it's about to get even more country than
this cabin up in here all right I've got
a friend of mine a guy on the line
that's gonna be joining us he's super
talented singer-songwriter who's gonna
be performing for us a little later as
well Thomas Rhett Akins you there yeah
yeah I like your hat collection my man
I've seen your pictures yeah we're
making the best of it for sure we're
getting really creative I guess with the
girls and trying to figure out new ways
to have fun and watching a lot of a lot
of Disney Plus happening in our house
oh my gosh that's the only two things my
kids say Disney Plus like no it's like a
way to give give them something to do so
you can actually get stuff done but man
they're just going nuts right now are
your kids going nuts
they're going pretty crazy our kids too
like with the iPad like they get on
YouTube and they go down the wormhole
think of the kid videos yeah I started
looking at and I'm like what are you
even watching and I'm like no more iPad
this is this is not going to work
no I had to take it away I'm like I
don't know what my little girls watching
but all of a sudden she became like 16
instead of five and she has so much
attitude
but it is kind of cool because we're on
the road a lot as musician so it's kind
of cool to be like I'm home and and kind
of forced in this environment we don't
generally get to be a part of but and
y'all just had a baby right y'all got
the oven yeah she's like she's a little
a little over two months old her name's
linen and last like well so last night
she slept from like 11 to 7:40 in the
morning and it was it was absolutely
mind-blowing it was amazing honestly
so that is I totally feel that like what
you're it seems like a simple statement
but it's like that's a glorious victory
well I saw you posted a photo of how you
handle spit-up and I oh sorry my dog
just barked at my husband so apparently
I don't know sorry
keeps barking but no I saw this photo
but you posted and you're are you just
giving up on shirts cuz like you've got
vomit going down the back of you know
what's funny is someone asked me that
other day they go do you ever wear a
shirt and the answer is not most of the
time because I guess when I work out at
the house I don't work out with a shirt
on and then I don't shower until you
know seven o'clock at night I just kind
of leave the shirt on
yeah assume holding the baby I mean
there's no point ruining you know eight
shirts during the day I think my wife
changes about 17 times just from spit-up
so oh my gosh I gave up on nice things I
just owned black or white I'm just like
whatever so I saw a video of showing you
outdoors while your quarantine II what
were you doing in a tree like I saw this
video of you like trying to speak like
Tarzan we just moved into a new house
and we were kind of exploring outside
and my wife noticed this vine hanging
from the tree and my kids were trying to
swing on it and Lauren was like I used
to that when I was little and she was
like well let me go try it I said how
about you let me go try it first just to
make sure that it's like stable and so I
like yanked on it a couple times and it
felt fine and then like I went for it
and the limb just snapped in half and I
I think I bruised my and I'm really
embarrassed that Lauren caught that on
video but you know is your wife there if
she is that yes yes you know come over
here hey what's up there she was doing
the girl's hair Oh making it pretty high
dear girls as for braids my girl extra
braids all the time yes Elsa braids
Elsa and Anna brings a CLE and I keep
turning my girl like you don't have that
hair yet okay like I can do a braid but
you ain't got that happening yet so
that's amazing
hey well how are you doing as a mama
this is a lot yeah we're honestly we're
good we we're going on like 30 or no 40
something days we're going because our
kids had the flu the week before
coronavirus hit so yeah there and her
husband lived close by and my best
friend lives close by and they all were
able to work from home like super early
on so they're like we're gonna come
quarantine at your house did they have
been here I mean he said yesterday it
was 34 days that they had been here
we've had a lot of help which has been
nice and a lot
I was gonna say that's incredibly cool
cuz I was gonna say y'all being like you
know I know you've already been parents
but a baby is a lot and especially in
this time like that's a lot just to get
and I know that sounds horrible but
every parent's thinking it sometimes you
just need to be alone without them just
to like come back so you can be fresh
and not you know hate your life extra
sets of hands around to hold the baby
while somebody cooks or entertain the
toddlers or you know that's so cool well
that's gonna cool about your little
quarantine community I like that so so
you you studied to be a nurse right
Lauren so and I heard you celebrated his
30th birthday by surprising some nursing
students that was cool how did that come
about
I stayed connected with the nursing
school I went to the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville um and I've just
stayed really close to that community
and they were like what y'all have on
calling in and just encouraging some of
the students and I mean I can't imagine
my brother actually is a senior this
year at UT and I just can't imagine that
being in college and especially high
school there's so many like last things
that so many can do that are kind of
getting ripped away from people yeah but
I do think people are doing a really
good job at just fun and creative ways
to celebrate or you know we'll
definitely like for all these students
such an unforgettable senior year for
sure yeah but it was cool to get to at
least try to encourage I mean we have no
idea what they're feeling but I'm sure
there's so many unknowns and um but well
it's nice because it was a thoughtful
thing and I think that's the you know
for everybody like that putting their
life on the line right now for us that's
a lot to ask of a human and a heart I
love your love story would you tell it
for us that like tell everybody how you
met and and where you were like he's the
one Lauren
there was one summer night
[Laughter]
like how long tell everybody how long
y'all known each other we'd known each
other started going to school together I
don't really know how much she can know
somebody in first grade yeah it was
middle school when we like really got to
be close and hung out a whole lot more
and church camp was kind of the start of
the friendship and middle school but
then it just watch out for church camp
that's what people be making yeah
there's a picture somewhere of me and
Laura at church camp fifth grade sixth
grade but I was like a foot shorter than
Lauren was and I dyed my hair I dyed my
hair black because I was in like this
punk rock band and you know I just was
obsessed with her I'm sure she looked at
me like yeah probably not but no we
became really good friends that year and
actually dated a little bit we were 16
and I was really uh it wasn't I wasn't
me I was a needy boyfriend if that makes
any sense
and you're also 16 so you're still not
gonna work out because that that's weird
but it did it's awesome yeah well I mean
so we broke up but still remained really
good friends and and both dead other
people for almost five or six years and
there was the walk through all that time
we we went on double dates together with
other people that we were dating and me
and my roommate in college because going
to a school in Nashville and we were not
coaches roughly three hours drive and so
on the weekends he'd come up and go to
games and stay with us and I think a
couple times he stayed with my boyfriend
like we just we run it so well Lauren I
also wanted to bring this up because you
just wrote a book called live and love
about your life and family so what made
you want to write it because that's a
lot to let people in your life yeah it
is you know I think marrying him was a
pretty big leap of faith as far as like
knowing
which direction he was trying to go with
his career because that's very I mean
this whole world is super out of my box
um and and so writing a book was not
something that I ever had like on my
dream checklist but I did I wanted to
share my story I was encouraged to share
my story um I didn't think I've ever
would in this capacity but um actually
went into my agency's office just to
talk through possibly writing a
children's book because we were in the
process of adopting Willa grey mm-hmm
and they're like it'd be cool to you
what a children's book that had to do
with Africa African themed and so we
kind of went in talking about that and
she's like well tell me a little bit
about yourself as I was like talking
through kind of like how I was raised
and some of the stories throughout my
life and kind of what had led me to
where I was now I'm pretty sure she had
cried like three times throughout my
story I was like is this murder and she
was like she's like wiping her eyes
she's like that's it like you have to
tell that story first we'll get to
children's books later but um I was like
really um and our manager he was one of
our very best friends she was like
Lauren I've been telling you for awhile
like you need to be writing this stuff
down there's so many good stories in
your life and so that's really what
started it and it turned into a full-on
book it's about your life and kind of
how you've handled it and navigated it
right by living in love right right um
our kids adoption biological how I was
raised kind of what our life is like now
it was a really therapeutic process
getting back through like oh oh there
but it was good it's it's scary I'm I
would be lying if I told you I wasn't
anxious and nervous about this coming
out just because it's it's really
personal it's really honest and and this
is so not my comfort zone just being in
this world and being super vulnerable to
people that you may never meet but um
it's been a really cool I've been
surprised at how cool the process has
been and how excited I do feel
although the nerves are still definitely
there connecting to people through your
book it's such a powerful thing because
a lot of people go through things with
blended families and and and everybody's
from a different kind of place and that
can be very hard pill time so you would
why didn't you adopt first you adopt it
first right we did I always talked about
adopting my whole life my mom is
actually adopted and I thought it was
really cool and so we talked about it
off and on but it wasn't something that
we had sat down and had like a full on
adoption conversation um and then I was
in Uganda in 2016 and um I had a picture
of one of the babies there and I had
shared it on social media and when I
finally got to FaceTime him that night
he I was telling him her story and I was
like baby we know so many people who are
trying to adopt right now and this
little girl needs a forever home and I
was like so moved maybe the second a
touched her it was like electric and I
was like oh my word this little girl has
just taken my heart and I was like honey
we've got to find her her forever home
like I know that's why I'm here is to
get this girl to her home and my god
okay he totally opened me just now like
it's so beautiful because I know that
feeling because a mommy you you touching
me home to me it doesn't matter if it's
yours or not we're a blended family you
in your life this is this is my that's
my purpose it's such a powerful thing so
how did that turn into y'all adopting
well just when I talked to her on the
phone that night and she said that we
need to find her a home I literally it
was after a concert and I was going to
bed and I was like we'll bring her home
and I don't fully remember even saying
it like it was like such a spiritual
thing for me that it just came out of my
body and then literally two weeks after
we were having you know home assessments
and and talking to adoption agencies and
then I got to go to you
maybe October yeah like six months later
and then I gotta meet her for the first
time and that's when we like really
started the process and we were Lauren
was there like a total of like a very
long time and I was going to Uganda
remember I played a show in Phoenix
Arizona and sleep from Phoenix to Uganda
stayed for a week came back at home
plate Nashville and then came right back
to Uganda and it was like this really
really strange time of like I'm still
doing touring things and Lauren it's
like in the middle of all this and then
fast forward like three months later
were pregnant in Uganda I was talking to
her and I was like what are you doing
she was like I'm currently just acting
in the toilet she's like what are you
doing well I'm hanging out with all your
best friends in Nashville like I look
like a total jerk 17 million times in
the book and I probably I just got to
say before it's a really beautiful thing
that I think I believe that things in
life are supposed to happen when they
happen like regardless if it's good or
not it's just how it is and and you
handle and I love that you said it was
just something that came out of you
because I think that says a lot about
both of your hearts is that you notice
there was a need for something and you
fulfilled it and it was that wasn't a
question it wasn't a you know is like
well this just needs to happen like and
I think that's a really beautiful thing
and how we should live our lives
alright so Thomas the song that you're
gonna do for us later is called be light
it's a great anthem for the world right
now like how did this song come about
and there's a lot of artists on it right
yeah I actually wrote the song last year
in a whole different mindset like having
no clue that that code 19 was about to
hit the world and yeah you know and so
it was gonna kind of be like our next
album that we're gonna start working on
at some point in the near future
hopefully but just when all this started
happening I called my label I was like
hey I think this song needs to come out
now like I think the world needs to hear
this song because it's a really
encouraging song just about being a
light and dark place and I kind of think
that's kind of the world we're in right
now and uh and so we decided to put it
out and we got Reba on it Keith Urban
Chris Tomlin and Hilary Scott are
singing on it with me
which is
special and a bunch of the proceeds are
going to the music cares covered Relief
Fund which is really cool so whether you
stream it on any platform or YouTube it
or download it like in all that you know
that that money will go to help a lot of
a lot of the people alright well thank
you guys so much we're gonna get to hear
Thomas Rhett sing later in the show very
excited about that the song is called be
alight so please go download it now and
also go order Lauren's book you can
pre-order it right now it's called live
in love or you can get it August 18th
it's a great great message you're gonna
love it you're gonna connect to it
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