At the time that this blog goes life - 3:58 pm - I will officially be 28 years old.
And, because you've only had the privilege of reading about my life for four of those 28 years, here's the Clif Notes on Laura Stiller.
Year One: I put my mom through 18 hours of labor before entering this world, only to spend the next few months colicky and projectile vomiting on her.
Two: I spent the days sitting on a blanket in the front yard eating orange push-ups and reading stacks of library books with my Mom. I spent the evenings sitting on Dad's lap smacking the space bar playing Space Commanders.
Three: My parents put me to work chasing their stray tennis balls at the tennis courts.
Four: The first brother, Matthew was born, and while I don't remember him coming home from the hospital, I do remember staying at the neighbor's house. She tried to put me to bed in her big master bed and I laid there wide awake, staring at the ceiling until Dad came and got me.
Five: I dressed up in my plastic necklace, plastic bracelets, a striped dress and a big bow in my hair for the first day of homeschool kindergarten.
Six: The other brother, Jonathan arrived. All I remember is playing at the neighbor's house one afternoon in July, coming home and Nana and Papa telling me that Mom and Dad had gone to the hospital. I said "okay," and continued on with my play date.
Seven: I met Lindsey, who had two younger brothers the same age as mine, and we became fast friends for the next 12+ years.
Eight: This was probably the year I had a roller skating birthday party. I thought I was so cool.
Nine: I got bangs. Big, fluffy, 80s bangs. It was 1990. I'm always slightly behind the times.
Ten: It was 5th grade. It was the worst grade ever. I had to write a research paper and I thought I was going to die.
Eleven: I was a in a rap . . . in Sunday School - yes, you did read that right. I was also Mary in the Christmas pageant. I had a very diverse acting career.
Twelve: Braces and glass - the typical middle school torture.
Thirteen - Sixteen: Somehow these have all run together. My mother could probably give you specific memories for each month in these years!
Seventeen: I finally got my driver's license and while out on the first drive by myself I saw a wreck and freaked out.
Eighteen: I went to prom and graduated from high school with fifteen other homeschoolers.
Nineteen: Collin County Community College was the place to study. I also worked a full summer at Pine Cove Christian Camps and fell in love with Jesus like never before.
Twenty: I transferred to Texas A&M and got lost on campus several times with all of the other 18-year-old freshman.
Twenty-One: My roommate gave me a bottle of cooking wine. Enough said.
Twenty-Two: I graduated from Texas A&M and put my degree to use driving school buses.
Twenty-Three: I got married and moved to South Carolina. It was the beginning of the craziest, scariest and best adventure of my life.
Twenty-Four: We joined a newlywed class in Columbia, SC. and found some amazing friends to walk with through our first years of marriage.
Twenty-Five: Danny started his masters at Dallas Theological Seminary, and we moved back home to Texas.
Twenty-Six: I changed jobs for something like the eighth time in two years. I was hoping this one would stick for a while - it has.
Twenty-Seven: I got my first digital slr camera and have subsequently taken a picture of everything in my apartment.
Twenty-Eight: Here we are today. So far this is the year I ate sushi on my birthday!
We did get to see the very first Starbucks EVER. It was slightly anti-climatic, but we can now check it off the list of "things to do before we die."
