Hi blog readers. Once again, I am sorry for taking so long in between updates. So much has happened I just don't know where to start, but here goes!

In early December, Jessie, Ginger, and I made a Christmas visit to a local orphanage for the Speedway Children's Charity. None of us had ever been to an orphanage and didn't really know what to expect. Many of the local celebrities from the Charlotte area, like Kyle Busch, Mike Rucker, and Brad from Aerosmith, were there to support the kids. A few of my friends, John and Chris, and I, went in together and bought the kids a Wii and a bunch of games that I am sure the kids will have fun with. The visit made me realize how lucky we are; many of the kids had lost parents in car accidents and other accidents. It was a great evening but also very sobering for us.

I was also invited to the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids annual party. Garth does a tremendous job raising money for kids and helping kids all over the world. Most of the 500 people at the event were professional athletes or musicians, and I was lucky enough to be able to speak to everyone and tell them about BRAKES and Jon and James. It was wonderful, and Garth talked to me about BRAKES for a long time; he also believes that keeping our kids safe on the streets is a top priority. After the conference, Garth put on a special private show and, WOW, what a show he puts on!

Jessie has really been taking the horse riding seriously! Her instructor told me that she had never seen a beginning rider do so well. I am sure that it must have something to do with her Dad ... ha. Truthfully, I am sure that she has great coordination and the ability to balance so well on the horse because of all of the motorcycle racing that she did with James. One time she beat about 25 boys to win the Pee Wee 50cc class, so she does know how to ride!

Jessie and I had a lot of fun during her Christmas holiday, and she made a pretty good score from Santa, too. One of her favorite things to do is go to this place called Lazy 5 Ranch. It's really cool; you drive your car through and feed all these wild animals! They come right up to your car and stick their head in; it's actually kind of scary when the anomaly is a 2,000-pound wild beast!

After we did Christmas at our house, Ginger and I went to visit her family. I thought it was pretty cool, I got to open presents at two places! And then Ginger's mom, Kay, made a fabulous Christmas dinner that wore me right out. In fact, after dinner I laid down on the couch and tried to rest my eyes, and the next thing I knew I woke myself up snoring! When I looked around everyone in the room was looking at me and laughing, I had actually never heard myself snore before, and even though people told me that I did, I didn't believe them, but now I snore when I sleep, so I can't deny any longer I guess.

After dinner we went and saw the new movie Marley & Me. What a great movie; the only problem was there was not a dry eye in the theater at the end. I guess I am getting soft in my old age!

On the Saturday after Christmas, Jessie had an accident; she managed to slip and break her ankle! So the past couple weeks have been filled with a trip to the emergency room, a cast, and several trips to the orthopedic hospital to make sure she is healing well. She is doing fine, and in another week or two she will get the cast off and be back to all the regular routine.

On New Years, I had a great treat to be able to hang out with Don and Sara Schumacher. It was a blast … thank you, guys! Don also took me and showed me how to catch a fish like a pro. He tried to warn me that some fish have pretty sharp teeth too, but since I am hardheaded I had to learn the hard way, and, yes, those fish can really bite. Next time, I guess I will listen!

Over the past couple weeks I have really been working my tail off. We are still trying to prepare for the 2009 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona. Even though I don't have a sponsor, we do have a team and a car, so we want to be ready in case something breaks through. I have not missed a Winternationals in years, and I hate to start now, but we will just have to see.

I am going to start to work on my next blog right away.

Until then…