Tyson Hugh Hooper

Tyson Hugh Hooper
Our son, Tyson Hugh Hooper, was born with coarctation of the aorta, hypoplastic arch, and a transitional avsd. His first open heart surgery reconstructed his aorta and was on day 9 of life. His second open heart repair was not anticipated to be needed until two or three years of age. Ty had other plans. We spent the vast majority of his first 3 months of life at Vanderbilt as he went into heart failure and was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. As a result, the medical team concluded that he needed the repair much sooner than usually recommended, and at just shy of 3 months old Ty underwent his second life saving open heart surgery. God has already worked so many miracles in Ty's life and the life of our family and we know he is using our story. Because of this, we are grateful for Ty's special heart and feel beyond blessed that God chose us to travel this road. We ask for prayers as Ty continues to heal. We are praying for a full recovery and life without restrictions for Ty. We are praying for God to use our family and Ty for His glory.

Thank you to each and every person who supports us through prayer, giving, or just by loving on our family! We are humbled and blessed by all of the ways the Lord is providing for us and know that he is using Ty and his story to do great things!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Gatlinburg 2009

Chris' family takes a trip to Gatlinburg every December! I have been hearing about it for years now, but this year I actually got to be a part of it!!! We left an icy snowy Murfreesboro to head to the mountains of East Tennessee!


I was so excited, I had to take pictures of the first snow of the season! It seems really early for snow, but it sure did put me in the Christmas spirit!


Our feet in the very first snow! :-) We were on Chris' parents deck enjoying the beautiful view before we left! We made really good time on the way up with very little traffic! Once there is was on to a whole lot of this....

Resting and relaxing! I don't think Chris' family gets in a hurry for anything... and you know what? That is exactly what I needed! A low key weekend of resting and relaxing! We watched football, shopped, walked, and lounged around the hotel (a lot) and it was so much fun!!!

Jessica and Lily


All bundled up!
It was C-O-L-D this past weekend!!!!!


There are SO many sweets there! We went to a candy store in the village right away to get the queen of all sweet-tooth girls some goodies! I was a good girl and refrained, but I wanted to buy some candy SO bad! :-)

Chris and I documenting our first Gatlinburg trip together!
Is it just me, or is he SUPER hot! ;-) lol

Me, Lily, and Crystal in a sleigh!

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping!

Lily and I
Overall the trip was so much fun! We laughed, we napped, we played games, we ate... it was just the restful little break I needed. I can't thank Chris' family enough for being so generous, for including me as one of their own, and for being exactly themselves - I had a wonderful time and was honored to be in on a family tradition!

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Looks like a lot of fun...and a really nice family.

Allyson said...

You were right by my neck of the woods! I bet you even drove right by our house without realizing it! :)

Megan L Hutchings said...

I knew in my heart that one day you would be making this trip :)!

Gatlinburg is so pretty during the holidays and it looks like you went at the perfect time.