On a happier note....

[DanG]

At 6:20pm, this evening, my daughter gave birth to a healthy baby girl. 8)   This is Grand-baby number 12, for Linda and I, but is no less special than the first.
Details:
Name...Chloe Joeline Parsons
Weight....6 lbs  71/2 oz.
Length....19"

 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

[Texas Ranger]

DanG!  When they said go forth, be fruitful and multiply, your tribe took it for gospel!

Outstanding, give the whelp a pat from us.

[CHARLIE]

DanG good job!  Congratulations on being a Grandaddy 12 times over. Glad your daughter is doing well too. 8) 8)

[Fla._Deadheader]

Congrats. It won't be long before you have one fine saw crew !!! :D :D :D  Harold

[Tom]

Congratulations on the new addition.   What are you after, a football team, a baseball team or fishing partners?

[DanG]

Thanks, everyone.  Tom, I'm not sure if they're teaming or teeming!  Actually, our main goal is to keep them alive till their brains start to work.

[Frank_Pender]

DanG, with 12 you get eggroll.  Wonderful sounding family, Dan.  Your family could well beginit own private school and qualify for matching state and federal funding.  Of course, you would be the chief administrator.    :P :D :D :D 8) 8) 8)

[SawBilly]

My Boss gave this to me today:

FROM THE BOSS'S CORNER:                  NTEC 10/03/2002

WHAT DO YOU GET FOR A "DOLLAR AN HOUR"?

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 ticker 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 per year, $741.38 per month, or $171.08 per week.  That's a mere $24.24 dollars a day!  Just over a dollar an hour.
     Still, you may think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich".  It's just the opposite.  What do you get for your  "dollar an hour"?

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 jam.  A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand  castles, and skipping rocks.
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 lightening bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Clause.  You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Pooh & Piglet, 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 plaster of Paris for Mother's day , and cards with backwards letters for Father's day.

For $160,140, there is no better value out there.  You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking 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 anyway.

You get a front row seat to history to witness 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 blessed, a long list of limbs in your obituary called 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 with the angels, 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.

              Enjoy your children and grandchildren!!

"Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them...."Psalm 127:5


My boss and Dad, gave this to all our employees, I give it to you. I would encourage each of you to seek God, for God certinly intended for families to be together, and in the eyes of a child a family is all that matters. I have 5 kids, and can't wait to get home to see all their smiling faces!

[Bro. Noble]

SawBilly,

Thanks that is beautiful.

DanG,

Congratulations----I'm envious.  I've wanted grandkids so bad for years.  Finally my oldest son got married last spring so maybe someday it will happen.

One regret I have in my past is not making more time to spend with the kids.  Thats such a busy time of life and it's over too quick.

Noble

[RavioliKid]

Wa-HOO!

DanG, that's a lot of kids!

Congratulations! I'm glad you shared this good news with us, Gramps!

 8)

[DanG]

Thanks again, everyone, for all your kind words.  Noble, hang in there. The longer you wait, the sweeter the reward.

Sawbilly, I thank you particularly, for that lovely essay. I'm printing it out, so I can mag it to the fridge. My family has been on a roller coaster, lately, and I found that piece to be especially inspirational. The piece of "history" that I remember most of my daughter's childhood, was her first day of school. Her Mother and I had recently divorced, and times were kinda rough.  I took her to the schoolhouse, and parked to take her in to find her classroom.  She said, "That's ok. I can find it by myself." With that, she gave me a smooch, and strode up the walkway, never looking back. When I picked her up that afternoon, she had made several friends, and most of them are still friends, today. They all call me "Daddy."  These are memories I wouldn't trade for anything.