this christmas

Only ONE more day of school left before Christmas break!! I am SOOOO excited (to say the least). I can't wait for some down time with my family. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. This Christmas we're going to be hanging out in Munfordville, for the most part. Leah has her Christmas program at church this upcoming Sunday night and her preschool party was today (see the picture of her as Mary below). Lex is enjoying disassembling my Christmas tree on an hourly basis. I think when we put the tree up next year he'll call it a "no-no." Both of them are excited about the presents under the tree and Leah and I have enjoyed trying (key word, trying) to bake and decorate some Christmas cookies this year. (Too bad we eat them all before we give them away to anyone else.)

Things we are thankful for as we celebrate this Christmas season...
OUR FAMILY - God has blessed us with a wonderful marriage and two beautiful children. And they have both been so easy!! I don't know why He thought we deserved easy kids, but I'm glad He did.
GOD'S PROVISION - Dispite our circumstances the latter half of the year, God has continually provided for us. It's amazing the many different ways he has rained down his "manna," but through the entire time there has never been a time where we worried we wouldn't be ok. (And being the number cruncher that I am, I never imagined we'd make it this long with Doug at home with the kids!!)
OUR FUTURE - We don't know exactly what God has in store for us next, but we do know that He knows!! Doug starts seminary in January, FINALLY - so be in prayer for him!!

Leah as Mary (Joseph doesn't look too happy - probably because he's the ONLY boy in a preschool class full of girls!!)

I was so busy the end of last month and the beginning of this one with OTHER people's pictures and Christmas cards that I waited almost too late to order my own Christmas cards!! So we'll only be sending out a few this year (and they may not actually get delivered until after Christmas =) MERRY CHRISTMAS ANYWAY!!

santa

Seeing as this is the first year EITHER of our children have ever sat on Santa's lap we HAD to buy the photos!! Leah went first - she was SO excited about talking to Santa this year (finally), but I think once she got there she went blank. Santa had to do all but pull her tongue out to get her to start talking. But once she did, Lex started reaching for her. So we sat him there too - suprisingly enough he liked Santa too!!

Anyway - all is well in the Bratcher house these days! Sorry that our posts have been few and far between lately!! We are looking forward to spending more holidays with our family. I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!

justin

Some of you may already know, but my 20-year-old brother has been in the hospital this week. Early Monday morning he was having "chest pains" so mom had him call the nurse-line at U of L and after answering several questions, the nurse told him he had to call 911. On arriving at the hospital they were first suspecting that it had something to do with his gallbladder. But after further review and a few tests they realized it was his appendix. So they removed it on Monday afternoon. After the sugery his blood pressure started rising and his hemoglobin started dropping so yesterday morning they decided that he was probably bleeding internally. They finally got a CAT scan done around 4:00 and went straight back into surgery after that.

Doug and I arrived at the hospital about 20 minutes before the surgeon came out with good news. She said that apparently after they'd sewed him back up the "stump" started bleeding. And although they had to clean up a lot of "old blood" in there, there was no new blood. So she was pretty confident that he was no longer bleeding internally.

Anyway, he did great through the night last night and this morning ate two solid meals. His blood levels and blood pressure have been great since the 2nd surgery too so they sent him home this afternoon.

Thank you for all of your prayers!! We are so thankful to be surrounded by so many people that love and care about us.

it's been a while

WOW!! It's been a while!! I didn't realize how long it had been since I've posted!! You haven't even seen the cutest poodle and turtle in the world yet have you =) Much has happened in the Bratcher house over the last several weeks....Leah started Upward Basketball, we had a great Halloween, Doug and I worked a Chrysalis in Elizabethtown, our car broke down, and my brother is currently in the hospital having his appendix removed!!

All is well though. Let me see if I can give you the "short" story on the most exciting of these happenings...

First, our car broke down while Doug was in Lexington last week trying to help a friend move. Unfortunately the friend had to help Doug get his car back to Munfordville (and what an extravaganza it was)!! Thank God for true friends and THANK YOU ERIC for taking care of us!! We still have no idea what's wrong with our car, but seeing as Doug is staying home with the kiddos right now, we are surviving just fine with only one vehicle.

Justin went to the hospital early this morning with "chest pains" (in the lower chest/abdomen area). They ran several tests and finally realized that his appendix was swollen and "yucky." So they removed it today (around 2:00 or so). He is still in recovery, but Dad said that everything was fine and the surgery went well. He should be out of the hospital by Wednesday. I'm just thankful that it wasn't any more serious than a bum appendix!!

Here are some pictures of the kiddos at Halloween. Leah was a pink poodle and Lex was a turtle. They had a blast!! I was suprised that Lex actually liked his costume and he LOVED Leah's - he just wanted to hug her and pet her whenever she had it on.

A poodle (Leah) and a turtle (Lex) with Nana and Pop!

This was just TOO cute!

our job status

Many of you have been asking about Doug's job situation and honestly, I didn't realize we hadn't updated you on the events since we first mentioned possibly moving back to Campbellsville. Let me try...where should I start...well, first of all, Doug is not teaching anymore. We really had to make a decision about whether or not he would be teaching again when the end of July came and the folks at CU were still saying that they might have a position for us. And honestly, we really felt like that was where God wanted us to be. So he quit his job on faith that God would work it all out. Now, two and a half months later, we're still here in Munfordville....and it hasn't worked out. Well, OUR PLAN hasn't worked out!! (Good thing God is smarter than we are!)

So right now, Doug is staying home with the kids (which has actually been a huge blessing)!! And he loves it (and I love it too)!! So honestly, we feel like we're kind of in the desert at this point. Like God has lead him out of teaching and now were waiting to see what "promised" land he'll lead us to next (as we know Doug is called to full time ministry).

He is all signed up to start seminary in January and we've come to the conclusion that we'll just be content in the desert and let God continue to provide for us. The hardest part of it all is not stressing over the financial aspects and just letting God bless us with his tender mercies.

I read a passage of scripture last week in Exodus 16 after Moses had lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the desert. The Israelites had been complaining that they were hungry to the point that they were whining to go back to their slavery so that they could eat. And here's what God said...

"I have heard the grumblings of Israel; speak to them saying, at twilight
you shall eat meat and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and
you shall know that I am the LORD your God." (Ex 16:12)

"The sons of Israel did so [gathered the quail and manna], and some gathered
much and some little. When they measured it with an omer he who had
gathered much had no excess and he who gathered little had no lack; every
man gathered as much as he should eat." (Ex 16:17-18)

Oh that I would go to the LORD daily for His provision. It is THEN that (no matter what He gave me) I would have NO LACK!! I praise Him for the provisions that He has given to us so far in this desert period and I continue to pray that we would seek His face daily in order to gather His blessings!!

a visit with Doug's mom

We have finally gotten to visit with Doug's mom (who had never met Leah or Lex)!! Needless to say everyone was excited. Doug's brother Stephen (in the yellow) is in the 8th grade and sister Alicia (holding Leah) is 19 and living in an apartment in Richmond. His mom is in the middle (with the biggest smile of all)!! We had a good time, but weren't there near long enough. Leah and Lex really enjoyed their new family members.

the beach (again)

Well, we've been to the beach AGAIN!! Thanks to mom and dad we had another great week on the Isle of Palms (Charleston, SC). It was great to get away to Pigeon Forge last weekend for our family renunion (that is ALWAYS too short) knowing that we were still going to get to relax at the beach for almost another whole week. Leah and Doug built a sandcastle and Lex actually got in the sand this time (we're making progress). Here are some photos...

THE castle!
OK, so maybe the sand isn't so bad afterall.
What a happy family =)
Notice how far the next family is on the beach!
I LOVE the beach on fall break!!
This is Lex saying PLEASE, OH, PLEASE don't put me in that water daddy!
Leah and Pop collecting shells (their daily routine)!!

lex's birthday

Lex turned ONE on Monday!! We had a little family party at Mom and Dad's house for him. He didn't really have a clue what was going on, but he liked his cake!! Here are some pictures.

Hmmmmm......is that a real duckie?

You all open my presents while I play with the blocks!

Where has this been all my life?

Big Sis enjoying some cake!

an ordinary month

Well....it's been a pretty ordinary month. Not much going on in the Bratcher household. Doug is enjoying staying home with the kids and I love the fact that the house is spotless (including washed clothes and dishes) when I get home in the afternoons =) Leah is enjoying her preschool and Lex is growing like a weed. He has started to take a few steps this week. And in the attempt to get better at it he has modified his crawl to more of a "bear crawl" (hands and feet as opposed to hands and knees). It's really rather cute!!

Lex will be turning one at the end of the month and we're getting excited about going to Pigeon Forge for my annual family reunion the first weekend in October. Then we'll head to the Isle of Palms once again for a week with Mom and Dad!! (Thank God for FALL BREAK and parents who'll foot the bill for a week's vacation on the beach!)

We are learning more and more each day to rely on God to provide for us. He has been so faithful to teach us the clear and obvious difference between what we need and what we want. It has not NEARLY been as hard as I thought things would be when Doug decided not to go back to teaching. God has just continued to provide in all kinds of interesting ways and for some reason given me a sense of peace about it all. Continue to pray for us as we continue to try to sell our house and that God would begin to reveal what's next!!

Here are some pics of the kiddos!!

Leah before preschool!
(Her daddy got her ready...WOW!!)

Lex decided to empty the wipie box.

Mmmmmmm....yummy cookie mix!

Lex & Doug @ a little league football game.

first day of preschool

Leah had her first day of FOUR year old preschool on Tuesday. She goes for a 1/2 a day every Tuesday and Thursday at my mom and dad's church. She LOVES it!! She already has her verse memorized for this week. She says, "All have sinned and BEcome short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. (I think it is so cute that she literally imagines that each time we sin God makes us a little shorter.) I think I would have disappeared by now if that were the case. =) Anyway, here are a few pictures of her first day and Lex doing what he does best...eating!!

Leah ready to go with her new backpack!

Posing with little brother before she leaves him.

Lex is wondering where the rest of his food went.
"Hey, I wasn't done....give me MORE!"

leah (and the shower)

Tonight Leah had preschool orientation at Munfordville Baptist (where she will be going to preschool 2 half days a week). This will be her second year so needless to say, she was a pro at the orientation tonight. Kiley (her cousin) is also in her class. They make a very "talkative" pair! Anyway, at the very end of the orientation, Mrs. Brown (their teacher) has all of the children lined up outside of the Family Life Center and she has just finished explaining to all of us (parents) how to drop off and pick up our children. To finish everything up she asks if anyone has any questions. And of course, Leah has to raise her hand. And when Mrs. Brown calls on her to share she says as confidently as possible, "I taked a shower last week!" The entire congregation of parents and grandparents burst into laughter as they teased us the rest of the night about only bathing our child once a week. It was hilarious!

Anyway, Leah has had her second shower (by herself) toinght! She loves the independence and we love not having to fool with it!! I think we will have to start instituting the "smell test," though, as she gets less and less enthused about the process. But as of now, she loves singing, washing and scrubbing her hair in the shower all by herself.

I think we have a grown up on our hands!

home

On our way back from Chicago, Doug & I met Kristin so that we could go to Allison (Summers) and Shea (Allen)'s wedding! It was a beautiful ceremony and Allison was a beautiful bride. We had a blast seeing lots of folks from our old college days (and catching up with some of our most important spiritual mentors, Donna & Roger Blair, from Campbellsville). We're finally home now...ready for church tomorrow. Here are some pictures from the wedding and of Leah & Lex when we finally got them pulled away from Nana and Pop to come home.

Kristin, Allison (the beautiful bride) and ME!

Lex trying to wear Doug's hat!

There you go buddy =)

Leah - the future gymnast!

a few days off

Dad bought Doug tickets to a Chicago Bears preseason game (on Thursday) so we spent Thursday, Friday & Saturday (morning) in Chicago!! What a great little get-away it was!! Too bad the bears couldn't pull out the win! But we had a great time at the game and shopping the next day. And we found a great little hidden sushi place Friday night. Thanks Dad for a much needed restful time together.

poor lex

Today was a long day (to say the least)! Early this morning, Lex was strolling around in his walker (following Leah around) and he stuck his hand in the henge end of Leah's bedroom door. Having no idea he was there, Leah tried to shut the door....with his hand inside! She slammed it so hard, she made an indention on his poor little left hand and once Doug finally got them both calmed down it was swollen bad enough that he decided to take him to have it x-rayed.

After two hours at the doctor's office and much examination of the one x-ray that Lex let them take, the doctor decided that he had a stress fracture over four of his metatarsals. But she decided that since he was still using his hand she wasn't going to put a cast on him (yet). You can still see the red indention and the swelling, but it's not as bruised as I had imagined it would be as Doug described it on the phone to me.

We are so thankful that it wasn't worse. I'm just glad that his entire hand was in the door and not just a finger or two. It brings back memories of the time I slammed Kristin's pinkie finger in the door when we were little. She lost about 5mm of pinkie from that incident (sorry Kris). But she still has a beautiful hand =)

doug's birthday

Doug turned 29 last week!! (We're getting old - hehe!) We had a little cookout at Mom and Dad's for him. Leah had a blast swimming with her friends Madaline and Sarah (they loved wearing their goggles). You can see the pics below!

Dad gave Doug tickets to see a Chicago Bears preseason game this week so we'll be heading to Chicago on Thursday for a little get-away! (I'm just glad he picked ME to go with him!) We're still praying for his job situation and trying to be patient as we continue to wait for God to provide (something)!

the missing verse

OK....so you totally can't see the inspiring verse that is supposed to be in the open space. I bolded it, but I must have turned the text black too (which obviously blended in with the background). Here it is....

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

perfect peace

Tonight I have been completely inspired by a single line on my 20-year-old cousin's blog....a young woman WISE beyond her years....much wiser than I was at 20 and still am at 28!!

"You will keep in PERFECT PEACE him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3.

Oh that I would trust in Him......that my mind would be steadfast on Him so much so that He would keep me in His perfect peace. As my life has been so full of ups and downs these last few months......waiting on God's perfect timing, and as these last few days have come to a culminating mountain of anxiety, this verse has come to my rescue!! For His peace is truly perfect.

The Hebrew phrase for "perfect peace" in this verse literally translates "peace, peace." My prayer tonight (and always) is that my mind will be steady on Him so that I too, might receive a double dose of His peace.

(Thanks Alyse!!)

the first day of school

Yes, you read the title correctly!! Today was my first day of school. Without Doug, things were a little wierd this morning (I was actually early). And even though I didn't see a whole lot of him during the school day when he was there, I still felt like there was a little piece of me missing all day today. No one to email, no one to eat lunch with, no one to stop in and chat with (if I wanted to). But I made it through.

My classes were great today! I am excited about getting to know all of my new students. I am also excited about getting to use my curriculum (by Carnegie Learning) all year this year (as opposed to last year when we adopted it 1/4 of the way through the year).

Oh, by the way, I am featured in a few of their online info videos on their homepage www.carnegielearning.com. (Check it out!)

And for those of you who keep wondering about Doug's job situation...God did send a tiny little piece of confimation today that our "time in the desert" (my new name for this long period we've been waiting) has not been in vain!! We'll keep you posted as He begins to reveal exactly what He has planned for us!! (Thanks for your prayers....keep them coming!)

a week @ the BEACH

We are enjoying our final full week of summer vacation on the Isle of Palms (in South Carolina) with our family and friends!! It's been a 5 year tradition that we look forward to every summer. Spending time on the beach, eating at all the local seafood restaurants, shopping our hearts out and just hanging out at the beach house has been SO relaxing!! We're here with Kasey's mom and dad and another couple (and their family) that we've been friends with for a long time (Don and Mindy Daniel). Here are some photos of the kiddos!!

Leah & Lex waiting to eat at Sullivan's Restaurant.

Leah on her boogie board....future surfer??

Lex actually smiling on the beach (he didn't like the waves very much), but he enjoyed his swimming pool!!
Ashton, Justin, Matthew, Amber & Derek

another great day @ the creek

OK - here are a few more pics and some random, uncut video from our camp experiences so far!! Eli & Hannah's blobs (on the video) are the best!! And I think I got EVERYONE in the group picture this time (hehe)!! Hope all is well at home with you parents as well. Your kids are angels and they are having an amazing time. We can see God working so intently in each and every one of their lives. They've even been praying for YOU as we're here!! Keep praying for them - that they'll grow this week and that it won't just be a one-time thing. That God will do a serious "life change" within them!!

Our WONDERFUL kiddos!!

Hannah playing the boat game!!

Dara Jo & Aaron after a trip to the mud pit and then the lake!




A whole bunch of random, uncut clips of camp life!! ENJOY!

having fun @ camp...

Well - everyone is having a GREAT time at camp!! Here are a few photos to hold you parents over for a few more days. ENJOY!

Our group after CHECKPOINT time!

Doing our TAWH (time alone with God) in the sun!!

Luke schoolin' some boys on the court!!

Jim -Molly and Shawna ran FOUR miles today!!

a much needed "week off"

Well, we have REALLY enjoyed this "week off" as we have deemed it since we haven't had any church, school or family stuff to do. We've all four just been hangin' out at the pool and at home!! Leah went to MBC's Power Lab VBS this week and Lex grew a tooth =) Doug and I just sat back and relaxed most of it.

We are headed to Crossings at the Creek with our youth tomorrow and then to Isle of Palms with Mom and Dad the next week!! (Can't wait for that!!)

Below are some pictures of us at the pool, Lex's new tooth and Leah's lovely "I'm going to comb my own hair mommy" experience!!

Doug throws her SOOOOO high she nearly flies!!

Lex chillin' at Nana's pool!

Lex's new tooth!! FINALLY!!

This is the result of Leah's first time combing her hair all by herself!! She yelled at me from the bathroom "Mom....I'm going to comb my hair all by myself" so I thought...ok, you're 4 now!! Three minutes later she was crying!! Evidently no one told her you can't twist the comb in your hair!!

Here's a shot from behind!! It looks bad, but her hair is so fine it only took me a few minutes to get it all out!

Mission Trip 2008

We're finally home from our mission trip!! We had a great week on Dauphin Island (close to Mobile, AL). We stayed at and worked for a small church there on the Island called Dauphin Island Baptist Church. We did some work at their ministry center as well as for some folks on the island who were still suffering the effects of hurricane Katrina. We also worked with the Lutheran Disaster Response in Bayou La Batre, AL where we helped paint, mud and pick up scraps from a new roof for a 60+ year old man who has been living in his kitchen since the hurricane!! We did services for a rehab center for men and a assisted living facility in Mobile and we got to hang out for a while and do devo at the International Seafarer's Center in Mobile.

We even got to hang out at the beach and eat some great local seafood on Friday! Here are some pictures of our trip!! We have this week off and then we're headed for camp and then VACATION!!

PS Lex grew a tooth while we were gone!! =)

Our GROUP (before we left)

Doug speaking to the guys at the Rehab Center!!

Kasey getting ready for a morning of painting!
Although I think putting paint in a sonic cup is a sin (hehe)!!

Leah singing at the Assisted Living facility.

Our family (minus Lex) at the local seafood restaurant!!