Christmas shopping with the children

The Christmas bustle has begun in Brookfield...the town that my family and I live in! The streets are filled with cars, and people seem to be in such a hurry!
This brings me back to when we were younger and went Christmas shopping with the children.We took the thirteen children (number fourteen was still a gleam in their daddy's eye) and off we went! We always took roll call, so we wouldn't leave anyone behind (and sometimes it even worked.....that is, when another child wouldn't answer for someone else's name)!
We started out at a toy store called Geppeto's workshop....(wish it was still around) and everyone was excited,and hard to keep tabs of! We made a couple purchases and it was on to the next store. We piled into Vanna White (our big extended van) and were on our way. I took roll call and when we got to three year old Sarah there was a response....not the one I expected!" SHE'S NOT HERE!!!!!!"
Panic, fear, dread ...the what-a-bouts and what ifs flooded Bill and I!
Sarah was the cutest little girl...white-blond hair with big blue saucer eyes and a smile that would take your breath away!!!
What if someone would take her??? What if someone called social services and said we were bad parents...what if..........by this time we were back at the store and I ran in like a crazy lady! I ran around the store and found Sarah right away! She wasn't crying or scared like I was afraid of...in fact she didn't even know we had been gone! She was in the exact same position staring at all the baby dolls and dreaming of them being hers!!! She just looked at me when I called her name and told me how much she loved all the dolls! I hugged her and told her I know how she feels, because I have five living dolls that I love!!!!!! She really didn't get it then, but that's okay!
Wish I could say that was the last one that got left...a few more took their turns, too....all with different scenarios..david, matthew, daniel, elisabeth, amy wow!!!!!!
The solution????? ONLY the name being called could respond and it had to be a loud HERE!!! And for added protection we would count them....but, then comes the story problems...like ryan and david went with Dad, Christa went to a friends, and so did daniel, so.... how many am I suppossed to have?????ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! As Gilda Radner said "It's always something"!!!!
"His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me" (along with Bill,Ryan, Josh, David, Christa, Justin, Matthew, Josiah, Daniel, Bethany, William, Sarah, Amy, Elisabeth, Nathan and of course YOU!!!!)