Just in case you haven't seen this

It's nice. The government recently calculated the cost of raising achild 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 childrenif you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite. What do youget 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 orhow your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:* finger-paint,* 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,* watching Saturday morning cartoons,* going to Disney movies, and* wishing on stars.* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigeratormagnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, handprints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters forFather's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be ahero 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 thatnever wins but always gets treated to ice cream 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 familytree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary calledgrandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education inpsychology, 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 allthe 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 like you, love without counting the cost.