Thanksgiving was yesterday and besides the joy of eating loads of food, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks.

So I would like to make a thankful post. If that makes sense.

I want to thank every single person that i've met.

All the people that have come and gone

and all the people that are soon to come.

I am seriously so blessed for all the people that have come into my life.

They really have effected the person I am today and I'm extremely grateful for that.

And I'm not just talking about my friends and family. I'm talking about all the people that have made me laugh, cry, love and hurt.

It might sound a little weird, but i really think the reason people come into our lives are to help us grow as individuals.

Everyone's a teacher.

So let them teach.

When our whole family finished eating Thanksgiving dinner we all went into the family room and went in a circle saying what we were thankful for. 

As I was watching everyone go, i realized what i was thankful for. 

Experiences.

I'm grateful for the best and worst experiences. 

They make me who I am and who I will become. 

I think about the best, happiest and worst moments in my life and

the only thing that i think of that they've done for me is make my life they way it is right now.

and i am extremely grateful for that.

I don't ever really talk about this, but an example is when my parents got a divorce when I was 11. 

I remember the night they told us perfectly.

I was downstairs making flashcards for school and my mom told me to come into the kitchen.

she told me about 5 times to hurry upstairs because i just wanted to finish my dang flashcards 

Once i got to the kitchen, everyone in my family was in there and dead silent staring at me when i walked in. 

I went and sat down on a stool while people were standing and sitting on the counters.

Everything got really quiet and my mom started to talk. 

She told us her and my dad were splitting and i literally felt my heart drop.

no one said a thing for about 10 seconds and then everyone just started to cry.

It's not a memory I really like to re live and i'm not really sure why i'm telling this story.

But, i just remember feeling so empty and mad and i wasn't sure what our family was going to do and where we were going to go. 

What I'm trying to get at this story is that if my parents never got a divorce

I would not even be close to where i am now.

My mom re-married and my step dad has changed our lives so much i can't even explain to you how grateful i am for him and how he's blessed our family.

We are at the best time in our lives right now.

and our family couldn't be closer.

without trials we would never be able to get to the places we are in our lives

without trials, we would never be able to experience happiness.

happiness only comes after we have experienced hurt.

I know at times there can be heartache and trouble

but you just have to remember that God is the one that see's the whole picture. 

and you just have to be brave enough to trust him. 

♥hailey