Happy Birthday To Me!

Today I am 31.

I was born in Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital
in Inglewood, Los Angles, CA to my mother and father who had just moved back to LA after living in Colorado for many years.

My toddler years were spent in Family Student Housing at UCSB while my parents worked hard to finish their education and graduate together.

At some point we ended up in Orange County, CA...and lived in various homes in Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa. My brother Jason came along when I was 5 and I adored him until he started to bug me...I think that came when he was perhaps 4 or 5 and I was 9 or 10. We remained tolerent of each other, but did not become true friends until about a year ago.

Some of my fondest memories of growing up are family reunions and Thanksgiving where we'd gather with mom's 3 sisters and my cousins for food, games and just good cousin fun. I truly miss those family gatherings as we are all spread far and wide here in the states.

Another thing I loved was camping. Dad was so good to take us somewhere new every year. We visited many state parks in CA, went to Mexico 3 times (beach camping is my favorite) and even took the long trip to Yellowstone (got to see Old Faithful go off twice and swim in a river below El Capitan). Mom always prepared the best camp food and put a TON of prep work into those trips...which I am only clued into now as an adult! The one road trip we took up to Canada...Victoria island...was so fun that Desi and I took the same trip with our two oldest kids about 4 years ago. There is nothing like driving along the West Coast and the Buchart Gardens in Victoria are a must.

Every summer was filled with beach trips and pool days. We had a pool at almost every place we lived and I remember many pool birthday parties. I remember riding bikes along the Santa Ana Riverbed trail to the beach and back. Dad took the family out for miniature golfing on a regular basis and we always tried to beat his score :)

I remember thinking that I'd never move out till I got married. Turns out, I was out just after my 18th birthday...almost 13 years ago to go to CC Bible College up in Twin Peaks, CA (small mountain town). The school moved to Murrieta, CA during my 2nd year and once I graduated I felt no desire to move back to Costa Mesa...I rented a studio apartment with one of my best friends, Dori. For close to 6 months we worked multiple jobs and enjoyed our little apartment. I enjoyed hanging out with friends, volunteering in the Jr High group at CC Murrieta and dating Desi...my first boyfriend.

I got engaged December of 1998 to a man dressed in a bunny suit. His idea was that no one can resist a cute bunny. It was a tad bit scary, but I loved him already and said yes. We were married 4 months later on May 1st, 1999...shortly before my 22nd birthday. Our first year of marriage was wonderful...so wonderful that after nine months I discovered I was pregnant with our first baby. This was not by our choice...we were in fact trying to put that off for at least a few years...but it was a part of God's plan.

I can see now that had we put off children, there is a chance that we would have continued to put it off...thinking there was never a good time. Marriage causes many a folk to grow in character...but this was not the case for Desi and I. We have rarely argued or fought. We love being together and get along wonderfully. I think God brought us kids so early in life to mold and shape us...to aid in our transformation. We still have a long way to go, but raising 4 kids is tough...and I have grown more in the past 7 years than in the rest of my life combined.

And so, at age 23, I gave birth to 9.1 lb Hope Taylor Starr. 21.5 months later, 9.2 lb Owen Timothy Rock Starr came along. 19 months after Owen, 9.5 lb Emmaline Faith Starr was born in Denver and 27 months after Emma, 8.13 lb Levi Martin Luther Starr came along. Both girls were long labors with epidurals, both boys were very short labors without any pain killer and all four were miraculous!

As I ponder my 31 years, I see God's hand of guidance, love and protection. I am so thankful for the blessings He has filled my life with. There have been trials and difficulties, but God has redeemed even those difficult times and used them for my growth and His glory. I look forward to the next 31 years with expectancy...knowing God will fill them with His love and yet not knowing what that will look like at all!

I'm going to the Aveda Institute today with my mom to get facials and hair cuts together! I'm hoping Desi will be up for getting take out for dinner...maybe some PF Chang's...our Toyota needs to get to the mechanic and we got a flat on our Astro...which my brother changed on Sunday...only to discover that the spare is flat as of yesterday! So, no family outing tonight...and I'm ok with that!
~Rose