The Carpenter Christmas Letter

Well, here's a copy of our Christmas letter that we sent out to a number of people. If you didn't get it, take a look. Also, if you ever want some pics of our little girl as she grows up, then feel free to e-mail us and we'll send you a link to some pics that we have on shutterfly.

Which Holiday is better? Christmas or Thanksgiving? Mitch Albom wrote a great essay on Thanksgiving and why it’s the best holiday of all. He writes of Thanksgiving, “It is, to me, exactly what a holiday should be. For one thing, there are no gifts. You never have to worry about what to get someone for Thanksgiving or how much to spend. There are no lectures about "greed" or "commercialization" or how we're "forgetting the spirit" of Thanksgiving. No way. The spirit of Thanksgiving is eating. Who could forget that?” His article is pretty convincing and I’m almost inclined to pick Thanksgiving as my favorite holiday too, but I’m a pastor so my profession prohibits me from doing so. ☺ Despite this, I still think there is some merit in keeping Christmas as your favorite holiday. Now I know everyone is at different points on their spiritual journeys, and I want to be sensitive to those celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanza etc…(I also realize this isn’t even an issue for our friends abroad), but I still want to commend Christmas as a holiday worth celebrating (even if you do leave it as your second favorite). Why? Well, as we begin the holiday craziness there is an expectation that is built until the day finally arrives (especially if you have kids). I believe a similar longing and expectation is mirrored in every one of our souls, as we desire for things to be made right, where there is no more suffering, heartache, or injustice. Christmas, I believe, celebrates not only this longing, but also the fulfillment of this longing. As a Christian, I look back to what took place on that day 2000 years ago, and it is this event that allows me to look forward with hopeful expectation that things will be set right. I hope you’ll be able to join Ashley, Natalie and me in this celebration.

As for us, (if you haven’t heard) we’ve made our move back to the U.S. from London this past August. We’ve settled in well in Ft. Lauderdale. Our little girl is 6 months old and is a great joy to us. She is a very happy baby who is eating solids, sitting, and crawling backwards, so Ashley has her hands full. Ashley is also working part time from home with PBS&J (the engineering firm that she used to work for). I’ve started work with CityChurch and things are going well. CityChurch has been worshipping publicly for almost a year now and continues to move forward, but please continue to pray for us.

This has been a huge year for us and we thank you for supporting us through it. We wish you peace and love and happiness for 2007.

Love from the Carpenters

Exploding Whale

Unbelievable. This is worth watching.

CityChurch Greeting

Here is a video greeting for all of you at CityChurch. We look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!

Drowsy Natalie

So, I tried getting a video of Natalie and this is what I came up with. Again, I'm just exploring the video option with blogger.

Mr. T's Be Somebody

Mr. T's BE SOMEBODY!

I'm trying the video option for blogger using youtube and so I thought I'd post this classic music video of Mr. T. Enjoy.

World Cup Fever (and depression)

So that’s me in the picture if you couldn’t tell. I grew up playing football (soccer) since I was 5 and played my whole life so I really grew to love the sport. This has been one of the benefits of moving to England over the past 2 years. I’ve really been able to dive into the football culture here and have enjoyed it because it’s a bit harder to tap into in America. It has taken me a bit of time to understand some of the subtleties and intricacies, but it’s been nice in light of the World Cup. Nothing beats going to a pub to watch an England match. It’s amazing to watch an entire city shut down to watch the World Cup. Anyway, here are a couple things that I’ve noticed while here:

• First, I’m constantly asked by Brits about football in America (not American football). Is it beginning to take off? Yes and No. Have there been great strides made in developing the sport? Yes. However, it will always be one sport among many. I’m also amazed at the development programs (and money) that goes into developing the next generation of footballers here in the UK and across Europe. Each Club (Man U, Liverpool etc….) has a great program for youth in their area that starts around age 5 and so they are getting quality training by guys who know the sport. America is well behind in this area and it will take decades (in my opinion) to catch up.
• Second, I was struck by a comment made by an Afro-Caribbean guy who was watching the World Cup with me in a store that sells tvs a couple days ago. When he heard the score of the Spain game (4-0) he just chuckled and said, “4-0! What is this Basketball?” (he didn’t know I was American) I know that football has been known for traditionally low scoring games, but I’ve never been exposed to anyone opposed to high scoring games or looked down upon them. I guess I’ve come to realize that when watching football it’s not entirely about the scoring as much as its been about the build up and tension to the goal. Spectators of the sport get just as much satisfaction out of watching a 1-1 game (America v Italy for example) than a game that is completely one sided, but high scoring (Argentina v. S&M).

Natalie Grace has arrived!

After laboring for over 24 hours Natalie was born by C-section because she failed to turn. She was born on the 11th of June at 2:10pm. She weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Many of you prayed for a safe delivery and so thank you for doing so.

Here are some pics (click to enlarge) from the last couple of days. Enjoy.
Thomas & Ashley