As you can see on her schedule, Allison will be performing three dates next weekend in Ireland and Scotland, Friday through Sunday. Faye Speer is joining Allison and Brian for this exciting trip! The three of them will also spend a few days in London where they will be treated to a tour of British Parliament by a member of that prestigious body.

While we wish everyone could join us for this trip, it's just not possible to take all of our friends. The next best thing is for you to hear from us while we're gone. So on days with an internet connection, Brian will post entries to his blog so you can keep in touch with us and see what we're doing. We'll try to upload photos but that can be tricky with slower internet connections. Please keep us in your prayers while we travel overseas.

Brian Speer has a new website for his photography work, www.brianspeer.com. You will find several photo galleries, links, and interesting facts about Brian and photography on this site. Most of the images in the galleries are available for purchase if you'd like to hang them in your home or office.

On a similar note, we have added a new Family and Friends gallery on Allison's website, and an entire gallery of pictures of our dog, Ellie. As most of you may know, Ellie made a howling appearance on the song, "This Old House," and since then has been demanding a photo gallery of her own. Not only does Brian have to live with just one diva in the house, now he has two!

You will not know the name Larry Sims but we wanted to introduce him to you. Larry ordered some CDs from us and told Brian that he wanted to take them on his deployment to Kuwait. After we sent out our Thanksgiving message, we received this email and with Larry's permission, we wanted to share it with you. Larry is the man in the photo on the right. This Christmas season, remember to pray for our men and women in uniform and thank God that they're on the job. If you'd like to email Larry a Merry Christmas, his email address is peterandpaulsbookstore@yahoo.com.

"Happy Thanksgiving to you, too. About 75 of us went to the Chevron resort community in Kuwait where the American families live and had Thanksgiving dinner with them. The resort community is right on the beach and it was gorgeous. While it is true that there is no place like home for the holidays, we were grateful that they took time to invite us because it gave us a chance to get off base for a day and visit other American people.

"As I walked on the beach I thought to myself that freedom comes with a price and I am thankful that I can come here and help provide a blanket of freedom for the security of those at home. There are people at home that do not agree with our presence here in the Middle East but if our president had not had the courage to stand up and confront our adversaries on their soil, we would have had more 9-11s by now. Freedom from the beginning of civilization has always been something that has had to be fought for and guarded. It is not something that is just there and it does not come cheap. It is bought and paid for with the sacrifice and shed blood of others.

"Our salvation was not cheap. It was bought and paid for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I wish those Americans who burn flags and protest could spend some time over here. They would soon learn why we are here. I would rather be here than have the enemy compromising our freedom by being on our soil. Sorry I got on my soapbox.

"By the way, those pies in your picture look delicious. There is nothing like home cooking. I don't think Santa is coming to the desert this year. I heard he almost got shot down by a rocket last year so he boycotted coming this time!

"I think I have been a positive influence on those I have worked with here. I am well respected by my co-workers, NCO's and command staff. It seems like everyone who just needs to vent or just talk comes to me. It is nice to know that through Christ I can make a difference. It is good to hear from you, and I hope my wife and I can have the privilege to meet you sometime. God bless and don't be strangers.

Forever in Christ, Larry Sims