Kelly Lynn Janson

manages Chris. She is a songwriter. She's had cuts with Chris and other artists. She's a publisher, has a co venture blushing company that she runs. She does it all. I'm telling you, Kelly is a machine. She's so much fun, she's so faithful, she's got the best perspective on life. Wakes up every day just thinking life is a gift, soaking it up, living into the fullest. I love Kelly so much. We've truly been friends for over a decade and she's just one of my favorite people. She's so

fun and so funny, is so great. So get excited for this episode and prepared to be inspired because she is so inspiring here she is hey, hey, hey, hey, oh my gosh, one of my favorite people, Kelly, like Jansen, You're one of my favorite people. This is the coolest thing that you're doing, by the way, Like it's so awesome to focus on the wives and the women behind these awesome artists. I watched shirts with Caroline. Her instagram

is hysterical. It's so great. It's I watched everything. I'm like obsessed, and so Michael and I over Christmas, we literally just dug into Caroline's instagram the crying yes. So her frett husband would be so mad at me, like Luke, Brian is so cool and like Carol, you're so funny, and she doesn't care. She gets every single person or a family like with a blowhorn. I'm scared my mom would have a heart attack and die on me. My husband would run chase me down, like, oh my god.

He would not think it was funny. I don't think. I don't know. I'm like, how do I become my crpet? Then she has all these great sports to play along and they kind of get annoyed, but then they die laughing. It's hilarious. I loved watching it said, thanks, Caroline, and that kept me entertained over the holidays. It's so frantic with all this stuff going on during Christmas. So you're right. I watched it too. I think a lot of people did.

It's pure comedy relief. But this is cool what you're doing. I love it. Well. Thanks. So I've been doing the podcast a whow But I started um on Wives this year and actually does Heart last year last at the end of last year, and I just was like, Okay, this is really a sweet spot because all these artists, these men artists are so fantastic, but the women who are beside them and helping them fuel of this business, keep their lives running are so fabulous and so interesting.

I was like, who does I want to know about them? I do, I don't know about it? So cool. I love that and it has been It's been great because I've been able to see the other wives that because we're always out on the road. We're running. Everybody's going different circles, so we don't always get to visit. I mean, we're by the time someone else is getting to a festival, we're leaving, or vice versa. I've seen you out on the road several shops in the night, just like passing

the planes in the air buses, um broken down. I don't know. Yeah, because y'all do planes, trains and automobiles. You know what. We do whatever we gotta do to get to the show. But um, this year, UM we travel all the time, and we tour all the time because Chris is the live performer and that's um, you know, getting out to the fans. So whatever we have to do to get there. But we found that the plane is way better. It just is so that we can

still have it right. Oh no, no, no, no, But he did get his Yes, he did work on that for a little while and then things got too crazy and too busy and he needed his rest. You can get an airplane fining, yeah no. And he was only flying single engine and I need two engines. It's very scary. So you know, we have great pilots and um they're amazing.

And it just allows to have to be at home or with your children, and for him to also do songwriting and for us to have some form of normal life because otherwise conscious we do we try to get back to our gain and get out so you're in your own bed every night pretty much unless we're playing on the West coast. So like this past week, Um,

we did four shows. We did Butte, Montana, UM, Wyoming, and we were in Cheyenne, Butte Airway Heights, Washington, and UM one more I can't remember Utah, and so those were pretty far apart, and we flew and then we stayed out on the West coast. There would have been no way to come home. Yeah, so if you're on West Coast, you pretty much stay out there. You do

a long run there. But we take our kids and we just do hotels and we experience it and we try to like, since we're homeschooling, I'm trying to teach them things as we go. I won't know, but I can't at least teach them what city we're in and a few facts. I mean, I'm definitely not that. Yeah,

education is probably not one of my strong suits. Whatever you are, like you know how to make it happen, though, But I try to teach them how to count money and like how to count change and like we do things on the plane and um, and how to go have your dreams. Like you're great at that absolutely, and that you can do anything in this world you want to do if you just put your mind to it.

It's America. It's it's such a wonderful country. We have so many opportunities, and I think every day that we wake up is a huge blessing and the sky's the limit in that way. Even because we've known each other for what like fourteen a long time, they don't tell our don't tell on us like we're still what do you mean we're still hanging out over at Belmar. We couldn't even drink when we met. What we're talking about

weren't even legal. We I've known you and a single mom, yes, making furniture whatever I had to consulting, corresponding on my TV show, a TV show. I mean, you have always been such a hustler, such a go getter, such a dreamer, and you have always, even when you're a single mom, doing all these jobs making an end to me, You've always had this like incredibly optimistic attitude. You've never been like, oh poor me, look at all this I have to handle by myself. You've always been like, no, I'm going

to make I want to do it. Yeah, where did that come from? Because not everyone responds to say situations that are maybe more like, you know, being a single mom. Not everyone handles it the way you would have. Well, I just I always try to look at the cup full. And I have healthy children. And even if I didn't have like a cool partner to raise them with or whatever, and I was a single mom, that's okay. I have

these children and they're such a blessing. And every minute getting to do the things I did with them, drive them to school, take them, get their clothes, get their braces, work really hard to put food on the table, whatever I had to do. It was like, yes, I'm so lucky, Like, look at my kids, like they're amazing. There's such a

gift from God. And I mean, oh my gosh, Graham and I grew he's so Graham's my oldest so Graham, and then I have Shell and she's in college at ut those are the ones that Chris says his bonus kids and yeah, but like they're my life. Oh, he's amazing. That was one of the biggest things I fell in love with him. When we first dated. He looked at me and I was like, wait, let's just have fun and he's like, no, I love you. And I was like, well, wait,

I have children and those children are my life. And he was like, great, I love kids, and he was like, no problem, and um I was like, well I'm a little bit older than you. Yeah, no problem. Love that. Don't ever bring it up again. And so from that moment on we were like in. My kids adored him, and soon after obviously they met him, and it wasn't too much longer after that Chris asked of them two if he could marry me, and I had no idea.

And then they helped pick out the ring and he tells us a great story and this was This gives me chills to every time I hear it, because this is the kind of human he is just as as a human and he was just born with such a heart. And he always says, those are my bonus kids. I'm their stepdad, but I stepped into their life. They're not step kids. They didn't step into mine. I stepped into theirs. I'm the stepdad. They're the bonus. They're like such a blessing.

So he talks about that, and he wrote a song called Holding Her about all of us, but what a blessing And going back to just waking up every day and looking at your blessings, looking at the fact that we all woke up today. It may not be perfect, but we woke up. And you're gonna have obstacles. I mean everything there. Every day, you're probably gonna get hit, smack dab in the face with something. I mean, there's gonna be someone that doesn't like you. There's be someone

who says something bad about you. There's gonna be um, I mean, you stump your toe or I don't know, like silly stuff. Well I don't even have any Like most people are independent contracts, but you're always dealing with something. There's always gonna be a bus that breaks down. There's always gonna be a plane that the heat goes out. There's gonna be but hey, we gotta plane. Ye, look at the good side. I don't care if it's cold, I'll get an extra blanket. Um. Every day in this

world we live in, there's gonna be obstacles. God says that like nothing's ever perfect. It's just what you make of it. And whatever he throws at me, Like, I'm gonna deal with it. I'm gonna. We all are. We don't really have a choice if if we get but you don't do the woe is me thing, You're never upset. Where did that mentality come from? Is it from your I don't have time? I mean, who's got time to feel sorry for their self? Right? Like? Who has time? And I tell my kids this all the time. I

gets so held up though on past you can't. You just have to find another way to go around. And you have always done that well. I mean it's kind of like a challenge. I remember having a coach in high school. I was a cross country runner, and it's like no paying, no gain. You have to put in the work, you have to never quit, and then no matter what, there's always a way around it. If if I mean pretty much anything in our life, there's gonna

be a way to get around it. And I'm not saying you're always going to get everything you want, because I definitely probably had some dreams that I didn't get like all the way like what I wanted, but I think I did because I've found something in me that's like, Wow,

what more could I have? Four healthy kids, a beautiful, amazing husband, you know, And that's all I really need is that is God and my kids and my husband and family and friends and these amazing fans that we meet out on the road, and the topic you're getting to live a life of pursuing a dream with your husband that you guys are both so invested in, which I mean, how blessed is that. It's such a blessing. It's such a blessing. I mean, I never dreamed in

a million years. This isn't what I set out to do. Also manage right, Well, I'm his manager, which is okay, so how did that? And I'm the one who said, okay, so here's what happened. Like we didn't plan this at all, like we um, Chris is super talented. I've said that and I'll say it again and again and again. I believe in him a lot. I saw his talent and I was just like, oh my gosh, you're so incredible. And he was going through a time where he had

just gotten out of a business record deal. He um actually know the record company had decided to it went away. It folded. Yeah, that good work, honest work. It went under. There was there was no more label, so he was just kind of stuck in the paperwork. And I was like, you're so talented. You just step on any stage, whether it's on a corner of a road. If you pick up your guitar and perform, people are going to come and watch you body experience when he plays, like every

part of his body is moving. And no matter what, whether you're stuck in a record deal that's out of business and there is no label like the fans and the people will come to see you. They want to see So who were out touring and we're just doing it on our own. We had a great booking agent and we were playing festivals and fairs and and we had been saying he's going to have a record coming out, but then the label folded. Well, the fans don't understand that they want to hear music. So um, he was

just writing as a songwriter, having a great time. He actually had written this song and he he was hoping Blake Shelton or Tim mcgrawl or Luke Bryan would cut it because we had just gotten his first big cut with Truck Yeah and bought our house the Truck Yeah. And he's saying it was Tim mcgrawl's one of his fastest moving singles. And Chris Co wrote that with the

low Cash Boys friends for a long time. Oh yeah, And and at the time, we were just pregnant with our first baby, and we were like, um, it was such a blessing because that as a songwriter, when those guys get cut by other artists, it provides an income and that was much needed at the time. And God's timing is always perfect, it really is, like right when you're like at this point, you're like, how or end's gonna meet? What's gonna happen? So it happened. Always happens.

So literally, we were just trucking right along. I was working a couple of day jobs, two or three actually, and and furniture everything. Yeah, Like I said, anything to make money, yeah whatever, like making payton furniture, running two junk stores and buying it and refurbishing it, antique malls like whatever. Like every little bit of money adds up and it helps. And it's like I always tell my kids this, I'm like, there's always a way to make money.

There's somebody that will call you to work by the hour, to pick up pine cones in their yard, to do anything. But anyway, at the time, I wasn't doing that. I was doing furniture and I had a couple of gigs and it was amazing and um, Chris was writing songs and he wrote this song too that I was just like blown away. So um, we put them up on iTunes and Bobby Bones played one of them and what happened to be buy Me a Boat and that song that's like you hear that song one time and it's like,

obviously it's been a humongous It was huge. It was a big, big, big day for us. And did it go instantly went to number one on iTunes when we had a record deal or anything? Oh yeah, we had nothing. Yeah, we know we did a record Actually, catbirds eat for an artist because now here's your song on iTunes number one. You don't have a record deal, so now you kind of get to like have the record labels coming for you,

a look, correct. So we had like ten or twelve opportunities right there, like that first week, and that's the greatest feeling it was. It was overwhelming, and honestly at the time we were kind of like, oh, wow, how do you make a decision. We were so happy to just have a song that fans could buy on iTunes and things were so great and we had no one telling us what to do or how to do it.

We're just yeah, like this is such a blessing. But anyway, long story short, we ended up signing at Warner Brothers or Chris ended up signing at Warner Broth. I didn't. I don't sing, definitely, so when when I suppose signed Chris, it was amazing. Chris Lazy over there is fantastic and the rest is history. I mean they've had a wonderful working relationship. We're in the deal, there's new single coming out. Life is so good. And yes I do manage because

Chris is one of those artists. He loves making the music. He's so talented at it. He loves writing it, he loves being creative. So he wrote, produced, co produced, wrote, and um obviously performs and tours all the music. And he doesn't have time to schedule anything. So basically, as a manager, I just approve things, say yes we'll use that picture, Yes we'll do that show, Yes we'll do that.

So it works well because I mean it's basically the same thing you do UM at home keeping up with your house, Like you schedule things, you schedule the babysitters or you schedule the people to come fix the Does he weigh anything or is he just trust you completely? He pretty much, he trust me completely. He anything musically is all Chris. But he doesn't deal to details. But as far as the simple details or the complicated stuff that yeah, all that So it works fine, it works

really good actually, and we're very very blessed. And um we traveled together, we pray together, we sleep together, we do everything together. We raise our kids together. How do you guys, that's a lot of together and so how do y'all like, are y'all one of those couples that just always is like thriving together? Do you ever need a loane time? Or like how do you create balance? And all of you know what? There's so much balance.

I don't even I mean basically I think, um, well, he has a couple of things he does that I am like, yeah, I'm good, I'm not going. One is hunting and being outside in the woods and hanging out with our son, like both boys actually Jesse and Graham go with him hunting and like that's their favorite thing. Our four year old loves to fish. Chris does that, so they have like their farm stuff they do and then um, I run off, Gosh, just five minutes to

go do my nails or whatever. So we have like our alone time that we have our own things we like to do. But traditionally he loves to sit out by the fire when we're home, and we like just being home because we're never home. So when you spend four or five nights out on the road, when you get home, you just kind of chill and he sits out by the fire when it's not raining. We've had

so much rain lately. Goodness, I'm so excited just to see a little son and um, and then with kids, I mean, you know, you've got Georgia wanting to play date and um, homeschool teachers coming in and out and just a lot going on. But um, we balanced really well. We we do turn off our phones and turn off the music and turn off the show and just kind of have quality husband wife time. But it's normally maybe midnight or going to bed when we crawl on the bed at the end of the day, and our kids

are usually in the room with us. So when you have a four year old and a seven year old, they both want to be in the bedroom with you. Like you work so hard your entire life to get like your house, like your dream home. Or whatever, and literally they've never slept upstairs in their beds. No, we're all in one room in one bed, and you know it's okay because having the older kids, it flies by

so fast. Tell me about that, Like, what have you learned from being a parent and kind of having like you had a Shell and Graham who are now in super young Literally right out of high school, I had Graham, and then I had Shell, and um I was a single mom super young, and then when Chris and I got married, it's like I sort of started over. So yeah, there's quite a bit of age difference between the one in college obviously, and then Georgia in UM first and

second grade, and then Jesse in preschool. So, so, what have you learned from now Shaw and Graham then being older and adults now would be able to take care of themselves. What have you learned about that time? How fast?

I've learned that it flies and you can't stop it, and that this life we live is so precious, and that every minute of these children when they come in with um the sweetest little notes from preschool, and when they have that sweet innocence of Christmas and Santa Claus, and when they want to wake up at four and five thirty to get up for Santa. It's okay, just do it because it flies so fast. And when you have to send that first one off, and I'll start

crying just thinking about it. But like when Graham left to go um to college, it was just like no, like like, you know, you have these children their whole entire life, and then all of a sudden they're ready to fly. And I mean I was sad, but I will never forget. I was coming home from dropping Graham off in his dorm at college because he played football, and we found out I was pregnant with my next boy. So I think I think I was either pregnant with

Jesse or George. I can't remember, but I was No, it would have definitely had to been Jesse, I think. So Anyway, another full blessing in my life that I'm so thankful for, because I'm so thankful to have fallen in love with Chris, to have gotten an opportunity to have an amazing husband and be madly in love with him, and to get to experience parenting with him. And what does parenting like with Chris? And honestly, every kid is so different I don't even know that raising one when

you're super young, and then raising even more now. I think kids are also different no matter what frame of life you're in, whether you have a little money or you have no money, or you're a single mom, or you're working. I mean, I've had it all, I've done it all, and I don't even know that it's different. Each kid is so different, and each kid is challenging.

I mean, they're all just they're they're into different things, they're different humans, which is such a blessing, Like it's such a it's just an honor to be a parent. I can't even tell you. I feel like we're put

on this earth as women. Two and I know some women aren't able to have their own that's okay, but like to adopt to to just spend time as a teacher with children, Like those kinds of things are so important, So whether or not you were an absolutely and raising them up, even if you can't be a parent yourself, because there are reasons and things, and some people are working and they don't have time or whatever. I think just putting back into society the virtues and the wonderful

things that these children need. I get Like I said earlier, I had a coach that was so inspirational in my life. He taught me so grind and such hustle that later in life I had to use those things. And I think as as humans, we should definitely invest in our young people and our children, whether they're ours or our neighbors. And um, such a blessing, Such a blessing. So how would you describe you and Chris's parenting style together? What's it like? What's the typical day like it's on the

road and then at home. I'm a lot more lenient. I'm kind of like, yeah, whatever, I mean, anything goes like it's fine, Oh, she's good. Who cared? Like you know, do not worry? You don't really stress to you not too much? Do you not stress because you give it to God. I get well. I we start with prayer every day. We have this devotional that we've read our entire relationship. When I first met Chris, he was a

super stress case about um, his well. He was just in a really weird musical spot and he had people like trying to tell him what to do and it didn't work. Because he's such a he's such a unique individual, like all that is kind of the general consistent consists, consists, its consensus. That's a hard word for artists when they are being forced into box when they just can't be boxed in. It doesn't work. I don't think it works with anyone. Know, you've got to be who you were

meant to be. Yeah, you have to and whether and none of that ever looks the same if you look at it, because all coming from within that artist's heart and who they feel they are called to be. Well, and it kind of it's even a bigger thing than just country music and looking at it saying country music artist and everybody being into viduals. It's the same way in the world. God made us all so uniquely and

special and different. There's not one of us, just like I said about my four kids, not one of them is there. They have things that they're similar and the same with you and I. We both have blonde hair, whatever, we're both perky, and we're both cool, but I mean so sol But I mean we're also different, Like we are so different. So I think God made us all that way, and that's the beautiful thing about the world we live in. To embrace who you are, you embrace

who you are. You feel confident in your own skin. I've learned that from Chris. How do you? Because I we've talked about this before, Like I struggled more like insecurity and I was younger. I didn't wake up just feeling like, oh my gosh, I've got it all together my life. We all do, I think as as girls in like say, when you're in the college years or and I didn't go to college, but I mean I just jumped right out and moved to New York City and was like, I'm gonna make it. The world is

waiting on me. And you did like some soap. I did some stuff. Yeah, life was good, and then I got pregnant, and like I said that, the rest is history. I you know, I tried to do the right thing and get married and do that whole deal. And um, you can't ever force things like that. You just can't. It just doesn't work out. So does not You just have to sometimes in life I would say, where were

we going with this? Talking about how like Chris is so confident and you learned how to be so confident from But at that age in our lives when we're like nineteen, maybe we're not as secure in our own skin as girls. And I just think a lot of that has to be true, because like you don't know who you are, you're still kind of trying to figure it out, like what are you good at? Like? Who? Who am? What I want to do? What do I want to do? Am I going to be? Like? Received, Well,

it's my work I had. I think I worried too much about what other people think, and so that that probably was something that I had to get over and I didn't switch for you. Yeah, I don't know. I really don't know. I know that the older you get, the more you either don't care what others think or you build some form of confidence. Honestly, quite frankly, I

don't know that I even had time to care. Honestly, I tell people that all the time, Like you're so busy, I don't have time to go sit and worry about what she thought of me, Like I can bear keep up with what my kids think of me? If I want to know. And you know what I'm saying, I feel like if we there's a scripture and I don't mind is the Devil's workshop? And I truly believe, and

I don't mind is the devil's workshop. And if you do not keep yourself busy and and thinking of the things you have to do or the things that you need to do to get to where you're going. And if you don't know where you're going, just go somewhere, just give it a shot. You may not like it, but it's okay. I mean, I think you have to

stay busy, is the main thing. And then you don't focus on what your sorority sister thought of you, or what the guy at the restaurant thought of you, or if that boy didn't text you back, or if you didn't get that date, or And I think the other thing is you can never go back and learn and go wonder what's wrong with me? You don't ever need to do that. It's not what was wrong with you. It just wasn't. It was right for the moment, It

wasn't right for the situation. It wasn't. And I think the biggest thing I ever from my life is you can't go looking for love. It's you're not going to find it if you're looking for a man. Because you and I were single together for a while, we went on some dates, we get some double dates. I mean, we looked a little bit and it never panned out. It was awful. It was awful. Oh my god, it was the worst thing ever. But that's I mean, you got it. You're fun. I don't even think we were

taking that serious. We weren't. So tell me how they'll love find you because you weren't. You got to the point where you weren't looking, And then how did you when I finally got to a place where I said, I'm fine as a single mom. I I've got this, I've got i've got work, I've got food on the table, I've got healthy children, great friends, so cool, like, this is fine. I will be totally fine the rest of my life. You know, a bad relationship will make you

want to just be single. Yes, and I had had plenty of those, so because it's worse to be in a bad relationship. And that's the thing I think you don't realize when you're young, is you think, oh, I just want to be with someone more correct. But no, growing up in the South, you think, and I don't know, maybe it's all over the world, but where I came from, in a small town in Georgia, you just you're supposed to have a man like that's kind of what they

tell you in society. So whatever I you know, and and it was never an issue. I just I never picked the right one until Chris came along. And I literally was not looking. I I was totally at peace with where I was in my life, with my job, with my children, with everything. And then when he came along, I remember someone saying, you definitely want to be with the person who brings you up and who you're not

constantly having to bring up. And so when Chris and I got together, it was like best friends and attracted to one another, like everything on every level was just perfect. And I never had experienced that in my life. And you guys both have that high energy and that drive, because when he moved to town, he was like sleeping in his car to play Tootsies and he did whatever it took to get his dream done, just like you.

And I feel like you guys match like that. Like y'all both have been so driven from the start, and that's probably so important to each other and it's probably why you'll work so well as a partnership. Probably. Yeah, I would say he is the only human I ever met that had all of those things like he was so ambitious and he grew up with nothing, and I mean,

I won't say nothing. He grew up with a great family, but as far as materialistically, he he didn't have a lot of stuff growing up, and he knows how to I when I met him, he was he already had a farm and he had like all these things, and I was like wow. So I was so impressed. And so I think, what you have to find or what finds you and when you fall in love. I think the thing that's worked for us is we mutually respect each other, like we totally, I totally have so much

respect for him as a human. He doesn't drink. He is so faithful, he's so loving. His heart is so pure, he says, and I believe him that he only has eyes for me. I mean, he makes that really clear. He is so devoted openly towards you. Just a great human. And you know his dad is the same way, so he I think you can look at people's parents and see a lot um. Chris has wonderful parents and his dad is that guy, and he is that way with

Chris's mother. And I'll never forget one of the first days, our first like hang out was He asked me to write a song, and so we were trying to write, and I was telling myself, like, you know, this is gonna be a cool right, and this guy is so talented. I'm so nervous to be nervous. I was nervous, which I don't know why, because you're never nervous. No, I mean, I've got whatever, but I mean I had my little lyric book and I got so nervous I couldn't even concentrate.

And I remember him leaning back in this porch swing. We still have the porch swing by the way, and he just looks so cool at me, and he was like, so, what are you doing with was? I was kind of with somebody at the time, and I was like, yeah, I don't know, I'm just hanging out. Like I don't believe in love. It doesn't exist that you had gotten to that point, oh yeah, and he was. I was like, we're just kind of friends, but you know, I don't believe in it. And he was like, that is so sad.

My mom and dad are still married. They have love. He's like, what about your parents. I was like, oh, yeah,

they're still married. They've been married a long time they're in love, he's like and so I thought about that, and I was like, he's so right, like maybe, and so that I guess that first opened up my brain to think that to hear something else out there who believes in love so much correct, to see that was probably really like incredible to see like this guy is so fiercely believing in love correct, and normally it was opposite.

You know, normally guys are normally girls are the hopeless romantic and guys in this relationship, he always tells me, because his always like, oh my god, you're the guy in the relationship, like you're so like he says, I don't cuddle, and I know I do. I have a huge heart, And I guess when I fall asleep at night, I don't even Yeah, when I hit the pillow, I run all day, So when I hit the pillow, I'm cuddling.

Is probably just not in the cards. But um, anyway, I just I feel so lucky to have for us to have what we have, because we do have something special and I never even knew it existed. And he's a lot like my dad, which is another thing I think, Um, it's so cool because my dad's like super skinny. My dad and Chris could not be more alike. Love each other. Like you'll notice, he's been in all my he's been in all of Chris's music videos. He you know, Chris

will invite him to ride with him. My husband loves to drive and go to hunting camps or whatever, and he'll totally take my dad with them everywhere. So they are best friends. That's important. That's that's awesome. So I'm very thankful for that. Um Just life's good. It and and you know we were saying earlier, like when you first got here, I was running late because I've been on the phone a couple of little things hiccups this morning.

But you know what, in in work, not with Chris and I, but like I just think in life, every day you're going to have those. And I think Chris and I've learned that. I just think that you focus on the things that you can control, and you focus on the things that you can think positive thoughts about, and everything else pretty much always works itself out. So, um So do you just not let yourself get too

stressed about anything? No, I mean I do. I stress a lot, I work a lot, I pray a lot, and I found out, like they say, stress is the lead calls and getting wrinkles and getting old. So I'm like, I don't need to stress. I better just go get them aside, whatever you gotta do. But I try not to stress. I'm sure people that work with me would say she stresses. I'm sure because I do. Um, you know, I want to take care of things. I want things.

What do you like as a women a woman in a kind of a man's world in management, Like, how do you like approach that scenario? Because there's not too many women managers managers out there. Well, there's more than you think, really, and there's some great ones that I have learned from and that I do call in this so country music is such a wonderful community and family. And there's some women out there in this town that

are managers, that are leaders. I mean Leslie over at CMT, Regina Stuvie, Um, oh my gosh, the list goes on and on. There's just some great and and Regina is a publicist. But managers. Marion Kraft one of my favorite people on the planet, Such a composed, smart woman. Carrie Edwards, I mean, such a great I mean, I've watched her work and I'm always like, you're always so she always has it together and so these women are inspirational, Like I I watched them and I'm just like wow, and so,

um it's hard. I'm not kidding. As a woman, it's hard, but then as a wife and trying to get them to take you serious, it's even triple. How do you get through that? But people want to look at you as his wife and they don't want to respect you as Excuse me, but like this is what we probably should do or can we work this out? Or can we? Um? So I have backup plans. I have UM, I have a partner UM that works with me very closely and

it's amazing. UM. So we teamed up with red Light Management and they're great and so you know, again I'm not complaining though it's perfect. I mean, I would not say to being a woman or a wife. So it is what it's worried about. People like having to be a little more difficult, Like that's never been something. I mean, I think you just have to prove yourself. I think they have to realize that your best interest is the

same as theirs. And that is for Christiansen's music and for christ Jansen to be seen as much as possible in the world performing and doing what he does and singing his songs and being on stage. We all have the same goal. We all want to sell records. We all want to have him on every streaming and and radio station. I mean, it's just we just want to do it. So you know, we all have the same goal.

So no matter if I'm a woman, if I'm his wife, if I'm a manager, like, we're all in this together, and teamwork makes the dreamwork, and um my intent and everything behind everything I do is just passion for passion for what he was given and it's a gift. And so with that passion comes like persistence and long nights and lots of travel, but it's so worth it. It's such a blessing. And when you hear the song and when you see the show, you're just like, yes, it's happening.

We're so fortunate. Country radio has been so amazing and everything the record label has been so amazing. So what would you say? Some of your top moments have been being married to Chris on this journey, even including motherhood, like the whole ride, Like what if you had to mark time by a few moments. What are some that have really impacted you? I know this on the spike

so hard, like every every moment. Um, I mean going in a few minutes star four year olds little Valentine party at school, Like I can't even wait to see Jesse that today. Oh it's today, it's at one fift and it's just to see his little smile. And this morning rushing out the door and yeah, I was so tired. Oh yes, and we did val well. So last night we were out really really really late because all of country radios in town and it was amazing and we

got to see everybody. And then you know, this morning, we wake up and it's time to run and he he's like we had to get red shirt because it's Valentine's And I'm just so excited. I want to go um to that. Those moments, those little moments like that are so special. Skiing the other day in Park City um with the kids so special. Uh. We even had our tour manager with us, and and we didn't have time to go to classes and we had just gotten

on the mountain or we were like a circus. But I was like pizza, pizza and Cam's looking at me, going what and pizza means like you have to snow plow, so you like turn I just remember as a kid, that's all I knew to tell them to do, is like turn your skis in so you can like make a plow in the snow and you don't go down the mountain. It was everyone's first time skiing except mine

and Chris. We had skied before, but it had been a while, and so it was so fun just you know what, every day just trying to find the things like that that are memories because at some point those we're not here forever. We're not promised forever. Um. You know, a good friend of mine just lost um, their mom, and it's just like it's been eye opening because like I cried with her. I watched that happen, and cancer

is awful. It's just awful, and it takes so many of our friends and family and people away from us. And you know, I just remember my grandmother being gone, and like, at some point we're gonna lose a lot of our loved ones, and so I try to treasure every minute every day my mom and dad, I have him over all the time. I'm like calling what's up? Come over, Come hang out with me. Come pick out this outfit? Should I wear this? Come come see me, hop on the plane, go with us to the show.

So I try to just I think I've learned in life that we're not promised tomorrow. We're not gonna always have everybody. So every minute that you can spend with the people you love, you better spend it with them. And so just like those memories that you're talking about, you and I years ago, Like how fun was that? Like precious? Yes? And every minute I can see your pretty face and your smile like it's a blessing. So those times, um, I think music industry moments. Probably Grand

ol Opery induction was kind of awesome. That was definitely the youngest living member of the Grand Ol operation. Such an honor, and and he puts so much passion. He loves the history of music and the history of those things and starting on it since he's like he studied and he knew these things. And he is such a Hank junior and Hank senior, and he can do a

Hank senior better than anybody I've ever seen. And and he just Merle Haggard, We we got to tour with Merl Haggard in his last days, and and those moments that Chris got to like get on his bus and talk to him, and anyway, the grand ol opery moment unbelievable for Chris would grow up idolizing these people and

then now being in their company. I can't even tell you I made such a fool of myself that night, Like I literally had no idea, and we're hard to surprise, like we're all into every No, we had no idea. We we never even fathomed it. And what we were doing was we had his first soul I set up to play the Ryman during country radio seminar, so we had reserved that. Well, it's sold out, so it was such a blessing. It was like, oh my gosh, he sold out a Ryman show. So we were so excited.

And then Chris was like, hey, I might have some of my buddies come play with me tonight because that would be kind of fun. Like he I think he had asked like Tim mcgrawl, and Tim was busy doing something else and he asked Keith, and Keith actually said yes, so Keith um and they had just performed together. I feel like somewhere else, but they go way back, Like Chris and Keith were friends and when Chris was just

getting started, they had met and hung out. So anyway, Chris had texted him and he said, sure, I'll come out. Well that's all we knew. Well that's enough to make you nervous, like as a manager and every tour manager were like, oh my gosh, we have to make it perfect for Keith. He's gonna be here to night. What can we put in his dressing room? We should make me up the right water. And I remember with my dormator doing all that, and then on top of it, Cam got the flu that day. But yes, and so

we were just trying to make it all happen. We had a new stage, we had a new set, like you have to go out and get these things for the road. So we were so proud of our because every little milestone in your career you're excited, and we were so excited to have this new stage. And um, I remember setting it all up that day and there was one little light that was wrong. We're dealing with that. Long story short, all of this into the frantic day. I was still in my yoga pants and the show started.

Oh yeah, the show. I never got time to get dressed, like I literally had on probably the same thing, like a little Lululu and starting a pair of leggings and lo and behole. If all of a sudden, Keith Urban stopped singing or whatever and does that presentation and then Sally Williams from the Green to Opery walks out, and my heart and everything in me just hit the floor and I started screaming, and Chris called me out there, and I'm pretty sure I ran out there and I said,

Praise Jesus. He was like, oh my gosh. And it was just one of those moments and looking back, I'm like, oh my gosh, what did I have on? But pure excitement and you're just in it. It's our day in the life. Like there are most days that I do not even get to go get all cute and cut our fancy clothes because I'm I'm too busy running around just trying to make sure the show gets off and that we get the show to start on time and

that everything happens. So that day was incredible, And yeah, I would say that's probably career wise, that day was probably one of the definitely at the very top and and then every milestone. You know, the other night we played our first arena on the Waiting On five tour out in um Beat, Montana, and he sold so many hard tickets and they sold out a beer and like, yes, like it's happening because you want to know that people

are paying to come see your show. Yes, Because when you're on a tour with a big like a superstar artist, they're there to see Luke, Bryan ever, Blake Shelton, like Blake, We've you know, someone, it's your tour. So when it's your show, yes, and when you're not playing a hockey talk you're playing a big, huge people buy tickets to come to for you. It's overwhelming. And so you know we'll fly in and drive up to the venue and just be like, oh my goodness, Like it's such a blessing.

I can't tell you how thankful we are like to see people spend their money to come see his show, and I mean it's worth it, don't get me wrong, but like it's still a blessing to know. And it's crazy to think though someone who had a little a dream as like a young child, and you too, like all your dreams, like you have these dreams and then to see them connect to life, it is It's like, what does that moment feel like? Is it surreal? Because you know you've worked hard for it, you know you've

earned it. You know that like if anyone deserves to be the there, it's you, guys. But still to have it happened, like when it's happening, it is, you know, night after night cam and I cam again as a tour manager, and we'll be standing side stage and literally just hearing Chris performs some of these new songs wherever. They're like bawling like babies, and He'll put post up

and I'll put post up. And I know people probably get sick of it, but truly for me every night because I do love watching him do what he does so much. I mean, it would be like anybody in the world married to their best friend and someone they love so much watching them do their job, you would be so proud. I would be so proud of him if he was no matter what he was doing. But his just happens to be performing. And so when I get hard on the line every single night, and that's

what I love about his songs. He puts his heart and soul into every song he writes, and and they're all real and there's every kind of them. But like just hearing him sing these songs, um it pretty amazing. Yeah, and he's got one. It's a lot to be thankful for. And he's right. I mean, just getting to sit in front of the baby grind at your own house. We got a lot to be thankful for, and I think

we all do. And I think that song will relate to a lot of people because I think we just have to remind ourselves in the midst of all the crazy turmoil and a mess that you watch on the news, there's always something good coming out of it, and there's something to be thankful for. I love that. So after all this, everything you've been through, your journey, just such a journey that you've had as a a single mom. Now I told you it's a country song. Are a

country song. Now Larry to Chris and you'll have his thriving life and career. What do you think the point of life is? Oh, my gosh, the point of life is loving everybody that you can come in contact with, and definitely loving the kids that you raise and raising them right and spending time to discipline them, spending time to plant those seeds so that when I'm dead and gone, there is a legacy. There is something. I hope my

daughter daughters shell. I hope that she will live on to have a family and those children will be raised by her. And I hope the legacy that my grandmother has given me and my mother has given me in the strong women in our family, I hope that they will continue to nurture and pass that down that I've passed down to my girls, and my girls will pass that down to the next girls. And I just think that you just have to get all you can out of this life because it goes by so fast. That's

that's it. I mean, love and do good things for people, and no matter what you're doing, I don't care if I'm painting furniture or sitting with Chris at the Academy of Country Music in a fancy dress, hanging out with you know, fancy people and people that are just amazing. I think the true meaning of life is to find peace and happiness within your heart and never being content.

Don't get me wrong, never get comfortable, Always strive for more, because they're always no matter what it is, squeeze that orange and get everything out of it that you can. But that could just mean more time with your children, more time, um loving your husband, more time because one day we are going to be sitting beside a bed with our spouse or someone and we're gonna be losing them and they're gonna be gone and those moments are gone. So you're very aware that this life is short and

is precious. That is so precious. And I just think every minute doing everything you can, even if it's cleaning your house, I mean, just thank god I got one to clean. And like, I don't know, it is so weird and I sound so cliche, but I just I think it's important. And I just think you have to seize the moment. And I think you also have to be ready to go when it's your time to go. Yeah, And and make sure the ones around you know how much you love them. I mean make sure they know

because by telling them, by showing him. How do you how do you like to tell people? How do I text my my big kids every morning? I try not not every morning, but most mornings and just say I love you and I hope you have a great day. Um. I try to call them. I tried to UM every night. I drive them crazy because I'm constantly like, are you home? Are you good? I love you? Is everything good? Leave me all alone? Mother? But I mean it's important to

stay in touch with him. I try to every night, UM, right there in my own bedroom or whether it's on the floor in our bed, hug the other ones and tell them good night and say their prayers with them. I think it's so important to build that security in our children. And I mean just um. I called my mom and dad every night. I try to make sure they made it home safe. My mom was like, yes, we're home. So like, I'm like, you just keep you,

just keep the rollex flowing everybody. You said earlier you don't worry your stress, but my family would probably disagree. There comes from just making sure everybody else is okay. I just want to make sure boy else is okay. I just you need your people, you love your people. I do. And a new thing that I think we all should do is make sure you eat your raw garlic. I learned what it's so true. Raw garlic is like

the cure for everything. So my granddad years ago used to always tell me he would do like these garb um garlic tablets. So I don't do garlic tablets. I Chris and I were at this big event with bass Pro and we met this wonderful man, so great. He was older, and I said, wow, you're so in shape, you're so fit. What what do you do? You know?

I want my dad to do this, like I want my dad to stay young, because every little girl wants her daddy to be like the daddy that we we know right like muscular and smart, acoholic and strong and healthy and those our daddy's And so I was like, I want my dad to and it happened to be Gary Player, the famous golfer, and he um. He's like, well, I work out, and you know it's very important to do this and this and and he does. He has great exercise things that you can google. But more than that,

he told me about um garlic. He's like, I eat raw garlic every day and that there's something in the raw. It has to be raw, the raw garlic that will um kill cancer. Do you just throw it down kill cancer? I do. I make myself like I'm trying to be a little like you, like do that presser and press it up. I just do it, like I don't know. I just take a knife on a cutting board and I cut me a big old chunk of it and I put it in my mouth and I chew it up.

How's your breath? Well, I don't know to tell me I had to put dumb in my mouth, but it'll be fine. Whatever. I mean, you feel better alive like it kills cancer. Do you feel Do you feel better? I don't know. I haven't gotten sick. I mean I literally didn't get a cold the flute, nothing knock on would this year, So I don't know. I feel like

raw garlic is really good for you. And I just saw this other I follow, like we said Caroline, and I saw one of her comedian friends um putting down garlic clothes too, So there must be something to it. And I think somebody told me it's on the Cancer Society's website, like it really does do something for fighting that. So I'm a true believer, Like I love garlic so good thing. My husband loves me. Nights he comes to

bed and he's like, oh my gosh, that garlic. Uh No, he drinks a lot of mountain opposite of you know, that you asked me earlier. How we like make everything work? I learned a long time ago you can't make someone else do what you want him to do. So like I let him do what he wants, like he does the do if he wants to do the do. He can drink all he wants like I can. He drinks a lot of it. It's it makes for a big dental bill. I will say that. But is it regular diet? Oh? No, regular?

Oh with all the sugar and everything? Oh yeah, is that other stuff is not good for you? Like saccharine or whatever. How do you think he has a lot, I don't know. We have a full time um backpack that travels around with us with cans. Amountain doing it because he only likes the cans. He's eccentric. I mean this is weird. Like he's eccentric like that, which is cool. Yeah, Like I don't care. Like I got things I like to I like Starbucks coffee in the morning. That's my

ritual every day. The kids hop in the car with me, we go to a Starbucks drive through and we get a Vinty Bold Black with non fat milk. Because I'm trying to watch calories or whatever, get a bowl black coffee and nonfat milk. Yeah, it's the cheapest thing too. I'm really cheap and so um I do that. And then the kids get cheese sticks and they share a Um, I get it, put in two separate cups. But they do like some kind of non caffeinated caramel frappuccino or something.

So but every morning they roll out jump in their car seats. In the first place, we go Starbucks. No matter what I mean. It could be Christmas morning after we've done Santa, it could be. Um, you're going to Starbucks every day, every day, and and on the road. If Cam and I are like on the West Coast, we do too. We're it's a journey every day we can. Don't show around. Cam and I go into Starbucks. You

don't miss it. We've driven hours hours back in the day when we used to ride the black coffee with non fact milk. Yeah, and I'm even exciting. And Starbucks, if you're listening, please bring back that sugar plum something Danis she had during Christmas. It was so good. Oh my god. Actually you're not even getting an exciting order. This is my deal. I don't know. I'm weird, but I they're like the banana bread. It's good too. Does their black coffee days better than just a regular coffee

that you can make. I can't make it. You can buy a cureg my mother made me. I have a cure. We have all that they can use it. But Starbucks cur and just do it right, not the same. I like leaving my house like I you like an outing. I like going out. I don't one day. What if? What if something happens and I'm stuck here all the time? I would be I gotta go girl, or live in this life? You're squeezing the mara. So Starbucks is the first stop. It used to be waffle house. I used

to go eat the waffle house fanatic. I go through like periods of time. Used to the waff house every single day, every day. It was my routine. It's how I met like most of the music industry to get me my gig. Who even knows that people go to the waffle house? Everybody? My girlfriend, Missy and I. That's where we met. I remember being there after a music video I did gig from basically a waffle house I did. We met at the waffles. That's fine. And we still

have meetings at the waffle house. Girl, I will always love that. Like you can take the country, you can take me out of South Georgia, but you can't take a country out of me. Like it just is who I am. And I don't know that Wallfiles is country, but I mean it's pretty pretty scattered. Yeah, I've tried to up my game a little bit and be a little more um healthy, which is why I choked down the garlic. But um yeah, that you gotta have waffles

that right now? Then Okay, I want to talk to you forever, but I gotta go to Valentine's Day and we gotta wrap up. I like to end all my episodes and leave your light. So obviously you've dropped a lot of inspiration. But what are some things that you just inspiration that you would like to share that you've learned over your life that you think is important for other people to know. Oh wow, so love yourself, love yourself so much, love yourself, and don't be scared to

be you, I think would be the top thing. And find every day something to go do, like stay busy, stay busy, do not be idle. If if you don't have to work to make a living like I had to do. Then go do charity work, go do something. There are so many hurting people in this world and so many places to love and hug, and I mean, do a blessing box. I just found these things. It's

the coolest thing I've ever said. I'm so excited about it. So, my mother in law had our kids over Christmas, and there's these blessing boxes and basically there would boxes at a church out in rural areas and people go and

put groceries in them. And so, say you're a single mom, you're having a rough time him and you know who wants you don't want anyone to go without, or you're an elderly person or you lost your job, you just go to this blessing box and open it up and pull out a box of cereal or whatever you need and so and then on the other hand, people who have plenty can go and stock up the blessing box. And I just think it's such a great thing and it's such a wonderful way to get back. So I

just say, shine your light, man. God gave us all a light, no matter how big or how small, and no matter where we are you could just be at the grocery store and and just share a smile anything, asked the girl behind the counter how she's doing, Find one sweet thing you can say about her one because that might be the only sweet thing they got all day, And try not to lose your patients. Like that's another one, Like you know, so, uh, someone brought this to my

attention one day. So what if the guy in front of you cut you off and shoots you a bird? How do you react? Well, guess what. That person might have just had the most awful experience in their entire life. They could be leaving a funeral, They could be leaving getting fired from a job. They could be leaving catching their spouse with someone else. They could be going through so much. You really never know where someone's coming from. For someone to shoot off some anger like that, there's

something going on, something happened to them, super tragic. So I just think you just have to love them and have compassion and a forgiving heart and trying to not react. I just think it's that's so true, not reacting because you have no idea what that person because it's gonna happen. I mean, you're gonna accidentally pull out in front of somebody and they're gonna get really mad at you. But like and I so you just have to sort of say,

oh my god, I'm so sorry. Like I just feel like the way we react to things in life not feeling everything. Yeah, because like instead of feeling it with anger because they did something, instead of having grace and love and be like, Okay, you're going through something, let me actually send you some love and love on people. I mean we say it all the time and Valentine's it's you love love love, but I mean putting it

into action, I think is so important. And you have to tell yourself that because we all forget like and and no matter who it is, it can be, Um, it can be any of the people we deal with on daily basis, the person working at Starbucks, or it can be you know, the biggest star in the world. We're all human and we all have things inside of us that are a little talking voices. And I just think you just have to remember to stay thankful, work really hard, and try to love your neighbor because you

don't know where he's came from. I love that, key La Jansen. I hope we're all going to heaven. Hey, not today, but not today, but so glad you enjoined me. The best love how inspiring is Kelly Lynn Jansen. She is just She's a machine, like I said for she does it all and she's so excited about life and has so much joy, so optimistic, just I. Every time I'm around her, I'm like, I'm so uplifted hearing her story and hearing everything that she manages. She's amazing. Uh.

Next week, I have Casey Williams joining me. She is the sister of Jason al Dean. She is also dating Chuck Wicks. She has so many connections to country music and she's also a badass all in her own right. So get excited to hear her story. We'll see you next week.