Smart Family Benefit

Smart Family Benefit

On April 3^rd we lost a great man, loving father, and husband. Rick Smart was taken from us, too soon, due to an inoperable brain stem aneurysm. He left behind his wife, Jennifer, and their 2-year-old son, Lucas. Lucas has autism and has multiple expenses for therapies and insurance. A benefit will be held on June 25^, 2011 to raise funds for Lucas Smart.

The benefit will be held at the Prior Lake VFW

Saturday, June 25^th from 5:00pm – 9:00pm

Spaghetti dinner                $10.00

Pop Tickets                         $2.00

Beer Tickets                              $4.00

Silent Auction 5:00pm – 8:30pm

Please consider purchasing a ticket even if you are not able to attend. All proceeds for this event will go directly to the family

*Donations and items for the silent auction are being accepted and very much appreciated. Please contact Jen or Elyse @ 952-445-2777.

Entertainment for this event will be provided by F.O.C.U.S. DJ. Thank you in advance for all of your support.

This is a message that Jen Smart typed….

Everybody knows that Jen and Rick had a fairytale love. Their first date was May 6, 2006 and they got married on may 5, 2007. They were beyond thrilled when their baby boy was born on October 7, 2008. They were the perfect family. Jen left her job at Frontier telephone to be a stay at home mom. They unfortunately found out that Lucas was diagnosed with autism and he soon started an in home grueling 40 hour a week therapy program which Jen manages. Rick was the sole income provider who unfortunately experienced layoffs but was finally happily settled into a great job. On Friday, April 1, Rick called Jen at lunchtime to say that he wasn't feeling good. The left side of his body had gone numb. Within minutes, he was being rushed by ambulance to HCMC with a major devastating, brain stem bleed. The doctors put Rick on a respirator in hopes of a miracle, but told Jen it was very grim. She prayed harder then she ever prayed before, but it was not meant to be. Overnight, Rick spiked a fever of almost 111 degrees. He passed away on Sunday, April 3rd leaving Jen and lucas' worlds crashing down around them. Jen lost the best husband a girl could ever wish for, and Lucas lost the best father in the world. They were such a happy family, and now it's all gone. There is a lot of debt due to lucas' therapies and living expenses and Jen cannot work due to lucas' needs. We really need your help with this benefit. Please buy tickets, donate items to the silent auction and show your support for our wonderful Jen and her precious son. They need us very badly right now. 
Thank you so much!

Tickets for the spaghetti dinner will be available soon. If you are interested in purchasing in advance, they are $10.00 per person. Drink tickets will be available for purchase the night of the benefit.

Checks can be mailed to:

Tracy Broom

7405 123rd St W #111

Apple Valley, MN 55124

We appreciate and recommend that your tickets be purchased in advance. We would like have an idea of the amount of people that will be attending. Tickets will be available for pick up at the door. 

Thank you for all of your support, it means the world to Jen and Lucas.

-Tracy

*Please consider purchasing a ticket even if you are not able to attend. All of the proceeds are going directly to Jen and Lucas.

Shining Through!

So I am now officially 90 lbs down!  I can't believe I have made it this far....This past year has been full of ups and downs- And our life was tested quite a bit....but we made it through and are stronger now than we ever were!  At the end of November Mr. Ick was transfered from St. Cloud Prison to Stillwater Prison and the thought of him being there makes me smile, and the thought of him being there for 20 years gives me warm, fuzzy feelings inside!  December was a very stressful month, along with trying to keep up with bills and such, and recieving a letter from Mr. Ick- my anxiety levels sky rocketed and I had to pay yet another visit to the doctor for some added anxiety pills......I am very thankful that December is done and gone!  The start of this new year has brought some pretty good days (there are still the bad ones, but they are out numbered, for now anyway), and even with all the crappy weather and many days of having to stay inside to keep warm.....I have had a few days where I have felt like the sun couldn't shine any brighter.  I am eagerly anticipating Spring and hope that it arrives very quickly.....would love to be able to go outside in shorts and tshirt and sandles again....Enjoy the sun!  Still been going through feelings and emotions....some days I feel I am still on the roller coaster and I can't get off....I am sure this is normal, although I wish it wasn't.  Anyway......Just wanted to give a quick update before going to bed....and add a picture as well......I have to say....I am more willing to have my picture taken now than I ever have.....

74 lbs down and loving it!

Me and my friend Jessica out for a night of Karaoke and fun times with friends! I am the blonde on the right!

Sentencing Day Today!

Things went great today! He is going away for at least 20 years (30 but will have a chance for 10 off with good behavior crap) but there is a possibility that he could be committed after he serves his sentence! It was a great victory for the boys today to have their voices heard! Thank you to everyone that came and to those that couldn't be there but had us in their thoughts and prayers....We love you all!

Quiet Day? In my house? Not on your life!

As I sit here in my house with 2 of my 3 boys (the oldest is at Nana's) I wonder if I was really cut out for this job.  I mean seriously.....those who know me know my patience level has always been slim to zip and that when it comes to being irritated really easily-I am the poster child for losing my mind.  But here I am, single mom to 3 wonderful, autistic boys.  I can't say that I would want to change too much of my life, although I think that I would get rid of the last 3 years with a so called Mr. Ick, but I would like to meet the fool who somehow created Autism!  I know my life is more enriched, no seriously it is-I have learned more from my 3 autistic sons than I have ever learned from any neuro-typical child I have ever been in contact with, and entertainment is always in abundance here, no need to buy tickets to any comedy show....I have my own, and sometimes they are a heck of a lot funnier than any stand up comic out there.  My boys are handsome, smart, silly, and just the greatest kids ever, but there are a few things I would like to kind of change or tone down a bit it possible (hey we can all dream).  First of all-Stimming....seriously I can guarantee you that my middle son has taken about 3000 laps if not more around my house in his lifetime....this is not including the outside of the house or the thousands of hours a summer he spends on the Trampoline.  Normally it doesn't get to me, but when you have days where there isn't anything to do, because it is raining or snowing or someone is sick.....than you want to gorilla glue his feet to the floor in hopes that he will sit in one spot long enough for you to get one thing done.  Along with the endless stimming we have the endless munching (this is about the only thing they get from me....course the rest of their genetic makeup is from their dad-which I will be honest, isn't all bad....) I swear I am buying at least 100 to 200 worth in groceries each time I go and I go at least 2 times a month....I feel like no sooner do I get food than it is gone again....Ugh and they aren't even teenagers yet!  Than you have the constant birage of 1 TV going with something (Spongebob, Wonder Pets, Dinosaurs, Stitch, Scooby Doo and so forth) while the other TV is going at the same time and is usually on Nick Jr.....and don't forget about the oldest child who either watches some Pokeman, Bakugan, or some other Japanese Anime show (Thank you James) or he has stationed himself on his computer.....At any given time you can walk into my house and find at least 2 TV's and 2 computers going at a one time!  Welcome to the wonderful world of technology....had my kids been born back before any of this was around-Oh I think they would have done put me in a straight jacket in a rubber room somewhere...as a matter of fact I am positive that is what would be the case.  My only reprieve, other than the wonderful and awesome staff that work with my kids, is Wed. nights for karaoke and sometimes Sat. nights as well.....I am beginning to think that I am going to pretend that I have a job outside of the house just so I can get a vacation....
Yes I know, that is crazy talk and someone would surely bust me out!  By the end of the day I am ready to crawl under a rock and not return until next week....It's not going to work, but it is a very wonderful fantasy....course so is taking off in my vehicle and just driving til the gas runs out....but than I would miss my kids, miss my circus of a household and probably go insain from too much silence!!!!!!!!
Lets face it....if my life was anything less than it is now, I think I would be one of those people that has to create drama just so I can have something to do....lol.

Brick Wall

This brick wall is so familiar to me, I know I hit it once before. Back when all 3 of the boys were diagnosed with Autism, I was happy to finally have a dx and to know that it wasn't just me, or that I was a bad parent, but a few days after I realized just how real the reality of it really was. I have come back to this wall again today! It is not a fun wall....it is full of pain, hurt, guilt, shame, tears.....you name it, the wall is covered in it. Yesterday was the biggest victory of our lives so far- Him pleading guilty and them being able to charge him with the acts against D as well without the proof they were wanting, but with the fact that they had him confessing it, and they were able to find a legal way to charge it....Thank God, that act was the worst one out of all....Not a lot of people know what this is....I am now going to give you all the answers you have been seeking from me....I feel that it is okay now, and it is time to get it out and get passed it!

Most of you remember back last fall when I was constantly in pain from my back and legs and was on a regamine of percocets and muscle relaxers, which would make me feel physically ill at the same time. Well as it was C (I just can't really say, see, hear, or write his name right now) had to go back to his truck up in Zimmerman to get some things that he had forgot-I was not able to make the hour drive up there and the hour drive back very well so he told me to take my meds and get some rest and he would take S and D with him so I would be able to relax and rest....I now see how ignorant and nieve I really was. From here is where this is going to get graphic and probably more info than you want to know....
Once at the truck he had them undress and then made them perform oral and anal acts on eachother- Please keep in mind that D is classic low functioning autistic and is mostly non verbal. All the while C was taking pictures of this and after it was over with he went on to penetrate S in from of D. 

Because he was somehow able to get rid of the pictures of this, the Feds along with the state of MN were positive they weren't going to be able to prosecute him on this charge-obviously they found a way and we have learned that D sets a presidence in Dakota County as the first case to have this kind of charge.....Imagine if the laws on that kind of charge can get stiffer penalties all because of what D went through....I think that would be a great Victory for us as well. Anyway I know that most of you are sick from reading this and probably will be commenting me and telling me I shouldn't have posted, but you know what I don't care....this needs to be out there....People need to know what happened to these boys, so that they can make sure it doesn't happen to their kids. 

I have lost some friendships recently, it bothers me but I can only do so much to try to retain the relationship....what hurts me the most about losing those friendships is that when I was having days close to this one I always had somewhere to go that was close enough and I felt safe....I knew that there was someone there covering my back and that if I needed something they were there. This is hard enough, but than to have to go through it without the support of some, well it makes it harder. Whatever the reason for the friendship not being there, the point of this is that, I want to thank the people for the love and support that was given in the beginning of all of this, because honestly they were a major part of me being able to keep my faith in God and in myself as a person and a parent.
(Please if you know about the situation, please don't comment on it....there is enough animosity about that as there is and I really don't think it needs to be rehashed...I just wanted the people that were affected to know that I appreciate them and their time in my life)

This is what the brick wall does to you....it makes you ramble about how you are feeling, whether or not it makes sense, whether or not it seems like a good idea at the time to say what you want to say....it is the brick wall! The brick wall isn't always bad though- When you hit that brick wall-You know you are on your way to healing! I know this route all too well and even though it sucks, I know that it is only going to get better from here, it has too because I have God on my side! My children are my life, and they are the reason I am still here. I look at them everyday and wonder.....God, how did I of all people end up with the bravest, most wonderful, beautiful boys in the world? And why did you pick me to have them? I know I am not given more than I can handle, even when it seems that way.....I know that I am always going to have Him to lift me up when I can not get up. I also know that he is going to break this brick wall down for me to get through it again....He has before!

Wednesdays Victory!

Wed. was the court hearing.....and he pleaded guilty!  They were also able to charge him with the charge for my middle son as well, they didn't think they would be able to.  What a victory for us.  Sentencing is September 2.