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!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Menu Monday


Monday:
Grilled Steak
Baked Potatoes
Green Beans


Tuesday:
Quesadillas
Beans and Rice


Wednesday:
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches


Thursday:
Burgers


Friday:
Date night!


Saturday:
Soup


Sunday:
Leftovers or Pizza

Monday, August 26, 2013

Menu Monday

Monday:
Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas

Tuesday:
BLTs

Wednesday:
Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole

Thursday:
Grilled Pork Chops
Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower
Smash Hot Potatoes

Friday:
Hamburgers

Saturday and Sunday:
Plans with family!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Menu Monday... a day early for a change!

Monday:
Grilled Pork Chops
Roasted Vegetables
Grilled Asparagus

Tuesday:
Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans

Wednesday:
White Chicken Enchiladas

Thursday:
Breakfast Casserole
Home Fries
Muffins

Friday:
Home Made Pizza

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Grilled Burgers or Hot Dogs
Chips

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Phone Photo Unload

My phone is full of pictures and I try to load them to the computer and clear them off the phone on a pretty regular basis.  The key word there is "try."  It never actually happens.  I usually only manage to do it every 3 or 4 months.  Today, I did just that.  So, here are a few of my favorite phone photos from this summer...

Grandmommy and Ava Grace picking flowers.

The pool!
You know I had tons of pool pictures.
I'm only sharing a few, but had to share this one of our sweet neighbor and friend, Kassidy!  Both our girls love her and think she is the coolest.... because, well, she is!  Have I mentioned today that we have the best neighbors ever?  Ever. 
This picture is posted as proof that I exist.  It's a running joke at our house because I am always the one taking the picture and thus never in them!  

These two have gotten crazy close over the summer.  Chris is just plain and simply the best. daddy. ever.

If one paci is good, two is better, right?

Playing at the park with Papaw.
Ava Grace is a little dare devil!  She loves to slide and swing!!

This was the summer of the scooter for Lily!  This thing went everywhere with use!

Okay, one more pool picture!  This water bug is all about "wimming."  She even jumped off the diving board at Grandmommy and Papaws!

Too cool for school...
LOVES Mommy's glasses!

Chris and Lily at her favorite place...
the ZOO of course!

Fun with Daddy at the gym!

Sister can put away some milk!


The best view is from daddy's shoulders!


Okay, a couple more pool pictures.
They are just too darn cute!

Future golfer?
Ava Grace loves to go to the golf course and ride in the golf cart and "help" Daddy golf.  Last time we went, she insisted on bringing her own clubs and playing alongside Chris.  It was too cute and she was so proud of herself!

Fishing at the park.

Painting


2nd day of 4th grade!  I forgot to take a picture when we picked her up on her first day... ooops!  She is getting so big and grown up... I STILL can't believe she's a fourth grader.  Every time I say it sounds weird!

Lauren and Courtney's new addition, Connor!


Me and Connor

Courtney and Connor!
He is the CUTEST little thing!  I was blown away at how tiny he was.  I swear I don't remember Ava Grace being that small.  Too. Too. Sweet.

Ava Grace's new, most-favorite-in-all-the-world thing to do is play "chi-chen" (kitchen).  We moved Lily's play kitchen to the loft and Ava Grace has played with it every single day.  She takes me to the bottom of the stairs every single morning and asks to go up and play kitchen.  This morning I snapped this picture of her serving me a breakfast of hot dogs, chicken and a very large carrot.  Yummy.

Dinner and a movie!
This little plastic chair and table, that we got for the deck, have been loved and used all summer!  Inside AND out!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Menu Monday

Monday:
Terriaki Chicken and Rice

Tuesday:
Taco Salad

Wednesday:
Grilled Chicken
Potato Salad
Baked Beans

Thursday:
Pizza

Friday:
Out

Saturday:
Leftovers

Saturday, August 10, 2013

All About Ava Grace

Sweet Ava Grace,

 School has started back and I am so thankful I get to stay home with you!  We have so much fun together and you are learning so much!  With Daddy and Lily off at work and school, we have been finding new ways to have fun!  One of our favorites is ditching the diaper and having water fun out on the deck!


 Boy, do you love to splash!

You are 18 months old now and you surprise us every day with new words and phrases!  You are so very smart and a big time problem solver!  You are still small on the growth chart but we have experienced first hand the good things that come in small packages!  You may be small, but your are mighty!


We did some painting this week and you did not like the paint getting on you or off of the paper you were painting.  You don't like getting dirty or messy and we had to stop every few minutes to wipe up all the paint and wash your hands.


We have been working on colors and counting to three.  You can say all of the colors, but as far as "knowing" them, you aren't there yet.  According to you, everything is yellow!  As far as counting goes, your favorite number is 2.  If we ask you about how many of something there are, you always say two!  When counting, you say, "two, two, twooooo" instead of "one, two, threeeee."  It's pretty cute.


You talk in short phrases and sentences now and it is so cute!  You say, "I come!" if you want to go with us.  You also say, "I go, I watch, and I read."  You like giving us instructions like, "Sit right here."  You also tell us that you want to have "lunch" every time you are hungry!


You and I are finding new and fun things to play with around the help to polish your fine motor skills and to work on things like counting, sorting, sharing, and taking turns!  One of your favorite "new" toys is the Parmesan cheese container!  We cleaned an empty one and put q-tips in it!  You love to empty it and then we take turns dropping the q-tips in the round holes one at a time.  You enjoy a similar activity with an empty peanut butter jar that has holes drilled in the lid and pipe cleaners to push through the holes. 


You're still our wild girl!  You love to jump, climb, flip, and romp around!  You and Lily have a big time climbing in and out of your pack and play together and flipping and tumbling around the living room.  You have already figured out that big sis is really cool and fun!


You love love love music!  You dance slow by waving your arms slowly around and slowly spinning.  You fast dance by bouncing, jumping, and waving your hands up and down quickly.  You also enjoy singing... especially songs that have motions!!!

We love you sweet girl!  We fall more in love with you every day!

xoxo

Monday, August 5, 2013

Menu Monday

Monday:
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

(This is my favorite crock pot trick!  I put a couple large chicken breasts straight from the freezer into the crock pot.  I cover them with water and season the water with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  I set the crock pot on low and let it go for 6-8 hours while I'm at work.  When I get home I remove the chicken, shred with two forks, and then toss the shredded meat with buffalo sauce and a little ranch!  Put it on buns and you have dinner!  It doesn't get any easier than that!  For the kids, I pull out a little of the meat and toss with regular barbecue sauce.  All four of us love these!)


Tuesday:
Roasted Pork Loin and vegetables
(vegetables - red potatoes, carrots, and onion)


Wednesday:
Grilled Honey Chicken
Steamed Cauliflower
Green Beans


Thursday:
Grilled Chicken Salad
(with the leftover honey chicken)


Friday:
Pasta Night
Pioneer Woman's Pasta a la Betsy


Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Taco Salad