29

Wow.  How in the world did I get to be this old?  I am thankful, don't get me wrong, but I mean I never thought my 20's would end.  I think 30's are gonna be better in soooo many ways...family life, more stability, etc, but there is just something about being in your twenties that is so fun.  It is a decade crammed full of spontaneity, randomness, growing, stretching and learning.  Here are my top 10 things I have done so far in my twenties, some with the approximate age I was at the time:

1.  Married the most amazing person and my very best friend, and we have been attached at the hip every single day since (23, almost 24).
2.  Had the most beautiful baby girl who I adore (28)
3.  Moved to Beirut (26)
4.  Graduated from Baylor (22)
5.  Learned/ am still learning Arabic (26 to the present)
6.  Ran 2 full marathons (Austin (25) and Beirut (27) ) and 3 half marathons (Austin (25), Berlin (27), and Beirut (27, almost 28) )
7.  Lived with some of the most amazing people in the world with whom I have countless stories of ridiculousness: Brook, Rebecca, Megan, Sara, Ashley, Steph, Jordan, Dawn, Amy, John, and now Elise :) )
8.  Had tons of random jobs, all with purpose and learning experience:  Elite Cafe, Gratziano's, Diamond Backs, Victoria's Secret, Common Grounds, The Olive Branch, Antioch Community Church, CDK, Inma, Mom :)
9.  lived through many war-like scenarios
10.  Outside of moving overseas, I have also traveled to Morocco, Germany, Sudan, Dubai, Syria, France, and most recently Thailand.  All amazing.

still have one more year to close out this decade.  I will say I have tried to make the most of this season of life.  This is one piece of advice I would give to anyone entering your twenties...make the most of it.  Run hard and run fast.  You may never have this much energy again.  Love God, love people, and learn what that means for your life.  He has a plan for you and he loves watching you figure it out as he unfolds it bit by bit.  Let him build a solid foundation in you these years that will last you a lifetime.

enough thinking for now, gotta go get the baby :)

Paci Wars

Oh, the pacifier.  How we love it and hate it.  Elise was doing pretty well for a while taking the pacifier and  falling asleep with it, but quickly spitting it out.  It wouldn't wake her up, but she would stay asleep just making cute little sucking noises and staying asleep.  Now, however, it is like her worst nightmare.  Everytime i put it in her mouth, she acts like I am torturing her.  Mercy.  She is getting too old and too big for us to walk her around and rock her to sleep, and now that she can consistently sleep 8 hours at a time, she needs to learn to soothe herself to sleep.  However, I am stumped at how to help her do this if she won't take the pacifier.  I don't want to get her addicted to the paci, but I also don't want her to scream for an hour everytime I put her down for a nap or for bedtime.  One little trick I use sometimes is to put her Vitamin D drops on the end to keep her sucking on it for a while, at least long enough to fall asleep.  She loves the drops, probably because they taste like sugar syrup.  All you moms out there, any more ideas??