Last Thursday, August 26th, marked our fourth anniversary. (This picture was taken in May of this year.) What a four years it has been! We reminisced, celebrated, thanked God for the grace he’s provided for each season of our marriage so far. And joyfully looked ahead to what will be a markedly different season ahead of us when “Nelson, party of 2” becomes “Nelson, party of 4.” Highlights of the past four years:

• Both of us graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary, M.A. for me in May ’07; M.Div. for Seth in May ’09
• Worked together on staff during the first 2 years of a church plant, Cresheim Valley Church, which became like a second family for us
• Became godparents to my cousins Jillian & Logan
• Became aunt & uncle to my nephew, Caleb
• Moved from our 1-bedroom apartment in Philadelphia to a 2-bedroom apartment in historic Ghent in Norfolk, and then moved again into a 3-bedroom house to become first-time homeowners in June
• Between the two of us, we have worked 8 jobs (4 each … !) ranging from personal trainer to missions recruiter to church counselor & pastor (guess who was what?)
• Seth was ordained for pastoral ministry
• Traveled to Costa Rica, Chicago, New York City, Minneapolis, Charleston, D.C., Ohio, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Orleans. The one place we really wanted to get to was a trip  to California to visit friends and see the West Coast … maybe for our 10th anniversary!!

And of course, the biggest highlight of our 4 years is becoming parents-to-be of two twin girls, due October 11th. We are so thankful that God has delayed their arrival long enough for us to get our house in order and moved in (even pictures are hung on our walls now), for us to celebrate our 4th anniversary (actually got to “go out” for breakfast – the first time since bed rest), and for us to continue to wrap our minds around the fact that we are going to be parents soon. We are eagerly awaiting their arrival, but quite content for them to stay growing and developing in utero for as long as possible.

Which brings us to today’s celebration of arriving at 34 weeks!! This is specifically what we have prayed for since the beginning of bed rest, and what so many of you have been praying for with us. We are praising him who always does “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). Who knows? Maybe I’ll even have to be induced …