To the Dad's in My Life

*Better late than never*

Thanks to all the Father's in my life for all you have done for our family! Gabe you're the best daddy a wife and baby could ask for! Dad thank you for all you have taught me throughout my life, and for the good example you are to my son. Larry, thanks for the great example you have been to Gabe throughout his life, and for continuing to do so now as he is learning to be a father.

I'm grateful that Preston is related to so many amazing righteous men! Thanks again for all you have done for us!

Now for just one more thing. This is dedicated to my dear husband, and all those hardworking fathers out there. :)

The Cost of Children

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 years old and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. That doesn't even include college tuition! It doesn't sound too bad if you break it down. It ends up being $8,896 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.

Here is what you get for your $160,140:

- Naming right; First, middle, and last!

- Glimples of God everyday.

- Giggles under the covers every night.

- More love than your heart can hold.

- Butterfly kisses.

- Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies.

- A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.

- A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

- 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 fingerpaint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

- You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watch Saturday morning cartoons, go to Disneyland, and wish on stars.

- You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refridgerator magnets.

- You get to collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, and handprints set in clay or cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140 there is no greater bang for your buck.

- You get to be the hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off of 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.

- You get to a front row seat to history by witnessing the first step, first word, 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 on your limbs called grandchildren.

- You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communication and human sexuality that no college can match.

- You have the power to heal a booboo, 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, and even love you without counting the cost.

ENJOY YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN!!!

And, remember, they're cheaper by they dozen.

Author Unknown