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| Our feisty 15 month old! |
Dear Family and Friends,
We hope you are having a wonderful summer so far. I find it hard to believe that August is just around the corner, but I guess time flies when you are happy and having fun.
Joey celebrated his 30th birthday on July 2nd. I don't think he was too excited about turning 30, but many people say their best years were in their 30's, so let's hope that turns out to be true. I cooked Joey a special birthday dinner...Yes, it's true... I cooked HIM a dinner! For those of you who know me well, I do not have much talent in the kitchen. Normally Joey takes care of meals. However, I persevered, and the dinner actually turned out pretty well. We finished it off with a delicious birthday cake baked for Joey by a friend from church.
We had a fun and eventful 4th of July this year. Clara and I walked in the annual Stonington Borough parade behind bagpipers and war heroes. Actually, I walked and Clara rode in her stroller which was decorated very patriotically in red, white and blue. Clara wore her adorable patriotic dress. The parade ended at the town green with a reading of the Declaration of Independence. This year Joey decided to add something new to the borough festivities by offering a free, 30 minute program of patriotic music on the organ at Calvary Church. Joey played some Sousa marches among other things, and the church was nicely decorated. We weren't sure what the turn out would be like since the concert immediately followed the parade, but surprisingly we had a full house. There were so many people that the upstairs balcony was completely full and some people were forced to stand at the back of the church. The event turned out to be a huge success, and many people from the community attended. Joey's "Organ Fireworks" may turn out to be an annual 4th of July borough tradition!
Clara turned 15 months old on July 20th. She is now in the 80th percentile for height, and the 60th percentile for weight for her age. She is incredibly active now. She is walking and running and absolutely loves to dance. Joey and I were recently at a mall walking past stores with Clara holding each of our hands. As we passed a store with loud rock music blaring out of the entrance, Clara dropped our hands and began to shake her little behind to the music. It was so cute and she caught the attention of several people around us. The most interesting thing about Clara's dancing, I think, is the fact that she changes her motions based on the type of music she hears. She can go from smooth, ballet type moves to stomping her feet, clapping and shaking her behind. I am so happy that she loves to dance. It's good for her body and good for her musical development. Clara also loves the beach. She can sit and play with sand for hours, and she really likes the water and waves as well.
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| Shopping in the house for toys! (My way of teaching Clara to clean up! Haha!) |
This past Friday Joey flew to England to accompany the Anglican Singers on their tour of the U.K. They are mostly staying in Bristol and are performing services at several churches in the area. Joey will also accompany a choir from the Hartford Cathedral at the end of the tour for several of their services. We were sorry to see him go, but he will only be gone until August 6th. It was so hard when he had to be in Europe for 5 weeks last summer for his concert tour. I'm thankful that this is a relatively short trip. Meanwhile, my parents are here visiting and helping me take care of Clara. Last week my aunt and uncle from Virginia came up to visit. Along with some close friends, we all celebrated my parents' 34th wedding anniversary. It's always great to have family here, and we appreciate their willingness to come see us.
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| People gathering in front of the church and our house after Joey's July 4th concert. |
We are finally settled into our new home "Calvary House". We really love the house. We are using most of our own furniture and have been able to decorate and personalize the house they way we want to. As you can see in the picture below, we are living steps away from church. People ask us sometimes if we feel a lack of privacy living right on church grounds. I have to say we really haven't had a problem with that at all. People know we are living in the house and are very respectful of our privacy. Also, the windows in the house are very well insulated. Sometimes there will be groups outside the front of the house or using the back yard, and we don't even realize they are out there because we can't hear them. And, during down times the house and its surroundings are so quiet and peaceful. We love to sit out on our back deck and look at the stars or watch sailboats go by on their way to Watch Hill. Clara loves her room. it's a darling room at the back of the house with views of the garden and the ocean. She also loves the backyard because she has her own private playground. Well, it actually belongs to the nursery school, but during the summer it feels as though it is all hers. We feel so lucky to be able to live in Calvary House and we so appreciate the people who helped to prepare and update the house for us. The amount of family time we have because Joey doesn't have to commute to work is priceless. I will have to post some interior pictures, but for now I have included some pictures of the back yard as well as a view of the front of the house seen above.
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| View from the window of our eat-in kitchen |
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| "Clara's" playground |
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| Our tomato plants are doing well so far! |
Well, that's the news for now. Have a wonderful summer and watch for another post in August! (My goal is to write one post per month. We'll see how I do.)
Be well!
Erin, Joey and Clara