Alyssa's 13th Birthday!

Alyssa has been reminding me for about 11 months that she would "soon" be turning 13!  The day of her birth, August 16, 1999, is a day still vivid in my memory, but in some ways it actually feels like another lifetime.  Alyssa celebrated her first birthday in Maryland, and her second in India.  Most of her other birthdays have also been celebrated in India, though she was excited in 2010 to celebrate her birthday in Gettysburg, PA. 

Alyssa is the outgoing one..the responsible one among her siblings.  Of course, it's exciting for any child  kid,  young person to enter the "teen years".  Also, a little bittersweet for mom and dad.  But, when I remember that now I have girl who is able to cook, clean bathrooms, and take care of her younger siblings (among other things), I can't stay sad for long! 

Package from Grandpa and Grammie in Maine...flip-flops from LL Bean..what's not to love!

Special lunch out..she ordered taco salad (made with chicken of course)

Grandpa and Grandma Pratt called on Skype at just the right time, and were able to attend part of the birthday party.  The wonders of modern technology!

Happy Birthday to a beautiful 13-year old, Alyssa Rose!

Ethan's birthday

It's been a few weeks since I have updated this blog.  Let's just say that there has been a lot going on here in our life and ministry, so I have a few posts in mind to update you on our comings and goings.

Birthdays are always exciting, and in August our family celebrates 2 birthdays, only 2 days apart. 
August 14th is Ethan's birthday and August 16th is Alyssa's.  Ethan was asking me before his birthday, how is it that his birthday is 2 days before Alyssa's, but he is still younger! :-)   Well, since his birthday is first (even though he is still younger), I'll share a few pictures of Ethan first.

Ethan celebrated his 8th birthday.  I think in this picture he is trying to look older!

Presents!

Balloons!  No helium, just a ceiling fan on high speed.

Since it's my cake, I can have the cherries, right?

He was not so impressed with the frosting in the eyes!

A package from Grandpa and Grammie in Maine came on Alyssa's birthday.  He was so excited when he saw the box of ice pops they sent him.  Ummm..don't get too excited until you look inside.

Ok..so he was even more excited to see the legos and building sets inside the ice pop box!

We welcomed 3 little girls into our family first.  Then the Lord decided to shake things up a bit, and show us how exciting it could be to have a son.  He definitely keeps us laughing and wondering at his antics!
 Happy 8th birthday Ethan Marshal!

Prayer Meeting

We have a midweek prayer service, which we call "Family Prayer", on Thursday night.  Instead of meeting in the church, we usually meet in a church members' home.

Most of our families live in one or two rooms.  The bed is the main piece of furniture and takes up most of the floor space, so the children and young people are sitting there.  This particular family of 5  has 2 rooms; this main living area, plus a kitchen out the back door (not attached).

The men were sitting on the floor, and I was sitting on a small bench with 2 other ladies, and Kara.

 Many times people will request a meeting in their home if they have a special need, or have had a recent blessing in their family (i.e.  a birthday, new baby, new job,  recent travels, etc).

During the meeting we sing, take prayer requests, have prayer (3 or 4 people will pray), and we have a message from the Word of God.  We pray for God's special blessing for the family hosting the meeting, during this time also.  After the meeting is over, we have a time of fellowship, tea and snacks.

This past Thursday, we left home with 8 people in the vehicle (10 passenger, I think).  We pulled up in front of the church and a torrential downpour started, so naturally everyone wanted a ride to the house where the meeting was being held.  We packed 9 more into the vehicle, 17 total.  Too bad I didn't get a picture of that!