Court of Honor

On Sunday August 29 our ward held a Court of Honor.  Connor earned his Tenderfoot rank and Caleb earned the Art merit badge.  They are both really close to having their First and Second Class ranks.  Cody is 1 merit badge away from his Eagle and we are TRYING to get that project going. 

Chickens!!!!!

Our neighbors have some chickens and one day last week one of them came for a visit.  I called next door and told their son that there was a chicken over here and he said to just grab it and toss it over the fence.  I told him that I would rather that he come over and grab the chicken and toss it over the fence himself.  He came over and it took him and the boys about 10 minutes to chase the chicken down and grab it.  The chicken kept going up under the trailer so it was hard to get him out.  Our neighbor then carried him home-he wisely chose to not toss it over the fence.  A few days later the chicken came back but this time Don cornered him on the porch and then he carried it home.

Hiking in Zion

The Saturday that Cody, Cayden and I were in St. George, Don went on a 6 mile hike with the Deacons in our ward.  They went to Zions National Park and hiked down the narrows.  They were in and out of the water, and did lots of jumping off of rocks.  They had a great time.  The boys were very proud of themselves that they were able to accomplish that. 

AAAAAA-aaaaaa-aaaaaaa!

That was my Tarzan yell.  I bribed Cody to get a haircut by taking him to Tarzan at Tuacahn.  That was one expensive haircut!  We went to St. George and took Cayden to occupational therapy, got both of them haircuts, went to Cafe Rio, got Pineapple Dole whip frozen yogurt, did a little shopping for school, went to In and Out Burger and then to the show.  Don got us a hotel room at the Hilton with some of his points so we did not have to drive home late that night.  The next day we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel and headed home. 

Utah Trip Recap

16 more days in Provo (Me and Cayden and then Caleb for the last 8)

9 more days of swimming lessons

2 slides off the diving board with only minimal screaming

1 trip to Ely for Don, Cody, Connor and Caleb.

1 17 year old master of parallel parking with a new driver's liscense.

ALOT of trips so Sonic for Happy Hour and usage of the .99 sticker.

2 trips to Los Hermanos

4 Cafe Rio chicken salads

4 explorations of new frozen yogurt places

Lots of days babysitting Lexie so her dad could recover from surgery and her mom could work.

1 visit to Training Table with an old friend.

13 cupcakes from Cupcake Chic

500 tickets from Pirate Island Pizza

1 Gnome found on the wall at the Dinosaur Museum.

56 scrapbook pages made

5 scrapbook page lessons from my sister.

Billions of bubbles from the bubble machine.

Lots of books read.

All that adds up to one relatively easy 2 weeks and one grumpy mom when it's time to come back to Logandale.

Tender Mercies

Well, It has been exactly one month since I posted last and I keep thinking I need to because we have been busy but that's just it-we have been busy.  I keep getting further and further behind and that makes me want to play catch up less.  It's a vicious circle! 

Last week was full of tender mercies.  I tried really hard to read my scriptures and say my prayers every day.  I find when I do that then I am able to see the tender mercies of the Lord more clearly.

1 Nephi 1:20
And I Nephi will show you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.


1.  I put our tithing check in the mail and then when I picked up our mail there was a check there that we totally forgot was coming.

2.  On Friday we were getting ready to head out to Hurricane to the high school football game and I was looking for a receipt.  I could not find the it even though I NEVER throw away receipts.  We had to leave really soon and I had been going through the receipts pile repeatedly.  I sent up a little plea for help and I was prompted to look in the MEDICAL receipts folder.  There it was.  Not a moment too soon either.

3.  On Wednesday our garage door broke.  Don had tried to tighten the chain but it just made it worse.  We called our friendly neighborhood garage door man and he came Thursday afternoon.  He had told me over the phone that the opener probably had to be replaced.  That would only by $400+.  When he came by he said that yes it needed to be replaced but that he could order the repair kit that would only cost around $250.  $200 savings is a tender mercy!

4.  Connor has a great teacher for Special Ed this year.  I found out yesterday that the teacher was really wanted by the high school but that he had committed to the middle school first but only by a few days.  The high school tried really hard to get him even then but he told them that he would come up there next year.  So hopefully Connor will get to work with him again next year too. 


5.  When we went to Hurricane for the football game we stopped in St. George to return some school clothes.  I had $20 in Kohl's cash that had to be used.  Caleb needed to new for PE.  With my 15% coupon and the Kohl's cash the shoes cost me $4.61!

6.  Connor had a few struggles last week with school but they promptly took care of them-even removing one of the girls who was being an instigator.

7. The last few years Don has had to travel the first week of school. It was REALLY hard on all of us. This year I asked him to rearrange whatever he could so that he could be here. He was able to stay home last week and it was a much smoother week

Heavenly Father does provide us tender mercies but we have to LOOK  for them!

So I Guess I Am Just Gonna Do This Already

We are sending out this letter to our friends and neighbors-some of which may be you.  I wanted to post this before I mailed out the letters so that I could get some feedback from any of you who read this blog.  I have struggled with writing this for months now and it woke me up this morning at 4:45 so I guess it needs to be done.  I am debating whether to mail it or email it just to get it out there quicker but I don't know.  So if you get it twice you know I have both of your addresses:) 

July  30, 2010

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We are sending out this letter to those of you have close contact and interaction with our family in our neighborhoods, and at church. In an effort to foster understanding and compassion, we want to share some intensely personal and private information concerning our family with which we have struggled for some time. However, we feel the necessity of sharing this information with you outweighs our personal feelings.  

Along with having diabetes, Connor also has a form of High Functioning Autism called Aspberger’s Syndrome.  I will refer to Aspberger’s Syndrome as AS from now on to make it easier.  AS affects each person differently, and people with AS can’t be identified by physical characteristics. One child with AS may behave totally differently than another child with AS. This is a challenging problem for him and our family.

AS for Connor means that he thinks differently and processes things differently than others. One aspect of AS is the lack of social skills and lack of maturity that would seem appropriate given a person’s age.   For Connor this means that it is hard for him to distinguish body language and sarcasm.  He understands and takes things literally, and the world is very black and white to him.  Although fairness and equity are very important to him, it is tough for him to understand when to stop a joke or horseplay or when those around him are getting uncomfortable.  It is difficult for him to understand the difference between when someone is “friendly” teasing and “bully” teasing him. When he does the teasing, he may say something unkind or hurtful, but he doesn’t understand “WHY” his words were unkind or hurtful.   Connor communicates fine with adults and younger children, but dealing with kids around his age is very tough for him.  Sometimes he says things without thinking or without even knowing what the words mean.  Sometimes he says things or does things that are inappropriate for personal attention.  Loud situations and large groups can be very stressful for Connor.  He may misunderstand or misconstrue a situation or interaction because he takes things so very personally.  Please understand that this is all part of Aspberger’s Syndrome.  

AS is not something that will just go away. There is no “cure” for it, nor can it be “fixed”. So what does this mean for our family?  It is something that we deal with on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis just as we do with the diabetes.  Connor can learn to cope and deal with situations and people, but it will take longer and be much more difficult than for other children. Because his form of Aspberger’s is a higher functioning form, he understands that he is different, and that alone bothers him greatly.  He knows that he has extra challenges which are difficult on him as well as our family.  He has to work much harder at making and maintaining friendships, and at his age, that is difficult anyway without the added challenge of AS.  These are some of the challenges that Connor faces but not all.  There are other aspects of AS that are too lengthy to go into at this time. 

Here is where we are seeking your help and compassion.   When you are around him, please remember that he is still a child of God.  Please remind him, with kindness, of appropriate behavior if he is in your home or at church functions.  Connor is a bright, intelligent, funny, hardworking, observant, and caring boy.   Please understand the goodness in his intentions and that he truly does not wish to misbehave.   Please be patient with him and understand that we are aware of our child and what he does.  It is our responsibility to ensure that he understands that he is still valued and loved and is just as important as everyone else.  We ask that you be helpful and supportive of him and our situation.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to us.  There are many books and websites about Aspberger’s Syndrome.  One of great value is www.disabilities.lds.org.  This site gives a lot of helpful and specific ideas on how to help and understand various disabilities.

In addition to the challenges Connor faces, we want to alert you to some of Cayden’s challenges also.  Again, these problems can’t be identified by any physical characteristics.  Cayden is developmentally delayed and also has Sensory Processing Disorder.  Both of these present different problems for Cayden at home, at school, at church, and in the neighborhood.   Cayden is quite immature and plays much better with younger children.  He lacks some of the social skills that are evident in kids of the same age.  He is less aware of danger and consequences. Without going into great detail, both of these challenges limit and interfere with his normal daily activities.  Cayden is a happy, smiley, caring boy.  He has to work much harder at mastering basic tasks and processing all the sensory input that he is receiving.  He also struggles with loud situations and large groups.  Because of the sensory issues that he deals with, he is quite fearful with his surroundings sometimes and therefore will withdraw.  These challenges can be worked on and progress can be made but again there is no “cure” for either.  Cayden may catch up developmentally, he may not.  We don’t know.  He can learn to cope with his sensory issues but that will take extra time and hard work. 

What can you do to help?  Just like Connor, Cayden needs patience and understanding.   He needs acceptance and love as well as protection from things that he may not understand.  He needs encouragement and extra time in accomplishing or doing things.  At times he may need gentle correction.  He also needs to be looked out for because he does not always understand or know what to do in unfamiliar or changing situations.  

We do not ask for pity or for judgment.  We ask for extra love and understanding for our children and our family.   These challenges affect ALL of our family and we ask for your help in letting these kids know that they are loved.    We know that all of us have different challenges and abilities and that we all struggle.  We know that Heavenly Father loves each of your families just as He does ours.  We know that Heavenly Father wants us to be more loving and supportive of each other just as our Savior would.  If you have questions or concerns, please talk to us.   If you want more information, we would be happy to supply it.  We hope that this information will be shared with your families and children to the degree that you feel will be helpful.  We apologize for any frustrations or offences any of you may have felt regarding our family.  We offer you this information and pray that you will understand us a little better, as well as others, who struggle with disabilities.

Thank you,

Don and Jennifer Adams