Keith Urban

For Justin's birthday, we went to the Keith Urban concert at Energy Solutions Arena. We had a great time! It was so much fun! I didn't realize that I knew so many songs, and Keith is a great entertainer! It was also great to get out and just be us for a night, as hard as it was to leave Sammy with Justin's parents for the evening. We had dinner at the Gateway, walked around a little bit, and then stopped at Ben's Cookies (a tradition!) before the concert began.

Keith Urban sings "Memory of Us" which is our song. It was the highlight of the night when he sat down with just his guitar and sang our song. It made me think of the past three plus years and how far we have come and how happy I am. I have a wonderful husband who puts up with me everyday, and we now have the cutest baby. My family, for now, is complete.

Happy Birthday Justin! Hope you had a great one!

Samuel Marvin Ashby

July 24 2009- probally one of the days we will remember for the rest of our lives. The day our little family grew with the addition of our little Sammy! Here is our story...

I had been contracting for a good three weeks, with no progress! Late the night before, my contractions started to get stronger. It was a really rough night, and I finally decided to get up around 4:30 and start timing them. Justin got up and ready to go to work at 6. I really wasn't sure if I should call the hospital or just wait it out, because I had been at the hospital the week before and they had sent me home. I really wanted a reason they couldn't send me home, like my water breaking or something! Eventually, Justin convinced me that I should just call and see what the nurses had to say. So I called and they told me to come in!

We arrived at the hospital at about 7:30. They checked me- I was already at a 5 and completely thinned out. They hooked me up to the IV and it was then I realized that I was staying and this was really happening. This moment we had looked forward to for the past nine months was finally here. They gave me a half dose of phentynol and it really eased up the pain. I was able to get up, brush my hair back into a ponytail, wash my face, and brush my teeth.

At about 10:30 my doctor came in to check me and see how I was progressing. I was at a 7, moving right along. He broke my water, and that's when the contractions really started coming. They were all the sudden one after an other, and they were getting more and more intense. That's when the other half of the phentynol became handy. That eased up the pain for a bit, but really only took the edge off.

So- I had been on the fence the whole time about getting an epidural. I really wanted to have a good experience, but I wanted to be in the experience and not just go through the motions. the nurses knew this, and kept asking me how I was doing and if I wanted that epidural. By now we were coming down to the wire. The anesthsiologist was on call, and it would take him a half hour to get there, 20 minutes to set it up and another half hour for it to kick in. By then I was already an eight. So, we decided to wait and see what the next couple contractions brought and then make the decision. Well, after that couple contractions I was almost a ten and things were moving very quickly- making the epidural pointless. After literally pushing my way to a complete ten- we were ready to do some real pushing. They pulled out all the trays and baby stuff and called my doctor. The nurse pulled out the mirror and was able to show me that my baby was right there, almost ready to crown. It was amazing to see he was so close! After 45 minutes of pushing and my doctor getting there just in time to give me a small episiotomy, catch the baby, and untangle his legs from the cord, my Sammy was placed onto my chest. It was the most amazing moment I will never forget. The whole time I knew that there was this little baby inside me, but I didn't KNOW it until that moment. All the sudden this tiny baby was in my arms and I was a mom.

Sammy was 7 lbs 15 ounces, 20.5 inches long and born at 12:56 pm.

I have to give a shout out to Justin. He was a trooper and was by my side the whole time. He held my hand and breathed with me, didn't leave my side for one moment. I couldn't have done it with out him and am so lucky to have such a great support in my life!