Raising music nerds: how I choose to musically educate.

You open the doors, you strap everyone in and by the time you hit reverse your kids are already happily chattering and debating over one thing: The soundtrack.

I guess I never thought about how controversial a car's soundtrack would be as a parent, or how much it would differ from family to family. I got on the subject with a friend a few weeks back and it got me thinking. She had said that she tried to always play christian radio while the kids are in the car but after a while, her kids get tired of it and ask for pop music.

I have to admit, I'm with the kids on this one. Christian radio stations can get so daunting for me. I think it's the fact that the music is mass-produced and lacking dynamics (highs and lows). It all just starts to run together to me and even though the messages are positive, I lose them sometimes in the monotonous 4 chord progressions that fill hours of the christian airwaves. 

I sat in a car with another friend who had classical music on and her two year old was incredibly content and calm. She smiled at me and said "This is the only station we agree on. He HATES it when I play country, but he tolerates this." 

All of these conversations going around in my head made me think: What do I do with my kids? When they were babies, I tried to expose them to the most amounts of different kinds of music that I could. I found that they gravitated more towards certain bands and certain albums. They don't particularly care for the jazz that I sometimes make them listen to, but they oblige it simply because introducing them to new music is something that they've done since they were inutero. It's as normal as breathing.

The thing about the radio is... they don't care that children are listening. When you turn the dials and start to hear the adult content that is in most songs it can make your stomach churn. So, as my kids have become more self aware, I've started to just make large playlists that I put on my phone for them. The playlists offer a wide-range of sounds. Some of them are songs from movies they love, some of them are (clean) pop songs. I also have a few albums of christian pop songs that they like equally and, of course, some new indie songs that I deem worthy enough for my kids to listen to.

One of my favorite things to do while listening is teaching my kids about the music. I challenge them sometimes to tell me what instruments they hear, or if they can feel a build up or a slow down. We can just as easily belt out the lyrics to Frozen as we can to Radiohead. I love immersing them in the world of music that is out there. I don't want them to get stuck in that 4 pop song loop just because it's what people are listening to. I want them to be music pioneers; to know all kinds of different music and where it comes from and, eventually, how to play it.

Maybe it's controlling of me to meticulously spend hours creating playlists of music on my phone. But you spend so much of your day in the car, it might as well be a positive and educational experience. If I don't teach them about music, then who will? Miley Cyrus? Lady Gaga? No thanks I got this one ladies. 

The funny thing about being a music nerd is... it's actually kind of cool to be a music nerd.

Our vow renewal: 10 years and still in love

I know that there have been a lot of naysayers out there about vow renewals. I realize that being married for 10 years is nothing in the grand scheme of forever after. But for our vow renewal, it wasn't really about having a new "wedding" although there were many things we did differently. It wasn't even about starting over, it was about acknowledging that ten years later, after a lot of life lived in a short amount of time, that we still genuinely love (and like) each other.

It was also about strengthening the commitment we made to each other when we hadn't really experienced the bumps and bruises of life. When we couldn't even possibly understand the promises we were making to each other, or how they would be tested. In Ten short years we have had a whole lot of life come crashing down on us and still, with God's help, we have remained united. This day among family and friends was a reminder of that.

Our kids were also a huge part of the equation. They have asked us so many times to recount our wedding. We felt that it was important for them to see that we are in love, that we are committed to one another and to our family. We tried to include them in every way we knew how. Making sure that they understood how valuable their presence was and the reasoning behind it.

We had them each walk us down the aisle and then walk back with us when it was all finished. We wanted them to know that this was also about them.

 

We have always loved the charm of the Diestelhorst Bridge in Redding and originally wanted it to be the charming backdrop to our festivities. When the opportunity came up, we rented the bridge out so that we could seal our vows at sunset with this being our view.

The theme was rustic charm, and there was lots of it on the bridge. We had white painted shutters as the "alter" and a burlap wreath along with lanterns and white flowers for added charm.

We said our vows in front of a small group of close family and friends as the sun was setting and were blessed by them also making the commitment to pray for and encourage us in our marriage.

 And they all prayed for us, which, if you have ever experienced is overwhelming. We felt very loved.

We wanted to remember everyone who came, so we had them each frame themselves overlooking the river.

And the consensus was made that we pretty much have the goofiest and most fun family and friends ever.


After that... it was time to party. And party we did. We moved to the end of the bridge where our rustic reception was awaiting us. Complete with down home treats and a Smores bar! I enjoyed crafting many of the items used for the renewal and especially took an interest in the chalk marker typography used for the menu. Super fun! And my dear friend Corrie comissioned her husband to make some awesome rustic crates for the event out of pallets.

And, of course, we included bugspray because when you're on the river you can't go without!

 

 

We also created a little snapshot scavenger hunt to encourage guests to snap pictures we might have missed.

We never got to have a first dance the first time around, so it was fun to have one this time. We had fun making a spotify playlist of music for the reception together. It kept the party lively.

As the sun began to retreat into the mountains, the party took on a new romantic glow. With a breathtaking view like that it was the perfect setting for slow dancing.

We also let our 6-year-old son have a camera to give his own perspective of the ceremony. I was amazed when I looked at them just what it was that he saw. Here are a few of my favorites:

It was magical. And then it came to a close. We loved every minute of it and were so happy that we were able to celebrate with the ones we love. I enjoyed sharing this with you as it was a labor of 6 months of hot glue, paint, and love. I hope you enjoyed it as well.

The Perfect Picture

It's the holiday season and with it, of course, comes the annual family photo. When you have three small children, this is something that takes careful planning , lots of work and a whole lot of luck. I chose a color scheme that worked with out wardrobes, we talked about the setting and the timing. You know the usual things. When the day came, I spent hours ironing clothes and curling hair. I made sure the children napped and were fed. I did everything right. But still, we had that two-year-old.
It seems like we've had a two-year-old in our house for as long as I can remember. It's not true really. I realize it's only been 3 years. But when you count the pre-2-year-old and the post-2-year-old and the fact that they were back to back to back, you get a whole lot of 2. The thing I have learned about 2 is that they really really don't like to cooperate during photoshoots. I thought this might be the year we moved past all that, but I was sorely mistaken.
Fast forward to a few weeks later when we finally got the pictures back. There were the adorable pictures of 2 smiling boys who were pros at this, and then the very small window of time in which the 2-year-old allowed her picture to be taken with a coy smirk. And then, there were the family pictures when Olivia had completely had enough.
Our wonderful photographer had given us several different shots to choose from, and then she added this little gem. I thought it curious that she would include this, as it seemed to me to be a crazy mess. Olivia had been very upset and so I started to quietly sing her favorite Little Mermaid Song to her. The boys and their dad started singing along and by the end, we were all belting out this ballad to try and make her crack.
                                      
And it was at this moment, that she decided to snap a picture of it all. No one was looking at the camera, it was not the perfect family picture I wanted to hang in my livingroom, but as I looked closer, I began to see what she saw in it. This is a picture of a moment of pure family love captured. There is warmth, there is honesty there is a real genuineness to it. This is us. It's not the subdued, statuesque family who obediently smile at the camera, it's who WE are. I have grown to really love this family picture. Sure, it's probably not the one I will put on our Christmas card, but it's the one I will treasure in my heart because this is where we are in our lives, and who we were and when I am old and gray, I can look back on this crazy mess of a picture and smile fondly at all the little personalities that were represented and the love that is so obviously displayed.
As I think back to all the photo shoots over the years, there is probably at least one of these moments in every family photoshoot we've had. The kind of moments I saw as throwaways that I'm now looking at in a totally new way. I'd like to share with you some of the REAL Warkentin moments captured in hopes that it might challenge you to enjoy the "throw aways" a little more and, who knows, maybe even put them on your christmas card this year!

  
    

                            Happy Holidays from the Warkentins