What could you do with $160,140?

(I saw this last week in our local paper and thought I'd share)

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.

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 $24.44 a day!

Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advise says don't have children if you want to be "rich". 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.
• A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles 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.

Our children are blessings from God.