Dozens of congratulations cards are strung up around the room,and gazing down at her baby,with eyes full of love,is a new mother.
It is like a scene from any of a hundred homes across the country.
But Helen Millard knows her newborn child is a very special gift from her husband,Stuart,36.
She only discovered she was pregnant the day before her husband's funeral.
Neither of them had suspected there would be a new addition to the family,already comprising Ben,seven,Jamie,five,and Daniel,three.
"With the strain of Stuart's death,I didn't think anything was wrong when I realised my period was late" says Helen,34.
"But when I mentioned it in passing to my mother Trish,64,I got a different reaction.She suggested I take a test,just in case.
"It was an amazing feeling when I saw the blue line appear.I think I felt every emotion there is to feel during that week."
The discovery gave Helen new hope for the future and also helped the children come to terms with the tragedy.
Helen and Stuart met when they were teenagers at the local sports centre.
Helen,then 17,was swimming with pals,while 19-year-old Stuart had a game of squash.
"I met him in the sports centre's cafe afterwards and we hit it off straight away.We chatted for ages and there was an instant attraction" says Helen.
Although his blond good looks and athletic build had caught the teenager's eye,it was Stuart's dazzling smile and easy nature that really attracted her.
The following night they went to the pictures - they saw Private Benjamin,starring Goldie Hawn - and by the end of the evening the couple were head over heels in love.
"When I went to school on the Monday I told everyone I was going to marry him.I just knew.
"Six months later we were engaged,although we had to wait another two years before we actually got married,on 10 October,1983,because we were too young" she says.
They were very happy together.Stuart got a job as assistant professional at the golf club,and then set up a double-glazing business with his father,Trevor,62.
At the age of 24,Helen decided to become a nurse.But after finishing the three-year training she and Stuart felt it was time to start a family.
"We had enjoyed some wonderful holidays abroad,done everything we wanted to do before the children arrived.We were ready" she says.
Nine months after making that decision - and almost to the day,eight years after their marriage - Ben was born,on October 26,1991.
"Stuart was so pleased to become a father.He doted on Ben" says Helen wistfully.
Two years later came Jamie,and then Daniel.
Helen worked part-time as a nurse for a while,sharing the load with Stuart,who looked after the children while she slept after night shifts.
Following the birth of Ben,Stuart decided to buy a motorbike to celebrate.He had ridden scooters as an 18-year-old and now wanted something more powerful.
The biking revival was a bit of a passion on his part.Previously he and Helen had enjoyed active sports together,such as mountain biking,sailing and wind-surfing.
But it became harder to make time once the children were born,so the motorbike filled the gap.
"We did lots of activities as a family.Stuart,who had played football at a high level,loved to have a match with the boys.
"And we would often go to Poole,Dorset,for a few days in our camper van.Stuart would take his wind-surfing kit with him - he loved the seaside.
"And as a treat he would occasionally let Ben on the back of his motorbike and go to the end of the driveway with him."
Stuart started reading biker magazines and loved to watch the racing on television.
Then he saved up for his dream bike - a Honda FireBlade,one of the fastest on the road.He loved the brilliant orange paintwork and sleek lines of the machine.
He mainly rode the bike to and from work,and occassionally at weekends.
He was on his way home when the accident happened in 20 April,1998.It was about 5.30pm and he lost control of the bike,which he had only owned for three weeks.
He went across the road into oncoming traffic and was crushed by a car.He suffered serious chest injuries and died within the hour.
"The first I knew of the accident was when the hospital called.They said a man believed to be Stuart had been in an accident,but I would have to come to the hospital to identify some of his effects because he had no ID on him" says Helen.
"As soon as they said that I knew the accident was very serious.Having been a nurse I knew procedure,knew what they would and wouldn't say."
Neighbour Judy Wooff (correct) looked after the children while her husband Nick drove Helen to the hospital.She dreaded what she would find there.
"When I arrived my father-in-law was already there.He and a doctor told me that Stuart was dead.I couldn't really take it in.I was in a terrible state."
News of the tragic accident spread like wildfire through the small Surrey village.
It wasn't long before people were galvanised into action to help the grieving family.
"The following day I opened the back door,and there was a home-baked cake on the step.Even through the pain,the kind gesture touched me.Whoever had left it hadn't knocked because they didn't want to disturb me.
"I went to the back door a few times that day,and every time there was something new on the doorstep,including sweets for the boys,flowers,cakes and fruit.
"It was wonderful that people were so touched by Stuart's loss that they wanted to do something for his family.It was amazing."
The next few days passed in a blur.Helen was completely distraught,not thinking properly,but desperately trying to keep a brave face in front of the children.
Then she realised her period was late.At her mother's suggestion the widow did a pregnancy test the day before the funeral,even though she was convinced the delay was due to stress.
"When the test was positive I was overjoyed,stunned.It was unbelievable!
"I felt that Stuart had left me a special little gift,a part of himself,before he left.
"I was so glad I hadn't been prescribed any sedatives to help me cope with the shock of Stuart's death.
"And there was sadness,too,that Stuart would never know I was carrying his fourth son."
But Helen was also scared that the trauma of loss would cause her to lose her little miracle.
"I tried not to get too excited because I thought I would miscarry.Even though I knew it would ease the pain of loss for all the family,I was in a quandry - I couldn't face raising their hopes only to dash them."
So the only people she told her special secret to were her mother and father Alan,63.
"They cried with joy when I broke the news.They had been incredibly close to Stuart.Like me,they had now been through the full range of emotions,from the lowest low to the higest high.
"I was trying to be calm,saying `I'll be pleased if it happens,but I don't expect it to come to anything'," she recalls.
But the knowledge gave her the inner strength she needed to cope with the funeral."It was comforting to know that a little piece of Stuart was growing inside me.It gave me something positive to focus on.
"When I told my sister and my in-laws a few days later,it was incredibly emotional.We were all in tears."
The pregnancy made Helen very ill,and after six weeks she decided to tell the children.
She wasn't sure how they would react to another huge upheaval while they were trying to cope with their grief,but she need not have worried.
Their innocent reaction was an instant comfort to her,as they told her `That's good,we can be a family of five again!'
She says "The pregnancy really knocked me around,I was sick morning,noon and night.But the children were fantastic.They had just lost their father,but their resilience was inspiring.
"While I was busy being sick,they would dress themselves and come downstairs."
And the help which had touched Helen so much after Stuart's death continued.
Local mums who knew the family through playgroup and school quickly rallied round,organising a cooking rota so that Helen and the boys had a good meal every day.
"It was tremendous.I was overwhelmed by their kindness.As the months passed and my pregnancy became more advanced,they even sent their husbands round to cut the grass for me,and keep the garden tidy."
And when she mentioned that,with the imminent new arrival,she needed an extra room,friends of Stuart's came round to offer a helping hand.
They spent hours putting up a stud wall for her,turning one room into two.
"All the help and support I received made it so much easier to cope" she says.
The baby was due on December 27,and because Helen didn't want to be away from the boys on their first Christmas without Stuart,she decided to have a home birth.
Kristian Stuart was born two weeks late on January 7,1999.
"My mother was with me - she had had all her children at home - and so was a midwife.It was a wonderful experience and it all happened very naturally."
At 5.30am,little Kristian Stuart came into the world,weighing 7lb 13oz.
As soon as he cried out,his big brothers dashed into the room to meet the new addition to the family.
"It was lovely to share the experience with them.It was incredibly emotional.And,of course,I thought of Stuart an awful lot."
The birth was very different from those of her previous children.All three had been born in hospital with Stuart holding Helen's hand,encouraging her,giving her emotional support.
This time Helen gave birth at home,with her mother holding her hand and taking Stuart's place.
Since then the `young men' of the house have pitched in as much as they can,fetching things,and offering to hold Kristian and look after him.
Now they not only get themselves dressed in the morning,they even get their breakfast ready.
"They are incredibly organised,getting things ready for school - it's me that holds things up!" says Helen.
"It's lucky,I suppose,that Stuart and I raised our children to be very independent.They can look after themselves very well for their age."
As the eldest,Ben has been most affected by the loss of his father."He is a sensible little boy,especially when I am on my own with him.He tries to look after me,and to a certain extent I think he feels that as the eldest male in the family,he has to look after the family.He has taken over Stuart's role."
The boys clearly love their baby brother.Daniel in particular often comes over to kiss Kristian on the head and gently smooth his hair."I like the baby.He's nice" he says,looking up at his mother.
Ben,Jamie and Daniel often gather round little Kristian and tell him about his father...about the rough and tumble games they used to play together,about bedtime stories,family outings,and how wonderful their daddy was.
"We always talk about him.The children have such nice memories of their father,and it's important to keep them alive.
"Even Daniel comes out with lots of little facts about Stuart - it's amazing because I would have thought he was too young to remember properly."
Helen says that one day she will also play for Kristian the home videos showing Stuart."We will always keep his memory alive.I want my sons to carry him in their hearts forever.He lives on in them."
Helen got lots of help from friends and family,too.The mums at playgroup still cook for the family three times a week,and people help out by sometimes doing the school run,or by inviting the boys round for tea.
"It's been such a help being surrounded by such caring people - even people I didn't really know before Stuart died have helped" says Helen."I couldn't live in a better area.I'm so grateful to them all.
"The fact that nine months on people are still doing things for me shows it wasn't just a flash in a pan.People have been genuinely kind.
"I know I only have to pick up the phone and ask,and someone will be here for me.It's a real comfort."
But it is the continuance of family life which really helps."The boys keep me going.They are amazing.I look at their faces and realise that I have to keep myself together and continue with life.
"When I found out I was pregnant,it made us all realise there was a future.It gave us all something to look forward to,like a bright new hope on the horizon.
"Stuart would have been so pleased for us.I always call Kristian my special little gift.I'm so glad Stuart gave me such a wonderful present before he died."