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!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Hello Summer!

I don't think I have ever been so ready or so happy to see summer break arrive!  :-)

We started our break with a doctors appointment (more on that in another post), golf for Daddy, play for me and Lily, and then a nice late dinner grilled fresh!

 Grilled corn!  SO GOOD.
Steak.  Oh yeah!

Salad

Cheese toast!

Now that's summer!  And the little girl after my own heart, who will be turning 7 in a week asks, "Do I get to pick whatever I want for my birthday dinner?"  Um, YES!  "Well, I want steak."  :-)  Love that child!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

3 keepers...

I have been so behind on blogging.  I have been reading a lot, but writing very little  This whole pregnancy thing has given me and undeniable love of sleep!  lol. 

I recently (um, 2 weeks ago) had my girls Lauren and Megan over to thank them for everything they did to help my wedding planning and day go smoothly.  I decided to have them over to give them a gift and serve them lunch.  For lunch, I fixed three Pioneer Woman recipes and loved them all!  All three were easy, relatively quick, mostly with ingredients I had on hand, and delicious too!  Here they are...


 (Olive bread just before it goes in the oven to bake)

OLIVE BREAD

14.5 oz can black olives
6 oz jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
2 green onions
1 stick of butter (softened)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese
1 loaf crusty French Bread

Preheated to 325.

Roughly chop the olives and green onion (I used the Pampered Chef manual food processor... it took seconds... it was perfect!)

In a large bowl, combine the butter, mayo, cheese, olives, and onions.  Thoroughly combine. 

Slice the French bread loaf in half lengthwise.  Spread the olive-cheese mixture in an even layer on each half.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese mixture is melted and begins to turn light brown and bubbly.

YUM.



PASTA ALLA BETSY

1 pound penne pasta
1 pound large shrimp (I subbed cooked shredded chicken)
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs olive oil
1 mall onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream (I never said this was low fat!)
Milk for thinning (I didn't need this)
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
6 basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
salt
black pepper

Cook the Penne

Cook and pull apart chicken.

In small skillet over medium high heat add 1 Tbs of the butter and 1 Tbs of the olive oil.

When the pan is hot, if you are using shrimp, cook them in butter until opaque (about 2 minutes) and remove from pan. 

Finely chop the onion.  Add 1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs olive oil.  Add garlic and onion.  Cook until translucent.

Add the wine to the pan and allow to evaporate for about 45 seconds.  Pour tomato sauce in and stir, reduce head to low.  Pour in the cream, reduce heat to simmer.  Add the chicken (or shrimp) and herbs, stir.  Add Pasta and stir to gently coat.

This is SOOOOOO good.



FLAT APPLE PIE
(I made 1/2 a recipe)

5 peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples
2 Tbs all purpose flour
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 pie crusts (I used the frozen that you unroll because I didn't have time to make my own).
1/2 stick of butter.

Preheat to 375

Stir together the apples, flour, lemon juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt.  Set aside.

Roll out two pie crusts into large circles and place each on its own large baking sheet.

Place half of the apple mixture in each crust.

Fold over the edges of each crust sot that it covers 2-3 inches - it's a rustic look).

Dot the tops with chunks of butter.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the filling is golden and bubbly.

YUMMY!!



Happy Cooking!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

This family of three...

...will soon become a family of four!

There is, indeed, a tiny little bun in the oven!


I am going to borrow this little "form" and idea from Ashley!  (Hope you don't mind Ashley!!  :-)  She used then when expecting baby John and I thought it was a cute idea and great way to document!  :-)

Pregnancy Highlights



How Far Along:
5 weeks... I know it is SUPER early, but we just couldn't seem to contain the news, lol!

Size of Baby:
A sesame seed.  lol


Total Weight Gain:
0 lbs (haha... bet this won't last long!)

Sleep:
I have been SO tired during the day.  I go to bed early (or fall asleep on the couch early, only to wake up later and half sleep walk to the bed) and then get up bright and early with tons of energy.  I sleep like a rock!  Like, best sleep of my life kinda sleep!  :-)  I am enjoying that while it lasts too!


Symptoms:
More tired than "normal" and frequent potty breaks!  That's about it!  NO nausea yet, and I am hoping and praying I avoid that part all together!  :-)

What I Miss:
Not yawning all day and being able to stay up past 9:00.  :-)


Cravings:
None so far!


Best Moment This Week:
Going to the doctor!  It was so fun to hear her say everything looked good and that in two weeks we can come back for our first ultrasound!!  :-)  This little sesame seed will have a beating heart by the end of this week!


What I'm Looking Forward To:
EVERYTHING!
We are truly both SOOOO excited.
In the short term - I'll be counting down for two weeks until we can hear that little heart beat!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Prince Charming...


These pictures make me feel like a princess...

 ...but more than the pictures, HE makes me feel that way.
 He is the most generous, compassionate, kind-hearted, all-about-pampering-me guy.
I am so happy to get to walk through life with this man.  We plan to enjoy every single second of growing a family together and raising a family together and growing old together.  A perfect fit.  Worth the wait.  Soul Mate.

Friday, May 6, 2011

More Wedding Pictures...

A few more of my favorites! 









































Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Wedding Part II

Here are a few more wedding photos! 

My Daddy giving me away...



Our vows..


We had a "sand ceremony" instead of a unity candle.  First, because I figured a candle would never stay lit ourside (boy was I right about that - what a windy day!).  Second, because I wanted Lily involved.  Third, because I wanted something I could keep!

Chris, Lily, and I combined sperate vessles of white, black, and tan sand into a beautiful "family."  I love it because you can still see our "individual" characteristics, but we are blened beautifully and can never be sepaprated. 

This is one of my very favorites!  Our prayer. 

 Rings.

And then...
 Husband and Wife...
...and the beginning of fovever...
My
Happily Ever After!