Our God Send - Shane Alexander Rios!!!

It's true, all babies are precious and all our children are precious to us. But what a surprise for us back in 1997 when we found out we were going to have another child. Our only son, Joshua, was now 10 something. When we wanted to run out for a quick bite to eat; it was everybody to the car, everybody for themselves, everybody click their own seatbelt, everybody out of the car on their own, everybody order and feed themselves once we were in the restaurant. So simple. Around the house, simple schedules and chores were carried out without prompting from me. Due to my RA, Josh had been well trained. He was such a trooper. Bedtime would come and a simple "Time for bed. I'll be in soon to kiss you goodnight." Done deal! But that was all about to change! A baby means planning ahead for each excursion out of the house. Is the baby well rested? Do we need to change a diaper first? Are the bottles made and packed? Do we have a pacifier in the diaper bag? How long will we be out? Are there enough diapers in the bag? It also means we would have to keep in mind the extra time alotment for loading and locking the baby into the car seat, then after arrival, unlocking and unloading the baby! For all parents reading this post - YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT DON'T YOU? For us it also meant new everything. We no longer had baby clothes packed away or a crib or basinette, nothing! Just a few special items of baby Josh's I had stored in my cedar chest for keepsakes. My Rheumatoid Arthritis was under control and I was just weaning off one prescription, Prednisone, which is a steroid. I had begun a regiment of herbs and homeopathic medicines and had started losing weight. I was exercising more than I ever had in my life! I had been feeling great! I tell people that I must have been feeling a little too good, for now I was pregnant! But we were thrilled with the news and excitedly waited to meet our baby. My mom gave me an awesome baby shower. There were so many people there. It was amazing how much love was bestowed upon us and our boys. We received so many gifts! I don't think I had to buy a thing! God saw that we, His dear children, had everything we needed. Now we can't imagine a world without this special little boy. Since Josh doesn't live at home anymore, we would be empty nesters today if God hadn't presented us with this prize. Shane keeps us young. I tried to include a photo of Shane here but for some reason I couldn't get it to upload. I will try again soon. He is a doll! Take my word for it! God bless!