Updating the new addition!!

One Day Old

We have some great news.... Ashlyn McKell was born May 11, 2008, at 12:32 a.m. She made Julie's Mother's Day perfect!!

Little Ashlyn was due on May 7th, but she had a plan to surprise us on Sunday, May 11th. At 6:30 pm, just two hours after Mom Hepworth left for Arizona and thought this baby would never come, I went into labor. I wasn't sure if it was real, because we had a few false alarms, but after about 9:00 pm hit, I could tell this was the real deal. We had no plan of who was going to watch the children, so luckily we had some good friends, Mike and Ashley Newman come over and spend the night. I was trying to go natural if I could, but by the time 11:00 pm hit, I knew we had to hussle to the hospital. We checked in at 11:40 p.m. and the nurse said I was dialated to an 8. "8 is great!," I told the nurse. I felt so happy that my baby was finally coming to see us. At 12:00 right as Mother's Day came around, I looked at the clock and knew all this time she was waiting so that she could be my mother's Day present. Thirty minutes later, she came and the delivery went as smooth as a natural delivery can go. As I looked over at the glass bassinet and saw my precious little girl, my heart was filled with so much emotion and I knew the Lord had greatly blessed us...again. She was perfect in every way. The first thing she did was stick out her tongue a bunch of times because she was hungry. Typical Hepworth...and eat she did! The following morning when the children brought me breakfast in bed at the house, they found out I was gone and Ashley was in my place. Surprise!! Time to go to the hospital!! They were excited to meet their new sister. When they entered the door at the hospital, I found myself feeling like I was the luckiest gal alive!! They each brought in sweet cards telling me they loved me and wanted to take pictures with little Ashlyn. It was a wonderful morning. Ivan explained that he'd better get home to finish preparing his talk in church on Motherhood. How appropriate is that!! Many people told me what a sweet talk it was! I think this special day will always stand out as my best Mother's Day ever!!!