happy thanksgiving! (:

so, as you all know, today is thanksgiving...and i think i'd be very ungrateful if i didn't make a blog post about everything i'm thankful for.  at our house, we have this new tradition where we use sheets as a tablecloth on thanksgiving and then we write on them with sharpies all the things we're thankful for.

[my family. hannah rae. birthdays. piano. black & white. traysen. lotsa. lil' t. colten. glee. daddy's money. chips with lime. blue dew. cold queso. elder ashton d hopper. zupa's. scholarships. mom's camo jokes. ben & jerry's karamel sutra. the atonement. blogging. soldiers. real mashed potatoes with no onions. glitter toms & non-glitter toms. missionaries. uvu. makeup. honors. fireworks. grandma and grandpa. love.]

so of course, i'm grateful for all the expected things... family, friends, money, a home, the gospel... but i'd like to dedicate this post to something a little less obvious: i'm thankful for my mistakes. and not just some mistakes... every mistake.  i've learned amazing lessons from every single one of them. every boy i let break my heart made me that much stronger and helped me find my independence.  every lie i've believed has made me that much smarter.  i have had to lose everything had before i could realize what was important. i think sometimes we have to make all the wrong choices in order for us to realize what is the right choice.

so that pretty much sums it up... this year, i'm most grateful for my mistakes, no matter how small or extravagant they might be.  i've learned something worthwhile for every single one of them, and i know i'll continue to make mistakes until i die.  the key to life isn't in not making mistakes, but in bettering yourself from each and every fall.  no regrets.