Dear Friends and Family,
Some fun websites with information about the area where we will be living starting September:
Come visit us anytime!!!
Erin, Joey and Clara
June 30, 2011
June 22, 2011
Our Next Move: Calvary Church, Stonington, CT
Dear Friends and Family,
Starting August 1st Joey will begin a new job as organist/choir master at Calvary (Episcopal) Church in Stonington Borough, CT. Joey will commute to Stonington from our current home of Wallingford, CT during the month of August, and we will move to the borough beginning September 1st. Reverend Alfred Tisdale is the rector of Calvary Church and is one of the main reasons Joey was so drawn to Calvary. Reverend Tisdale is a wonderful person, and he and Joey share the same vision for the music program at Calvary. Joey and I are really looking forward to getting to know people in the church. So far the people we have met have been wonderful. One of the nice things about Joey's job is that the church will provide us with free housing. Because the borough is a small peninsula surrounded by ocean, it is a popular tourist destination and boasts million dollar seaside homes as well as historic homes. We would normally never be able to afford to live in the borough. However, the church will be giving us the rectory house (Calvary House) to live in which is located directly next to the church. (See picture above) Currently the rector and his wife live in the house and will continue to live there until they are able to sell their home in North Haven, CT and buy something in Stonington. Until they are able to move out of Calvary House, the church is renting us a beautiful home in the borough. Joey has always commented that it would be so ideal to be able to walk from home to work and now he will actually be able to do so. The church also has a music school and pre-school. Joey and I both hope to teach in the music school and Clara will be able to attend the pre-school when she is old enough. Many people from the church have commented that Stonington is a wonderful place to raise a family. There is a small beach located within five minutes from our house, and we can buy fresh seafood from the local farmer's market. Everything is within walking distance. Stonington is also located within 15 minutes of popular tourist destinations such as Mystic, Connecticut and Watch Hill, Rhode Island, so there are plenty of fun things to do when friends and family come to visit. We are planning to give a recital at the church sometime this fall in order to "introduce ourselves." We can't wait to start the next chapter of our life in Stonington. We couldn't ask for a better place to raise Clara. (We have already had babysitting offers, and we haven't even moved yet!). We will keep you updated and will hopefully be able to post some pictures of our new home once we move. Best wishes!
Erin, Joey and Clara
June 17, 2011
And he's off......
Dear friends and family,
Yesterday Joey left for a recital tour of England, Ireland and the Netherlands. He will also tour England with the children's choir from his current job in Fairfield, CT following his perfomances. The first stop on the recital tour is St. Paul's Cathedral in London. He will perform there this Sunday the 19th. It was very hard for Joey to have to say goodbye to his little Clara yesterday. I snapped a couple quick pictures of him with Clara shortly before he left which are shown above. We will have to celebrate father's day via Skype. We are proud of him though and wishing him a successful tour. If you are curious about the tour go to www.josephripka.com and you will find more detailed info as well as dates and times. Clara and I are hoping that the 5 weeks Joey is away will pass by quickly. At least my parents are here and able to help me out some during this time. I can't imagine doing it all by myself right now. Clara is enjoying more awake time during the day which is a lot of fun, but it means that she requires even more attention. She has a wonderful little personality and is a very happy baby. Joey's job situation is now finalized. The contract is signed and he will begin in August. I want to write a separate blog entry in order to go into greater detail about his new position, but I will go ahead and mention a few things. We will not be moving very far as it turns out. Joey's new job is located in Stonington Borough, CT. His new job fulfills a dream we have had for many years of living by the ocean. More importantly though, we are joining a wonderful, supportive church family in a parish where beautiful music is appreciated and celebrated. We are so excited and blessed to be able to start a new journey in Stonington. I promise I will elaborate more soon, but right now I have a baby to feed! Wishing you all a wonderful start to the summer!
Erin, Joey and Clara
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)