under 20 post.

Why do I make blogging so hard. I set lofty unrealistic expectations and then don't write when I am too tired to meet them. Time for another under 20 minute blog. This one is inspired by Mommy Coddle

Currently watching Zero Dark Thirty. Fascinating and sickening.

My husband's book and the record he produced came out in the last 2 weeks. Humbled. He is a smarty and a good at a lot. Here is an interview that tells a bit of what he has done in the last year.

I sewed 1 Easter dress and have the skirt of another done. It has been fun, but I don't have enough time! Below shows my beginnings plans for quilted Easter baskets. Even though I started early, life got in the way and I don't think they'll be done this year. Maybe by next?

I finally reached that point again in exercise where it makes me feel better instead of making me want to give up. As a result my RA is slightly more controlled. Slightly. Still gluten free which also helps. This may be a blessing. Going gluten free. I may blog more on that later....

Our friends Bryan and Chandra moved. We are so so blessed to have been in community with them for a few years. Bryan is a super coach and I think you should browse his blog for productivity and organizational growth, Brian Howard.

I have been re-watching Alias and Veronica Marrs. I love those both so much. AND THEN the Veronica Marrs movie went on Kickstarter and it is happening! What are you watching?

I just read on a sewing blog tonight about  Foyle's War and I am pretty sure I will watch it next week in marathon. Tell me if you do too!

XO blog friends.

I am still here!

Hello! I hope you still check this blog! I am back. Probably not every day, but I hopefully can post a bit more than I have been.

I haven't had morning sickness in three days! I am 14 and 1/2 weeks along I have been sick for almost 8 1/2 weeks. I am hopefully on the mend. A lot of you have asked and I was not this sick with my first pregnancy. Maybe 3 times total that time. I have lost count this time. No two pregnancies are alike, I hear.

We took Dorothy to hear the heartbeat of her baby brother or sister last week. She charmed all the nurses and doctors and played with all the things she shouldn't and had no idea why we were even there. BUT! I think we got through the appointment much quicker than normal because of her presence. Not that I am ever taking a one year old to the doctor again, unless it's for her. The above picture is her running the hallway as I made the first payment on our second kid :) Just as we pay off the first kid we start paying for another- It is certainly worth it though!


Oh and I found this funny picture of D. This was on her way to meet Ruby Laffin for the first time. I love that she is waving at 6 weeks (well accidentally waving) and that she still is working on the eye control, and she is so rolly-polly.

Please pray for me if you can. Just as I am doing better with the morning sickness I have had two flair ups with my RA. I pulled my shoulder last week, the worst it been in about about two years. Then this weekend as I geared up to sew, I had a flair up in both wrists, again something I haven't had happen since before Dorothy. Not exactly a good thing for a lady trying to sew for a little business. Well enough typing on these hands for now. Love to all, near and far.

Mike, me, Dorothy, Brian, Jack, Jolie, Arlen, and Mae

We visited our friends the Holtons this weekend. It was one of those days where you are gone for 12 hours but it feels like a whole week vacations. They have an amazing house from the late 1800s that the gutted and redid. Beautiful! Also they are partners in the farm where we get our chickens from. Mike got to see the humane and healthy chicken farm but I opted out. I can't connect my meat to animal. Even if it is organic and free range.

Anyway they are such good friends...so hospitable, so easy going. It was a blessing.

Today is one of those days where I had my whole list made and ready for a productive day.
and. I. am. not. doing. it.
I think I have shared before that rain can suck the life out of me with my RA. It's the humidity and pressure I think. So it has been a while since I have really chilled out, but I am enjoying it so much.

Oh and for those of you that I went to high school with!!! Rosie is having her baby soon! Hopefully today!

Three Things I'd Rather Not Do:

1. Exercise
2. Refrain From Sugar.
3. Refrain From Caffeine.

Three Things that Make My Rheumatoid Arthritis almost Forgettable:

1. Exercise
2. Refrain From Sugar.
3. Refrain From Caffeine.

A Cosper Family Nike Collection

The four year old in me is jumping up and down pitching a fit, but it is official. I have done informal testing and numbers 1-3 make me feel much better. During the weekend I relaxed and ate a lot of birthday cake, drank a lot of cokes and coffee, and most importantly didn't work out (because I am NOT one of those who is naturally drawn to strength training and cardio). Anyway, it creeps up on me, this auto-immune disease of mine...aching in a wrist and then by the end of the day it can be everywhere. So I did my strength training again last night started monitoring my water (good), and caffeine(bad), and sugar (very bad). And most of my aches are gone just in 24 hours.

But I know that just monitoring these items is not my fix all. I still have to maintain my stress, sleep well, take my medication, and the weather, well I can't control that one. So all that is to say, I can't control this stupid disease completely BUT, I have a little more control over the disease when I practice self control.

I heard a wonderful speaker, Betsey Ricucci say recently that when you work on one discipline in your life it can't help but spill over into other aspects. So this idea of self control, without being legalistic, I am working on self-control with eating and exercising and it's spilling over into my self-control with anger and speech. Praise God!

Journey to Contentment

So, I don't think I ever really explained why I named my little blog here "Finding Contentment". I kind of explain in my profile to the right. When I was preparing to teach that class at church a couple weeks ago I felt like I should address my so called journey to contentment. So here is what I shared in the class:

As I approached motherhood, I was encouraged to search my heart and deal with sin issues that would hinder me raising my children. I always knew I was a worrier, as far back as I can remember I worried. I like so many others had believed that worrying was normal, everybody worries right? In a conversation with my mom I asked her what I was like when I was little she said lots of sweet things, and one thing stuck out. She told me I was kind of whiny. I don't know about you but there a few things harder to hear than you are whiny. Nobody like whiners and nobody wants to be labeled as one. I also realized that the Proverbs discuss wives who whine. What do I mean? Nagging. I began a journey with two dear friends into this concept of worry, whining, and nagging. As I studied with them I began to realize my language was all wrong. I wasn't just a worrisome person. I was discontent. My discontentment was lack of satisfaction in my situation around me. Here are some examples of my racing mind and discontentment. I worried when Mike was out of town that someone might break in. I worried that my aches and pains before I was diagnosed with RA were MS, Lupus, or Cancer. I worried if I was pregnant, that I might miscarry. I worried that if I had kids that they would get lost or hurt. My mind rarely focused on the goodness and grace from God above. My mind raced constantly about what might happen.

Our worries reveal our lack of faith. When we think about something more than we do about our Lord and Savior, we are not trusting God to be God. Our worries become idols
I was making an idol out of what might happen in my life. My worry was causing me to sin.

Webster's Dictionary defines Contented as :
Feeling or showing satisfaction with one's situation

My definition of Contentment is :
Satisfaction with one's situation, because of their trust in Christ

Flash forward to pregnancy. It was a time that I could have given in to my temptations and worried and I did some but I had victory and growth. I was learning to be content in Christ alone. Our dear friends, Rob and Chandi Plummer encouraged us to pray daily for our babies contentment, that she would be content before she was born and throughout her life. You see I wasn't getting over my worry to check it off my list before I had a baby. I was fighting my tendency to worry so that they themselves wouldn't grow to be discontent.

Due to my RA and my hip being a problem area. I was scheduled for a c-section. Mike being an amazing student and supportive husband watched a documentary and knew how the c-section should go. He talked me through it and told me it was pretty quick, just about 10 minutes. Prior to leaving for the hospital I printed up from the bible:

Philippians 4:4-8

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As soon as they began the surgery I began reciting verses 6 and 7. My C-section was an unusual one. Due to the size of our Dorothy and the size of her head they could not get her out. Mike and the anesthesiologist were all I could see. They were both in a panic. I think it's normal for a husband to be anxious but pretty unusual for the anesthesiologist to seem worried.

I kept reciting verses 6-7 as if to assure them that all was going to be OK. The peace of God was protecting me at that moment. I knew that my doctor was yelling, I knew that there was chaos all around me but God was protecting me. I was free from worry because I had finally learned to put ALL my trust in God. After about 25 minutes they had Dorothy out safe and sound. I got to see her and when I did I saw the most beautiful baby. The pediatric neurologist was quickly on hand to tell Mike and I they were going to check her head. I was like OK. I wonder if they thought I didn't care, or didn't understand but that wasn't it. God was working in my mind covering me with his peace, reminding that he was in control. Praise God for how he grew me and protected me and praise God that Dorothy is perfectly healthy.

I share this all with you so that you might be encouraged in your own journey with contentment or if there is another issue in your life that is preventing you from be the parent, spouse, or person Christ has called you to be. Know that the power of God and his word will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

12

12 degrees + Rheumatoid Arthritis = flair up.
Luckily there was a run of movies on a HD channel that was made for me.
A League of Their Own, Rudy, The Goonies, and Empire Records (extended fan edition)!

Fall Finally!

Oh nerds! It's been too long. I was doing so well posting and then life went crazy as it does in October. Why October? Here is to fill you in.

*Doing better health wise, well sorta. We have been relearning what it means to live with Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was in remission during pregnancy. Cold, wet weather makes it hurt all over. I have found that cutting back on wheat, dairy, and sugar help minimize the pain. To bad for me because cereal, cheese and candy are my favorite foods. Mike is doing better and has follow up appointments next week. Keep us in your prayers and thanks for all of your comments, emails, and previous prayers.
*Bought a house. Yup, sure did. It'd in Germantown. We will close on November 7th. I think even more exciting than having a house is that I have a DISHWASHER! Seriously folks, we are going on 8 years of marriage without one. sigh. We are so excited. The house is a remodeled turn of the century home. Yeah! So it has the charm of an oldie but the benefits of a new house...and we have a garage, and our own yard that we don't have to share unless we want to.
*Come to the Fall festival! I am in the Affordable Art Show! I have made a messenger bag, purses, holidays onesies, and more. Everything is under a hundred bucks but mine is way under that amount. This is the first time I will sell any of my stuff and it is all original designs so I am excited and nervous.
*Dorothy Jean is 12 weeks today. It is so crazy to see how much she can do each day. She mimics Mike and I. She also sticks her bottom lip out when she is sad. And if you catch her off guard she gets sad and then cries, so hurt. Most of the time though, she is throwing her head back laughing and wrinkling her nose.

OK, so that's us for a while. Thanks to all of my readers for checking in on us. Especially my Aunt Jane who checks, can't wait to see you in December!

I know there is a month for everything, but...

To bring attention to this crippling disease, the Arthritis Foundation is encouraging Americans to observe the month of May as National Arthritis Month. Arthritis affects ~40 million Americans. It is hoped that this observance will bring more awareness of this chronic and painful disease.

I know there is a month for everything but if you know someoene with RA or any other kind of arthritis tell them your thinking about them and say a pray for them.