The true cost of having a child

My mom sent this to me through e-mail, I love it! And... since our computer died, it's the best post I know how to do right now. Feel free to copy it to yours if you wish!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising
a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00
for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That
doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140.00 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 $160,140.00?
* 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 kiss es 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 and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said
or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140.00, 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.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish 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 a mere $24.24 a day, 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.
You get a front row seat in 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, and communications 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
& great-grandchildren !!!!!!!
They are the best investment you'll ever make!

The best part of Easter weekend

There were a lot of sweet surprises this Easter holiday!

Easter egg hunts, easter treats, sweet easter kids!

Tommy exclaiming, "________or _______!" when he got his Easter eggs. Can you guess? It's on the video and really cracked us up! (Believe it or not, pun not intended!)

Mmmm.... sweet imported chocolates and "biscuits" (cookies) from England! Ahh.... Lindt, Cadbury and Galaxy! All my weaknesses in one box! Thanks to a very sweet mission companion.

Baby shower gifts for my sister Lindsay. She's expecting a girl! Yay for pink, flowers, bows, tutus and all that fluffy stuff.


But the sweetest part of our Easter weekend was watching this sweet baby girl being sealed to her Mom and Dad in the Bountiful temple. There's something about the temple that makes time stand still and reminds you of what life is all about. Here was an amazing couple, being sealed to their amazing little daughter in the House of the Lord. They have been so blessed by our Heavenly Father- He wants ALL His children to enjoy EVERY blessing He has to offer. No matter what our circumstances or where we are today. Thank you, Lexi, for reminding us all!

(Hopefully you can click on this pic to enlarge and see the joy on my parents' faces!)

Coolest. Park. Ever.

These are a few pics from the coolest park in West Jordan. I didn't get a shot of the whole castle/fort structure- you'll have to go and see it for yourself! There is a maze inside and slides coming out of the fort. I've never seen a cooler park. My Relief Society president told me about it, she teaches 2nd grade and they went here for a field trip when the copper mine was closed on April 1st. The address is 78th So. and 1950 W. Your kids will love it! One thing, though, others know that it's cool and it was very crowded! Try to visit on an obscure weekday in the middle of off-track!

Becca's perspective

Becca's view of us watching conference!

A day in the life....

Of me! I keep waiting for a big, exciting event to happen in my life to post about. Instead, I thought I'd show my amazing accomplishments of April 3rd, 2009. Ha ha.

First task: Prepare to share!

My kids have been called upon to share "their" room with some cousins this weekend. I made their room look like this:

I probably should have done a before/after shot, maybe it will be a now/ later shot... when I let the kids in again! Yay! No legos, hairclips, papers, and elastics stuck in every nook and cranny. I love you kids, this is how a clean room is supposed to look! :)
Second task: Take a brownie break. Hey, I've got to keep up my strength! A very nice friend shared this recipe with me, and now we're hooked!

Third task: This!!!!
And this!!! Okay, this pile took me both Wednesday and Friday to complete. Yes, my back and arm are sore! I heard that Al is in town, I wonder if I can ask him when that global warming thing is supposed to kick in? Soon, I hope!! :)

Girl's Night Out- help form a blog chain of love!

This is from my cousin, and I'm reposting on my blog to help get the word out! She's organized this fantastic event for an amazing cause... helping AIDS orpans in Africa... please post on your blog to get the word out! :)

PLEASE:
1) re-post the Girl's Night Out information on your blog front and center.
2) ask ALL of your family and friends to re-post this poster (above) and the event information (with link to http://www.theprombomb.com/) on their blogs as well.
Please! Ask everyone you know to do it. Email everyone you know and ask them to do it. When have you been given and EASIER way to serve!? Let's make a blog chain of love!
We are talking LIVES here people! Every 5 women who walk into our event on Saturday ($5.00 admission) ='s enough formula to keep a baby alive for ONE MONTH! Think of the potential of that child. Think of the WORTH of that soul. Every dime we make will help improve a life. A REAL life. A real child of God who needs us to stop being busy, content, and indifferent.
My Cousin (who just got back from spending a month in Africa) told me about a nine year old girl that they found prostituting herself years ago in the streets of Lusaka. Mothers Without Borders took her in, got her the medical attention she needed, and put her in school. She is 15 now, and the fact is, she has AIDS, and she is going to die. There is nothing that any of us can do to change that, but because of the efforts made by Kathy Headlee and her volunteers at MWB, this girl lives a life of dignity. She lives a life of love. She lives a life where she knows goodness, kindness, and something other than being completely alone in a world that is just waiting to eat her alive. That's something.

If you are interested in volunteering at the event, we would love to have you! (email me)
But please, right now, for the next hour, volunteer yourself to be a promotional/advertising committee member and call, text, email, blog EVERYONE you know! Act like this is for your child, or sister, or mother. Act like this is YOUR project. Act as though lives depend upon it (because, indeed, they do.)