Max Was in the Tempe Chandler Service Mission newsletter!

 By all accounts Elder Maxwell Reynolds has been a ray of light to the Reynolds family. Elder Reynolds has autism, but that has not stop him from achieving impressive accomplishments. He has excelled with the determination in athletics, school and building his testimony. As Elder Reynolds says, “I want to show that anyone can be great and accomplish anything.”

He was on the Gilbert High swim team where they now have a trophy given every year. It’s called the “Max Reynolds Family Award” Why? Because Max loved to cheer those in the same heat as him and would say, “we are tight as a family.” Elder Reynolds was selected to be in 2018 USA National Special Olympics with the swim team. He won two goal medals and one silver and was even on ESPN swimming his 100 freestyle. He was privilege with other Special Olympics athletes to sing the National Anthem at the Diamondback game. Another accomplishment he achieved was getting his Eagle Scout award, just like his two older brothers.

Elder Reynolds has as a passion for gardening. He is thrilled with the success he’s having with the garlic he planted. He has seven garden beds and has planted three apple trees, three fruit trees, three blackberry bushes, one pomegranate, two avocado trees and many others. He enjoys attending to his chickens and sharing his eggs with family and neighbors.

His other passion is making a visit to the pool Monday through Saturday, at 5am to get his laps in. He wants to continue his education in math and become CPA like his father. He is currently serving as an Emergency Preparedness Specialist with his mom and a 17–18-year Sunday School teacher. He enjoys sharing the scriptures with the Sunday School class. Elder Reynolds likes to share his testimony and when he visited his sister’s ward, he bore is testimony and challenge everyone there to be a missionary. Now it’s Elder Reynolds turn to follow in the footsteps of his two older brothers by serving a mission. He is looking forward to this opportunity.

Words that describe Elder Reynolds are loving and compassionate towards family, friends, siblings, Grandma and his nieces and nephews. One of his nephews also has autism and Elder Reynolds is always near him to lend a helping hand. Elder Reynolds loves hot sauce and hopes someday to make ketchup with the tomatoes from his garden. His favorite food is his momma’s salsa with chips and quesadillas. He loves to play baseball and even played on a base-ball team. However, he soon realized swimming was more his sport. Whenever he can attend the Diamondback games he enjoys it, weather they win or lose. If you ever want to know anything about the Diamondback players just ask Elder Reynolds. He loves to play the piano (hopes someday to take piano lessons) and used to be in an orchestra and played the viola.

Max Went to the Gilbert Temple!

Max had the opportunity to attend the Gilbert Arizona Temple on Tuesday June 1, 2021

 and was beaming with joy to have this opportunity. 

I didn't get a picture of him at the temple, but got one right after he went in. 

Never did I think he would be the first to attend the temple with this pandemic

 that has cause so much sorrow and pain in the world.

When the pandemic was in full bloom last year we kept the faith that it would pass

 so we could get back to normal living. 

The Primary song that we held dear last year was...

I Love to See the Temple

I

I’m going there someday

To feel the Holy Spirit,

To listen and to pray.

For the temple is a house of God,

A place of love and beauty.

I’ll prepare myself while I am young;

This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.

I’ll go inside someday.

I’ll cov’nant with my Father;

I’ll promise to obey.

For the temple is a holy place

Where we are sealed together.

As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:

A fam’ly is forever.

Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, b. 1938

© 1980 by Janice Kapp Perry. This song may be copied for incidental, noncommercial church or home use.

This is the beautiful Gilbert Temple

Max first swim meet after 11 months of not swimming and even broke is PR in Freestyle.

 Max swimming the 50 freestyle with the time 25.77

Max swimming the 50 breaststroke with the time 40.44 seconds 

Max swimming the 50 Butterfly with the time 30.85 seconds 

Max swimming the 50 backstroke. Time 32.46 seconds

MAX IS BACK IN THE WATER AND LOVING IT!

Max has been waiting to swim for over nine months. 

He is so  happy to be back in the water even

 if he has to get up at 4:30 in the morning to swim at 5am. 

 

Happy 21st Birthday Maxwell!

Eight days after being overdue to have Maxwell the doctor called and gave the date for me to be induced to have Max. I was anxious as any pregnant lady would be to deliver and hold my new baby. After a day of intense induced labor and with no pain medication I delivered a handsome boy who weighed 8 lbs. 11oz and was 22 inches long. His sky blue eyes connected with mine within 24 hours after delivery. His smooth blonde hair covered his head perfectly. He was perfect with no indication that he had autism. When we arrived home his four siblings gathered around him to see their new baby brother and our family life went back to normal. Nine days later Max came down with a horrible eye infection. We took him to the doctor and they admitted him to the hospital. Needles were put in him as if he was a pin cushion. My heart sunk when I watched them perform a spinal tap on him. They were positive he had meningitis and felt he needed to stay in the hospital to receive an IV of antibiotics and I too had to stay because he was breastfeed. 

Never did I think those days in the hospital were the start of many more visits not just to a doctors but for therapies. Max never slept and his scream was a hourly accurate. The only way to get him to sleep was to roll him up like a burrito in a large blanket and rock him. He would sleep for a hour or two and then he would have enough energy to scream for hours. He displayed behaviors none of my other babies showed. I was concerned.

Between the ages of two and three Max's favorite place to be was in our dryer, he mastered the art of darning off into the street or out our front door whenever we opened it. He could climb up on anything and he loved to sit on the kitchen table. When he was a toddler he was unable to communicate and would scream when he wanted something. He didn't have eye contact and he loved to line his hot wheels cars on the kitchen counter and if we moved them he would have a meltdown. 

Max taught me how to have patience, not to judge and to love unconditionally. His habits were ones I thought I had mastered from having four older children, but I was wrong, because his habits were extreme, from the time he put his hand through our living room window shattering glass all because he wanted to go outside. He was not capable to use words to express what he wanted. He broke, shredded, dropped, and smeared anything he could. He would pull his father's ironed dress shirts off the hangers while he sat in my closet. 

When Max was little he carried a horseshoe with him everywhere. If he couldn't find it the house had to be torn upside down until we found it. He loved to wear his black cowboy hat and cowboy boots everywhere. He didn't care what others thought of him with his black cowhide vest on. I thought often why can't I be like Max and be who I want to be and not like everyone wants me to be. I learned from Max that we need to dress and be what makes us feel comfortable. 

I'm blessed to have Max even though its been difficult to understand how to best help him progress. He is honest, loving, kind, caring, friendly, happy, Christlike, and pure. He is truly amazing. 

For those of you that have been a blessing in his life, thank you. Thank you for caring about Max and being his friend. When he was in high school a beautiful young lady in our church (ward) asked him to Morp. He thinks of her as a friend and often talks about how much fun he had going to Morp with her. 

Special Olympics has been a blessing in Max's life. It helped him see his true passion with swimming. He craves the water and feels at relaxed when he swims. 

The Gilbert High Swim coach give Max the strength and wisdom in improving his love for swimming. Max thinks Coach Kayes is the greatest. Then there is Max's energic SPICE teacher Mrs. King who inspire Max to work hard to achieve his dreams.  

I can not believe that he is 21 now. How the years have passed so quick. I feel blessed to be his mom and have the journey of raising him. 

Max Mission Call!

 We waited six weeks for Max to get his mission call. He submitted his mission papers on March 28 and finally on March 11, 2021 he got his call via text message. He is so excited to serve others. 

Here is the video of him reading his mission call. 

Max's life during this Pandemic.

Max has kept himself busy with gardening during this pandemic. 

He has watch lots of YouTube videos of others

 who are gardening and applied some of their ideas in his garden. 

I'm so proud of him and his desire to learn and develop new skills. 

He also enjoys his four chickens.