Meet the Pratt kids!

One of the hardest things (at least for me) about being so far from our home country, is that our family and friends don't get a chance to know our children the way they could if we were closer.  So...for all those who have a hard time remembering our kids names..or even how many of them there are...let me introduce you to...the Pratt kids!

     The Lord has blessed us with 5 children.  In this country, that is considered a large family!  The government here (strongly)  encourages people to have no more than 2 children per family.  It is not a law (yet), but we believe it may be someday.  There is a perception here, that those who have larger families, are uneducated.  So, when people see us, a foreign educated couple, with this many children, it brings a lot of comments:  surprise, curiousity, and sometimes rudeness!   No matter what type of comment someone makes, we always use the opportunity to tell them that children are a blessing and reward from God.            {I admit sometimes when people are extremely obnoxious about it, I have to remind myself of the phrase I tell my children often..."If you can't say something nice, don't say anything!"}

   Another thing about our family that people here consider strange, is the fact that we have so many girls!  In this country the birth of a boy is considered a blessing, while a girl is considered a burden.  It is illegal to determine whether you are expecting a boy or a girl through an ultrasound, because if they find out they are expecting a girl a majority of people would then decide to have an abortion.  {It is illegal, but it is very easy to find an unscruplous ultrasound clinic}  In Punjab the ratio of births is only 789 girls to 1000 boys. So sad!   All of our beautiful girls are a blessing!

So here they are...in order of appearance! :-)

Alyssa is 12 years old.  The other kids like to tease her that she was born, "back in the 1900's..1999 to be exact!)  She is the down to earth, common sense, "go-to" girl around here.  If she is given a job, she can be counted on to get it done.  She loves to travel, and is always willing to go on visitation.  Alyssa is the most outgoing of the kids.

Naomi is 11 years old.  She is the thinker, and the dreamer of the family.  If you can't find her, be sure that she is somewhere reading a book.  She has to be pulled back to earth once in a while!  She loves to dress up in fancy clothes and jewelry, and is very artistic. 

Melody is 9 years old.  She is definitely the sweetheart in the family.  She has a very soft and sensitive heart.  Melody is very particular when doing any job or school work, she wants to get everything right!  I have to tell her often that 97 is NOT a bad grade!!  At this point, she is still interested in playing with her dolls and playing dress up.

When the Lord decided to give us a boy, He gave us one that is 100% boy!  Ethan is 7 years old.  He is always dirty, and sporting a bump, bruise, or scrape somewhere.  He is not interested in schoolwork, he would rather be outside riding his bike, or playing sports.  He loves cricket and football (soccer), but only if he is playing himself.  Ethan thinks watching sports is boring.    He is a very hard worker, and some tools are missing and you find an electric train torn apart piece by piece...guess who?

Kara will turn 3 next week.  She is an extremely active girl!  If you don't hear anything from her, you better find out what she's into.  She keeps everyone on their toes around here!  Kara loves to sing, and knows many songs in English and Hindi.

I hope you enjoyed this little introduction.  All five are a wonderful addition to our home and ministry.  Gotta love these kids!!