Try this...

Until I get a chance to post a regular post, try this. My highest is a little over 20 seconds. It will drive you crazy.
Have fun,
Joe

Try this...

Lately my blog has seemed to turn into a daddy blog. But do you know what, I don't care. God has given me such a wonderful gift. My wife and I were not supposed to have kids, now I have two boys. I have always heard not in my time but God's time. That is certainly the case with my kids. We tried and tried to have kids but it was not ment to be. When we finally quit trying and bought a dog that is when God said OK you asked for it you got it.

Anyway, my buddy Tim and I used to do a lot of business traveling together and after a day or two on the road would start talking about our kids. He is as crazy about his kids as I am about mine. He sent this little tidbit to me and with a note saying I thought this might go good on your blog. Well, you know what, he was right. So I thought I would pass it on.

I think I will add a few of my own to this list (I'll do it in red), please feel free to add also.

The Price of Children (Author Unknown)

This is just too good not to pass on to all. This is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from
birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family.
Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.

It translates into:
*$8,896.66 a year, * $741.38 a month, or * $171.08 a week. * That's a mere $24.24 a day! * Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich". Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
*looking for ice cream trees on the side of the road..."You can't eat them because they have green stuff on them." (What do you expect from a four year old with a huge imagination.)
*rough house..."Dad, do you want a piece of me?" "No son." "Alright then here it comes." No matter your response you always get "a piece of him" and being four years old you had better cover any part of your anatomy you do not want punched, pinched or jumped upon.


You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
*You can hunt a little longer because now your son is old enough to go with you.
*You have someone to blame if something gets broke.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
*Getting the surround sound system hooked up so the little ones can watch Sponge Bob at 2000 decibels.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
*first diaper change
* first step,
* first word,
*first "I love you daddy."
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grand children. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, So one day they will like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Pretty interesting. Hope you enjoyed the information.

God bless, Joe

Heads or tails?

I guess it is possible but I have my doubts. Can you toss a coin up into the air and have it come down into your throat, where you proceed to swallow it?

I was sitting in the computer room the other night when my oldest son came running into the the kitchen making some sort of coughing noise and half crying at the same time. I asked him what was wrong and he said he had swallowed a quarter. I freaked, "How in the world did you do that? Don't you know you don't put money in you mouth." He said he didn't have money in his mouth rather he was flipping the coin into the air and in went into his mouth. That's when I proceeded to tell him to quit lying to me. He said he was not lying that that is really how it happened. I put my anger on hold for a minute and started wondering what my next course of action was going to be.

Is swallowing a quarter dangerous? Will it get stuck somewhere? Will we have to have emergency surgery? Can I stand him on his head in hopes that it may come back out? Either way, will it hurt when it comes out? Will he want it when it comes out, either way? If it does not come out, will it mess up his insides? If it does not come out and we go on a trip and he has to go through a metal detector, will the security guards believe him when he tells them he was flipping a quarter and it landed in his mouth?

Anyway, while I am freaking out my wife is laughing, SHE THINKS IT IS FUNNY! My son is about to have major surgery to have a quarter removed and she thinks it is funny. I tell her it is not funny and we need to head to the hospital. She tells me to take a pill and calm down. She then gets the church directory and starts calling some nurses we know. After finally reaching one of them this "so called" nurse tells my wife he should be OK just watch him and make sure he passes it without any problems. I tell my wife this nurse does not know what she is talking about and that he is going to have to have a real doctor look at him. Then another lady calls and tells her the same thing. So we wait and so far nothing bad has happened, I don't even know if he has passed the quarter or not.

OK, maybe a get a little worried about things. Things I have no control over. I used to worry a lot more about things I had no control over but I don't do that anymore. I have concerns but not so much worries. I have decided to give my worries to God. The Bible says that God takes care of the birds so why wouldn't He take care of us. I also like Matthew 6:34, it says it all,

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So for today, don't worry be happy. Why? Because God is good! And remember, don't tell God how big your stroms are, tell your storms how big your God is!

God bless, Joe

PS. Thanks for all the prayers while I was sick. I had strep, ear infection and a sinus infection. Not to shabby.

Heads or tails?