Sharing a moment ~ linking up with Soulemama

{pretty yellow dress from shabby apple}

Now for the honest part ~

I have one skirt that should show a hint of lace below the hemline but doesn’t because of my body shape, my hair is not long enough to loosely pull it back off my face, and I am not stylish enough to perfectly match much with my body type or my skirt.

Yet I still am wearing skirts.  It was very easy to always pull on a pair of jeans, and a shirt, and I looked like most other people, so I mostly blended in.  Then the journey began… and has joyfully continued.

I began wearing skirts a little over a year ago. 

Wearing skirts was my “start” at being “modest”,

being a “traditional” Catholic wife and mom.

  I had no idea what I would gain from wearing skirts, or what I would gain from reading so much about modesty, Our Blessed Mother Mary, and being feminine.  The path I am taking is one filled with Grace from God to go down this path, this is my path.  I am not implying that one must take this path to find a grace filled life, or to discover what I have. This is my story {disclosure officially done}

My journey has only just begun, but in a year many ideas have floated around my heart and mind as I put on a skirt every morning.

I am learning humility ~ I am no more modest, spiritual, or holy in a skirt ~ it is WAY more than simply putting a skirt on.  Putting a skirt on is the easy part

I am learning silence ~ enough said on that one…

I am learning to have faith ~ that my dress is pleasing to my husband, our Lord and to our Blessed Mother Mary

I am learning patience ~ patience with myself and others as my life has taken a turn that is totally overflowing with Grace, there is no way this journey would have begun without grace from our Lord

So does dressing in skirts mean that I wear denim jumpers? No, although I do have a few denim skirts {one happens even to be stylish}.  I found the Goodwill is a great frugal way to buy cute skirts and dresses to make my wardrobe more feminine.  Being modest is not just about being in a skirt, it is among many other things, being feminine and dressed for your state in life.

My state in life was going to be my ticket to wearing jeans ~ I am a homeschooling mom to a young son, and have a home daycare.  I can’t wear skirts all day, I’m on the floor playing with kids all  day, I’m cleaning and picking up the house all day {I wish my house showed that effort}, I would be uncomfortable…the list could go on and on about how my state in life is not conducive to wearing skirts.  Really? My state in life is about being a strong Catholic loving wife, being a model to my daughter and step daughter of femininity, showing my sons what it means to be a lady, caring for children while their parent’s work.  I am to show these children beauty and order.  I am easily able to show them these things as I sit on the floor with my skirt laying around me, or as I cook meals with an apron on to keep tidy, or play out front ~ believe it or not a skirt still has allowed my legs to move.  Now two years ago, I would have thought I would need to stop my life to wear a skirt daily.  A year of wearing skirts, and my flower beds still got weeded, and my tomatoes still did not grow.  As I worked in my flower beds and garden this past summer I envisioned my old Grandma Jones in her yard and she was not wearing the newest Levi cut.

I have seen the beauty of the little girls I care for

as they hold tight to my skirts as I am cooking their lunch.

  I always get visions of Charlotte Mason in what I envision she was wearing as she was guiding souls and they were holding onto her skirts.

So…will I never wear jeans?  I still own I believe 2 pairs of jeans in my closet.  I put on a pair when I thought a tornado was headed towards us.  As I stood in our driveway with my husband and I had on my comfy jeans, I stood differently, I felt differently.  Again, this is my story.  You don’t have to agree.

I like coming down the stairs and feeling my skirt flow.  I like showing my family that a good skirt has to have a good spin when I twirl.

I like wearing skirts

Wearing skirts helps me to stay focused on what is important to me

For any that are interested, here is some modesty and skirt reading for you…

What Fisheaters says about modesty

Raising Arrows ~ She wears skirts series

Colleen Hammond – “Dressing with dignity”

Catholic Modesty

And for pinterest love ~ my skirt love board

]]> http://takingthyme.com/2012/01/02/learning-the-art-of-wearing-skirts/feed/ 0 websterhome shabby apple yellow dress grey day skirt Charlotte_Mason Modesty-Bouguereau SheWearsSkirtslarge Modest_Mary_starlit_gif http://takingthyme.com/2011/12/29/crispy-nuts/ http://takingthyme.com/2011/12/29/crispy-nuts/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:13:24 +0000 Marcia http://takingthyme.com/?p=762 Continue reading →]]> Note to self ~ making Nourishing Traditions crispy nuts {as explained here by Kitchen Stewardship} should not be done in the electric roaster because once you realize it shouldn’t be done, then it takes longer in the oven…

But, double batch was done before bed, and happily put into glass jars this morning and ready for snacking!

I actually have finished a few projects since I last joined in – I finally finished my legwarmers, a dishcloth, and made some progress on a shawl.  You can see my projects at Ravelry.

For now though, I have finally started a pair of socks!  I have wanted to knit socks since I started knitting, but knew if I only knit one at a time, that I would only have 1 sock…forever.  So….I have looked and read about 2 at a time (2aat) for awhile, and finally bought an e-book from knitfreedom which I love, and started on a pair for my daughter.  It is going well so far, once I figured out I was doing some funky yarn over thing at the beginning of each row (I am using magic loop). I was convinced to figure out what I was doing wrong, so I spent some time tinking back till I figured it out.  For now, it is easy knitting until I sit in a corner by myself to work on the gusset and heel.

I just finished reading “The Little Prince” with my bookclub.  I enjoyed the book, but I was really excited to go for the discussion – there are some amazing women in my bookclub who are rich with life and faith and can weave such love into a book.  As I expected, I left with new thoughts and will read the book again looking at it with much more depth than what I had read it with.  I’m thinking I read a little shallow…

A few moments I don’t want to forget ~ summer vacation in St Louis…

192. a Holy Week that reminds me and brings me closer to the pain that Our Lord went through for me

193. snuggling with a cute little 5 year old, but don’t tell him I called him little

194. a sister in law who is quick to step in when I have a kiddo that needs to go to the dr

195. missing my husband

196. flower snowball fight on my birthday

197. shelves full of good books

198. listening to my daughter’s dreams for her future

199. reading about the Saints ~ these are the true heroes for our children and ourselves to look up to

200. reading with my daughter as she chooses a Saint for Confirmation that feels good to her ~ Saint Catherine of Alexandria

201. sharing recipes with my sister

202. delicious looking chocolate poundcake appearing at my doorstep from my “big sister” although I have to admit I am saving it until Easter Sunday

203. passing on eating my poundcake (see #202) as we are in Holy Week

204. 7lbs lost since Ash Wednesday…when you stop drinking pepsi, snacking between meals, and not eating sweets that is what happens

205. not having a scale so that I only just found out that I lost 7lbs

206. sacrificing even when it is difficult

207. the strength to have difficult talks

208. realizing how different a pepsi tastes when I drink it on Sundays (not as good as when I was gulping it down all day every day)

209. Counting all the wonderful things in my life

210. Looking forward to Holy Thursday Mass, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil

181. my husband
181. my children
183. living a Catholic life
184. a great book and people to talk about with ~

The Friendship of Christ is the current book that I am reading. I was slow in starting, I was laughing that my priest is at a way different reading level than I am (I’m sure he is), but then ladies from our Parish met with our priest to talk about reading the book. I left excited to read it, and I am enjoying it!

185. i’m grateful that when Tanner decided to use the blade on the finger nail clippers to carve into the face of our bathroom cabinet that the first thing in his mind to carve was a cross. Sometimes you just have to look at the bright side.
186. a daughter that has faith in me to make her Confirmation dress
187. knitting time
188. inspiring knitting posts ~
Ginny Sheller with Elizabeth Dehority
Elizabeth Foss

189. Stations of the Cross this evening
190. so very thankful for safety of my family during spring storms

141. pulling weeds out of the flower bed

142. Tanner spotting the 1st butterfly of the year

143. a cold beer in the driveway

144. a hardworking husband

145. an anxious daughter to be out and driving

146. a daughter that is daring enough to drive to other parts of town

147. cell phones

148. my dishwasher running

149. clean tile floors

150. the sun shining through to remind me to clean the tile floors

151. eating leftovers

152. staying on budget for groceries ~ see # 151

153. enjoying the season change

154. my mephisto shoes ~ this is my 2nd year wearing them and I love them!

155. dirt on my feet

156. hearing my daughter’s voice Pray along with the Rosary

157. ceramic pieces Emily made in class

158. drop leaf table…love love love

159. hearing the piano being played, it’s not a song, but I am still enjoying it

160. hot tea in the morning with agave nectar

113. towels hanging on the line

114. finding that our new drop leaf table is perfect for working in the evening time

115. St Joseph’s dinner at Church

116. sweaty boy in the van after the dinner

117. Emily so ready to help out

118. a driving daughter

119. using a hoe to weed the flower bed

120. seeing how the ordinary things in my day truly are extraordinary

121. work

122. plucking eyebrows and laughing

123. water ~ who knew that I would be grateful for that

124. being tired at night

125. looking forward to family coming for the weekend

126. a hardworking husband who doesn’t complain

127. having a Priest give a homily that is good for our souls

128. having a Priest

129. my home

130. daffodils

131. Tanner collecting worms

132. little girls playing with hand shovels in the dirt

133. fresh eggs, smoked turkey, and zuchinni for lunch

134. learning to plan better ~ I am trying to take after my husband

135. the want for a great book ~ Nourishing Traditions

136. playing science over the phone with my sister

137. my green dining room walls

138. Emily’s long hair

139. a tired boy after a morning of playing outside

140. finally beating Tanner at Trouble after his long winning streak