the sneads

That Fox-y bride, Anna... :)

2010-06-27T08:56:00.011-04:00

So, Anna and Brandon got married on Saturday. And it was AMAZING. Anna did some of the most unique, special, and COOL things that I have ever seen. From the fact that she wore a gown worn by her mother and aunt to the hand-crafted bouquets (made by Rhonda) to the custom signs and stamping on EVERYTHING and the most fun reception I have ever been to!!

I was so excited about taking the picture above. I sang in the wedding, so I had a completely different perspective of the ceremony!! They both just kept looking at me and smiling and glowing - I couldn't help but tearing up almost every time they did it!!!

I helped her with a few things -

I decorated the ribbon and grapevine balls that the flower girls carried...

and made Anna a few custom gifts for special friends...

and had the sweet privilege of making Anna's garters - one to wear and one to share. :)

This is Christopher and I before I got sweaty at the reception. :)

Bottlecap and resin magnets that had pictures of cute cartoon foxes, as well as pictures of the couple and sweet phrases.

Fans for swatting the bugs. :)

A framed collage of Anna, her mother Kim, and her aunt each wearing the dress.

Presents! And one of Anna's amazing bridal photographs.

COTTON CANDY!! Along with candy apples, swirled suckers, rock candy, and bubble gum. Anna also had these cool moustaches on sticks that you could take your picture with. :)

She also had BBQ, cole slaw, potato salad and rolls. And cupcakes, funnel cakes, corn dogs, home fries, and sno cones. It made me sad that I have to wait until the State Fair in October to get that food again!! :)

The bluegrass band.

The garden was FULL of beautiful sunflower that Anna's dad planted when she got engaged. How sweet is that??!!

The beautiful couple arriving at the reception in a vintage convertible, trailed by a string of cans and shotgun shells. :)

Look at how Brandon is looking at her. :)

Let me tell you...If you weren't there, YOU MISSED IT!!!

Anna, thanks for letting me be a part of your super-special day. :) I had so much fun!! And I can't wait to see all of the pictures - the handful of images that I have don't even do the day justice.

Tara Jane :)

Citrus Herb Vinaigrette Salad Dressing... :)

2010-06-25T11:30:00.005-04:00

I LOVE a good salad. Today for lunch, I made a salad with mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, boiled eggs, dried cranberries, and slivered almonds...yummmm. :) I found a recipe that is a seriously close replica for the salad dressing at Bonefish Grill.

2/3 cup EVOO (I actually use canola oil)

1/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar (I used champagne wine vinegar - yummy!)

4 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

2 tsp lime juice

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp fresh parsley, minced

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1) Whisk all ingredients in a bowl.

2) Microwave on high for one minute or until the mixture bubbles rapidly.

3) Whisk for one more minute, until mixture forms an emulsion.

4) Cover and chill for one hour before serving.

I promise, you won't be disappointed. :)

Recipe courtesy of http://www.grouprecipes.com/32759/bonefish-grill-citrus-herb-vinaigrette.html

Well, I'm off to BodyFit. Then Christopher and I are going to Florence for the weekend. Anna's wedding is tomorrow!! I can't wait!

What??

2010-06-24T09:11:00.005-04:00

So what has Tara Jane been DOING since she's "retired" now? :) Well, a lot actually! First, we've been baby-sitting this sweet pup for a week!! That's right, THREE greyhounds in our small little house. :) This is Bernie - and he is unbelievably sweet. I wish I could keep him!!

And I've finally been able to do some of my crafty stuff!!! Our dining room table has turned into my "work space" - I have like 57 projects in the works. This week, though I've renamed my workshop to "Anna's Sweatshop", managed by Chad Lynch. :) Anna's wedding is this Saturday and I, along with several other friends, are helping her get everything done that needs to be done!! Her reception theme is fair - candy apples, cotton candy, funnel cake, sno cones and all!

I'm so excited!!

And I can finally cook and bake, like I love to do!! I made the yumminess seen below for Christopher's fellow anesthesia employees at Baptist.

Mint Chocolate Chip...tasty. :)

Just Shameful... :)

2010-06-22T09:06:00.017-04:00

"Where has Tara Jane been", you ask? :) Not updating my blog, that's for sure!! There has been so much going on for us in the past year and a half!

First of all, Christopher graduated with his master's in nurse anesthesia at the beginning of May! Woo hoo, finally!! :) He passed his boards with flying colors and started as a CRNA at Palmetto Health Baptist on June 14th. I "retired" as the school nurse at Brennen at the end of the school year and have been working hard at home. :) I recently started designing my own line of accessories and hope to be able to do much more of that now that I actually have some free time.

The decision to stay in Columbia was certainly bittersweet. We have really missed our friends and family in Florence and were certain that we would end up back there. Just before Christmas of last year, we came to a quick realization that the house that we'd bought in our cookie-cutter neighborhood was impossible to sell. There were/are 12 others (that are exactly like ours) for sale, most of which have been on the market for almost a year. We started praying about what to do and literally the next day, a good friend let Christopher know about a position at Baptist. We continued to pray and talk to family and finally made the decision that we needed to stick around Columbia. It's been the most awesome thing to discover almost daily, the reasons that God wanted us to be here. Just since New Year's, we've had the opportunity to get much more involved in church at Shandon and have made TONS of new friends, which has been so exciting!!

Well, I'm off to lunch with my friend Tina - her husband graduates from anesthesia school next May and I KNOW how she feels!! :) Except, they have a two-year-old in the mix - holy cow!!

I promise I'll be much more diligent about keeping up with my blog. :) I've missed keeping in touch with everyone!

Tara Jane :)

One of those days...

2008-09-06T16:50:00.006-04:00

I don't know about y'all, but lately I've been feeling a LOT like this...

I was at home cleaning up one day and I found Mali doing this. And he really and truly was sitting JUST LIKE THIS!! This was not a transition from one pose to another. He was just all slumped over in my armchair like "Whew! I've had a rough day! Can somebody get me some Coca-Cola and some crunchies??"

I've had a tough few weeks with my school starting back and with Christopher getting back into the swing of clinical and school. I am SO frustrated with my job right now and I don't want to be!!! We've been back in school for 3 weeks and I just can't seem to get my work done when I'm at school, so I end up having to bring stuff home, which always stinks. I try unbelievably hard to please everyone and you just can't seem to make some of these parents happy about ANYTHING. Maybe it's because I don't have any kids yet, but I don't think it's unrealistic for a parent to realize that I am ONE NURSE and I have 800 students and 100 employees at my school. Can I really be expected to treat every single person like they are my #1 priority on a daily basis? Is that even humanly possible?

And why don't kids pay attention to what they're doing? How can you miss seeing a mobile unit or a fence outside and literally RUN SMACK INTO IT when you're playing soccer at recess?? Also, why don't they understand that when you eat spaghetti at lunch and drink milk, then go outside at recess and run around like a maniac in 95 degree weather that it will PROBABLY make your stomach hurt. And when it does, I think I know what will make it feel better...go POOP!!!! :) And when you come see me and I give that suggestion, I'm not asking you if you want to...I'm TELLING you that this is what you need to do.

And why is it that everyday when I'm walking out of my office with my lunchbox and my drink to FINALLY get a break (which is a scheduled time that the teachers are aware of, I might add), a teacher brings a student to me and says, "Oh, are you about to go to lunch? Well, would you mind looking at this one thing?" To which I would like to respond, did you look at your watch before you came? And if you noticed this when the child got to school this morning, why are you waiting until now to say something?? This one thing typically involves calling a parent that has at least 2 disconnected phone numbers and having to leave a message that is never returned. By that time, 15 minutes of my lunch is gone and kids are seeing that the light in my office is on and they keep on coming. Thanks a lot teacher. I hope you get to eat your lunch. :) Here, have mine! I'm not gonna need it!!!

Then, when the bell at the end of the day finally rings, it never fails. A child vomits in the hallway outside of my door. And instead of completing the mountain of documentation for the 30 visits, 10+ medications, and 2 tube feedings that I've done that day, I have to track down his/her mother and let them know that the child missed the bus and wait for 45 minutes until she can make it over to school.

That's okay, though. Because the daily documentation is the least of the school nurse's paperwork worries. DHEC makes sure that there is not one moment that you are bored when you're at school. I thought care plans were done when I graduated from nursing school, but I was incorrect. And don't worry about sending your kids to school if their immunizations are not correct...there's a school nurse there with whom the great pleasure lies of reviewing 800 individual immunization records to make sure that they are complete and good to be attending school. But don't worry, she'll send you a letter if you're not up-to-date. :) And then next month, be sure to look out for a referral for medical/dental/vision/hearing attention just in case your child is one of the 800 children that she screens this fall that needs glasses or dental work. And what? You don't have insurance or Medicaid and can't pay for these things? Well, don't you worry about that either!! Your school nurse can help you fill out some paperwork (in Spanish, too!) and get you connected with some organizations that will pick your child up from school, take them to the eye doctor, then deliver your glasses 2 weeks later. Don't worry though, you don't need to thank her for working so hard to help you and going to all that trouble. I'm sure she knows you're thankful, even when you don't ever say it.

But I'm not bitter. :) Poor Christopher had to listen to how horrible my day was over the cell phone my whole drive home from school on Friday. And of course, he reminded me that I didn't have to put up with it if I didn't want to. That's the good thing about nursing...there's ALWAYS another job out there. And most of them would probably be making more money than I do at my current one!!

But I know that deep down, I don't want to leave or quit doing this. I'm just so overwhelmed and frustrated right now. I was thinking about that this morning and I remembered taking this picture...

One of the neatest things about this summer was that we had a LOT of hummingbirds! Christopher's mom gave us a feeder and we put it up before summer vacation and like 2 days after we put it up, I counted 15 visits in one afternoon! Christopher and I would just sit there and watch the birds play with each other and buzz down and get some juice. I read on the internet that sometimes, it takes 2 or 3 seasons for the hummingbirds to find your feeder. And even then, they won't always feed...if there are too many flowers around, they'll stick to the flowers. And if there aren't enough flowers, they'll find somewhere else to go. I found out, too, that the juice/nectar is just to get energy so that they can fly and find insects to eat. I always thought they just lived off of nectar!! And they usually stop coming in August, because as the days get shorter, something changes in them hormonally to let them know that it's time to migrate. We've noticed that there aren't quite as many at our feeder anymore, but we still have a few stop by everyday.

God is SUCH a genius. I mean, those birds don't know what day it is or what month! But God takes care of them in such a neat way and lets them know when it's time to find warmer weather. They're not worried about not getting their work done!! And I know He takes care of me...it's foolish for me not to realize that and for it not to be the first thing that pops in my head when I wake up in the morning...I am God's and today, He's going to take care of me, just like He did yesterday!!! So there's no reason to be anxious about today...so what if I don't get my paperwork done at 3:30 today (or 4:00 or 4:30 for that matter). If it can wait until tomorrow, it'll still be sitting there when I get to work.

Philippians 4:6 (The Message)
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. "

Our Atlanta trip...

2008-07-23T08:37:00.000-04:00

I know this trip was like 2 weeks ago, but I've been slack with posts for some reason. My mother-in-law told me the other day that she keeps checking for updates, so I finally felt guilty enough and decided to get it together! :)

Anyway, Christopher and I went to Atlanta for July 4-9th. It was a super-early anniversary trip (our anniversary isn't until August 12th). Christopher will be back in school by then and I'll be back at work on August 4th, so we knew we needed to do whatever we were going to do early. We stayed downtown at The Ellis, which was a really cool boutique-style hotel. Our room was really pretty...the only thing was that our view from our window was literally of the building next door, which was 5 feet away. :) Wish I had known about that!!

On the 4th of July, we went to the Braves game, which was SO MUCH FUN! I haven't been to the new stadium yet, so that was really cool. The weather was super-nice, too, so that helps!

They had some extra-special stuff since it was the 4th of July, which was really cool. I wish that you could have seen how big this flag really was! It was HUGE!!!

There's definitely a story behind the picture below. :) Christopher and I were given a gift certificate to a restaurant called The Palm when we went on our honeymoon to Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Needless to say, it was AWESOME! (Thanks Jameson!) When we were there, all these people around us were eating these HUGE lobsters. Neither of us had ever had lobster before and decided against ordering it, but we've been talking about it ever since. So when I realized that there was a Palm Restaurant in Atlanta, I checked it out and they were doing their summer lobster special again. So we had to take advantage of the opportunity. I got to wear a lobster bib. :)

One really cool part was the Georgia Aquarium. It was SO COOL! I know that all of you who have kids would really, really like it. You even get to pet sting rays and sharks!

I don't have any pictures of this, but the whole reason we went to Atlanta was to go to see Dave Matthews, which was AWESOME. His saxophone player had just been in an ATV accident a couple of days before that, but they had a substitute who was the saxophonist for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. It rained a little bit, but we definitely didn't care. :)

That God...he's so tricky. :)

2008-07-08T23:37:00.009-04:00

So, I have a couple of pictures to post, but I don't have the time or energy to do it tonight. :)However, I thought I'd let y'all in on a little something that happened while Christopher and I were in Atlanta over the weekend.

The whole reason we went was to celebrate our second wedding anniversary a little early. We got there on Friday and just came back today (Tuesday). We had some fun things planned, one of which was to go to Buckhead Church on Sunday morning. I am really, really inspired by some good old praise and worship music and my memory had been jogged by a friend about this church and how great it was. So we decided to get up and go on Sunday morning.

I had printed off directions from Mapquest, plus Christopher and I had borrowed a GPS for the trip. We were running a few minutes behind what I would have preferred and we started following the directions, which appeared to be the same. I was a little snappy and anxious about trying not to be late. And I don't like to drive when Christopher and I are together...I just like to give directions. :) Well, Christopher didn't take a turn that I was instructing him, ever so gently and with such a great amount of kindness (NOT!) to take and we ended up a little turned around. Thanks to the GPS, we got our bearings back, and were going down a road that we had been travelling and were somewhat familiar with. He was silent. I said, "What's your problem", we shared a married people argument about how you should have done this and I couldn't because you told me too late. I'm sure you can all imagine. :)

ANYWAY. We were going down the road in the Buckhead area and we couldn't find the building, which I had seen a picture of on the directions I had printed out. We finally got to where the GPS stated "Arriving at your destination on the left" and shows you the little checkered flag. Yay! We're finally here!

We parked in a small parking lot, which seemed a little off to me because the church website mentioned 3 different parking garages. Hmmmm.

We walked into the front doors of the church and were greeted by a very small group of people. Hmmm. Now, I know this is an extremely large church.

We seated ourselves in the "sanctuary", which consisted of about 100 folding chairs and a stage with several rock-type musical instruments, a sound board at the back, and a screen at the front left, with a PowerPoint slide of a really cool photo and the sermon series advertisement. Hmmm.

People trickled in and were seated. I said, "Christopher, I'm kinda confused. Nothing seems to be matching up with what my perception of this church was going to be." He agreed. I went outside for a couple of minutes and checked the address on the building.

No way.

We were at the completely wrong place. What do you do??? Church was about to start and the preacher, who seemed super-cool, had already come up to us and introduced himself. The music started and it was really cool music from the Passion series. So of couse, we just stayed put!

And boy, am I glad we did.

When the preacher got up to do the sermon, he announced that they had been going through the book of James. When he announced the scripture, I quickly skimmed it, smiled, and showed it to Christopher with some serious conviction. Let me quote it for you...

"What causes fights and quarrels among you?

Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?

You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet,

but you cannot have what you want.

You quarrel and fight." James 4:1-2 (NIV)

How fully aware am I of the fact that I am selfish and prideful. My husband is so special and kind. And I realize that I sometimes take his passive nature as a signal for me to just run over him. How dare me to be that way! I am so thankful for Christopher and how much meaning that he has added to my life. And I am also so, so thankful that I serve a God who keeps me in check, even in the most "accidental" kind of way.

Someone help me! :)

2008-07-02T14:41:00.004-04:00

I can't stop myself! I've been shopping every single day this week! :)

Christopher is in clinical every day and I'm still getting used to the fact for some reason that I'm off for the whole summer. I think I'm in the mindset that I need to get errands done and accomplish things with every free minute, which is definitely not necessary. We're going to Atlanta this weekend, and I don't think my school nurse uniforms would be appropriate attire for a baseball game and a concert. :) So I started looking for a couple of outfits to wear while we're there. And it just spun right out of control. I think I'm okay now...tomorrow is the only other day this week that Christopher won't be with me. :)

I've been corresponding with Christopher's brother, Jameson while he is in Thailand and he says that things are going really well. They've already seen 2 (maybe 3, I can't remember exactly what he said) of the college students come to Christ, which is really exciting. They have the weekends off, so he's been getting to do some really neat stuff touring around the area.

Tonight we're going to eat sushi with our friends Jeremy and Tiffany. They just got a new puppy and he is so unbelievably cute! He's a yorkie and he weighs less than 3 pounds. So tiny!!! The last picture is actually him at their back door next to Jeremy's flip flops.

His name is Bentley. What a doll baby! :)

This past weekend...

2008-07-01T13:47:00.003-04:00

Do we look like death warmed over or what? :)

Well, I guess I should speak for myself, huh! This past weekend, I worked at McLeod in the Children's Hospital on Saturday night (7P-7A). I haven't worked since the end of April, so I made sure to tell Tammy as soon as I got there that I wasn't sure I remembered how to be a nurse, so she might have to help me. :) Working prn is a good idea in some respects because it keeps me up on my nursing skills that I don't get to use at the elementary school. Plus, it keeps me up to date on hospital gossip...you know...who's pregnant, who's trying to get pregnant, who got married, who found a new job, etc. I miss my friends at McLeod SOSOOSOSOSO much! But that drive is killer, especially with the price of gas right now!

Other than that, Christopher and I didn't really do anything. He had clinical every single day this past week, including Saturday, so he was pretty busy with that. He gets up at 4:00 AM and gets home after 4:00 PM. Plus, he tries to go to bed early. So he's no fun. :) He did go with me to Florence Saturday night, though, which was pretty nice. His grandmother and uncles were in town, so he went and visited with his family and spent the night with Maw Maw (his other grandmother) and then picked me up on Sunday morning after I got off of work and chauffered me home. :) Christopher's PaPa died last year the day before my birthday. Talk about a change for the family! And Sunday was PaPa's birthday. So it was really neat for Christopher to spend time with Maw Maw that morning and eat breakfast with her before he came to get me. Maw Maw is such a wonderful, fun, outgoing and friendly lady. I LOVE her...she cracks me up. I was so glad that things worked out the way they did so that he could spend time with her.

Meet Harlee

2008-06-25T23:46:00.015-04:00

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 :)

2008-06-24T19:04:00.016-04:00

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!

2008-06-22T17:06:00.018-04:00

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. :)

2008-06-19T10:16:00.003-04:00

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....

2008-06-18T12:54:00.007-04:00

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! ;)

I know what you're all thinking...

2007-12-10T22:15:00.001-05:00

Finally! Tara Jane updated her blog!!! Christopher and I have officially moved to Columbia! We're having soooo much fun learning a new place and spending time together, since Christopher's last day at work was Thanksgiving night. He starts class January 7th (we thought it was going to be a little earlier than that, but that's fine because he's gonna need this time to get his brain together for the next 27 months!!! I'm still working at McLeod every other weekend (I stay in Florence when I work). It's really great because Christopher gets to do whatever he wants to do while I'm at work, then we can hang out together when I'm off!

So here are a few pictures from our new house!!! The neighborhood is all duplex-style homes. It's super-cute!!!

We actually tore up brand new carpet to put down those wood floors. I'm telling you, though, it was worth it!!! I LOVE how they look. Christopher, my brother Spencer, and our family friend Mickey put the floors in and they did SUCH a good job. My mom, Christopher's mom and I handled the painting, which was WORK!!!! But I love the way it turned out. Our house is 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. And yes, that's our tiny backyard. :) It's small enough to cut the grass with a weed eater!! :) But the cat loves it...he's never been outside before!

It's funny, though, because when you live in a small house, you have to do things like this...

I'm sure you're all thinking...is that her shower? Are those storage containers? And YES! They are!!! We though we weren't going to have any guests before Christmas, so we utilized that space for storing Christmas decorations!! When Christmas is over, they will go to my mama's house in Lake City. And then when people come over to spend the night, they can take a shower! Bad thing is, though, Shelley Benthall ended up spending the night with us the week of Thanksgiving...needless to say, the decorations remained where they were. It's bad when you have to treat Miss South Carolina like that!!! :)

Mali Gator Floyd-Snead

2007-09-26T22:05:00.001-04:00

So I felt as if it would only be appropriate to show everyone a picture of our exotic, mountain lion housecat, Mali. I swear, it's legal for this animal to be an inside pet, but if you saw him in person, you'd definitely question it!!! When we got him from Ms. Judy, the "cat lady" as we call her, he looked nothing like he does now. As a matter of fact, he looked a lot like this...

He was so light colored and small! And sick. Of course he had some kind of respiratory cat disease when we got him, which was why he was so calm all the time and let us pet him. Now he's a wild cat, weighs 13 pounds, and is 3 feet long when you stretch him out (and that doesn't include his tail!).

He's so much fun, though. And he's such good company. And I don't mind that he's really my cat and he likes Christopher better than he likes me. WHATEVER CAT!!

Men in Uniform...

2007-09-26T12:04:00.001-04:00

Just a little note about Christopher's Citadel picture below...the guy in the middle is Chad Bryant and the guy on the right is Derek Love. Both of these fellows are from Florence and grew up going to school and church with Christopher. They're both in the military... Chad is in Iraq and Derek is in Afghanistan. They're both newly married and I know their families are going through so much with them being gone. Please pray for them and all the men like them who are sacrificing so much for our freedom!!

About Us

2007-09-19T17:19:00.003-04:00

So a little bit about us...Christopher is from Florence. He is 4 1/2 years younger than I am, let's just go ahead and get that out of the way. :) He grew up going to Florence Christian and graduated from the Citadel in 2004.

He finished his courses early from the Citadel and moved back to Florence in December of 2003. He had gotten really involved in Campus Outreach in Charleston and had some friends who attended church in Florence that prompted him to visit the Church at Sandhurst. At that time, I was going to church there and went out to eat at Zaxby's with a group of people after church and so the story begins. :)

I grew up in Lake City and graduated from FMU in December of 2000. In July 2001, I was in a swimming/diving accident in which I broke my neck and had to wear a halo for 3 months. It was the craziest, most rewarding experience of my life. And God used it to totally change the direction of my future. At that point, I decided I wanted to be a nurse...and as soon as I recuperated, I started finishing up my prerequisite classes and began nursing school at FMU/MUSC in 2003.

At Zaxby's that day, Christopher and I started talking...mostly about the turquoise belt buckle he was wearing. :) We found out that I was in nursing school and he was applying to nursing school and we both had the same aspirations...to be a nurse anesthetist. Ashley Rhodes had people over to her house that night to hang out and we met up again...and we just kept meeting up. :) We were really good friends for about 5 months...and I went to London, England to take an international nursing course. And while I was gone, I just KNEW that he was the one for me. :)

We started dating that July (on his mom's birthday). I graduated from nursing school in 2005...

And Christopher graduated in May 2006...

And right before he graduated, he surprised me after we both worked night shift one night...

with a breakfast picnic, a beautiful ring, and the question I'd been waiting for for 3 years. :)

I know we look amazingly bad in this picture, but you try working 13 hours all night long and having the guts to take a picture in the morning! :) We were so excited that we couldn't even go to sleep...we ended up going all over Florence to see family and friends to tell them the good news.

My First Blog!

2007-09-19T16:58:00.001-04:00

I've never written a blog before! I thought that since Christopher and I are making a big change in our lives and moving to Columbia, this would be a great way to keep up with family and friends. And apparently since I'm going to be at home by myself all the time, I'll have plenty of time to keep up with it! :)