Friends and other blessings...

(Trying Columbian soda for the first time!!!!)

(Me, Mook and the king...!)

(Some really awesome gal pals...we were on our way to dinner!)

Hello dear readers! Welcome again to my journal:) I promised to add smaller entries more often, so here goes... I must say that one aspect of coming to school that I never pondered much over was that of making friends.In my mind, I saw myself studying music and practicing into the wee hours of the morning, and being solely focused on my work without regard to creating friendships and learning to rely on those closest around you. I have been so incredibly blessed in not only having the most wonderful roommate (her nickname is Mook!) , but also having the chance to be with so many other Christian young ladies on campus.

(Watching the stars and playing games at night on the beach!)

This past weekend, the Christian group here on campus-CRU- took a weekend retreat over in North Miami beach. The goal of this time was to allow all of the young believers on campus to have a chance to draw closer to God, to each other, and to the realization that we need the support that comes from being a part of God's family and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters...

These are just a few pictures that I took from this special weekend. Each photograph holds a beautiful memory for me and symbolizes the importance of having true friends. These young people are close to my heart, and are part of my family away from home...

Chapter One

Well, it's been some time since my last post. Needless to say, since moving to the Miami area and beginning school ,my world has been thrown into an uproar and has been slowly transforming into a lifestyle that I could never imagine possible for myself. My days are filled to the brim with music. Through theory, aural skills training, accompanying, and lessons (to name a few) I have begun developing a taste for what the life of a musician in the 21st century entails.

I have been working on revising a piano/voice duet that I wrote earlier last year for an upcoming concert at the U. (That's what we call the university of Miami!) I'll actually find out tomorrow whether or not my score was chosen by my professors for that particular performance. I am so excited!

One of the really neat opportunities I am having now is the chance to sing in one of the ladies'
choirs here at school: Cantilena. Our music selection is varied and fun and beautiful. I say all this because we just had our first conert to night and it was phenomenal.The pictures I am posting can give you an idea (!)

So far, my opportunities to share the gospel here on campus have been bountiful. There are so many ears that are willing to listen to the truth, and yet I find that often it is my own sin and selfishness that prevents (or slows me down) from being ready to share the word at any moment.

I realize that this message is a bit shorter that my previous entries, but I DO plan to post more often. Keep checking back for updates!!!

Love, Kate

To Illinois and Beyond...

I just got the official schedule for my upcoming week at the Illinois-Wesleyan Summer Composition Institute. Yes, I'm nervous, but excited,too! Everything from 20th century orchestral music to modern-day film composing is planned to be covered, as well as techniques and ways to develop compositional ideas. All paricipants will be writing a small piece for piano, cello, and flute while there, and at the end of the week it will be performed and recorded by faculty. Right now, I'm trying to get last minute preparations ready, as well as trying not to panic about switching planes during traveling. (I've heard way too many stories about missing flights) But I'm sure everything will be fine.
On Monday morning my dad and I took our trailer up to the Livestock Auction in hopes of finding the right cattle to add to our stock. We didn't see anything there that really persuaded us, so we just went about doing a handful of errands and getting ready for the soccer games that night. He and I coach my brother and sister's team, the Crew, and this will be our last week for the season. Several games had been rained out , so we're playing four to finish the season this week. Monday night, we won 9-0, and yesterday we won again, 7-1. Thursday and Friday will determine if we get to be undefeated this year, so we'll see what happens...
Mom and dad went up to Charlotte today to buy some clay so that my mom can turn more of her pottery (wow-is she an artist!) and tonight my siblings have piano lessons. I usually go too; however, tonight is my turn to milk our dairy cow Hershey, but I'll talk more of that later.