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