To My (not-so-little) Sis...{A Letter}

Dear Leani {my forever partner in crime},
Today I was thinking about all the fun memories I have involving us. You are about to embark on a new chapter in life {mommy hood} and I couldn't resist going back in time when we were just rugrats {remember that show?! lol}

Here is a list of things that you should {or should not} do with your little guy {or girl but we won't know 'cuz you're not finding out the gender!!! *sigh* Okay I'm over it...not...} Just a few things to keep in mind:

- Concerts are super cool with Daddy {'NSync, BSB, Britney, Christina, Spice Girls, LFO...remember how we met them?! We were such POP heads haha}
- Write skits and video them! {The Blair Twitch Project...just don't use soap if you want a runny nose effect.}
- Go hiking {even if it's just in the backyard}
- Take weekend trips {Ah, good ol' Westfield, how we love thee. Thanks for the good times.}
- Build super-cool forts in the living room {just don't forget to really tuck in those sheets in between the couch cushions!}
- Have snowball fights {just watch for pieces of ice}
- Play restaurant, store, school etc {this time, YOU get to be the cook, cashier, or teacher lol}
- Blast music and dance like no one is watching {and video it for blackmail footage later, mauahaha}
- Have a Lemonade Stand {this time, charge tax. We totally could have been millionaires by now!}
- Climb tree and read {help them find their own reading branch :)}
- Swim all day and all night {showers not needed all summer...that's what chlorine is for!!} 
- Create a secret writing code {The Secret Sister Code will NEVER be broken. Take that, CIA. Just kidding, don't hurt us.}
- Play dress-up and fashion show {don't forget to take lots of photos for blackmail!}
- Makeup songs and perform them {don't forget to video for blackmail!}
- Be silly as much as possible, laughter does heal the deepest wounds, don't take life so seriously, blow bubbles, run through sprinklers, play badminton, play hide and go seek in the dark, play freeze tag/tv tag, watch The Goonies 184644846+ times, visit the mother island {PR}, make BIG Sat morning breakfasts and love until your heart is about the explode!

Though we did not always get along, we had some great times growing up. It's crazy to think that we are both going to be mommies together...when were we allowed to be in charge?! {Okay, maybe as the big sis, I wasn't allowed but just took over a lot...sorry about that ;) }

Congrats to my Mooch and her fiance Owen! Seeing how natural you guys look in this pic holding my David, I know you both are going to be great parents. It's going to be scary at times but so rewarding. Enjoy the early moments as much as possible...you will get sick of hearing this, but it does fly by :)

As always, I'm here for you sis. When you go through postpartum depression, I'm just a phone call away. When you want to pull out your hair because you don't know what to do, or when something funny happens that you need to share, I will always be there with you to share new memories. Love ya sis...you are going to be an awesome mom to a special little boy or girl {okay, now I'm over it!! okay, still not...}

Love,
Jacy
{your big-lil sis...did I get that right?! lol}

Hello Emotions, meet Postpartum

I was wondering what was going to write about today and then it hit me...a flood of emotions, that is.
Ugh.

Don't you just wish sometimes you had an off button? I mean, I know most of our husbands do {well I'm sure mine does anyway, and I don't blame him!} but REALLY?! I'm happy-go-lucky one minute, then stinkin' evil-selfish-bratface the next! {If that was a super hero name, I'd totally be it. Not sure what my powers may be though...somewhere along the lines of crying because the house is a mess and public humiliation for my family...}

I was SO in denial when the doctor had warned, while pregnant with David, that after birth I could experience some serious depression and emotions. Who, this girl? *insert two thumbs here* pshhhh.
Yeah well, guess what? That stuff is NO joke!! I'm already an emotional person {duh female} but depression? me? No way, I had thought. I never really was depressed a day in my life! {aka 28 years} I tried to be positive, upbeat and happy!

Lately though the emotional roller coaster seems to have gone from medium to flippin' insane in 0.5 seconds. I know it "will pass" but man, when you are in this heavy tornado of tears and meltdowns, you can't help but feel so lonely like you are the only person that has EVER felt this way. Why do we think that??! I mean, right?! How many women in history have gone through things, and for whatever reason, we always think (because it's happening to innocent us) that we are the only ones that have experienced something haha
I am so glad to know that Jesus understands what I'm going through. No, not because He was pregnant and had postpartum...even worse, He died on the cross and suffered shame! Christ felt emotions too; loneliness, despair, maybe even defeat at times...but you know what? He prevailed!! There was victory!!

So today, as I'm sitting here debating about whether I should cry or laugh, Jesus is also here by my side, saying:

"Daughter, my heart was heavy once too. I can feel what you feel; see what you see. Just hold on and take things slow. Hold my hand, because I'm not going anywhere. When you feel alone, remember my Voice and be soothed. When you feel overwhelmed, remember I carried the cross and died to lift off those burdens. When you are sad, troubled, confused, emotionally drained...remember with me, you shall never be faint or weary, as long as you run under my wings! I love you and will never let you go!"

Man, we serve an awesome God!!

Don't forget to thank Him today

{even if you are a evil-selfish-bratface}

Dishes, Laundry, Chores, Oh My!

Okay, truth.

I used to be a seriously type A clean freak...I mean for realz. I would actually hang up clothes and put them away! Crazy right?! Lately though, I've been a totally different person...basically a pig in a skirt.

As I look around I can't help but wonder how did I get like this? and when?

I cannot even use my lil' newborn muffin as an excuse. It started five years ago when I got my own place. Yup, that's the when...when I realized it was MY place...when I realized I made the rules...and when I realized I could put my stuff ANYWHERE and answer to NOBODY!

A year or two went by like this...until I got married.

Oh my. Now I had someone who would hold ME accountable...and I failed and am still failing. Don't get me wrong; I just learned to use the dishwasher and can keep up with dishes. Of course they wait a couple days before I notice they need washing. Also laundry gets washed...I just don't put clothes away until three days later.

I need an intervention, much like they do on How I Met Your Mother. Only less cooler. Actually, it seems like every time I get into the groove of cleaning and finally feel a bit like my old OCD self, something happens. I guess that's life. There is a balance. The old me wasn't healthy and neither is the present me. It's two extremes. What I do feel now, I wouldn't trade for anything! Peace. Contentment. Things I had a hard time feeling before, when I was mentally wired by my task list.

I have work to do within myself and I will get to a happy medium. For now, I'm enjoying the freedom I feel from not going insane about the bathroom cleaning schedule (btw, when did I clean that last?)

Now if I could just step away from my laptop long enough to make lunch...
Pinterest makes me hungry...

He's here!!

Wonder where I've been, blog world?
Oh just bringing a new soul into this world :)

HE'S FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAVID JONATHAN PULFORD

BORN APRIL 27, 2012 @ 8:43PM

6LBS 4OZ 19.75IN

Let the hunger games begin...lol

It's Official...I'm a Self-Published Author!!

"Wow."

That's all I could say when I burst open the box of books that sat in my foyer. I couldn't wait to see all of the hard work, hours of study and prayer, compacted in 170 pages, bound in a glossy cover with my original artwork gracing it. Then I saw my name at the bottom...

You know, being a writer was always something I wanted to do. I just was so self-conscious as a kid, and used my writing mostly to journal and create poetry. Plus, my art skills were developed first so I was excited about that exceeding. Also, the "real world" usually tries to convince young minds that something as different and cool as being an author or an artist were dream jobs, but not realistically attainable.

Well I want to tell the "real world" that dreams are real and they can come true!! The awesome part of my story is that I didn't get to write what I originally wanted. Hear me out. I used to write mysteries and sometimes graphic stories. That all changed when one night, I had an experience with the The Great Creator and Author, the Lord Jesus Christ!

He let me know that He loved me and that He would deliver me from my sins. He gave me a vision and set me on a path that transformed my life, and heart. This is not just a book...this is a piece of my re-birth in Christ. You will find my entire testimony in the foreword...

It's called "The Palace Keepers" and it's about emotional purity, a subject that NEEDS to be addressed in this generation. Enough talking, here is the book summary and where you can pick up your very own copy! It's also available as a Kindle edition, which is compatible with the most popular electronic devices...

"In her debut, new author Jacy Lee Pulford brings forth “the most overlooked problem today” of emotional purity. This book features her personal testimony, thought-provoking questions and Biblical references to help us gain the right knowledge in keeping a clean heart. Learn about how a physical palace relates to our spiritual palace; our mind (The Gate), our thoughts (The Courtyard), our decisions (The Foyer), our hearts (The Throne Room) and our bodies (The Grounds). Find out who King Jesus really is, what He expects of us as our own Palace Keeper and equip yourself with the right tools, such as The Word, Prayer, Obedience and Discernment.
In a generation where sin in glorified and purity is mocked, protecting only your body is not enough. Purity is more than just sexual abstinence. Influences are trying to enter your palace, but King Jesus has assigned you an important job to take care of what goes in and out. He has called you to be a Palace Keeper…are you ready?"

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Sunday Devotion: Emotional Purity

"Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."

Proverbs 4:23

In the past four years, the Lord has placed a message on my heart about, well, the heart. He used my own testimony to teach me something...this is what lead me to write "The Palace Keepers", a book about protecting the purity of the heart. It's also available in e-book form. 

The main thing God showed me is that purity is not only about our bodies but that true purity starts in the heart! Sometimes Christianity spends so much effort and time on telling young people that they must abstain from sexual sin, which is of course necessary and true, but they don't tell them HOW to do it.

We try and "reform" our ways, but since the main issue lies in our emotions, we tend to go back to the sin and never fully get over it.

Emotional purity is the clean state of our emotional health. If we know we have to keep our bodies clean and healthy, why don't we think that same way about our hearts?

Let's break down Proverbs 4:23:

"Keep thy heart..."

This means it's OUR job, to make sure it is following the Lord. But how?

"...with all diligence..."

Be responsible and accountable. Ask God every day how to guard your heart and obey Him at all times.

But why?

"...out of it are the issues of life."

Because our heart can create and lead us into different situations and we need to be ready now!

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" 

Today, think about your heart and it's health.

What sort of things are you pouring into it? What kind of music are you listening to, or movies you are watching? Who is your heart attaching to? Are they following the Lord or leading you astray?

Purity of your emotions is so important! If you don't protect your heart, you will eventually allow someone else to have control over it, and thus, they end up controlling your emotions.

Pray and ask God to reveal what you can do so protect the purity of your heart!