Children: Priceless?

The Price of Children
This is just too good not to pass on to all. 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 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.
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.
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 tea that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream or pizza
regardless.
You get a front row seat to history, to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* 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 grandchildren. 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!!!!!!!


Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!

Time Travel Tuesday

I have to say this is not my picture it is one that was on Time Travel Tuesday, when I saw it I thought wow!!!!!! That's amazing.
How did you find out you were pregnant, how did you share the news with your hubby... how did you tell your family?

Come travel back to the day you found out you were pregnant and share it with the group!

Our First baby was kind of a surprise, We had decided to start trying to have a baby, but with my unpredictable ovulation cycle we didn't expect it to be very quick we thought 3 maybe 6 month it would take for us to get pregnant, so I quick birth control in June and thought maybe around October give or take we may be pregnant. We went to Michigan for the 4th of July and spend time in Mackinaw City with my family and the whole time I wasn't feeling well and didn't think anything of it and when we traveled home from our vacation It was almost like a tone of bricks hit me and I looked at my hubby and said you don't think I could be pregnant do you. So we got a test and took it and sure enough I was. We weren't sure what to do about telling family because we live in IL, my family lived in MI, and his family lived in IA, and being the first time we didn't want anyone to feel let out. So we sent out Cards that read something like Congratulation there is a Bun in the oven and inside had a picture of and open oven door with a bun on the rack and we thought we could send them out and everyone would get the new when they get the card. But we couldn't wait the 2-4 day for the Mail delivery so we went to my hubbies work and used there conference calling system and call his family and my family and told everyone at the same time. That was our first baby. Our second one was similar, my hubby and I found out at the same time, but we told our families at my sons 2nd birthday, my family was here and his family was here so we made up a t-shirt transfer and wrote Being a Big Brother is Cool or something like that. We made Jacob a T-shirt and wrapped it up when he opened it we had him put it on and everyone began to read the shirt it was like the wave at the ball park going around the room. First the faces were in shock, like what does that say I don't get it and then the light bulbs came on and everyone started to get excited. It was fun.
Well that was my long belated story.

Visitors

I had hoped when I started this blog that it would be a way for me to keep in touch with family we don't get to see very offen and I had a little bit of a rocky start, letting people know that we had the blog set up, and knowing what to put on it. I hope that all my visitors are enjoying it. If you have a minute and you checked out our blog leave a short hello just so we know. We would especially love to know what family members have checked it out.
Thanks

Saddness

I'm so blue I was looking at my blog today and noticed that I had written so much that my wonderful sons baptism pictures had been pushed off to the archives. That makes me sad to not see that I may re-post it. I'm not sure but if you want to see it please take a peak in the archives.

First Day of School

What a great first day! Jacobs pride and Joy this year is his football lunch box. We almost didn't find it this morning, it was almost a tragedy.


This is a picture of him and the front door nieghbor getting on the bus together. It's so nice having neighbors with children almost the same age as our children. Jacob calls them our front door neighbors because you can see there house from our front door.

Fairground Fun

How great!!!! We don't really do the fair thing and rides very often. Although I love it. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood was of the carnival and fair time. We spent a lot of time together when we went to the fair. My dear hubby and I decided to spend some time in Michigan with family when the county fair was going on. The children had a great time they got to ride rides an stay in a camper at the fair with grandma. My oldest got to show a bull cafe at the fair as well they had a great time. I've only picked out a few picture to show.

How wonderful we just got back from Vacation!! Vacation for us is trips to Michigan. I haven't seen my Dad and other relatives since Christmas. It just seems as life runs on and children start school, we moved to Springfield for my hubbies job we haven't had as much free time to visit family. My dear sister is getting married at the end of October, life is so funny it's like feast or famine we spend a lot of time with my family or no time. I find it hard to go home sometimes things are so different, but yet I still feel like an outsider. I've not keep in touch with people I knew, I sometimes wish I had because they meant so much to me, but that just wasn't the path I choose or God choose for me. Isn't it hard to know, at least until we are able to step back and check things out. Anyway blah,blah,blah. I'm going to try to set up a cool slide show with my vacation pictures and hopefully get them posted tomorrow. I was thinking it would be cool to do the wordless Wednesday that my friend does but as you can tell I have to many words to go wordless. I have so much to do since we just got back from vacation. Have a great day, night what ever.

Thankful Thursday

I'm Thankful for many things in my life, most of which I had nothing to do with. For that reason alone today I'm thankful for a God who guides me and leads me, a God who speaks to me through his Holy Spirit, situation, Church family, and Scripture. I've had so many thing in my life that I can see this, that, and the other that lead up to where I am today and if the first set of circumstances didn't take place what blessing would I have missed out on. WOW!!!! Life is so simple yet so complicated. I know that if I had choose not to take student loans for college and attended where I did I wouldn't have meet my wonderful husband and had 2 amazing children with him. I so see God's divine hand leading and guiding me in that situation and more. It's amazing when we trust in God, have faith that he will lead us to where he wants us to go the gifts he will bestow upon us. It's funny sometimes in life thing don't work out as we have planned, but they work out like God has planned which is a way better plan. It's funny sometimes our best friends(besides our hubbies they should be #1) aren't the one that we spend a lot of time one on one with aren't the ones that we spend time with on the phone everyday, sometimes they aren't even who we think they are?! They are sometimes the friend who sneak into our lives and take up residency and we didn't even realize it until we search our heart and listened to God's leading and there they were. I have made a friend who when we first meet she told me "I not looking to make friends I have friends back home" I thought wow I guess I shouldn't invest to much into that relationship, but God told me no that is the person I'm sending to you, the one you asked me for, press on and I will show you what I have in store. I'm so glad that I listened to God and pressed on because she is someone who has helped me to grow and to see myself more clearly and she has shown me how to step out when I need to step out and how to step back when I need to step back. Later we talked about that first conversation and what she meant was not what I heard, God new that and that is why he told me not to give up. My friend is moving and I have to say that God new that was going to happen and that is o.k. I'll miss her and I will see her I hope. Sometimes our friendships are meant for a season, and when that season ends we have to remember that we have been blessed to have had that season and not waisted it. So I am thankful this Thursday to have a God who leads and guides me and has a plan way better then the one I have for myself.

A Day at The Beach in Wisconsin

(Elexis) Lex and her cousins went to the Jelly Belly factory in Wisconsin and had a great time. Jacob was home with me and unable to go. Poor guy, he was starting Football Practice I'll post Pictures when I get some.

This Picture was when they first got to the water before the temptation to become fully submerged takes over. It was Elexis's first time in Lake Michigan, she loves the waves. I'm glad I wasn't there she went with her grandma and aunt, I would have been a nervous wreck.

The girls at lake Michigan, Its funny that they are suppose to be only going in up to there knees and yet there whole body is wet, with waves so wonderful and plentiful who can resist.

Mandisa

Wow, I'm way behind with the Mandisa praise. I will have to say honestly that until a few weeks ago I had no idea who Mandisa was. I didn't watch American Idol or anything like that, I had no idea she was on the praise team with Travis, Beth Moores Worship leader. A friend let me borrow her new book called Idoleyes. I've only begun reading it, but I have to say I see so much of my self in her that I want to shout out who should I be getting the royalties from for my life story minus the singing part because I can't sing for nothing. My friend who let me borrow her copy talked about how she goes over her food addiction and thing related with that, but as I read it I think how am I suppose to give this book back especially since I could highlight every word in it. I am struggling to not write in my Friends book, and actually considering why not write in the book and buy my friend a new one. I've been struggling with my job situation and why I am where I am. Her book has really helped me to remember that even with our struggles God has a plan and we just need to listen and be true to what he is telling us. So my recommendation is to buy the book, read, write,highlight in the book, and pray over it and for Mandisa that she will continue to maintain the relationship that we are all so desperately seeking for. I can't wait until I can see her performing person soon I hope. I have to say I'm not sure where the eating addiction comes into the book because what I've been getting from the book is all about the relationship we have with Jesus.

Women Blog

A fellow blogger wrote a blog asking these 3 question and asking others to give there input so I decided that it would be a great post.
1. Why are we (women) hard on each other? Why can we fall into judging or criticizing other women? It's funny but sometimes I think that with women its all about control and who has it. How many of us be honest go into the kitchen and talk over when our hubby's are cooking or our children, or anyone for that matter. How many women have you heard say well I just do it myself because you quessed it I know it will get done write. We want to mantain control over life situation and sometimes we will resort to criticizium and judgement in order to do it. Sometimes I wonder if we hold other women to a standard that we wish we could hold ourselves to but we fail everytime.
2. Why do we wear the masks with each other? Why don't we open up and share our struggles? Feeling are our worst down fall in a way because we measure a lot of life on how it makes us feel mostly like less the average, not able to measure up, how much we smile, how many people like us, how many playdate calls we get, aren't women suppose to superhero's? Moms have eyes in the back of there heads can't we see and hear everything with in 3 states right, WRONG we just say that to scare our children in to behaving. We wear the mask because we are to busy trying to one up each other in the area of greatness to see that everyone has a mask on, if we would stop trying to be superhero's we could open up and share our struggles with each other. Have you ever fought with your spouse and he says something and you start to say something realizing that your not even sure what he just said because your were to busy trying to think of something good to say back. That is how women are with each other a lot of times which makes it really hard to be human.
3. What attributes describe a true/good friend? Do you have one (or more) of these friends?> I would say that the friend of mine that I have the most respect and love for is my friend who is an open book we can say anything to each other and I know that even if she gets upset or I get upset it doesn't last at long. I think that it is refreshing to be around her because I don't have to be someone else to be around her. I know that she excepts me for who I am and what I look like. I know that she will always be honest with me about everything and I can be honest with her about everything. It is so freeing to be able to be yourself it takes so much work to pretend to be someone your not. Its nice to be able to say what you want when you want and how you want with out having to be proper all the time now don't get me wrong my friend with certainly tell me when I need to do some examining of myself. But what she see's isn't going to change our friendship and most times anything she says to me has an I remember when story about her own life. That is what a true friendship looks like.