My classes:
Masters of Bluegrass
Performance & Promotion
Modern Performance Technique
Pickin' On the Plains Ensemble
Bluegrass Ensemble
Celtic Ensemble
Private Dulcimer Lessons x2
Private Piano Lesson
Amber's classes:
Masters of Bluegrass
Video Production Technology
Modern Performance Technique
Ear-training & Sight-singing
Bluegrass Ensemble
Celtic Ensemble
Private Fiddle Lessons x2
Private Piano Lesson
And they call this school!!!
My favorite class so far is Performance & Promotion. We've talked about a lot of issues facing professional performing musicians and how to promote yourself. The teacher is a professional musician plus has a business degree. Amber's favorite class so far is her fiddle lessons. Her teachers are really challenging her and making her practice.We got our first gig here today. On Saturday, we'll be playing for a lady's 106th birthday party at a local nursing home. We have to call tomorrow to confirm the details, but it's pretty exciting to have a real gig!
We have also been making it a priority to do something fun and silly everyday. One day we played frisbee, one day we walked to the pond, last night I baked carob cupcakes, & tonight we drew with sidewalk chalk in front of our door. Amber posted a picture of our fine artwork, so check it out.
Thanks for keeping up with us and praying for us this week. I had a rough day yesterday; I only ended up having one class because of the re-arranging and I got rather bored. We were also concerned about what we would do with our long Labor-day weekend, but we have found some fun things to do in the area. Plains, TX has a Watermelon Festival on Saturday, so I think we will go there after we play at the nursing home. Then we're going to have a "chip, dip, & music party" here at our apartment on Monday afternoon. With church on Sunday, house-keeping, laundry, and shopping for next week's groceries, we should stay busy all weekend.
~Enjoy Life~
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( 2.9 / 58 )We're here! We're finally in Levelland, Texas at South Plains College. Our long-awaited dream is finally coming true!
We started out on Monday evening after Mom & Dad got off work and drove to our cousin's house in Modoc to spend the night. Tuesday we got up early for the remaining 7 hour drive to Levelland. We got checked into our apartment and started moving boxes in right away.
We spent Wednesday running errands around town with Mom & Dad. We got some furniture at Goodwill, met with Debbie and all of the music faculty, got a local checking account, spent a wad of cash on furnishings, and cooked our first meal in our own kitchen. It was a big, busy day, but so productive and wonderful. Everyone at the music department seemed truly excited to see us. Amber first visited SPC almost 2 years ago, and we had both decided to come by the spring of '07, so they've been expecting us here for a while. We're excited for classes to actually start on Monday!
Mom & Dad left early yesterday morning, so we've been on our own for TWO days now! We all cried when they left, but we've been doing okay. We all know that this is where we are supposed to be, but it is hard to have our family split up. Yesterday afternoon, Amber & I went and played for Beth, the banjo & bluegrass teacher here. I will be taking a 1/2 hr. lesson from her each week. We ended up playing and talking with her for almost 2 hours. She was very encouraging, and helped us find some good resources in the Levelland/Lubbock area. After meeting with her, we drove to Lubbock to finish up our apartment shopping. We found a really neat shop called "World Market" that will probably become our favorite place to shop-- they had all sorts of stuff from all around the world. We got some fun food to try this week.
Today was long. There isn't much going on around campus yet, so things are really quiet. We did some craft projects to spruce up our room. Amber is posting pictures, so be sure to check out the Picture page! This evening, we found some other commercial music majors and jammed for a couple hours. They were playing all kinds of different stuff-- acoustic rock, country, folk-- and we got them to do a couple old-time songs with us.
We don't have many plans for the weekend and our roommates aren't around. Maybe we'll learn some new tunes and finish up cleaning/decorating our apartment. We're planning to visit the Farmer's Market in the morning, and maybe check out some yard sales. Then we're going to bake an apple pie and share it with our Apartment Director, Miss Helen. Sunday we'll find a church to visit.
Here's our new contact info if you feel like writing/calling:
Erin & Amber Rogers
1401 S. College Ave.
Smallwood Apt. 101
Levelland, TX 79336
806-897-5245
Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for your prayer support as we start this new adventure! God bless!
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( 2.9 / 58 )...it's off to school we go! We leave tonight as soon as Dad gets home from work. We're driving about 4 hours tonight and the other 7 hours to Levelland, TX tomorrow. The goal is to get there in time to check in and start moving into our new apartment on Tuesday. Mom & Dad will have all day Wednesday with us to set up, arrange, decorate, and shop for the apartment! We'll be posting pictures, and maybe even video, as we go.
I'm really, really excited about finally going to school. Everything is in place for an awesome year of studying music and living life to its fullest at South Plains College. I'm a bit nervous about all the changes, and certainly sad about leaving Mom & Dad behind in Kansas. I also have quite a bit of packing left, so I better run before Sister starts cracking the whip!
Say an extra prayer or two for Amber, please. She has not been feeling very well this week. She has a consult with a health professional this afternoon. She's been really frustrated that she hasn't felt well for her last week/weekend at home, so she could use some extra prayers and encouragement. Thanks!
Next post will be from Levelland, Texas, ya'll!
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( 3 / 55 )Erin and I are getting ready for our last weekend at home for a while. We have had a really busy couple of weeks visiting people, going to doctor appointments, and finishing up everything we wanted to get done.
Being the emotional mess that I usually am, I've had a few good cries about leaving home. In many ways I can't wait to leave but in many more ways it breaks my heart to think about going. Our family unit is strong, but it is getting ready to change. I don't like change, never have, but I think this is going to be a change for the better. Hard to leave MY house though, years of school work, LOTS of 4-H home improvement projects, hours of happy conversations, music music music, learning how to cook, how to do the laundry,all of my animals and even how to sew. It is bitter sweat to leave. I'm heading out more prepaired than I was last year. It is really hard to believe that I'm actually going to school. After being crushed last year I hadn't let myself think about going. It was a huge hurt, one I didn't want to face so I didn't. Now, the dream is coming true, I can think about it again, put the hurts aside and rise above.
I still can't put into words what I've felt over the last year, one of these days I'll be ready.......Erin gets to speak at church on Sunday, I might actually have to listen to this one, I've skipped them all so far, not wanting to remember anything about the last year.
We are NOT packed yet, going to try and get that done tomorrow. It is HARD, I have a lot of cool junk that won't be needed in an appartment. I mean it was REALLY hard to sort through my 14 decks of cards and only pick 2! I had to ask MOM for HELP! It was horrific, and now it is these bags, I have soo many cool bags, but they can't go...so I'll choose...but I might cry. : )
That is enough said for now, we leave on Monday....Have a great weekend.
SIS Amber
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( 3 / 50 )It was one year ago today that I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. What a year it has been! There have been many hard days, but so many blessings in the midst of them. My faith has been strengthened, my understanding of who God is has grown, and I have had many opportunities I otherwise might have missed out on. It is amazing to look back over the past year and see the way God has provided for me and my family. He faithfully gave us the strength for each day, and He continues to do so.
As Amber wrote yesterday, we got great results from my CT scan. It was good to see my dr. and nurses again yesterday. I sure don't miss getting chemo, but I do miss seeing all of them. I had a wonderful group of people helping me get well! Here is a picture of me with Dr. Beck.
Today is a bitter-sweet day for me. I am both looking back upon the last year and looking forward toward the next year. Who knows what God may have in store for me, but I'm excited for each new day! It seems like the Lord is constantly opening new doors for me and I am doing my best to step through them.
One of the best things about the past year is the wonderful prayer support I received from SSSSOOOOO many people. I was blessed this past weekend to attend the Homeschool Alumni National Reunion where I got to meet many people who consistently prayed for me and encouraged me through this year. I cannot even describe the feeling of talking to someone you've never met, knowing they've been praying for you for a year. WOW! To all of you prayer warriors, THANK YOU! I cannot fully express my gratitude, but I know that I am here today, cancer free & healthy, because of your prayers. Praise God!
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