REXBURG - Every week in I witness Idaho, I bring you an uplifting story about people who are reaching out to the community in a special way.

This week I found Angie and Bryce Owen who, out of their own difficulties, are making life better for other families simply by having fun!.
Angie and Bryce Owen have four children. Two without autism and two boys who have it, Blake who is 13 and Bennett who is 4.

"Bennett actually started talking. He said over 100 words and he just slowly lost it, which is pretty typical, you know, to regress. Blake never really started speaking when he was younger and it wasn't until he was at least, 8 or 9 years old that he actually started to talk and communicate."

Good and bad, they've seen the writing on the wall.

"You know the simple things that they can do and that they can achieve like him playing the piano. Even though his timing is not right, he's got the tune down and the fact that he can do that is like an extra ordinary victory."

"We were to the point where we were accepting the disability enough to be able to start seeing the good things about it; the good things that come with having a child with a disability and you can have fun still and you can laugh and you can enjoy yourself and sometimes it's hard but we can still make good times."

And they've chosen to make those good times and help other families have fun together. Angie explains how they came up with the name for the program, "It stands for Heartfelt Activities and a Variety of Experiences for Families with Unique Needs."

"And we were just brainstorming and said wouldn't it be cool if there was such a thing that existed where you could have some volunteers come and help where the entire family could still come." adds Bryce.

To get the ball bouncing, HAVE FUN hosts a family oriented event a few times a month.

"We get to have the opportunity to be together as a family. I don't have to worry about people's reaction to what my child is doing. I don't have to explain everything. I can sit back and I can relax. I can watch my children actually having fun and they're all having fun. Its just very rewarding as a parent to be able to do that." Says Elizabeth Crisp who brings her family to the activities. She has a daughter with Aspergers Syndrome, a mild form of autism.

With this idea, Angie and Bryce may have just hit a home run.

If you would like to find out more about H.A.V.E. F.U.N. go to their website at http://www.havefuninc.org