Merry CHRISTmas Everyone!

We hope your day is full of joy, peace and comfort and that you can take a moment to reflect on all that God has done for us through His son, Jesus.

There is no better time than the 48 hours of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Enjoy every second of it!

No Place Like Carmel, CA

Julie and I had our first real getaway last week as we went out to Carmel, California, for a few days of relaxation and fun. Lord knows we both needed it and thanks to my business partner and his time share with Hyatt we stayed right off the famous Highway 1 and had the most amazing view ever.

If you have never been to Carmel, make plans to get out there before you die! It is unreal. Click here for our slideshow and see some of the most amazing photos I have ever been able to grab!

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=2919838&alb=0

See Our Synched Our Christmas Lights!

Check out our musical, blinking lights!

http://www.thefamilypost.com/Speersfamily/home.php

Click on Videos and you will see it!

Santa Visit 2007 - another anxious moment

Not quite the screamfest as 2006, but this years visit to see Santa at the Gaylord was another one full of anxious stares, resistance and absolutely no eye contact from either Chloe or Sidney! They did high five him though.

This was after bold confessions of "no cry" from them both for the entire 30 minutes we waited. Alas, crying was had, just not as bad!

Mike Huckabee - Our Next President?

A fast and rising 2008 GOP Presidential candidate came to Dallas for a private fund raiser Monday night and my business partner and I were asked to be quests by our associate Buddy Pilgrim. We quickly obliged, and were thankful to meet and talk to the man that just might be the next leader God has for our nation.

More will be posted soon about Mr. Mike Huckabee, but I can relate this with boldness and confidence - If there has ever been a chance to have a true Christian leader for this nation during our lifetimes, this just might be it!

Looking to Christmas in the Past

Check out our new slideshow of Christmases past.....

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=2914253&alb=0

Blog Changes in 2008

As you all know, I have become a blogaholic of sorts. I love them all, but out of the need to simply my life to some degree, there will be fewer entries into the girls blog next year, as well as some others. I am going to focus on our family and Quinn blogs for next year.

Pictures are updated on our WEBSITE. Stories will be posted on our main blog. I am finishing up phase one of my online book, "no bones about it". I do plan to do more posting to it next year. Always a ton to write about in our world today!

Hope everyone has a great time shopping and getting ready for Santa!

Cheeseheads and Cowboys Hats

In the life of a sports fan, there are only a few big games as big as the as the one taking place on the field of the "old" Texas Stadium tonight at 7pm. It has been since 1995 that there has been such a meaningful, highly anticipated game that will decide so much as the Cowboys vs. Packers game will be tonight.

I was 25 the last time these two met for the right to play the 49ers in the NFC Championship. In less than 2 years I will be 40. That says it all.

It will be the Farve/Romo show tonight. Role Model vs. Idolizor.

What a game it will be...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I know, you are saying it just like we are!

"Are the holidays really already here?!?!?"

Well, they are, so before you go stand in line for that 6am deal on Friday morning, make sure and relax some this week, eat a ton, watch the Cowboys go to 10-1 and THANK GOD you are an American!



Happy Thanksgiving!

Philly is One Bad Place

Last week I ran up to Philadelphia to train some people in our customer service department and then to attend the Dallas Cowboys game there Sunday night. Philly is a neat city, but man are the people rough!

For a clip of the fans and their rudeness at the Cowboys game click the link to our website to the right and go to the videos section. Be warned. It is not nice....

We kicked their butts anyway!

Looking Back

This weekend we headed down to Houston in order to attend the 30th anniversary of my home church Heritage Park Baptist Church just a few miles from NASA between Houston and Galveston.

Words can hardly be penned to express how much this church meant and still means to me, my sister and my mom and dad. What a wonderful time it was to see old friends, old girlfriends with their kids and all of my "other" parents! Not to mention our former Pastor, Brother Jud, and music director John Turner.

My spiritual life was set in stone by these friends, families and this church. I miss them dearly and have never experienced a church like this since.

Read my upcoming story about this church soon!

Pumpkin Fun!

Happy Pumkpin Season everyone! Today we carved our first pumpkins with the girls and took photos at the pumpkin patch. Not sure what it is about pumpkins. They are nasty inside, yet fun to play with all at the same time. The girls were not too found of them however and spent most of the time a safe distance away as Julie, the girls friend Jada and I did the real work of carving them up.

During the photoshoot earlier, not one time would the girls look at daddy...the funny man with the big camera.

For photos click our family website!

Last Night Stunk!

Last night was insane. Let me share the details.

4-6pm - Spent the afternoon preparing for a big Monday Night Football Cowboys game and getting ready for a party at a buddies.

6:30pm - Left for the party and left Julie with the girls - excited about Boys going 5-0 for first time since 1983!

6:45pm - Pregame discussion at buddies home was about our pet dogs dying and how sad it is. We were all nearly in tears - 6 of us.

7:30pm - Game starts and 1st pass later QB Tony Romo has Cowboys down 7-0 to worthless Buffalo Bills thanks to his first of FIVE interceptions! Not happy.

7:45pm - Wife is franticly calling me - something wrong with our boxer Sam. She says he came running into doggie door, having hard time breathing, laid down in bed and nearly lifeless. Says he is foaming at mouth and smells like propane.

7:55pm - Arrive home. Park in driveway and smell very strong fowl smell as soon as I step out of truck. Walk in and Sam is running around being normal but eyes and gums are blood red. Wife tells me he suddenly is better but house smells like you would not believe. Sister arrives to help with whatever she can. Everyone was in a panic over possible dying dog. Now focus shifts to the horrible smell. Animal shelter is called as I recall next door neighbor telling me about his skunk problem! Bath instructions are given as we realize he was sprayed in face by skunk! Everyone nearly vomiting due to smell. I am worried about game and decide to go back to party. Dog can go in garage until I get home. Julie decides to bathe dog anyway. Sister goes to store to get supplies.

8:10pm - Romo throws 2nd and 3rd interceptions - Cowboys are getting beat on national TV to a team that should not be in the game past the first quarter.

9pm - Back at party - I stink - Cowboys are stinking it up too and trail 17-10 at half.

10:30pm - Cowboys pull off miracle win in last 40seconds with a touchdown, recovered onside kickoff and two 52yard field goals by rookie kicker with no time on clock. Cowboys go to 5-0, 6 men screaming like school girls - I still stink.

11pm - Home from party - Sam is clean, his buttnub wag is back and he will live. House smells like skunk moved in and decided to sleep in our bed for the night. I take big time shower.

3am - Smell from skunk wakes me up with major sinus issues. Remember Cowboys winning, go back to sleep with Kleenex crammed up nose. Cowboys are undefeated, amazing wife let me go back to fun party and Sam will live after all.

3:15am - Fall asleep with stinking smile on face.

A stinky night is over!

HUGE WEBSITE UPDATE!!!!!!

For new videos and photos, and if you are REALLY BORED and need something fun to do, check out our family website!

http://www.thefamilypost.com/Speersfamily/home.php

The Speers....the Romosapiens Family

For years I have been claiming that the Cowboys needed to give Tony Romo a shot. Parcells just would not listen! I saw him back in 2005 and new he had something then.....well, today, I am being proved correct! I otta be an NFL scout.....

Anyway, now the entire gang has become Romo-maniacs each and every Sunday!

The Girls, JiJi and Dave...

Recently, our friends the Curlees needed Julie to watch their cute-as-a-bug 2nd daughter, Jillian, as they dealt with some issues regarding their oldest.

JiJi is the life of the party for sure....funny all of the tricks of the trade she passed on to our girls in just ONE day! After seeing these pictures of Dave you can imagine where she gets her personality....

Full of Hot Air

It's become somewhat of a tradition for us to tromp up to Plano each year for the Plano HotAir Balloon Festival. About 70,000 others have made it their tradition too, which makes for a fun, but long day. We missed the last few years but a few weeks ago we picked it back up and the girls LOVED it. Here are some photos.

What's This?

Some of you might know I am a VERY amateur photographer in all of my many hours of spare, do-nothing time around here. Anyway, I do like to find creative, different photos to shoot and am actually working on compiling them into a book of sorts. This one was taken at the Grapefest.


It is a close up of a carved block of ice an artist was working on. For more photos check our website -




http://www.thefamilypost.com/Speersfamily/

This is Our House

Who Could Ever Forget?

Who will ever forget September 11, 2001.

Who will ever forget just where they were the moment they heard two planes had been flown into the World Trade Center towers that sunny morning in New Work City?

Who will ever forget hearing Peter Jennings and the many other news anchors stumble as they tried to put words to what they were witnessing?

Who will every forget seeing the people waving flags for help from the huge, smoky gash in the top of the towers?

Who will ever forget seeing people throw themselves out of the building as the pain of the heat behind them out weighed the fear of such a horrific death in front of them?

Who will ever forget later hearing the sounds captured on video of those bodies hitting the ground with huge thuds documented on various cameras?

Who will ever forget seeing the pale, fear stricken faces covered in soot running through the streets of New York City moments after the buildings collapsed?

Who will ever forget the fear the country was in at the moment or the shocked, angry look on the face of President Bush as he was told by an aide?

Who will ever forget seeing the many different home videos of the planes being flown into the buildings?

Who will ever forget the crumbling collapse of the two largest buildings in the world?

Who will ever forget seeing the hundreds of NYPD, FDNY and Port Authority Agents running into the building prepared to save lives with most of them giving their own?

Who will ever forget hearing rumors that another plane was headed to the White House, hearing another had hit the Pentagon and hearing another had just gone down in a field in Pennsylvania?

Who will ever forget later hearing the heroic stories of those on Flight 93 and those who helped rescue those at the Pentagon?

Who will ever forget all airplanes being grounded for the first time in American history?

Who will ever forget watching the news for hours every night, for weeks as rescuers searched the rubble for survivors or bodies?

Who will ever forget knowing the over 3000 had their lives taken that day?Who will ever forget knowing terrorist, Bin Laden, and his evil, weak, coward group was behind these attacks on America?

Who will ever forget the patriotic resolve America had those few weeks following this tragic event?

Who will ever forget the sadness and anger we all felt? The thinking the “end” might be near?

Who will ever forget hearing the horrible, sad 911 phones calls released to us just weeks ago from people in the towers who moments later died?

Who will ever forget all of this?

Many Americans will. That’s who. According to Neilson ratings, 21 million Americans chose to watch the "Manning Bowl" Sunday night between the NFL's New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts rather than the other 9/11 options being shown on ABC or CBS.

Just like that, just five years later, the country has returned to what it new before that terrible day - patriotic divide, anti-war protests, corporate sandals, a general “who needs God” mentality, immoral activities, Hollywood drama, and sports fanaticism.

America is a great land. It’s a country that offers various pleasures and exciting adventures to help us deal with things like 9/11. Sports are great. Movies are fun. Politics are the American way.

But more importantly, being an American offers each of us with the freedom to seek God in times such as this. A chance to seek the One who can set us free from ourselves and the evil acts of people like those who made this such a terrible day five years ago.

Six years ago, people were seeking Him like never before. Churches were packed, prayers were said and people were begging for help. We were all seemingly frozen in time and space. The panic and fear people were experiencing was driving them to God. His arms open wide waiting to embrace them. He has been waiting along time. God gave us our freedom in Christ 2000 years ago and for some it wasn’t until this terrible day that many began seeking Him like never before.

But freedom has a price. And now that many have moved on and would rather forget this day happened, it seems many have also forgotten just how big the price paid was on 9/11/2001. And, they have forgotten God right along with it.

Have you?

"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." Deuteronomy 4:8-10

© 2006, J. Brady

"I say it how I see it and I make no bones about it."