Thrift stores. We all know what they are. Some people love them. Others wonder why on earth you would ever want to shop used clothes.

 I love thrift stores. OK, I may be slightly addicted to thrift store shopping!

It is like a treasure hunt to see what you can get for the cheapest price.

I will just give you an example.



So I have been thrift store shopping for many years. Because of that in our area I know what stores I can find the best deals at and what ones really are not that great of a deal (especially considering sometimes you can get something new on clearance for cheaper then they are asking at the thrift store).

For our local Salvation Army stores every Wednesday is family day. This means that every tag except one is half off the ticket price.

I am currently 38 weeks pregnant and am down to once a week doctors visits. Since there is a Salvation Army one minute away from the doctors office I have made it a point to try to schedule my appointments on Wednesdays as much as possible so I can take advantage of the half off day.


Today I went wanting to get some stuff for Jason but then I ended up getting some amazing stuff for me! Things I can wear now as well as after baby girl makes her appearance. OK, so I got a lot of cardigans! ;)

I am digressing though.

Here is one of the reasons I would still thrift store shop even if I became a billionaire:


This is a New York and Company shirt that still had the tags on-completely brand new. The original price on the tag was $49.95. Salvation army had marked it down to $6.99-which is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to a good deal.

The greatest part came when the cashier was ringing it into the cash register as I was checking out-$6.99 minus 50% all the sudden became $3.50.

$3.50 for a $49.95 shirt. This is adorable.

See why I adore thrift shopping so much?

That was not my only deal from today however!

I love Ann Taylor Loft. Like seriously if I could ever go on a shopping spree unlimited it would be in that store. It is classic yet elegant fashion and I love it!

So when I found these I was so excited:


Not one, not two, not three, not four but FIVE cardigans from Ann Taylor Loft. These average between $40-$50 per sweater on their website.  Today however, that is not the price I paid!

One of the sweaters had the tags on it and was brand new! That was the most expensive one at $1.50 after the 50% discount! The other four were a mere $0.99 cents a piece!

So I got five sweaters for a grand total of $5.50! WHAT!?!?

Talk about a blessing from the Lord!

In four weeks our sweet baby girl is due to make her appearance. When that happens I feel like the dynamic of our little white house is most definitely going to change!

Let me explain.

When we found out that I was expecting and Gram passed away the entire time I just felt like I was going to have a girl. They call it intuition. I was right but you know-not bragging about that ;)

At the same time Jason was convinced that is was a boy. Until a few days before we were going to have the gender ultrasound.

I was puttering around the house and all the sudden out of the blue Jason turns to me and quietly says: "I think it is going to be a girl."

I asked him why and his reply was: "Well, we know what to do with boys I think God is going to mix things up."

And he was right!

I feel very comfortable with boys. Boys are pretty easy at this point. Yes, their energy makes me want to go hide and eat chocolate on a regular basis  occasionally but other than that-we have setttled into our boy filled home with not too much issue.

Over the last few weeks I have really started to realize that our little world is about to be turned upside down in a very exciting but somewhat terrifying way.

Enter our baby girl.

So I have been preparing the boys and they are so very excited for their baby but it has definitely made me stop and think about some things.

Like the fact that they will someday (Lord willing) have wives and daughters of their own. How am I going to train them to treat women in general? And that every day is training and teaching them in some way to grow to be Godly young men that love and serve others.

So I have been challenged-I realized I am teaching them even when I don't say a word.

And yes-that thought scares me! Why? Well-I am FAR from perfect or even far from being anywhere near perfect when it comes to my mothering.

Then I came across the following quote:


Is that not the most beautiful thing you have read lately? Forget trying to be perfect and pinterest worthy in everything I do.

Just love.

So that is my new goal: love my boys. Love my husband. Love my baby girl. Love those around me. Love my God.

Yes, things are going to change when Clara decides to make her appearance!

Yes, there are days where I do not love the way I need to.

Yes, I serve a God that I can lean on for help on the days I just do not know what to do. Because with His help all things are possible!!

And when I start thinking about that-all the sudden raising my boys does not seem like such a scary and impossible thing!