Proud!

When I was pregnant with Ellie, my mother-in-law discovered Kids Market, a consignment sale.  The thought of used children's clothing made me shudder.  Like, I literally went to the sale and would not touch a thing.  I vigorously washed my hands the second I left.  (In the back of my mind I was relieved we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl because then I couldn't look at the clothes.)
Let's fast forward a year.  I have a six-month-old chickie and a part-time job.  My mother-in-law has been to several other consignment sales since Ellie was born and proven to me that you really can score great clothes for a much cheaper price.  So I go to Kids Market again.  And this time I put Ellie in a laundry basket and pull her along while I look at clothes.  It did take a few minutes for me to actually touch something, but once I did, I started throwing clothes in that basket and never looked back.
Seven years later and a majority of my children's clothes come from Kids Market.  The kicker is that I even volunteer twenty hours of my time for the privilege to shop the sale first.  I know, I know.  
Last Sunday as we were riding to church, it dawned on me that all of my kids had on clothes that were not bought from a retail store.  But wait.  Even I had on an outfit that my mom in Pennsylvania sent me...from a co-worker's sister.  Yes.  That would mean that the clothes I was wearing were three-time hand-me-downs.  But wait!  My shoes!  I bartered with a sweet friend some embroidery for the Cordonis on my feet.  Whoa.  My how far I've come!

And I am proud.  When I first started shopping consignment, I didn't really want to discuss where an outfit came from that Ellie had on.  I would even preempt it by saying, "Well, it still had the tags on it," or "I knew I couldn't find this anywhere else."  Now I love it when someone asks where that smocked bishop on MC or the fun pants that El has on are from.  I know that the Lord has shown me Kids Market as a way to better spend the money He has blessed us with.  It has taken me a loooong time to realize how careful I need to be with our money, regardless of how much we have.

So there you go.  I am a consignment shopper.  And I am proud.