Our story with in a sentence:

1st comes love
then comes marriage
then the baby in a baby carriage

(click each line above & it will automaticly take you to that part of our story)

Baby sling or wrap instead of a carriage in our case

What Guys Think

Rachel Lee Carter is a graduate of Word of Life and ministers for Christ in the world of fashion and modeling. She has written FASHIONED BY FAITH  Her website is Modeling Christ

  

What is Modesty?

What Guys Think About Modesty

 

"any biblical discussion of modesty begins by addressing the heart not the hemline" from part 1:

You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. 1 Peter 3:4

And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. 1 Timothy 2:9

Our 2nd Anniversary

Crystal's Health Corner

Topics range from healthy eating to healthy birth to

answering questions you ask.

2nd & 3rd month

Graduation

Melissa, my sister, graduated missions training today!!!

So we Skyped her.
Her niece had something to say:

Melissa took the above through Skype
but we wanted a clearer pic for her...so I took this
Congrats Melissa!! We love you!!!

Rabes Visit

Mother's Day

5th week

These socks have rattles at the end. =)

I thought this cloth diaper company's name was so funny I had to share -QT Bunns

(not sure why its' sidways never had blogger do that before)

Gramps & Grams come to visit!

4th week

auntie Carrie visits

HALO sleep sack Thank you auntie Carrie!

Daddy's sleeping cutie

3rd week & Baby shower

Day 16 8#4oz

here she is in the scale

Like father like daughter

What a special blessing Melissa & Elijah flew in for the shower!! Elijah really enjoyed spending time with her. He was so gentle & had a long attention span for holding her.

On our way to the baby shower he melted Andrew & my heart when he sweetly asked "Can I hold her hand?" Needless to say they held hands most of the way there.

Baby Prayer Shower

Sue Owens made the cute, delicious cupcakes

3 generations

4 generations and Aunt Melissa

Beautiful Aunt Melissa with her neice

Aunt Melissa & Sherri's masterpiece. An adorable diaper cake that was too cute to undo! I still use it for decoration. I couldn't stand the thought of taking apart something they spent hours working on!

Thank you all so much for such a shower of blessings, for your prayers & words of encouragement. I couldn't begin to name everyone involved because it was such a team effort. We felt so spoiled, so loved! I'm so thankful for brothers & sisters in the Lord to share life with. We look forward to spending eternity together!

2nd week

Birth weight was 7# 5oz Usually it takes around 2 weeks for babies to regain their birth weight. At a week she was already 7#8oz! Here Andrew is using the scale I use for homebirths.

I call this her bear bottom

My two loves

1st week

We had the birth at my parent's home.

Grandpa holding her for the 1st time!

Grandma holding her one last time before we leave.

Welcome Home Baby T! Her responce: ahhh this is where I belong...snuggling with the teddy bears!

Pals

On their way to their 1st Daddy Daughter date

First bath

365 Project

365 project means we are making sure we take at least 1 picture of our dear daughter a day. This is her birthday till Day 112.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Birth Story

Our Birth Story Part 1

Our Birth Story Part 2 & 3

Pregnancy, birth to 2 days old

My sister, Melissa offered to give us a maternity photo shoot!! The opportunity came when we visited them for an early Christmas in '10. Baby T, short for Baby Topel, was 27 wks. My sister is a
natural with a camera.

Thank you Melissa! We really appreciate it! It was fun!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

“A new baby is like the beginning of all things—
wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.”
Edna L. Le Shan

Wedding slide show

If you are like me & want to see things in chronological order you can start by reading our story -weblinks are to the right hand side under 'How God wrote our love story'

Here is a slide show I made of the wedding.

The 2nd song to play during the slide show is the talent of my brother-in-law, Joey. He has several CDs out. He was the DJ for our wedding. He made this song as a wedding gift for us! Thanks again Joey!






Now I'm working on a maternity shoot slide show...

Crystal Swift's surprise Bridal shower

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Crystal & Adam are having their wedding celebration today! To celebrate I put together some pictures from the surprise bridal shower.

Congratulations! We are excited for you! We praise the Lord with you during this time! Love in Christ, Topel's

Prayer Letter/Ministry update

God has closed the door to Africa at this time. Andrew & I may re-apply in a couple years, Lord willing. Andrew & I feel it is time to pursue ministry opportunities in a more focused way, so I no longer work as a midwife. We desire to serve the Lord side by side. For now, we plan to continue our involvement with local churches and outreach. We've been able to serve the Lord Mondays & Fridays by joining Team Hope to glorify God through spreading the gospel in downtown areas. We are excited to share baby Topel is due in March 2011! I'm about 16 weeks. What a miracle! We are praising the Lord for how well it's been going! What a difference it makes if you start out healthy! Occasional I had an unsettled stomach, as if i ate too much but no morning sickness =) It's good to hear encouraging testimony regarding pregnancy & birth, so I welcome your input. Please only share your opinions & comments if it follows Philippians 4:8 guidelines :-) “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” This should be a guideline that is followed by experienced mothers when they talk with all pregnant woman, especially 1st time mothers. My prayer journal entry for the day we found out about Baby Topel: We are forever grateful, Lord, whatever the outcome; if we have the little one for only a short while [due to miscarriage] or for life because of a special need. We will know by your hand we were given this precious life to be her/his parents. An eternal soul is now in our care. That is a heavy responsibility yet your grace, mercy & love are sufficient, Abba. How can we be praying for you? When you message us your prayer requests let us know if you want them to remain private or if we can post them on the ministry wall so others can pray too. Please pray for us that we will became less, die to our selfish desires and glorify the Lord!

One Year Anniversary!

Courting

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Engagement 1/1/09 through 12/09

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

AMEN!

Songwriter & vocalist Laura Story

"When I first wrote “Indescribable,” it never occurred to me that this song could be used in a corporate worship setting. Let’s face it, there aren’t a whole lot of praise choruses that use a string of five-syllable words. I was driving through the mountains of North Carolina, admiring the blue haze of each mountain and the unique form of each tree and leaf. Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, and on that day, God was truly nourishing my soul with the beauty of His creation. My first inclination was to sing, but initially, no words came to mind. And that’s when I started to consider how indescribable God is. What words could mere humans give to express His grandeur? Any praises we lift to Him are our feeble attempts at capturing a small glimpse of the magnitude of who God is. Even now, five years later, I never tire of singing that song at all my concerts. I am always reminded of how small I am in comparison to His greatness and how fortunate I am that a God who holds all of time in His hands still seeks to know me intimately. And that is a truth worth singing about!"
Laura Story’s song “Indescribable” was originally recorded by Chris Tomlin.

"Though we have done nothing to merit His favor, God, full of mercy and grace, sent His only son, Jesus, to pay the debt we could never pay. He is truly mighty to save. "

— Laura Story

'Love & Respect' by Emerson Eggerichs

Sarah and Emerson Eggerichs are convinced that a truth hidden in plain sight for 2000 years can make a difference in every marriage. This truth is found in Ephesians 5:33 . Husbands must love their wives, and wives must respect their husbands.


Emerson writes, "You may remember how the Beatles sang, 'All you need is love.' I absolutely disagree with that conclusion. Five out of ten marriages today are ending in divorce because love alone is not enough. Yes, love is vital, especially for the wife, but what we have missed is the husband's need for respect. This Love and Respect message is about how the wife can fulfill her need to be loved by giving her husband what he needs—respect. And the husband can fulfill his need to be respected by giving his wife what she needs—love. Does this always work? No. But if one is married to a person of good will, I would bet the farm that it would work!"