Bucket-O-Pancakes

It really is just the little things that point out the difference between having 3 kids and 7 kids. This morning I started my day off by handing out a bucket of pancakes.  Literally a bucket.  Three each, and I handed them out in the car--not a car, exactly, but a 15 passenger van that our wonderful church is letting us borrow.

7-2

Picture, if you will, a large old blue church van, the kind with steps to climb in.  I have the kids sit on the porch and load them up one at a time. That means I go and unlock the van, open the doors, call out for Frankie to come to the van, help her in get her in her seat and then get down from the van.  Then I call out for Hazel to get into the van, help her in, get her into her seat and then get down from the van.  I then get down from the van call for R-7, help her into the seat, and then get down from the van.  I then call for the 4 older ones to get in the van.  This usually involves me yelling "Stop pushing!  We are all going to the same place!" and "We will all get there at the same time even if you get into the van first," and "I can't for the life of me figure out why you are pushing, you have assigned seats, for goodness sakes."  These comments are  always directed at the same two kids.  Next, I yell, "Hurry up, please, we have places to be." This is always directed at the same two children.  I then say "Thank you, good job, let's get going," and I shut the doors, take a deep breath.  Only then do I realize that even though they are all sitting in the van with their cute clean clothes, nicely brushed hair and teeth, back packs and lunchboxes packed with healthy food, that I was in such a rush that I forgot to feed them breakfast.  I didn't forget to make breakfast--it is sitting in the oven--I just forgot to GIVE it to them.  I open the doors and yell that I am running inside, run to the door, ask my loving wife to go stand with them by the van as I get on oven mitts and reach into the oven and pull out a large amount of oatmeal-whole wheat pancakes that I made the night before so that the kids would have a nice homemade and healthy breakfast.  I run back out to the van with the bucket-o-pancakes in my oven-mitt hand and climb back into the van.  I then frisbee toss the pancakes out to my 7 children.  Like a dealer dealing out cards they fly threw the air. One to Daniel, one to John, one to Ashlyn, one to Mati, one to R-7, one to Hazel, and one to Frankie until they each have three.  I then say, "Everyone happy?  Let's roll!"  Hop out of the van, hand the "bucket" off to my wife,  pick my coffee mug up off the sidewalk, walk around to the driver's side, put my coffee mug on the floor of the van so that I can pull myself into the van (the driver's side only has one step so you have to kind throw yourself in).  Buckle up, adjust my mirrors, pick up my coffee, say a quick "Thank you, God" prayer and then pull my blessed borrowed van with the name of our wonderful church on the side out onto the road.