Our 6 week hotel room

It was definitely an adjustment to be living in a hotel room. We felt blessed though to have a room with a kitchenette. Some of the wives there said they didn’t even have a microwave or fridge, and so HAD to eat out for almost every meal! For Kayla’s sleeping arrangements there was a little hallway with closet space on both sides that connected to the bathroom. We used a blanket and hair clips on the closet bar and made a make shift “tent”. We had the port-a-crib, but ended up borrowing a sleeping mat from the Family Support Center, and from them I also borrowed some kitchen stuff I didn’t have room for,… so awesome! What was really strange at first was housekeeping. They came every day around 8:30 a.m., and on Mondays they did deep cleaning and changed the linens. I wanted to just politely take their brooms and do it myself! But, it was their job. I did try to keep things really clean for them and make things easy on them. Sundays we finally figured out to put the Do Not Disturb Sign, so they wouldn’t have to work on Sunday. In a nearby building there were washers and dryers that were free too! Yea! And there was an indoor playroom and playground in the courtyard, though it was really hot! We often stayed indoors in the air conditioning until the sun went down. Southern heat!

Our air conditioning in the buildings we were in broke twice, oh man, that was a lesson in gratitude. I don’t know how those pioneers did what they did and walked all that way in blazing heat in all the clothes they wore too, and still pressed forward and were pleasant. Those pioneer women are awesome! I’m sure they got cranky at times, but they are true examples of making the best of things, and that's an understatement! I thought of them, their examples and some of what they went through, and that our situation was definitely not theirs, and how I needed to feel a greater sense of trying to be cheerful and happy because we were in our sweltering room, and because Kayla and I both had some cranky moments a few times. We took refuge in Wal-Mart’s air conditioning!

Here's 2 short videos of our lodgings!