I Kicked Him Out!!

After that last depressing post, I thought I should update on Mr. Pain.

He is packing his bags as of right now.
He's "hittin the road, Jack".
And I hope he don't come back "No more, no more, no more, no more!"
I regress.


On Wednesday I went into a pain specialist and they administered some injections right into the muscles of my back.
Voila!! (That's french for, "ahh-ha!".)
Each day has gotten better since then.
So, Mr. Pain has been evicted.
It never felt so good to be so mean!

So, bring on the soccer games, the cross-country meets, the housework, the hikes and picnics. I am ready to go for it all again!!

(These pictures have nothing to do with this post.
I just found them and thought they were cool.)

Mr. Pain

I have not been really well acquainted with Pain.
Until recently.

Yes, I capitalize Pain because it can become a major presence in your life. Like a mean spiteful person always lurking behind you. I have had some experience with Pain, but it has always been fleeting, rarely lasting for more than a day or two (or three if you count surgeries). But this year.... and most especially the last 3 weeks, Pain has become an unwelcome companion who keeps visiting me for extended stays. He wasn't invited.
And he's been loathe to go away. But.... Since he has been so persistent, I decided that perhaps there was something I could learn from him.

Here is what I've learned so far:
*Your health is important but your spiritual health is REALLY important. *You can smile even when it hurts.
*You can smile when you are crying.
*People care and people make each day worth it.
*You have a choice when things don't go your way. You can be PRO-active or RE-active. It's your choice.
*Pain is not gain necessarily, but it teaches us humility.
and last but never least,
*I understand my fellow human beings better.

I am sure there is more to learn.
I hope I can be a teachable pupil.

And p.s.: I am feeling better each day now. Yay!

Boutique - ing!!

All (well, some) of the stuff I've inherited, collected, or made over the years is now in a boutique!

Hopefully it will sell and I can conquer 2 birds with one stone! I can clean out the junk and I can make a little money!! The boutique is located in Staheli Village in Washington, UT and is filled with some really fun and cute stuff.

My booth has lots of rustic wire, wood, & metal decor, vintage linens and clothing, vintage patterns and some antiques.

I've also included most of the crochet projects I've been doing recently; hats, hairbands & dishcloths.

I'll soon be adding children's aprons, baby quilts, blessing dresses and pillowcase dolls. So much to do and plenty of time!! This is FUN!!

When Life Throws you on your Bottom!

I hate it when people post pictures of injuries and body parts - so please forgive me for this picture. Last week I was running through the house and ran into an immovable object which resulted in much pain and cursing under my breath with my husbands name included.

The result was this - a broken toe - which you can do nothing for, except sit around and wait for it to heal. As much as I like sitting occasionally, this is ridiculous and I'm tired of it already!
Daytime TV sucks and what about my New Year's Resolutions and my 2mile a day walks??

This is what I have turned to in my hours of sitting-ness. I have re-taught myself to crochet and have started creating.

Here's some of my latest projects: Sock slippers

Hair bands w/ flowers

Beanie Hats w/ embellishments

I am actually taking orders for the Hair Bands and Beanie Hats.
Hair Bands are $8.00 each
Beanie Hats are $15.00 each
- you choose colors for both items.
Just e-mail me at patylerstone@gmail.com
or call me at 435-674-4433
All proceeds go towards the "Patty's on her tushie" foundation for more yarn.

Early Morning Walks

Most mornings, we get out for a long walk through the fields of alfalfa that surround our neighborhood.  It's always refreshing to leave the noise of traffic behind and be alone with our thoughts and have an uninterrupted conversation.  It's a great time to reflect on life and all of our blessings - or just to think about everything we gotta do when we get back home.

Highlights of our week:

      This past week has been full as usual.  Danny left for southern California for a few days for some scheduled interviews for residency programs.  He is using our home as a 'sort-of' home base while interviewing in the western U.S.  It's been really great to have him around again.  We get him for one more week, then he heads back to Milwaukee.

        Mary has started going to Special Needs Mutual lately.  She really loves it - and getting out with her peers.   

She's also enjoyed Danny being home since he fixes her lunches!  

           Jessica has been really busy with pit practice for the play, "Brigadoon", which is being performed by her high school.  After several weeks of practice every day after school, the play opened this week for a one week show.  After tonight, she'll get her life back - until club soccer starts!

        Rachel started winter training for track this week.  She was so sore for the first few days, she looked like an old woman trying to hobble around.  On Friday, she ran a 3-mile race and took 3rd place!  Not bad after only 1 week of training!  We also had parent-teacher conferences, but we turned it into a 'Rachel & Mom' date by trying out the newest burger joint! 

You can check for updates on Amelia and Loren on their separate blogs

- listed on the blogs I follow. 

         Dan and I were lucky enough to land 2 free tickets to "The Five Browns"!  What a treat THAT was!  They were simply ASTOUNDING!  All I could say for hours afterwards was, "WOW!".  

If you don't know who they are or what they are about, check them out at  www.the5browns.com

Life has been good to us.  Walks in the fields helps us reconnect after going our separate ways each day.  Talks about what's going on with the kids, with one another, or just having one of those great philosophical "discussions" keeps us in touch with each other.

It's Fall - My favorite time of year!!

I love fall! It's so nice to have the cooler weather and the colors of leaves changing!! We have taken a few trips up to Kolob terrace to catch some of the fall colors. Here are some pics that Rachel and I took.

Looking out over Kolob terrace to the Great White Throne of Zion.

Fall leaves on Cedar Mountain!

We just finished soccer season with both Rachel and Jessica. They both played for the high school teams and had a great year. Rachel played right mid wing for JV and Jessica was keeper for varsity. Varsity took the Region 9 Champion title which was really exciting for all of us.

Jessica - our goalie- waiting for some action.

Rachel fighting for the ball.

I was able to travel and visit my daughter Amelia and her husband Jon in Houston, TX this month. We had a great time! We went to a play, ate at PF Changs, and I got to watch them in their clogging class. The weather was beautiful there and the gators all stayed in the water away from my toes!!

Me and Meli waiting for the play to start - The Importance of Being Ernest.

Lettuce wraps at PF Chang's in Houston - YUMMY!

Also this month, Danny and his friend Emily came to visit us. It was great meeting Emily - we really like her and hope she comes back soon. Danny always livens up our household and he will be with us off and on for a few weeks more. That will be a treat!

Jessica and Emily at Pioneer Park in St. George!

Emily and Daniel III. Cute couple!