Kelly writes: Hi Shelly :) I have to say that Christina is extremely blessed to have you as her mother. I have just read some of your diary entries and answers to fans questions - you sound very wise and down-to-earth. What I'd like to ask is; how did Christina start singing professionally? How did she get her record deal? Also, how did Christina get a spot on The Mickey Mouse Club? How did you both find out about auditions for the show? Thanks.

Shelly: Hi Kelly. First of all, thank you so much for your sweet words. I'm very touched. Thank you.

Christina started getting asked to sing at events where they would pay her at age 7. She was always asked to sing at weddings, banquets, tons of political events, etc, starting at around 7. As she grew, local TV shows and news shows would do special segments on her and it would be aired around Pittsburgh. Then at age 11, she was on MMC, which was aired on Disney channel alone. After that, she landed a lead song on the 'Mulan' soundtrack, and was signed to RCA records all in the same week. The rest is history.

As for MMC itself, we saw a tiny ad in the paper announcing an open audition for anyone in Pittsburgh wanting to try out for MMC. The casting director in charge, Matt Cassella, was fabulous. We still keep in touch with him. There were over 400 kids that showed up, and we were there all day, as one by one, they were all cut except for Christina and I believe 6 other kids. After that, more and more kids from around the states and Canada were cut, until there were just a handful of finalists left. Then there was an MMC camp, where the finalists all met at Disney and went through auditions and screen tests. Final choices were made there of who would be on the show.