“The LORD will greatly bless his people.
Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up.
Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely.”  Isaiah 32:20

In the quiet hours each Sunday morning, a livestock barn transforms into a peaceful place of worship.  As the sun rises over Tadlock Stockyards in Forrest, Mississippi, heads bow in prayer, and cowboy church begins.

Cattlemen and women face long, hard Sundays at the livestock sale barn, which has been in business for nearly a century.  David Tadlock has passionately and faithfully run the barn for over forty years.  “We started cowboy church because the boys don’t have time to go to their church.  It’s just something special that we do for them and some of our customers that want to come,” says David. 

Dressed in jeans, boots and cowboy hats, worshipers gather together in the lobby of the barn for the quaint service.  Though it is simple, it has had a great impact on the employees of Tadlock Stockyards.  Jamie Laird says with awe, “I really love cowboy church.  It just gives all of us the opportunity to worship our Lord and Savior since we are away from our family on Sundays.  After all, some of my greatest wounds have come from this barn (in injuries) and so my greatest healing has happened here, too.”

A special thank you to Barrett Photography for the beautiful black and white photographs.

{Name}  Blythe Wallace
{Hometown} Jackson, MS
{Event Site} Brett and Terri Matthews House (Poppa and Birdie) :)

{Tell us about the occasion for the event?} My daughter, Nora’s, second birthday party.

{What inspired your event location and theme?} We went back and forth on a couple of different themes for Nora’s birthday party. It was a toss up between doing a cowgirl/horse theme or her favorite show, Peppa Pig. At the time, we were getting ready to move across the country, and it dawned on me that I needed to take advantage of having horses at my finger tips, since my mother in law has horses that Nora adores.

{What inspired your color scheme/flowers?} I like things to be simple and not over the top. I wanted her party to be a rustic/modern but girly take on a cowgirl party.

{What’s your favorite event detail? Is there a story behind it?} It is so hard to pick just one. I LOVE the way the boards with her name spelled out in rope turned out. Also, the boot cookies from Campell’s Bakery were exactly what I had imagined!

{What was your favorite part of the event planning process?} I get EVERYONE involved with the birthday parties. I come up with most of the ideas, but I am not the best at executing them. This is where my family comes into play. They are the perfectionists, not me. My mother is the anchor to all of our birthday parties with always doing the flowers and making the delicious and beautiful cakes. She also made the adorable stick horses, felt horseshoes, and painted the horse backdrop piece. She pretty much made it all happen.  My sister, Molly, helps with ideas and executing them. My brother in law, Lou, designs the invitations. My husband became a pro at a hot glue gun by the end of it. My favorite part is being able to spend that time with each other, having the ideas and seeing it all come together perfectly.

{What was your favorite moment of the event day?} Since this was her second birthday, it was fun to see her understand what was going on this year. That we were celebrating her and all of her “people” were in the same room at the same time.

Photographer: Blythe Wallace
Event Planner: Blythe Wallace, Terri, Matthews, Molly Frascogna
Venue: Brett and Terri Matthews
Florist: Terri Matthews
Cake: Terri Matthews
Any Additional Vendors: Campbell’s Bakery for Cookies

River Hills Club recently held the USTA Pro Circuit Women’s Challenger - Mississippi’s only professional tennis tournament!  Dave Randall, Tennis Director and Head Tennis Pro at River Hills, says, “This is the 18th year we have hosted the Challenger.  We are proud to partner with the Catholic Charities Diocese of Jackson as our beneficiary.  Girls travel from all over the world to compete in the Challenger; we had at least twelve to fifteen countries represented this year.”

Several outstanding players in this year’s Challenger have strong Mississippi ties!  We had the great privilege of interviewing a couple of these athletes and learning more about their training, what drives them and what it’s like competing at home.  We are thrilled to share their stories with you today:

Julia Jones

Did you grow up in Mississippi?
“I spent most of my childhood and high school years in Florida, but lived in Jackson from ages 5-8.  I started playing tennis at River Hills Club.  My family now lives in McComb, MS.”

Did you play tennis in college? 
“I played four years for Ole Miss and graduated in May 2015.”

Do you prefer playing singles or doubles?
 “I prefer singles and focus mainly on it, but love doubles as well and try to play whenever I can.”

Tennis is such an individual sport.  What are the pros of playing an individual sport vs. playing a team sport? 
“Tennis is so different from other team sports because it’s only you out there.  You don’t have teammates to fall back on when things aren’t going well for you.  The game is so mental because unlike other sports, coaching isn’t allowed during competition; so you have to find ways to win on your own.”

What makes the River Hills Challenger such a special event?
“I love playing the River Hills Challenger because it’s close to home so my entire family gets to come up and watch.  I also train at River Hills with TJ Middleton so I know the courts and conditions well.”

How often do you travel for tennis matches?
“I travel probably 30-40 weeks out of the year.  I have been all around the U.S. as well as Australia, Mexico, Egypt and Canada.  Traveling around the world is great because I get some time to do some touring.  I also stay with host families often so it is fun to see what life is like in their country.”

How often do you practice? 
“A typical practice day for me is about 3-4 hours total of tennis and then an hour of fitness and then some rehab/massage or a yoga class.”

How does tennis inspire you? 
“Tennis inspires me because it teaches you how to overcome adversity.  Like I mentioned earlier, you have no one to fall back on when things aren’t going your way during a match.  You have to figure it out on your own and control the ups and downs of a match.  The ability to adapt and handle adversity is a skill that can be used off the tennis court as well and I hope to be able to transfer that to my every day life.” 

Sylvia Viljoen

Where are you from in Mississippi?
“I am 17-years old, live in Jackson, MS and train here as well.”

When did you start playing tennis? 
“At age 4 at the Country Club of Jackson.  My mom was a Teaching Pro on staff at that time.”

Tennis is such an individual sport.  What are the pros of playing an individual sport vs. playing a team sport?
“You have to take responsibility for how you practice, play and the results of a match. Doubles is like a team sport. Each player has to do their part to make things work on the court.”

What makes playing in the USTA Women's Challenger at River Hills so special? 
“It is an honor to play in the same tournament as up and coming stars of College and Professional tennis. You also see a lot of players who have competed at the tennis Slams.” How does the game of tennis inspire you?  “My results in a tournament - win or lose - inspire me to improve aspects of my tennis game.”

Thank you, Julia and Sylvia!  We wish both of you talented ladies the best of luck in your tennis careers! 

For more information on River Hills Club, please visit their website here!  All photos courtesy of the River Hills Club USTA Facebook page, found here.

Happy Earth Day!!  Celebrate this glorious spring weather by getting outside and enjoying all that Mississippi has to offer.  One of our favorite spring outings is visiting a pick-your-own farm!  Your friends and family will love tasting blueberries, peaches and cucumbers fresh from the farm. 

After a beautiful day outdoors, treat yourself to a dish filled with the flavors of spring.  We highly recommend the Halibut Crudo, created by Jesse Houston at Saltine Oyster Bar!

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Oxford's Double Decker Arts Festival needs no introduction.  For over twenty years, Oxford has welcomed thousands of people to the the historic Courthouse Square for an unforgettable celebration.  Talented vendors line the streets, and guests nosh on amazing food while rummaging through art and listening to live music.   As Kinney Ferris, Assistant Director of Visit Oxford, says, "Double Decker celebrates Food, Music and the Arts.  All three are vital to what makes Oxford a special place to visit and live."

This year's Double Decker will be held this weekend, April 22-23!  We wanted to know what makes this event truly memorable.  Today, several Oxford residents tell us what they love about Double Decker!

“As the Double Decker Coordinator, It is very gratifying at the end of the day on Saturday being able to look out from the main stage and see the crowd and think, 'We planned this!' I also love to hear all the success stories from the art vendors, food vendors and store merchants.  It truly makes my job rewarding to have people in the community come up to me before and after Double Decker, telling us what a great festival we put on each year and how special and unique the festival is to our community."  Lee Ann Stubbs, Double Decker Coordinator with Visit Oxford

"Double Decker is truly one of my favorite weekends of the year. The whole event is such a celebration of what makes Oxford and Mississippi special -- great music, delicious food, amazing artistic talent, and friends & families. It's like a giant reunion. So many people come back to Oxford for the weekend so you never know who you'll run into or meet!"  Emily Ferris, Oxford Resident

"It always fun to see the festival come to fruition after months of hard work by our entire Visit Oxford team and particularly our Double Decker Coordinator, Lee Ann Stubbs. Our office has a great partnership working with other City of Oxford departments and it’s always fun to collaborate on the festival as the festival is a loved event by citizens and visitors alike!"  Mary Allyn Hedges, Director of Visit Oxford

"Double Decker is such a special Oxford tradition. There is no better place to experience an arts festival than Downtown Oxford - the atmosphere makes it such a fun event. Whether you come for the music, the art or the food, or a little bit of everything, it's hard to argue that is isn't one of the most fun days to be in Oxford."  Mary-Kathryn Herrington, Oxford Resident

"As a team member at Visit Oxford my favorite part of the festival each is hearing the success stories from Art Vendors, Food Vendors and Store merchants.  We work hard to make the festival enjoyable for visitors and the community but hearing the economic impact is truly gratifying."  Kinney Ferris, Assistant Director of Visit Oxford

We hope to see all of you in Oxford this weekend!  For more information on Double Decker, please visit the website here!  To learn more about the charming city of Oxford, we encourage you to view the Visit Oxford website!