Carson receives a surprise birthday gift......

Carson has had some recent challenges that have made it difficult to enjoy the school environment for him. His struggles with getting his thoughts to paper have pushed him to his limit. Spending each day until 10 PM working on homework has caused much anxiety for him and his parents. I believe he is shutting down and fighting against these challenges.

We have recently attended two appointments with Dr. Dave Bennett, a psychologist at Children's Mercy Hospital. Dr. Bennett's 40-year experience with teaching kids with Tourette's and ADD to better manage their time and "live within their skin" is of great comfort to us as parents. We look forward to the progress made because of this interaction.

At Carsons middle school while attending his band concerts, Brad and I have noticed a recent relationship developing between Carson and his trumpet partner. Which happens to be a girl named Emily O'Brien. We giggled a little bit at the flirtations these two middle school students were exhibiting while waiting to perform their music.

Yesterday, two days after Carson's 14th birthday, he came home with this:


Emily O'Brien made this and gave it to Carson for his birthday