Angels and Garbage Bags

I rarely spend money on clothes.

I mean very rarely, I still have clothes from high school. And honestly most of my clothes are from when I was in college. The past few months I've decided that it's time to start looking my age. It was this thinking which sort of prompted the haircut.

Anyway, I was looking through my closet and decided it was time to revamp the wardrobe. The problem with this is I have a really hard time paying what the store seems to think those clothes are worth. So I spend hours searching tons of stores only to come home either empty handed or having spent the equivalent of our grocery budget for the month on like 3 items.

So I had been brainstorming ways I could earn a bit of cash to improve my image when a friend texted and said she had some pants she was getting rid of if I wanted them. Bingo, I really needed some new pants. So she brought them by and I was so busy it was a week before I got around to opening the bag. But when I did GOLDMINE!!!

While I may be as style conscience as a newt, I happen to be related to and friends with some really stylish girls. While trying on each pair of pants, skirt and shirt it finally struck me that the reason I've been able to go so long between shopping trips is because these amazing women have been willing to give me their old, unused or less loved clothes!!! Just about every time I've been ready to go shopping in the last 9 months, I've had a trash bag of beautiful clothes given to me!

It seems like I often hear stories about how blessings come to those who pay tithing. In our church we give 10% of our income back to the Lord through our church. The money is then used to help others in our ward or stake, pay for chapels and temples to be built and also used for humanitarian causes as well. Tyler and I have always paid our tithing and I know we have been blessed for it, but not in any outstandingly shocking and obvious way. Or so I thought until today. The more I thought upon it the more I realized how abundantly we have been blessed. We have probably purchased 2% of the clothes that Heidi and Alex now wear. The rest, heaven sent trashbags of love.

So thank you to my wonderful sister in laws, neighbors, friends and family who have kept Tyler and I from going threadbare or broke. For helping us look a bit more classy than we would otherwise, and saving us hundreds of dollars. Your generosity has truly been a blessing in our lives.

In other news today we got a letter in the mail from Stephen who is currently serving a mission in Sao Paulo Brazil. My favorite part was.... "By now you should be gearing up for Halloween and the temperature should be dropping." Yes, apparently he sent the letter on October 11, 2010. Crazy