Our First Wedding Anniversary

One year ago, Adam and I experienced one of the best days of life. One year ago, our friends and family loved on us and supported us as we began a new stage of life. One year ago, Adam and I made a covenant with each other and with God to love and cherish each other 'til death do we part. One year ago, we said "I do." It's been an amazing year. I love you so much, Adam, and I pray for many more years together!!!



Adam and I spent yesterday in Boston proper. We had no schedule and no plan... just a short list of possibilities. The weather was pretty cloudy, so it was a cool day. We had such a great time! We drove in and parked at the Boston Common Garage which is located next to the Boston Public Garden. How cute are these "swan rides"?!

After seeing the Public Garden, we visited the Boston Public Library. It's HUGE and very beautiful. The John Hancock building is near the public library and it's also very impressive. There's also a large courtyard where we had lunch from a stand. I had a hot dog and Adam had "the true Boston experience" (according to our server) by eating a hot Italian sausage.

We then took the "T" to get to Harvard Square. The "T" is their Subway. They didn't ask me, but if they had I would have gently reminded them that the word "subway" begins with an "s"... just sayin ;) Adam did a wonderful job navigating us! The T was very busy and a little scary when it makes the screeching sounds. But it's relatively cheap and of course a great way to avoid driving in the city limits.

At Harvard Square, we visited the Curious George store and the Harvard bookstore. We also had ice cream at "J. P. Licks". (For the record, Curious George will be at the Curious George store next week. I wish we could take our nephew!)

I feel like I'm leaving things out, but this at least gives you a glimpse into our day! We also saw the U.S.S. Constitution museum, and the Constitution Marina (pictured below). We love being near the water and I especially enjoy seeing all the boats!

We took the picture below before having a bite from our wedding cake topper today. Let me just tell you, this poor cake survived for a whole year in our freezer... which included a two day trip in a cooler to Massachusetts. This cake was a trooper! But, alas, it's just a cake, people... It didn't taste very good! Haha. So we enjoyed the tradition, but chose not to indulge in very much of the cake ;)

Leftovers + Experiment = Success

I had NO idea how dinner would turn out tonight. We needed to finish some leftover taco meat, but we were missing a few "taco essentials"... And I just didn't want tacos :) So I used Pinterest to gather a few ideas and set out to experiment on my own!

First I boiled some macaroni noodles - in hind sight, there were probably too many noodles, but hey it was an experiment that turned out edible! I'm not complaining :) After they finished, I strained them, put them back in the pot and added the taco meat. Then I added a can of Rotel (undrained) and a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Lots of stirring took place and, once it was all heated through, dinner was served! It was pretty good and my husband had two servings. I consider that a success!

The Gosnells Move to Boston: We Made It!

1600 miles, 3 travelers, and 2 days: we made it! After a long and anxious wait, we are officially living in South Hamilton, MA. We were blessed with wonderful driving weather, only 15 minutes of stopped traffic, and only one "travel incident" to speak of when I was separated from the boys. Overall, the drive wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. Between having Ryan to help us and running on adrenaline, everything went beautifully! Don't get me wrong, we were (and maybe still are) completely exhausted! But we are safe and our things suffered very little damage. We are so thankful!

Since arriving, people here have been so thoughtful and kind. Our resident life coordinator (basically the apartment manager) and his wife brought us groceries the day we arrived. Several people helped us unload the truck and someone brought us dinner that night! We were overwhelmed by their kindness and service.

We've spent most of our time unpacking and rearranging furniture. Our apartment is 1.5 times the size of our previous apartment and in addition to that we have space to store things in the attic. We love it! I have counter space and a shower that stays clean for longer than 24 hours - it's the little things in life ;)

Other happenings:

--We found a grocery store. There are two less than 5 minutes from our apartment, but Market Basket is supposed to be the cheapest, so we drove a little further to go there.

--We attended a cookout on July 4th with other seminary couples. Lots of new faces, but everyone was very friendly.

--Adam has already started his reading. He will be taking a Summer class during G-C's Summer 3 session.

--It's hot!!! The temperatures have been in the high 80s and low 90s, which we've heard is very unusual for this area in July. The sun is extremely intense though, so it feels like home - without the intense humidity :) We have had one overcast day and the temperature dropped 20-25 degrees and it's cool in the evenings, so I think most of their heat comes from direct sunlight. Someone mentioned that it has something to do with the angle of the sunlight here.

--I have job leads!!!! 1) I had a phone interview with financial services here on campus. I should hear back from them next week. 2) I've been asked to come in for an interview at Sylvan Learning - a tutoring program about 15-20 minutes away. 3) I have a meeting with Staffing Now, an administrative staffing agency, on Tuesday. Keep praying!!!