All five of my kids are musical and can sing and play the piano to some degree, and I have fun memories of every one of them singing and dancing around our house. There has always been music.

My oldest (daughter, McKaya) has a beautiful singing voice and can pick out harmonies really well. She had the most clear-as-a-bell sound when she was only 3 years old and could sing perfectly on tune.

My second (son, Hunter) can also sing, play the piano and is self-taught on the guitar. He quit piano lessons after he layed under the bench for an hour and wouldn’t practice when he was nine, but then on his own picked piano back up when he was 15 and got proficient enough to play the hymns on piano….and play some cool tunes on the guitar.

My youngest (Brigham) plays the piano and the violin and is a diligent practicer and fast learner. Since learning the violin, his singing voice has also taken off. It’s been fun to hear him join in with his siblings, especially now that his voice is lower. He sounds just like his brothers!

I have taught all of my children that it is their responsibility to develop any gift or talent they are given and to do their part and help fill the world with love and light. I am grateful that they are trying to do that!

My 3rd and 4th kids – Benson and Taylee – in addition to singing and playing piano, came with an extra gift of musical composition. They are the kids in our home who have done the most performing around our town and have also began to create their own music, and so I’m leaving them a little space on my site to help share what they are creating. It’s far more amazing than anything I ever wrote at their age. I predict more will come in the future.

You may have heard the most about Benson since he has recorded on several of my songs and written and produced a few of his own. You’ll find him on Youtube and Spotify and all that. He plays entirely by ear and can hardly read a stitch of music, despite trying to teach him. If you subscribe to my emails, you’ll learn more about how music started for Benson and the health journey he was on. He was given a true gift of singing at a young age and has inspired many with his angelic sound. Music played a huge role during many difficult years – and his gift is how we have balanced the trials and with an abundance of joy!

Taylee, just 18 months younger than Benson, has stuck with the piano lessons the longest. She also plays the ukulele and writes beautiful songs that have deep lyrics and layers of poetry. Lots of her piano instrumentals have a gorgeous classical feel, and she is beginning to score her compositions so others can play them. She even wrote a piano/cello duet in her last year of high school that was performed with one of her good friends at an event in our small town. She has been taught the piano by the same teacher who taught and believed in me, and they have developed a special friendship – as well as received some extra coaching and cheerleading while writing her original songs.

Under the umbrella of “musical gifts”, we have an array in our family, and music has been a big part of our home. It’s wonderful when all five get together and sing in harmony. We are far from the Von Trapp family, but sometimes we used to pretend to be while travelling in the car on family vacations!