe not someone's typical "first choice" when making reservations... but hey! Heat those cookies up in the microwave and it's a special occasion to me!

So I woke up to a slew of phone calls and messages... pretty normal when I sleep in :) But I got everything all squared away and even had time to get my hair appointments in!!! Y'all. I feel 10 pounds lighter!!! It has been so long since I got my hair cut. And though I have made it work... it will be SOOOO much easier to fix now. At least the PA State Troopers won't make me weigh in at the weight stations anymore ;)

So I was letting my highlights dry, and I had to do a bit of multi-tasking. I had an interview with Kearney, Nebraska's Daily newspaper (for our show there March 5 at Cunnighams). I had it all planned - I knew I would just be sitting there in the dryer when I needed to be doing the interview - and it actually couldn't have worked out more perfectly. It was so funny though. I was sitting in the hair salon, looking *oh so lovely* with tons of foil in my hair, doing an interview for an upcoming show. I felt so Hollywood! :) Hmmm... not sure how I feel about "feeling Hollywood"... but it's always fun to feel like one of the cool kids every once in a while. :)

I have to say, I have had so much fun with interviews lately. The interviewers have all been asking questions I have never been asked before. They are really keeping me on my toes and making me think! Today, I was talking to Mr. Rick Brown - who just seemed like the coolest guy, and we had been talking about my writing process, the writing of my first record, how it has changed since then, where my songs come from... you get the gist. Then he asked "Do you consider yourself more of a writer or a performer?"

No one has ever asked me that before!

The only way I knew how to answer was to say, "Well, if you told me I could only do one or the other for the rest of my life... I would have to choose performing. I don't know what I would do without it. But I surely can't imagine life without writing."
That one really makes me think! I stick by my answer 100%, but wow. Can't imagine life without EITHER ONE.

I remember watching the John Mayer/Brad Paisley Crossroads and they were asked (or maybe asking each other... don't recall) "If you had to choose between singing or playing guitar for the rest of your life - which would you choose?" They BOTH said playing guitar! I surely wouldn't want to have to choose between singing and playing the fiddle. They have both been such a part of my life since... well... since I can remember. But I think my heart would be absolutely broken if I could never sing again.

So back to Valentine's Day:
After getting my hair "did" all pretty.... THANK YOU DEBBIE!!! James surprised me with dinner reservations at the MELTING POT!!!
He had surprised me all day with chocolates left outside my door. :) Did y'all know they make DARK CHOCOLATE M&M's!?!?!? WOW. And if you have never been to the Melting Pot... someday you have to go! It's not something we can do often. That is for sure. But it is such a fun experience! You need at least a couple of hours.... Fondue takes a while! Plus, you get SOOO much food. But y'all. Dessert. Heavenly. I was SOOO full by the time we made it to desert that I was having a hard time eating it all. Who am I kidding? I was having a hard time during the main entree.

This was my Everest: (Yes. I took pictures)


And we decided on the Dark Chocolate/White Chocolate Fondue. They totally make it into a Yin Yang!


I could barely walk to the car. It's so funny. I ALWAYS take home left overs. I can't eat a lot at once - I always eat lots of small meals. But you can't take fondue home! It's just not the same. I didn't even eat THAT much.... It's just that I get full so quickly. But it was worth the "waddling" to the car. We don't EVER splurge like that. So yeah. Good day. :) And Good night!

Peace, Love, Fiddle, and Fondue,

~natalie