Meet Harlee

So, I spent Wednesday night in Lake City because of this little thing. :)

Well, not Mama...the dog. :) This is Harlee. He's an English Springer Spaniel. He's actually the puppy of Roxy and Romeo, who are Christopher's parent's dogs.

Roxy had 4 puppies and they were born on Mother's Day! There were 2 girls and 2 boys. And two of them were liver and white, which is the most typical color of springer spaniel, and there was one black and white and one orange and white, like Romeo.

Aren't they precious?????

When the puppies were born in May, Mama started talking about how she might want one of them. I knew that once she went to see them, it would be OVER. You know how puppies are!

He's so cute! And he was the biggest one in the litter...obviously he was getting all the groceries! He could even walk up the steps when we brought him home.

He's done really well these first few nights. He's going to be an outside dog, but the Sneads have their dogs crate trained, so Harlee will probably get to sleep inside in his crate. His dad, Romeo, is really smart, so we're hoping that Harlee is going to follow in Romeo's footsteps. Romeo can even count! Even if Harlee can't count, though, I'm sure that we'll love him anyway.

He's just too cute not to!! :)

Spencer and Allison :)

So, my little brother is finally engaged. :)

Spencer and Allison have been dating for over 9 1/2 years now! I think she was like 14 when they started dating. :) Spencer has been working with my dad at J&J Pools for the last several years and has been taking on more and more responsibility with the company. Every summer, he saves his money and makes a big purchase...a jet ski, a wakeboarding boat, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, a boat, and most recently a farm and a house. And we kept thinking...but what about a big sparkly purchase?? :)

So Spencer finally decided that he was ready to ask Allison. He came to me and Mama for a little assistance, mostly with logistics. :)

Apparently, when they were at the Beach a while back, Allison wanted to build an alligator at the Build-A-Bear Workshop at Broadway at the Beach. The alligator was a special limited edition animal and was only going to be sold in Myrtle Beach. Spencer was working everyday from dawn 'til dusk during the time. I was on Spring Break after Spencer got the ring and Mama and I were at the Beach, so he sent us on a mission. :)

This is a picture of Mama and me when we were putting the heart in the gator while the girl was stuffing him. They actually have you close your eyes and make a wish, but Mama and I started crying when we were doing that, so I decided not to put the picture up. :) We prayed for Spencer and for Allison and for their life together.

When the girl who was stuffing figured out what we were doing, she got sooooo excited! And all the people who were in line behind us (which was like 50-75 people) were passing it along and telling one another. We could hear them saying, "OHHH! That is so sweet!" and stuff like that. I was really, really hoping that we wouldn't see anyone we knew! Our secret would have been blown!

That alligator (whose name is registered now as "Glitter Gator" at Build-A-Bear) was so cute! They packaged him up and stuck his head out of the front and his tail out of the back. We bought some shorts to put on him and everything! These shorts are the kind that Spencer wears when he's working, so he looks like Spencer. :)

Spencer was so excited when Mama brought the gator home. He had actually planned on waiting until Friday night, but he got so pumped up about it that he did it on that Thursday night instead.

His idea was to put the ring inside the alligator's mouth and to propose to her that way. Isn't that cute? The alligator is holding a heart in front of him that says "I Love You" and it has a voice recorder on the inside that Spencer had recorded the words

"I love you Allison. Will you marry me?"

It was really exciting, too, because he proposed the Thursday before the Cup in Camden. This is a picture of them that Saturday before the Cup. I had Allison a koozie made that said "Just Engaged" so that she could carry it around and people would see it. :) She had such a blast getting to tell people and show them her ring. That's like the best part of getting engaged!

They're getting married in February, after pool season is over. And last I heard, they're going to Disney World for their honeymoon. I'm so jealous!!! But they're super-excited and so am I.

It's about time!! :)

Jameson is in Thailand!

This is Jameson. :)

Jameson is Christopher's younger brother. He's 22 years old and he just graduated from College of Charleston in May with a degree in Biology.

He has actually decided just recently that he wants to go to nursing school and eventually to get his masters in nurse anesthesia, like Christopher is doing. He will begin classes to get his BSN at Francis Marion in the fall. (I tried to talk him out of it. :) Nursing...yuck!)



While at College Of Charleston, Jameson became involved with a Christian organization called Campus Outreach. Last summer, after his junior year, he had the opportunity to participate in a summer missions project that Campus Outreach calls "Summer Orlando Project" where college kids commit to spend the summer working in Walt Disney World in Orlando in an effort to share their faith with their coworkers, who are people of all ages, from all over the world. Jameson specifically worked as a janitor in one of the water parks at Disney World, which I'm sure he will tell you, was a humbling experience for him. :) During their project, they go through discipleship training in addition to just working at their jobs. Project (and of course God:) completely changed Jameson.



This summer, Jameson was invited to spend the summer on a Cross-Cultural Project through Campus Outreach. Only a select number of students are asked to go - and this particular year, the group went to Thailand. Jameson is now living on a college campus and buidling relationships with the students there in order to share Christ with them.

God has already been so gracious in the short time Jameson has been there. First of all, He provided the funds that were needed for him to go, which when we all started talking about it a few months ago, it seemed impossible! He raised over $5000 in support and was even able to use the little bit of overage that he had to help other students who were not able to raise all of their support. Second, He provided safety in travel overseas for all members of the team to make it to Bangkok, Thailand and then to their final destination, which is a name that I can't pronounce. :) Third, Jameson has been able to communicate with us via cell phone to alleviate our fears and to let us know that he is okay. I'm sure that his parents would like to talk to him more, but we're still sketchy on the details of this Verizon to Verizon situation. :) So the few short conversations we have had with him have been satisfying enough. :) Also, he is able to e-mail us and keep us up-to-date that way.

I'm asking that you would all pray for Jameson and his team while he is in Thailand. He won't be back in the states until the very end of July, so he still has a LONG way to go!


Please pray that the Lord would give them all safety and good health. Being in a foreign country is stressful enough, but it is difficult to feel your best when the food and water is different, and I imagine sometimes unsanitary. Having a healthy mind is also a part of feeling good, too. And it's hard to minister and share with others when you are homesick or fretful about events that have taken place back home. So please pray that they would all be clear in mind and in spirit!




Please pray for the people of Thailand. As I understand it, the religion is mainly Buddhism. Pray that the people that they are ministering to would have softened hearts, that are open to hearing the Word of God - about the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ - about the recognition of innate sin that we all carry and our need for God to forgive us of that sin - about the grace that God provides to keep us from living an eternal life apart from Him - and about the love that God lavishes us with when we are people that don't deserve that love.

Also, pray for God to break down any barriers that may exist - language barriers, any mistrust of Americans, or any cultural differences that would keep someone from hearing God's Word.

Please pray for their families back home. Pray that God would comfort their parents, brothers and sisters, boyfriends and girlfriends, and their friends while they are away. Even pray that God would use this time to help those people back home reflect on their own relationships with Christ, and that through these students making this sacrifice, that someone back home may even come to know Christ.


And finally, please pray for Jameson. :) Graduating from college is such a difficult time...you feel as if you're supposed to know what you're going to do with your life and sometimes it just doesn't work out that way! Pray that God would reveal himself to Jameson this summer in a new and evident way. Pray that God would give Jameson the boldness to share the Gospel without fear. Pray that God would give Jameson new knowledge to come home and share with his local lost friends. Pray that Jameson will be forever changed by this experience and that God would bring him back home safely to us.



Thanks so much!! :)

My FAVORITE picture. :)

Is this not the coolest picture ever???

There's a picture of Christopher with 2 other guys earlier in my posts and I mentioned that Chad (the guy who was in the middle) was in Iraq. He just got back a few weeks ago and this picture is of him and his wife, Karen, hugging. I just LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!! The Mieles have an exchange student staying with them and he took this picture when Chad got back a few weeks ago. Christopher and I visited them on my birthday and the stories he told us were horrible, to say the least. And he was involved in a bombing on his very last mission right before he was scheduled to come home. So we are SO thankful that he is home now, safe and sound!

Needless to say, I think this picture belongs in a magazine!!!!

I'm so humbled by their sacrifice...both Chad's and Karen's. Chad is a First Lieutenant and was in charge of over 40 men while in Iraq. He and Christopher went to Florence Christian together, then were at the Citadel together. They were in the same company at the Citadel (Delta), but Christopher is a year older than Chad. So here this group is, in Iraq, with a 24-year-old guy as a direct leader. I mean, Chad has been through extensive training and was more than well-qualified for the job. But imagine the pressure for him! He was directly responsible for the safety of these men and women and bringing them home safely to their spouses, families, and children!!

...And Karen was home in Florence. Patiently waiting. I just realize how selfish I am. I couldn't even stand to be away from Christopher when I was spending every other weekend in Florence working at the hospital! And when he's at the hospital for 16-hour overnight call shifts in the OR, I can't sleep. At all. I just admire both of them so much!

Catching Up....

Oh...where to start. :) I"m sure no one is even going to read this because I haven't posted a blog in a kajillion years, but maybe I can help restore your faith in me as readers of my blog!


Christopher and I are REALLY enjoying Columbia. School is going really well for him...he made a 4.0 last semester!!! And I am so proud of him (of course)! I think he's really enjoying the information he's learning. And let me tell you...we used to talk about nursing and medical stuff all the time since we were both nurses. But the things that he talks about now...WAY over my head. I just let him talk with his classmates about that. :) When our friend Zachary comes over to eat or Jeremy comes from across the street, I just watch TV. Because they use words that I've never heard before.


We've been going to Shandon Baptist Church in Forest Acres, which has been AMAZING!!! We go to the contemporary worship service at 11:30 and if I had to name the #1 reason that we would stay in Columbia after Christopher graduates, it would be that I love that church so much!


I guess other interesting news would be that I got a new job. :) I started as school nurse for Brennen Elementary School in Richland One back at the end of February. I can assure you, I thought school nursing would be so calm and easy...I was wrong. :) It's different from the hospital in oh so many ways. But I'm learning. And one of the other school nurses, Angie, has stuck to me like glue to make sure that I'm comfortable, which is so helpful. My school has about 760 kids (it's the biggest elementary school in Richland One) and the families are some of the richest and the poorest in the whole area. Their needs are so, so diverse. It's been one of the coolest experiences, too, to have hearing impaired kids at my school. Sign language FASCINATES me and I'm learning so much. I even have my own sign name! It means "Nurse Snead", which is hysterical. But the best part about school nursing is the summer vacation, which I'm experiencing now. Eight weeks!!!


Also, I turned 30 a few weeks ago. Thirty...30. No matter how you say or spell it...it sounds OLD!!! :) Christopher and my mom had a surprise family party for me in Lake City at LaBamba (yay!). It was soooooo special. Christopher is the most awesome husband...and a good secret-keeper! :)








Was this not the cutest cake ever??? Mrs. Beverly Severance made this one, too...in addition to my 21st birthday cake and our wedding cake. I love her! And her cake. :)





Well, I guess I'll go cook lunch...Christopher worked at Palmetto Health Richland in the OR from 3PM yesterday until 7AM this morning. YIKES! So he's sleeping now....and he'll be starving shortly!


Promise I'll do better with keeping up! ;)