My First Few Days on the No Pants November Challenge

A few days ago I joined in on the No Pants November challenge hosted by Our Wood Home. I usually don't participate in these kinds of things so it was definitely a purposeful, and personally stretching decision to do this. So far I am enjoying it.

Modesty is a large part of my life and my beliefs as a women of God, but beside all that it makes me feel unbelievably feminine to wear skirts and dresses. I mean,I guess you can feel that way in pants, but there is just something about a skirt and heels that pants don't even come close to. At least in my opinion
.
I purposefully decided to go skirt-only a few years back. It wasn't because of my church. No one was preaching at me about wearing skirts. I just had this nagging feeling that maybe I was dressing for all the wrong people
.
Yeah, yeah. I have read all the articles and blogs on how we need to be modest for our Christian brothers. Don't get me wrong, I think it is definitely helpful for a sister to dress modestly. We all know there is enough skin being plastered everywhere, and showed off without shame. More than that however, I think that we need to remember who we belong to. I think that when we remember that fact, the choices we make regarding clothing will change dramatically.

Oh, I hear some of you out there. "God accepts me just the way I am", you say. Yes. Yes He does, but don't you want to be your best? If crucifying the flesh(Galations 5:24) means letting go of pride, selfishness, anger, lust and numerous other things, then why can't it mean letting go of our vanity? And while we are at it, isn't it really pride and selfishness that hold us back from making better decisions with regards to dress?--- "I" want to look good. "I" want to impress people. "I" want to feel good.

 I. I. I.

It is interesting to me that to enter a court of law we must follow various dress codes, or we risk being kicked out. It is my understanding that the same is true for certain clubs even those that include golf. Golf! Yet we can't lay down our pride for the Creator of the universe. We are willing to wear anything, no matter how uncomfortable to be a part of a club, play golf, enter a court room and even have a job.

Think about that.

Those are the things that made me ponder and pray about how I dress. Will dressing modestly get me to heaven? No. Only salvation through Christ alone does that. Will I be greatly rewarded and blessed because of it? Honestly, I'm not sure; but I do know that laying everything down so that my whole life honors the God who so graciously saved me is worth every pain it may cost. He first loved me. I want to love, honor, respect and obey Him in every capacity. Even the way I dress.


BUT this post isn't about that. It's about what I wore during my first few days of the #OWHNoPantsNovember challenge.

I started the challenge a little late so I only have 4 outfits so far. If you go to you can check out my daily posts. I will also be checking in once a week on here and giving a brief over view of my outfits for the week.

This is what I wore on the very first day:

This is my favorite jean skirt for daily wear, so you may see a lot of it.

This was day 2:

I love this color combination, but next time I will choose flats instead of boots.

This was day 3 for me:

I was on my way to a missions conference at church.

This last one is today, or day 4:

There is that skirt again! 

I hope you join me on this challenge. It is a fun way to rethink skirts!  

And modestly for that matter.

If you want to join in (and I really hope you do!!) here are the rules:

I look forward to seeing your outfits!

~Jumara~

For the Love of Aprons

I like aprons. A lot.

I guess you could say that I love them. 

My apron collection. My mom made the  yellow one in the front.

Actually I REALLY love them
. 

There are about 32 aprons in this picture alone. I still have some in the wash. Not all of them are mine, however; some belong to the kids. Two or three have been outgrown by little girls that quickly became young ladies.  My mom knows just how much I enjoy them, and has used her excellent crafting and sewing skills to make me a few. She even made the girls a couple of them.

If you come for a visit you will probably see me wearing one. I try to save the nicer ones for visitors. I have great sturdy ones for doing hard cleaning jobs, and for even working outdoors. There is a vinyl one for the messiest jobs.

I like to think that when my kids are grown and gone the picture that they will have of me in their minds eye is: me in an apron laughing, singing, and cooking. Maybe even cleaning. Most likely with a kitchen towel or flour sack towel draped over one shoulder just in case.  

I am a homemaker. My work is never done. It starts when I wake up, early in the morning, and ends when I finally lay this tired body to bed. I really do have a "bed time", but it doesn't always work out.  Much of my time is spent in the kitchen preparing meals, canning, freezing or cleaning. Chances are, that if you have ever called me to chat, I was in the kitchen.  If I am not in it, I am not far from it. 

Aprons not only stop the splatter, but they are great for wiping hands(mine or a child's) or little tear stained faces, and carrying eggs in from the coop.  They are wonderfully handy for doing crafts with the kids, or (you guessed it) processing deer. I especially love the ones with pockets.
The possibilities are endless!

I teach the children to wear aprons when working. I have some for the littles to wear when they "help" me in the kitchen making biscuits, or washing dishes. I cherish the act of tying on a little apron, and making sure it fits around the tiny waist and neck of a toddler. It is a small gesture, but for me it is one small way to make memories with the ones I love. I truly believe that sometimes the little things are the ones that make the biggest impact...and the most vivid memories.
It is a tradition that I hope they will one day pass on.

And no...they don't have to own 32.;)

What to do when your toddler gets up in the middle of the night.

  We have all been there.

Bedtime comes around, and the littles are bathed and dressed in adorable p.j.'s.  The bedtime story is read...and read again...and maybe just one more time.  Then, if you live in our house, they are "flown" to bed like super man, bat man or even spider man, complete with accompanying theme song. And of course they have to be wrapped up like a burrito...after we say our prayers.

Finally, the ritual is complete and you wander off thinking about all the wonderful things you are going to do with all of this free time.  

Dreams I tell ya. Just wispy dreams that fly away about 2 to 4 hours later.  

You know what you just heard, but you are in denial. 

It. 

Just.

Can't. 

Be.

But it's true. You heard those little feet hit the floor, and now they are heading your way.  

You brace yourself.  This will be easy. You can do this. You have done it before. You are the night night master. 

And he proves you wrong. At least for an hour or so. He has a cold. He is sniffly, and cranky, and wants to watch a movie "One day?" Or "In a minute." 

You are strong. You do not turn the movie on. You tell him calmly yet assertively that he must go to sleep.

It works. Almost. He squirms, tosses and turns. He wants to "play game" or "read a book one day". ("One day is the phrase of the week.)

Finally, after what seems like a lifetime he just falls asleep mid sentence. Just like that. Easy peasy. You knew you could do this! (You can barely make out Eye of the Tiger faintly in the background.) 

You tuck him back into bed, and that is when it hits you:

You are now wide awake.

Not groggy awake. No. This is full blown, I can take on the world, awake.

So, what do you do?

I will tell you what you do. You pray. You read. You pray some more. 

You contemplate washing a load of clothes, reorganizing the pantry and dusting the ceiling fans.  You did need to clean the baseboards didn't you?

You decide against it, and at some point(you aren't sure when) you fall asleep.

Ahhhh. Sleep.

Wait?! What's that sound?

My alarm clock already? 

Hmmm.  Well, I better get up. 

Chores and children await. 

So, what do you do when your toddler gets up in the middle of the night? You put him back to bed. That's what. And then you eventually go back to sleep so that you can start again on this beautiful parenting journey.

It's part of being a mom. A parent. An adult.

You do what you have to do, and you smile because you know that this season only lasts a short while. The snuggles, the questions, even wiping the little nose will eventually stop, and he won't need you in that capacity anymore.  

Ask me about it. My oldest is 20. That season is long gone for her.

It only lasts a little while. Do it with joy. Do it with gratitude. Do it with love. 

Then, after a few hours of sleep, wake up  prepared to do it all again. It's an honor. It's a privilege. 

Remember that.

That Time of Year

It's that time of year again:
   Deer season.

This marks a time of much added work for us as we process the deer my husband harvests. Although my husband hunts every year, this is actually only the second year in a row that we do this, so we are definitely still learning.  It takes a few hours to properly skin, clean and part out a deer.  The end result, however, is a freezer full of roasts, ground meat, steaks and sausage.  Last year we made deer jerky for the first time! I look forward to that again.

This also marks a time, when me and the children  are on our own for meals and pretty much everything else because Daniel is out in the woods hunting.  Not that you will hear me complaining because I definitely love the fresh venison!!

With all the new skills that I am learning (and working on learning) such as canning, freezing and drying food it makes for endless days.
Productive days.
And I am thankful for that.

Somehow I am even managing to catch up on herbal salve making.  I am so behind!  I can honestly say that I do not have one jar of any of my favorite salves right now.  By the end of the week, however, that will change.  I am currently working on some almond oil infused with calendula flowers that will be made into what is probably my all time favorite salve: Calendula Salve.  My kids love this stuff!  You should have seen their faces when they realized we were out of it. One day I hope to see them making it for themselves.

Right now, at this moment, I am embracing this season.  All of it, from the falling leaves to the clear blue skies and crisp autumn air to the deer processing.

I hope I am teaching my children to do the same.