Faith Hill wants to become a First Lady

Faith Hill wants to become a First Lady -  not of the US, but of Tennessee.

The country singer says her husband Tim McGraw has political ambitions.

Hill, 40, says: "Tim has talked about maybe running for office, and I know how passionate he is about things;

"When he says he really wants to do something, he'll do it.

"I can't imagine what it would be like to be the First Lady of Tennessee. But who knows? I don't rule it out. It's dangerous to say never."

In an interview with US magazine, Self, Hill adds: "Right now, at 40, I feel so alive and blessed because of all the relationships I have.

"I'm really looking forward to everything."

The mum of three also says she makes an effort to keep the spark alive in her marriage to fellow country crooner, McGraw, also 40.

She says: "Sometimes Tim and I drown in the day-to-day pressure of our careers. "When we become impatient, we sometimes snap at each other because usually the people you treat the worst are the people who are closest to you.

"It's horrible. When that happens, we realise we need to be present for each other. He's really my best friend, and we just love being together.

"We're teaching the girls [daughters Gracie, 10, Maggie, nine, and Audrey, six] to respect the fact that their father and I sometimes need to go on dates.

"We'll say: 'We're going to go out alone. It's important for your father and me that we keep a little spark going'."

McGraw kept that spark going by surprising his wife to a 40th birthday celebration in the Greek islands in September.

Hill says family is important to the couple, who have been married for 11 years. Being a wife and a mother comes first for her - before her music career.

She says: "When I'm working in Nashville, my schedule is arranged around the girls' school schedule. "It's very structured and it's a really good family time for us.

"I deal with family things before I ever come to an interview or a photo session or before I perform. "If home is taken care of then I can go play and I can work. Tim and I are involved in their lives in a way that brings the best kind of joy."

McGraw also is keen for his wife to have time with her girlfriends.

Hill says: "Tim pushes me to have girl time. He knows I need it sometimes, just like he needs his boy time. "I think it's hard for mums to say: 'I need a break'.

"I've realise that even a quick lunch is rejuvenating, the friendship equivalent of a power nap. "Gaye Knight [Hill's best friend] has known me since we were 12-years-old - before anyone else knew me.

"She's honest with me about everything. She is one of the first people I talk to when things are tough. "She'll cry right along with me or make me laugh or get my mind off whatever's wrong. And then she'll always say: 'You just need to take a moment and pray about this'.

"She's strong that way. Martina [country singer Martina McBride] is a great friend too.
"Tim and I are real close with her and her husband, John. I always know I have their support."

This summer Hill didn't need her friends' support when a fan grabbed her husband's nether regions during a concert on the couple's Soul2Soul Tour.

A YouTube video showed the singer shouting at the woman: "Someone needs to teach you some class, my friend."

Commentators marvelled that Hill could make this comment mid-song without skipping a beat or getting out of breath. But her healthy lifestyle may explain why she was in such good shape. "We love Southern cooking," Hill says. "It's horrible for you - I mean, all the butter. As I get older, I feel so much better when I'm eating healthier food.

"I make sure we have fresh vegetables, even if we're cooking Southern recipes.

"Frequently the most difficult question of my day is: 'What are we having for dinner?'

"My mum, Edna, is always telling me to make out a menu for the week. "I've tried but it never seems to work. I'll be with the kids doing homework, trying to prepare dinner, and I'll get a call or have to check my e-mail, and the meal is screwed up.

"I have so much respect for working mothers, especially single mums. "On tour, Tim and I had a tradition of getting up, eating breakfast with the kids, then working out.

"Maggie, our nine-year-old, would come into the workout trailer while I'd be doing Pilates or yoga, and she'd do it no problem.

"I'd think: 'Girl, get outta here; you're not helping the situation'. "I get bored easily so I combine an hour on the elliptical trainer every day with about 50 minutes of Pilates and weights four times a week.

"I love Pilates because you have to focus or you'll hurt yourself - it takes my mind off everything else."

According to Hill she has much to be thankful for. She has two families - her biological one and her adopted parents. She says: "My [birth] mother got pregnant before she and my father were married.

"She was from a very strict home and felt, because the family was from a small town, it would be quite an embarrassment.

"So she and my dad ran off to Mississippi, gave birth to me, put me up for adoption and then moved back to Florida and stayed married.

"When I was in my 20s, my family helped me find my birth mother. "I'd just moved away from home and was at a time in my life when I had so many questions, like: 'Where does my artistic side come from?'

"Because it was a closed adoption, there were no medical records. "It took about three years to find her, and when I did, she told me I had a full biological brother, Zach, which is rare for someone who's adopted.

"She told me that when my brother was 15-months-old, my father was killed in a car accident. "She never remarried; she raised my brother by herself.

"When my birth mother passed away last January [2007], my adoptive mother told Zach that she'd adopt him too. "That's the kind of family I'm from."