Musical milestones and sharing what we love - Mackenzie's first single is on itunes!

I've always believed that one of the greatest things a parent can do is share what they love with their kids.  Unless you love Nickleback. Or selling crack. Then you should find something else to share.

My husband Jim and I shared what we loved with our kids as they grew up:

• Christian faith
• Music
• Generosity
• Golf (okay, that one's Jim's, not mine)
• Family time
• Intellectual pursuits
• Fitness (once again, mostly Jim's.  There's a theme here)

Some of those stuck and some of them didn't.  Music stuck on both of our kids, and I love that.  From the time they were born, Jim and I surrounded them with music.  Jim played them classic jazz recordings and I sang them lullabyes.  When they were pre-schoolers, we taught them our address, phone number and even how to spell their names to music.  We forced both of them to take piano lessons for a limited time, which only stuck with Mackenzie.  But they both grew up loving to sing and that is the best instrument of all because it is always with you.  And much easier to carry around than a piano.

+Mackenzie Elliott singing the National Anthem in Middle School

Both of our kids sang in church choirs, sports events, high school musicals and college a cappella groups.  One of my favorite musical memories is watching my son race up the bleacher steps to the announcer's booth to sing the National Anthem and then race back down to the field to play lacrosse. 

Today, Mackenzie releases her first single and it so exciting.  We LOVE it but we are biased; we pretty much love everything our kids do. We are celebrating her big accomplishment and our joy in the fact that music is an enduring heritage.  We tried to give our kids values that would last a lifetime.  I'm glad that music is one of those that made the cut.

You can buy her single for 99 cents on itunes here http://bit.ly/17Jnnki, if you want, it's called "You Got Me Good" and you can also see the lyric video on her youtube channel here http://www.youtube.com/user/kenzielynne91