WEll, I have now been in Richmond for a little over two weeks. The first week was nice in that my sister, Kathleen, was here. We did lots of organizing in our apartment and cleaning ( I love doing that stuff!), grocery shopping, shopping for essentials for the apartment, and of course some shopping for us! I mean, come on, a huge mall and lots of department stores within miles, what girl wouldn't do that! In doing all this, I learned how to navigate the town, with the help of my GPS of course. We even ventured onto highways to figure them out. I have to say the most frustrating thing that week was the second day when we put in a store we were looking for into the GPS. It told us it was 11 miles away, when in actuality it was 19 miles plus 2 tolls and then it ended up to not even exist! We were beyond frustrated, and I think, to top it off. we were not on a good side of town either! Well, a classic example of living and learning:)
The day Kathleen left was very sad. We drove 90 miiles to meet my dad who was vacationing about 3 hours away with my mom and brother. We were each driving a short distance to meet so Kathleen could finish up vacation with them then head home. In driving highway 95 north toward DC we realized it was a very bad idea. On a saturday morning, beginning our journey at 9am, it took us 6 hours to drive 180 miles total! Little did we know this highway is a bad idea to drive on weekends because all the tourists are out driving to DC and Alexandria. So, coming home, we sat and sat going 10 miles an hour for like 2 hours!! it was awful. I have to say people up here do NOT know how to merge onto a highway from a carpool lane ( stupid idea I must say). However, everyone made it back safe and sound, I was very sad, but happy to be out of the traffic! That night we took Tyler to Dominick's boss's apt complex to go swimming and bar b que with his family. It was Tyler's first time in pool and he did awesome. It was also the same night we discovered his 2 top teeth coming through! Lots to be thankful for!
Last Monday, our good friend, Fr. Joe Post drove up with all of Tyler's furniture and other belongings that we needed from our home. He is such a wonderful friend who has been through a lot in our lives and our move across the country is one more thing he wanted to help out with! For that we are forever grateful! So, he arrived Monday afternoon and stayed till Wednesday afternoon. Again, it was very nice to have a familiar face around. He and I took Tyler downtown Richmond on Tuesday and tried to navigate and find our way around. We ended up going to the State Capitol and walking around the main street area, eating lunch at a cool Brewery. We also frequented the huge mall and then made our way home to unwind after a long and fun day. We met up with Dominick for lunch Wednesday so Fr. Joe could see where he works, then Fr. Joe headed back west. After he left it hit me that we are here to stay. Others will come and go for visists, but this has become our new home. It was a hard rest of the day, but I made it through.
The next day I decided it was time to get to know Dominick's boss's wife and her two kids who are ages 6 and 2. I called her and Tyler and I spent the day with them driving around, going to the park, and to lunch. She told me that is what she has been doing is just driving around a lot during the day to find places and figure out the city. They, too uprooted their lives in St. Louis and moved here for a better opportunity. Its nice to go through this with someone else who feels the same way. Its been hard on all of us, but we are slowly getting adjusted. Its nice to have friends here now. Instead of just sitting in our apt that friday night, we went over to their apt with two other ladies from St. louis who also work here now and we all ordered pizza and played board games. On saturday we ran a lot of errands and then went to a Christmas in July festival at the Short Pump mall which was fun- lots of music and activities for kids. We then took Tyler swimming. It was a nice family day! That Sunday, we ventured into the city to attend mass at a Catholic church that was recommended to us by my brother's friend. It was very traditional, even some parts in latin. We felt a little out of our element, but met a very nice guy with a little baby as well who said its a great parish. We may give it another chance. After that, we came home and I got to take a nap while Tyler napped. It was so nice and peaceful. We then went to the park with Dom's boss's family to play soccer and walk around, so nice and fun.
So, as you can see, we are slowly getting out in our new world here in Virginia. There is still lots to see and do, but we have lots of time to explor it all! Ill write more as we do more. So, stay tuned, lots more to come! Enjoy,
Bridgette
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
We are Here!!!
For those of you who have been looking for a new post, I am sorry it has taken me over a week! I am not the best at this blogging thing ( especially when I dont remember my user and password!!!). But, I am hoping now that I have been here a week and am somewhat settled ( will I ever be completely settled, very debatable!), I hope to update more frequently.
So, I have been in Richmond, Va since last Tuesday, July 14, 2009. The trip was quite the experience. Traveling 830 miles alone is a long journey, doing it with a 5 month old is a whole other story! Thank goodness I had my wonderful sister/bestfriend, Kathleen with me the whole way! Monday was a hard day. I had to figure out how to pack my jeep liberty with a whole lot of stuff, had to do a once over on my house that I was leaving for who knows how long, and had to run some errands. By the time we got going, it was already 11:45 eastern time. I was already exhausted and had a 6 hour drive ahead of us. For the most part, it went fine. Tyler adapted to the car quite well and slept a lot of the way. When we stopped to eat or get gas, I had to feed Ty and change his diaper and that is a long process! Then hitting rush hour traffic in a big city like Lexington, KY doesnt help the patience of a 5 month old either!! We finally made it to our hotel , checked in, headed to dinner then called it an early night. Thank goodness Tyler cooperated and slept very well! While Tuesday was a longer day of driving, it went soo much quicker. Tyler slept so much more, so we drove a lot further and limited our stop time.
We made it to our apartment by 3:45 pm, where Dom met us! It was soo nice to reunite with him after 8 long days. Tyler was so happy to see Daddy and Daddy was so excited to see his son! It was a precious moment for any mother to witness:) We unloaded the car quickly then Dominick took us for a tour of our neighborhood. I must say one of the greatest features of our community is that there is sooooooooooooooooooooooo much shopping within 2 miles of our apartment. From a huge outdoor shopping mall complete with train rides for the kiddos, to a Super Walmart ( my mom will LOVE this!), to Target, to Kohls, to every restaurant imaginable! I am in heaven!
The biggest adjustment thus far is the size of the apartment. Don't get me wrong, it is a very nice complex, decorated completely to my liking, but you can stand in our dining/living area, do a 360 and there is our whole apartment. Coming from our spacious townhouse in St. Louis with 3 levels, this is gonna be a little different! Thank goodness for all the closet space and storage and great organizational skills that I have been blessed with.
So, having been here one week now, I can say I feel a little more comfortable with my surrounding. Having a GPS has been a must and become my new best friend. I have ventured onto highways, gone downtown, done a few tourist things, and tons of shopping. The hardest thing was on Saturday when I had to say good bye to my sister. She was such a great help for the first few days and leaving her was very hard. I am gonna miss her, but know I will see her soon.
So, as it stands, I am now in my new home, adjusting to life in Richmond, Va. There is so much for me to learn and I welcome all of it with open arms. While I still feel like I am on an extended vacation, I am hoping it will continue to sink in that I am in a new city with my family and I need to make the most of it. I welcome change, as difficult as it may be, and hope to learn so much about myself, my family, and this new experience, all at the same time! Stay tuned everyone, Richmond hasn't seen anything just yet!!
Bridgette
So, I have been in Richmond, Va since last Tuesday, July 14, 2009. The trip was quite the experience. Traveling 830 miles alone is a long journey, doing it with a 5 month old is a whole other story! Thank goodness I had my wonderful sister/bestfriend, Kathleen with me the whole way! Monday was a hard day. I had to figure out how to pack my jeep liberty with a whole lot of stuff, had to do a once over on my house that I was leaving for who knows how long, and had to run some errands. By the time we got going, it was already 11:45 eastern time. I was already exhausted and had a 6 hour drive ahead of us. For the most part, it went fine. Tyler adapted to the car quite well and slept a lot of the way. When we stopped to eat or get gas, I had to feed Ty and change his diaper and that is a long process! Then hitting rush hour traffic in a big city like Lexington, KY doesnt help the patience of a 5 month old either!! We finally made it to our hotel , checked in, headed to dinner then called it an early night. Thank goodness Tyler cooperated and slept very well! While Tuesday was a longer day of driving, it went soo much quicker. Tyler slept so much more, so we drove a lot further and limited our stop time.
We made it to our apartment by 3:45 pm, where Dom met us! It was soo nice to reunite with him after 8 long days. Tyler was so happy to see Daddy and Daddy was so excited to see his son! It was a precious moment for any mother to witness:) We unloaded the car quickly then Dominick took us for a tour of our neighborhood. I must say one of the greatest features of our community is that there is sooooooooooooooooooooooo much shopping within 2 miles of our apartment. From a huge outdoor shopping mall complete with train rides for the kiddos, to a Super Walmart ( my mom will LOVE this!), to Target, to Kohls, to every restaurant imaginable! I am in heaven!
The biggest adjustment thus far is the size of the apartment. Don't get me wrong, it is a very nice complex, decorated completely to my liking, but you can stand in our dining/living area, do a 360 and there is our whole apartment. Coming from our spacious townhouse in St. Louis with 3 levels, this is gonna be a little different! Thank goodness for all the closet space and storage and great organizational skills that I have been blessed with.
So, having been here one week now, I can say I feel a little more comfortable with my surrounding. Having a GPS has been a must and become my new best friend. I have ventured onto highways, gone downtown, done a few tourist things, and tons of shopping. The hardest thing was on Saturday when I had to say good bye to my sister. She was such a great help for the first few days and leaving her was very hard. I am gonna miss her, but know I will see her soon.
So, as it stands, I am now in my new home, adjusting to life in Richmond, Va. There is so much for me to learn and I welcome all of it with open arms. While I still feel like I am on an extended vacation, I am hoping it will continue to sink in that I am in a new city with my family and I need to make the most of it. I welcome change, as difficult as it may be, and hope to learn so much about myself, my family, and this new experience, all at the same time! Stay tuned everyone, Richmond hasn't seen anything just yet!!
Bridgette
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
A new beginning for the Brereton's
Hello everyone. I want welcome you to my blog. I never thought I would be a so-called "blogger" but with our new move underway, I figure this would be a great way for family and friends to follow our lives to the beautiful ( or so we hear) Richmond, Va.
Some may be wondering, why there, why are you uprooting your wonderful life in St. Louis, MO, surrounded by such a loving family and many great friends to move 840 miles away to a foreign place. Well, I can tell you this was by no means an easy decision, in fact one of the hardest we have ever had to make, but it is a career opportunity for my husband, Dominick, that we felt we could not pass up. The quote that I think fits me best is "nothing in life that is good is ever easy". I believe God is guiding us on this journey for a reason, and why we may not have an answer just yet, I feel we will soon find out.
Here is where we are so far: Dominick left for Richmond, Va on July 4, 2009. It was not at all easy saying good-bye to him, not because Tyler and I will not be reunited with him for 10 days, but because it was the last time we would all be together in our first home. The home we started our married life in and the first home of our first child, Tyler. While we were here less than 3 years, there are many fond memories, and those will never be forgotten! Right now, we are in the process of trying to sell our home, everyone please pray it goes quick. Tyler and myself will leave for our new home ( an apartment) in Richmond, Va on Monday, July 13, 2009. My wonderful sister, Kathleen, will accompany us on this trip, which I truly appreciate. I definately could not do it alone.
So, for the next 7 days I am trying to care for a 5 month old and pack up the essentials that we need right away. Luckily, Dominick's new company is moving us to Richmond on their dime and putting us up in a fully furnished apartment for 6 months. So, we have time to get everything there! We are just packing our cars with all the necesseties for the next few months until all our furniture and other belongings are brought to us. Thank God I am as organized as I am or the task of trying to "pack" could be a daunting one. I think I can handle it just fine. For all of those that know me well, you know I LOVE to organize and I have to say I have had fun buying all the fun containers for keeping everything in order!
I am not a huge writer, not too witty or probably grammatically correct in the least. However, this new journey is something that is so huge and will be a big change and so I figure blogging could be a good way to share with others what I am going through ( I am a clinical social worker, so I see this as my therapy I guess:) ). I hope you all will follow along as I post and share our new adventure as a family in Richmond, VA. I will try to be timely and also post pics as I become able to do so.
All I ask for is prayers. There is so much that is unknown for us at this point. We are taking a huge leap of faith and hoping it all turns out for the best. If we have all our family and friends support and prayers, I feel we can get through the rough parts. Thanks for being the wonderful people you are in our lives. I look forward to sharing our journey with you all.
bridgette
Some may be wondering, why there, why are you uprooting your wonderful life in St. Louis, MO, surrounded by such a loving family and many great friends to move 840 miles away to a foreign place. Well, I can tell you this was by no means an easy decision, in fact one of the hardest we have ever had to make, but it is a career opportunity for my husband, Dominick, that we felt we could not pass up. The quote that I think fits me best is "nothing in life that is good is ever easy". I believe God is guiding us on this journey for a reason, and why we may not have an answer just yet, I feel we will soon find out.
Here is where we are so far: Dominick left for Richmond, Va on July 4, 2009. It was not at all easy saying good-bye to him, not because Tyler and I will not be reunited with him for 10 days, but because it was the last time we would all be together in our first home. The home we started our married life in and the first home of our first child, Tyler. While we were here less than 3 years, there are many fond memories, and those will never be forgotten! Right now, we are in the process of trying to sell our home, everyone please pray it goes quick. Tyler and myself will leave for our new home ( an apartment) in Richmond, Va on Monday, July 13, 2009. My wonderful sister, Kathleen, will accompany us on this trip, which I truly appreciate. I definately could not do it alone.
So, for the next 7 days I am trying to care for a 5 month old and pack up the essentials that we need right away. Luckily, Dominick's new company is moving us to Richmond on their dime and putting us up in a fully furnished apartment for 6 months. So, we have time to get everything there! We are just packing our cars with all the necesseties for the next few months until all our furniture and other belongings are brought to us. Thank God I am as organized as I am or the task of trying to "pack" could be a daunting one. I think I can handle it just fine. For all of those that know me well, you know I LOVE to organize and I have to say I have had fun buying all the fun containers for keeping everything in order!
I am not a huge writer, not too witty or probably grammatically correct in the least. However, this new journey is something that is so huge and will be a big change and so I figure blogging could be a good way to share with others what I am going through ( I am a clinical social worker, so I see this as my therapy I guess:) ). I hope you all will follow along as I post and share our new adventure as a family in Richmond, VA. I will try to be timely and also post pics as I become able to do so.
All I ask for is prayers. There is so much that is unknown for us at this point. We are taking a huge leap of faith and hoping it all turns out for the best. If we have all our family and friends support and prayers, I feel we can get through the rough parts. Thanks for being the wonderful people you are in our lives. I look forward to sharing our journey with you all.
bridgette
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