Baby Ella is here! A special message from her Aunt Beth.

To my friends of many faiths I extend a personal prayer request for my newest niece Baby Ella, and my younger sister Emily Pack Boover and her family.

On 10/25 at 4:30 am, Ella Boover was born. She was born 15 weeks early. She let out a cry when she was born, they saw her for a few seconds, she went straight on a ventilator, she is getting meds for lungs and other stuff, she is about the size of an adult hand, weighs 1 lb. 10 oz., and she needs your prayers! We invite you to join us in prayer for Baby Ella, her parents-Emily & Hilton, and her siblings-Sam, Maddie, Jack & Sophie. We are placing our trust in the Lord and know the sweet power of prayer and the peace that it can bring.

BACKGROUND:
Yesterday Emily was at the theatre having Maddie’s birthday party and went to the restroom, noticed things were not right, and was feeling pressure. Our nurse sister Jenny advised her to go straight to Labor & Delivery which she did. On the way to the hospital she called my mom to come assist Hilton with the birthday party as they were not quite finished and mother’s were picking the girls up at the local Krispy Kreme. Emily was immediately admitted to the hospital because of pre-term labor. At only 25 weeks along she was dilated to 3 cm and having contractions 7 minutes apart. Every effort was being made to stop her labor from progressing, to monitor the baby, and to keep Emily and the baby safe. She met with the neonatologist last evening and was informed she would not be leaving the hospital or her bed until she had the baby. We were anticipating that to be many weeks.

You may recall that in February, at 20 weeks along, she had a baby boy Charlie who quickly returned to be with Heavenly Father.

I know that our Father in Heaven hears and answers our prayers and I know of the strength that can come from humble, heartfelt, faithful prayers.

Thank you,
Beth
Baby Ella's Aunt

It's a Girl!

Surprise! We're having a baby....a baby girl. I am almost 21 weeks pregnant. We had an ultrsound this past Tuesday and were able to see "her". Isn't she just beautiful? She has Sophie's little nose. Everything looks great. We are trying to focus on the positive, happy, wonderful blessing this is, instead of getting consumed in worry and stress. We know Heavenly Father loves us and has always blessed us so much even in the most difficult times.

Oh, if you could've seen poor Jack's face when they confirmed what Maddie already knew. "It's a girl". He didn't look too pleased. I'm sure he'll teach his little sister plenty of good, nasty, gross boy stuff. I quote a Betty Jane-ism, "my quiver is full". I am a blessed woman.

Great to be 8!

Are they the most precious sight or what? These two boys are truly a match made in heaven. I know John and Jack knew each other before they were born and most likely begged to be born on the same day. Preemie Jack came a bit early or else they would've been very close. They were blessed together, sit together every Sunday in Primary, get together as often as possible, started Cub Scouts together, and were just baptized together. They will serve missions at the same time (probably not together but who knows?), and I can see them being college roommates together. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they get married together and are next door neighbors. They adore each other! I'm so thankful they have a special friendship. I have never heard them say a cross word to each other, argue or even disagree for that matter. They enjoy every minute they get to spend together and it is a joy to be with them. I am thankful they made the decision to be like our Savior, Jesus and be baptized as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are both wonderful examples to me of how to live.

Big Easy Love

This year marked our 13th wedding anniversary...wow! We haven't had a get away or trip for just the two of us in awhile, so it was great to head to New Orleans for a weekend anniversary trip. My sister-in-law, Christy's boyfriend, Nick, generously offered us the use of his beautiful French Quarter condo (pictured above). We were able to conveniently leave the car at the condo and walk to all the beautiful sights. After arriving Friday night, we freshened up and walked a few blocks to Cafe Maspero. They have the best Muffuletta piled high with meat-ham, pastromi- swiss cheese and that delish olive salad. Hilton had the gigantic seafood platter. We had beignets and chocolate milk for breakfast at Cafe DuMonde. Yum. We love those!! No trip to the Big Easy is complete without a visit to Cafe DuMonde.We walked Jackson Square, did some window shopping and took in all the art and historic beauty of this unique city. It brought back fond memories of our courtship and dating. We spent a lot of time in the French Quarter while we were dating...very romantic.

I said it was a unique city. "Silverman" (I'm sure he has a much better title than that) was actually quite entertaining. I knew Jack would've loved him. He made all sorts of robotic movements with his own interesting body beeping and buzzing sounds. Impressive.
We got a ride from Christy to Magazine Street and checked out the shops and sights here. I loved this area....some very unique and cool shops and boutiques. We had to hang out under an eave of a building while it poured down rain for about an hour. We finally made our way to the highly recommended Juan's Flying Burrito for lunch. Uh, can I just say this was the most fabulous, ginormous burrito I've ever tasted? My mouth is watering just thinking about that yummy monster burrito. Our trip was short, but we packed so much in. We rode the streetcar back to the French Quarter to end our super day. It was a wonderful time to get away with Hilton. Our 13 years have not been perfect, but I know more than ever that he is the perfect one for me. I'm thankful for all the tough stuff we have been through together....
TOGETHER being the key word. I love him more today than I did 13 years ago.

Lazy? days of Summer?

At the beginning of Summer, our family headed to Ft. Morgan, Alabama for a week long beach vacation. I had spent months searching for the perfect spot. We wanted something off the beaten path but not too primitive. We stayed at the Dunes condos a mile from the end of the peninsula. What a blast!! Our condo is the second story balcony right above Jack's head. We loved our time there so much, as soon as we got home we booked it for next year. Unfortunatly and fortunatly, we had to cancel our reservation for next year because we will be attending the Forstyh family reunion in Utah.

This is the Burris farmer's market near Foley, Alabama. We stopped for a potty break and some treats. There were fresh coblers, cookies, cakes...too much to choose from. Of course we had to get a photo with the yummy giant peach. Alabama is known for their juicy peaches.

I had planned our meals very meticulously and brought most everything with us in a cooler. I wanted to park on Saturday and not leave for the entire week. We ate like kings. We did go out to eat in nearby Gulf Shores, AL one day, but for the most part we cooked and ate in our condo.

Our condo was just a few minutes stroll to the beach. Sophie loved building sandcastles and playing on the beach. The water was perfect and the waves were so much fun.

At the end of the peninsula, we caught a ferry to Dauphin Island. There was much to do and see there. We visited historic Ft. Gaines, a civil war fortress and The Dauphin Island Estuarium.

At night, we took our flashlights and buckets in search of ghost crabs. It was fun...and a little scary. Sophie was terrified. Maddie found so many hermit crabs. We let each of them bring one home. Poor hermit crabs.

This is Sam at the Estuarium. He will probably not appreciate my choice of pictures here, but I couldn't help it. He looks so cute. I think he looks like Fish out of water from "Chicken Little". Now I know he really won't appreciate it.

Jack loved every minute of the Estuarium. It was very hands on. Here, he and Sophie are "petting" sting rays. We also got to touch a shark.

This is my most "favoritest" photo. Gramps and Grandma camped for a few days just down the road from us. They came and played at the beach, swam in our pool,and ate with us one day. We went to their campground one night to hang out too. The kids played in the Mobile bay looking for more hermit crabs. We grilled steaks and made s'mores. It was nice sharing some of our vacation with them. We love them sooooooo much.

This was one of the most relaxing, enjoyable vacations we've ever had. Hilton wasn't right on board when I first brought up the idea of spending a week at the beach, but in the end, he loved every minute of it. One day at the beach, I looked around and couldn't find him. I finally spotted him out jumping and riding the waves with Sam. It was a simple thing, but it was beautiful. You'd have to know him like I do, I guess. It made everything so worth it! It was great having Gramps and Grandma closeby for a few days, and Hannah and Parker came and spent a night and day with us. Next time, we'll get a bigger condo for EVERYONE! The more the merrier!

Pomp and Circumstance

In May 1999, Hilton became the first in his family to graduate from college. This past May, Hilton's sister, Christy, set the bar super high for future generations, receiving her doctorate in Audiology from LSU Medical School. Not only was this a great accomplishment, it was also history in the making. This was the first group at LSUHSC in this program, which is the first approved Audiology Doctoral program in the state of Louisiana. Way to go, "Dr. Kiki"! The kids were so excited to cheer on aunt Kiki , see Grandpa Boover (and take the day off school). After the ceremony, we headed to one of Christy's favorite places, Five Happiness, a yummy Chinese restaurant I highly recommend if you're ever in the Big Easy. Another thing the kids were looking forward to was swimming at "Uncle" Nick's condo. Nick just became the proud owner of a French Quarter condo. It is very cool. We also walked the neighborhood, getting the grand tour of local eats, our nephew dog, Baxter's doggy park, and other cool sights. The firemen at the nearby department even let the kids tour the station and climb up in the truck. We had a fantastic day, but the highlight was the pride we had for our Christy. We are soooooooo proud of her and all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears she has put toward getting this far. She has had many bumps in the road and mountains to climb, but she did it! What an example to my children that hard work will get you anywhere you want to go no matter your situation. Thank you, Dr. Sister-Aunt- Kiki-Christy. WE LOVE YOU! TE AMO!

Middle School, here we come

There were no caps. There were no gowns. But there was much celebration. After spending his 5th grade year in our newly built school, Sam has graduated from elementary school. The morning of the graduation, the parents and B.E.E.S. (our PTO) held a yummy breakfast in the student's honor...fresh fruit, sausage, eggs, biscuits...a chocolate fountain with donut holes, fruit, marshmallows and nutter butters for dipping. It was very nice. Following the breakfast, a ceremony was held in the "gymatorium". I presented a slideshow of the entire 5th grade class I had been working on. I'm not tooting my horn, but I do think that was one of the highlights of the program. [Sidenote: In the process of working on the slideshow, my computer received a horrible (we thought deadly) virus. This has been one of the reasons I have been unable to blog. Finally, after much desperation and giving in to the fact that we had lost everything on our computer- priceless photos, etc...one of Hilton's technically gifted friends performed miracles and my dinosaur of a computer is back up and running.I have also since purchased a thumbdrive, where all my photos are safely resting.] As I sat among these wonderful young people I have rubbed shoulders with and learned to know almost as my own through the years, looking at their sweet baby pictures and now photos, I got a bit teery eyed. Wow! How time has flown! They are growing up way too fast. I am thankful for the blessed associations with the wonderful students, friends and teachers at Sumrall Elementary. Sam will be going back to the former elementary building, where he attended K-4th grade, but it will be different. My baby is a Middle Schooler. He, along, with the entire class, have been prepped on the ways of middle school. Lots of rules, they all say. I think they're all a bit nervous, but I know he'll do well.

Mrs. Linda Simmons with her star math student- her words;not this braggy mom's. Sam was close to terrified when he heard Mrs. Simmons was moving to 5th grade because he remembered her from 1st grade. His class was right next to hers and he could hear her screaming through the wall. Just like the saying goes, "Those of whom you thought unkind, oft become your warmest friends", Mrs. Simmons turned out to be one of his all time favorite teachers. He learned so much from her this year- and not just about math. What a blessing teachers are. I am forever thankful for the heaven-sent teachers in my life and now in the lives of my children.