Jill's blog

When I come home from Christmas tour I have a little less than a week to enjoy the tree and listen to Christmas music before Andy bans it from the house for another year. He is one of those "no Christmas music before Thanksgiving or too long after Christmas" kind of guys. Thankfully singing the songs from Behold the Lamb fills my advent season and is a perfect way to prepare for the holiday, but when I get home I pull out all the other records that have been lying in wait all year collecting dust. I thought I would share my top five, the ones I need longer than a week to soak up.

Well, I have been waiting to write until I had some funny pictures from PE Class but there hasn't been a lot of exercising going on during this tour! The weather, lack of gyms, and many other factors have meant more sitting around time and more board games. So I am including a picture Kurt Heinecke took of me singing with Sixpence None the Richer at the Ryman show, what a fun night.

We are home resting for a few days after finishing the first leg of the Christmas tour. I guess I should qualify that statement by adding that I am resting with three children, so maybe I should just say I am resting from singing for a few days. The first few shows have been so much fun- Chicago, Lincoln and Topeka. We have experienced the midwestern winter cold and it makes Nashville cold feel like a spring picnic. This year we have Brandon Heath as one of the artists performing in the round and he has been a great addition to the tour.

We have another day home before we head out on Christmas tour once again. I can't believe it is December already. Andy and I realized tonight that November is usually a quieter month for us and when December finally rolls around we have been ready and waiting for it. This year November was full of trips and activity and when I had to turn the page on the calendar today (yes, I still have a paper calendar) it was a bit of a shock.

Hey friends. Just wanted to let you know that Daryl from www.savingthesetlist.com has posted a short interview with me at his site. I answered a few questions about music, the new record and motherhood. Thanks for your support.

Summer always does this, it drags at the beginning when my kids first get out of school and then quickly disappears. I have been buying school supplies and backpacks this week wondering where in the world the time went. We traveled quite a bit in July which was great fun. Andy and I took the kids on a long road trip to Camp Casowasco in upstate New York. They were a little too young to attend the camp but hung out and made lots of friends while Andy and I performed and taught classes on songwriting, beginning guitar and voice.

Last week eight of us from the Square Peg Alliance left our house in a van borrowed from Downhere and set off on an epic adventure. OK, maybe not epic, but very fun nevertheless. We were able to coordinate all of our crazy schedules and play a show in St. Louis before making our way to the Cornerstone Music Festival in Illinois. It was a great reminder of how we all began in music- crowded and laughing in a van driving hours and hours to play a few shows. Being around all of those talented musicians is like a shot of creativity- it makes me want to be a better musician and songwriter.

Today two of my kids are in camp. Most of the summer I let them hang out and we go to the zoo, library, etc. but I finally broke down and did a camp. I really needed it and I think they did too. Here is the funny thing- now they are there and I cannot figure out how to spend this last hour before I pick them up. My youngest, by some miracle of God, is still sleeping.

This morning I got up very early and drove with my neighbors and all our kids to watch our husbands participate in Nashville's first Muddy Buddy race. The race is a combination of running and biking for seven miles with a partner and when you finish you and your "muddy buddy" have to crawl through a pit of mud to reach the finish line. We got there just in time to see Andy and Gabe finish in all their glory. I was cheering like a maniac.

We spent my kids' spring break in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, one of my favorite places in the world. We had an amazing time and it was so wonderful to spend time with my extended family. It almost made the 12 hour drive worth it! (Many thanks to The Wiggles and the Star Wars Clone Wars movie for brief moments of sanity).