Wandering in the Desert

I've been trying for a week to get the rest of my retreat center pictures to upload, but they're being stubborn, so I'm giving up for now.  I might try again when life isn't so crazy.  People keep (insightfully) asking me how I'm doing in the midst of all this transition and turmoil, and unless they catch me at a particularly low point in the week (wink, wink, Mary Martha and Rebecca) I just sort of smile and say in a dazed fog, "I'm doing okay for now!" 

I think that's true...I think. 

I mean, how does a person feel when they're constantly bludgeoned on the head for three months straight?  Do they eventually get used to it?  I think that's the point where I currently am...just experiencing the calm of resignation to my fate. 

Now, let me hasten to add that I'm very thankful we sold our house.  We prayed for over a year that we'd be able to sell it, and it was worth it.  I have no doubts on that score.  I'm also very thankful to be pregnant.  We wanted another baby so badly, and we've got one.  Praise the LORD!!!!  But I can honestly say that sometimes the Lord's answers don't exactly turn out to be what I'd pictured.  I mean, to be 29 weeks into a hyperemesis-plagued pregnancy, moving halfway across the country, camping out among 3 different temporary living spaces over the course of 11 weeks, during the most demanding and hectic time of my work year, with a husband trying to finish 4 different medical publications at once (and he's running half-marathons each week on the side) and a two-year old who is struggling with understandable anxiety regarding the changes going on?  Let's just say that I'm glad the Lord is in control and not me.  Because I'm definitely NOT in control of our lives right now. 

Sometimes I feel like one of the children of Israel, wandering in the desert, waiting to get to the promised land. 

Although, at least we have air conditioning. 

Okay, I'd probably better head off to bed, so that I don't get too sick tomorrow.  Goodnight, everyone!

Retreat Center Life - The Bedroom Edition

Okay, time to give you guys a glance at where we're living.  I'll start small, and show you around the place in chunks.  The Covenant Seminary retreat center came into the school's possession several years ago.  (How, I don't really know.)  It's just about a half mile down the street from the driveway to the main campus, and there are several professors' houses between the school and the retreat center.  There's a backwoods pathway that allows you to walk across a big field, through the woods a bit, and up a hill onto the campus. 

But we'll get to that later.

For now, let's take a little tour of Room Three, a.k.a "The Sagar Residence." 

There are four bedrooms in the residential area of the center, with a larger apartment downstairs.  We live in room three, which is a really nice, large bedroom.  Take a look...

They pushed two twin beds together to create a king-sized bed for us, which is AWESOME because I'm pregnant (translation = sleeping with five pillows), and James has sleep apnea, so he uses a cpap machine all night.  That means that the two of us really need to sleep in separate beds...unless we can sleep in a king bed, which allows us just enough room to manage.  This one is pretty comfortable, and we are happy in it.  I sleep relatively well (waking up all night for the bathroom, of course, but I'm not blaming the bed for that!), and James just puts on his mask and zones out all night as usual. 

There's also a little twin bed in the corner for Belle, with her side rail guards on each side and her pillow at the top.  She wasn't too crazy about this arrangement at first, since she's used to having a little room all to herself, so she didn't like 1) sleeping in a room with other people, and 2) sleeping in a really big room.  She seems to have adjusted, though, and she's learned to both nap during the day and sleep at night in this bed.  Sweet girl.  During the day, it also functions as a changing table for us, as you can see.

We have a nice sized closet on the other side of the room, so we're able to keep all of our clothes, as well as other things we need to store, in there out of the way.  We didn't keep too much stuff with us here in St. Louis, since we already made the big move down to Savannah, so it's nice to be able to fit it all in.

Even though we already moved most of Belle's stuff down to the new house, we did keep one bin of toys here for her to play with.  I mean, what two-year-old kid can go two months with NOTHING to entertain them, especially when they have to play alone several days each week while Mommy works?  Not mine!  We kept her favorite books, her bouncy balls, and some fun toys here for her to enjoy, and they seem to be sufficient. 

As an aside...let me just say that I'm floored by how few toys she does actually need.  It's been good for me to see that although she wants every toy that comes into her range of vision, she doesn't actually NEED any of them.  Not really.



Of course, we also have a full bathroom in our bedroom, but I didn't think it was worth taking pictures of that.  Just trust me.  It's there.

More on the rest of this place later!