sometimes i can be cool too...

in less than 24 hours my roommate and i threw together a house show for stephen gordon and adam agin.

it was awesome.



ok...so i'll be honest. stephen is one of my roommate's old ruf students, so it really had nothing to do with me being cool. i knew y'all would have figured out that i couldn't be that cool. y'all are smart.



adam is on the left. stephen is on the right. check out their music on itunes! or pause the music on my page and listen to them below.

for all you in or near nashville tomorrow....

this post is for you.

i hope that everyone reading this post has had the opportunity to meet ruthie sayles, but i don't think that is the case. if you do know her then you understand how hard it is for me to put into words just how amazing this girl is!

i remember the first time i met ruthie in college, but i also remember the time i realized just how cool of a friend i had made. it was my freshman year. super swap at forresters with 17th floor playing. it was our first swap. we were all there with our "owl pals" feeling oh so cool. all of a sudden in walks ruthie with our pledge trainer, leslie logan. i had only met ruthie one other time before this, but i was pretty sure she wasn't a chi o. she was a couple years older and we had just pledged, so i didn't know for sure. ruthie is beautiful and tall, but can get down unlike any white girl i have ever seen! we were all awkward freshmen who had no clue what was going on. ruthie got us all out on that dance floor, though. it was hands down the greatest swap we ever had! as we were leaving she informed us that she wasn't a chi o, but that she never passes up an opportunity to dance to 17th floor. (p.s. if you're looking for tupac, i'm pretty sure he is the lead singer for 17th floor, the rap cover band that plays ole miss parties. they are awesome.) she didn't care if they kicked her out. she was going to dance. that is when i realized just how cool she is!


on april 15th, ruthie's father passed away. this was a complete surprise, but thankfully we serve a God who knows no surprises. ruthie started a blog to share this hard walk with us. one of the things i love the most about ruthie is how real she is. this is a hard time in her life and she doesn't pretend like it isn't. she does this with hope though b/c she knows she will be with her father again.






















(ruthie with her father on her wedding day)


a couple of weeks ago ruthie and her husband, will, were driving through jackson on their way back to nashville. will's car broke down and they were stranded here. when it rains it pours. i got to spend a little time with them and catch up with this sweet friend.

i knew that ruthie had been having treatments for her back (problems remaining from a wreck she had in high school), but i learned the extent of all of this.

one of her close friend's summed it up better than i can....

"For those who don't know, she was in a very serious auto accident in 1996 and was in critical care for 6-8 weeks. With a broken neck, it was a miracle that she was even able to walk again. However, she has suffered chronic and intolerable pain since then. Recently, doctors discovered a surgical wire that has broken and pierced her spinal cord that must be removed. The countless medical bills will be in excess of $100,000, and their insurance policy excludes Ruthie's pre-existing condition."

the surgery is risky, but it can't be left the way it is.

this is what brings me to this post.

TOMORROW NIGHT (thursday, june 4) there is a benefit concert in nashville for ruthie.

it is going to be an amazing night, and i wish more than anything that i could be there!
i figured that i would post this on here on the off chance that someone in nashville hasn't heard about it, and wants to help out my sweet friend!!

this flyer has all the information, but if you need more just let me know!





























i love you ruthie!!

why is it....

that my lips go down for a frown, but can't go up for a smile?

ever since i was little i could make the "bulldog face", which then turned into the will clark face.
will clark played baseball for mississippi state, but went on to play for the giants, rangers, orioles and cardinals. when he would bat he would always make a frown.

since my family rarely missed a state baseball game they thought it was entertaining to get me to do the frown.




















it isn't a mystery that i love to laugh, and i love to smile. all the time. one day in high school, a friend (caroline...i think it was you) pointed out that when i smile my lips don't go up.

to illustrate this point here are some ridiculous pictures. i apologize.

here is the will smith frown these days....
























and here is my no smiling smile.
i am trying my absolute hardest to bring the corners of my mouth up. they don't budge.


























thanks for letting me share.

this past weekend

i really am ashamed that i haven't updated this in forever. i mean caroline hogan and cassie corless just gave birth (with two small ones at home) and they updated theirs! i have no excuse.

this past weekend was such a great one....i know y'all want to hear all about it!

lucky you!

my mom and i drove up to memphis on thursday for my cousin's wedding weekend. i was going to stay with newman on thursday night and help her celebrate her birthday (i try to help out where i can!)!

my mom dropped me off at a mexican restaurant. yes, i felt like i was in junior high. especially after my mom ramped half of the car up onto the curb. (sorry mama, it was funny)

we had apps at the mexican restaurant with andy and vern, then headed to bosco's to meet up with more people. i would tell you who all was there, but i don't remember. part of me being old.

bosco's is a great restaurant in memphis...i highly recommend sitting out on the patio (i highly recommend sitting on any patio).

from there we went to some hole in the wall pub. i love hole in the wall pubs!! especially when long lost friends, like isaac byrd, walk in! i went to college with byrd dawg and i don't think i've seen him since i've graduated.

here is the one and only picture taken from that night.


























the next day my mom and i spent most of the day with my grandfather. he is in rehab now, but they are pretty sure that he had a stroke, which made him fall. he has a pacemaker, so they can't do an MRI to determine that. physically he is fine, but mentally he isn't quite as with it. when we got there he said he was ready to go to the farm.
he grew up on a dairy farm in mccomb (probably where i get my love of milk from!)
the next day we went to see him he had on two button down shirts. he said that he was afraid he would get cold while he was working.
he still is hands down the cutest grandfather around!!
i discovered something while we visited. he loves wheel of fortune. so do i! my sister makes fun of me for this. although i am in the wheel watchers club, and i don't think he is quite to that level.

friday night we went to the most beautiful rehearsal dinner for my cousin's wedding. drew's dad (my uncle) is on the national heart transplant list and wasn't able to be there for the wedding. i know he hated missing it, but he wouldn't have wanted them to cancel it.
drew's oldest brother, bryan, stepped in and read the sweetest toast my uncle had typed out. drew has two older brothers and they are all really close. i love all of them so much and was so happy to share this night with drew and his new wife, merry claire.

merry claire is adored by everyone she meets, but i don't think anyone loves her as much as my sister's girls!

here are some pictures from the wedding at the memphis botanic gardens.....

merry claire was a beautiful bride!!















































their first dance was to elton john's "this is your song." my uncle was a classical guitarast in college and sang this song to his wife when they were dating and after they got married. it was so sweet to see drew and merry claire dance to it.
































drew dancing with his mom. all the babies call her "aunt pink"

































the reception was gorgeous!


























on the left is elizabeth bratley wardlaw (married to my cousin, bryan), me, julie wardlaw (married to my cousin, russ) and their little girl mary evins wardlaw.










































congratulations drew and merry claire! i love y'all both and pray the Lord will continue to shower you with his love and blessings!