Touched

As the mom's of Carsen's pre-school class get our kids rushed into their room, we have smiles on our faces.  We are smiling because our baby's have grown up and are having their first halloween party at school!

Ay matey!  Carsen is a pirate this year and thinks it is HILARIOUS!  He laughed the whole way he walked into school, looking down at the crazy pants and chuckling out load!  I am not sure if he was thinking, "Man, is the flood coming?" or "Am I going to a circus?"  Who knows.  The outfit was $15.00 and just a tad short...but perfect!  I have never seen a pirate wear braces before and it was the cutest sight!!  Even Matt made sure to come to school and see Carsen all dressed up with his friends.

While rushing to and from work to pick up Carsen on time, it hits me.  I am available for my child and my life is actually working out!  I am a part-time RN and absolutely love my schedule!  When we decided to put Carsen in daycare full-time (another long post) I pondered if going back to work full-time was a good option or not.  But, today, when I picked him up, a little girl in a lady bug costume looked at me and said, "Why are you helping him?"   As I struggled to keep Carsen upright in his walker, and myself upright while doing so in high heel shoes, I simply stated,  "Because I am his mom!"  She was silent.  I thought it was a pretty good answer.  That is why I give most days all of my effort.  Because I am his mom.  I was so proud to tell her that he was my son and that I do everything for him.  Proud to be available to Carsen and honored to be his mom.  My schedule is working out just right because I was the one that got to answer to that little girl, not some stranger helping Carsen.  I am his mom and I love it! 

Speaking of the darnest things kids say, I have to share a facebook inbox post I received a few weeks ago.  I am so touched by the kind hearts children have.  This is what the message read...

Hey kelly,
I just got done reading bits and pieces of your blog. It is truly Amazing. Isaac asked the other day, "Mom, Remember that boy at the RFC. he didnt walk or talk but he had a huge smile." I said yes and pulled up a picture of him on your Facebook page. He said "yeah that's him." Then he asked why he didnt walk. Before I could even answer he said "God made him that way. But he did talk to me that day with his eyes and face." What a 4 year old says really makes you sit and think how truly parents are to have such great children. I have been thinking of you and your family a lot.  I just wanted to let you know you have an amazing family and such great little man in your life. Isaac who is now 4 even remembered after meeting him for a short time. Truly Amazing. Isaac even said "I think he should come and play at our house." Thank you for being so inspirational to all of us moms out there and to my little boy. Enjoy him and your family! I know I would not change being home with my kids for anything (even with those moment of insanity)
Thanks again,
Meredith

I am so grateful for messages like this.  I have been getting a lot of these lately.  I enjoy every positive message we get.  It then inspires me in return to be an even better mom.  I have filled my life with two amazing moms that have helped encourage me to be better at serving vegetables, doing crafts, reading books and the small details that make all the difference.  If I can be encouraged by other moms and I can inspire moms, then our children are gonna be pretty awesome!

One last thought...

I reflect a lot on how I can make things easier for Carsen.  At this moment in his life, kids are the key to his happiness.  The children that give him hugs, say hello and visit with him are what is motivating him.   Why are kids so innocent ? And just how do they know that when a child is nonverbal, there is a possiblity that they are speaking with their eyes and smile?  How did Isaac know that God made him that way?  Kids are so brilliant and I think a lot of us can learn from the things they say.  I am so thankful and so inspired by Isaac's comments.  He is too little to understand how much it means to me that he bonded with Carsen.  They have only seen eachother for such a short time.  Carsen was noticed in a positive way.  We get a lot of looks while walking into school.  Mostly because they are all curious.  I don't feel like they are judging me.  They are just trying to understand what is different.  What they don't know, is that I am paying close attention and trying to figure out how to touch their souls.

Now, that is the fun part of life!

Happy Hunting

We try to get some camo shots of Carsen every Fall.  While waiting for the hungry hunters to come eat dinner, we quickly headed out back of the hunting club before the sun completely set.  

I was glad we did, because I was reminded by a few things that make Carsen smile so big that he doesn't even know I am making him get cute little pics in his Camo vest!

I am reminded that some choices we have made in our life, really were good choices.

Sage...our lab.

I really didn't ever want a dog, but we felt like there is a sort of love a dog can teach a child.

He squirms and squeals and flaps his hands in excitement!

Until she tackles him.

Then, Carsen is right back to watching her every move.

And, smiling at his other favorite, his daddy!

Teaching Sage to fetch is a must for Carsen to watch and be a part of.

Did I get a family portrait out of the deal?  Sure did! 

Do I need to give my husband lessons on holding the sutter half way down to focus before taking the picture? 

Sure do!

Happy Fall and Happy Hunting!

Photographer's blog

Kristin Anne Photography took our pictures the day before we ran the Twin cities 10 Mile.  This is the blog she posted after she was done editing our pictures!  Just want to keep this in our life journal!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Lussenden Family

This family photo shoot is not your typical shoot... or your typical family.  I had the incredible privilege to be a part of this family for one hour last Saturday.  Perfect fall weather was only the beginning.. I was so excited to be able to photograph this family.. for a friend/past client of mine, Katie! 

So here I am, sitting at my computer, on this windy Friday.. crying my eyes out!  I was so taken back by the energetic love between the members of this family, the photo shoot itself was such a treat.  Then I come back to edit the photos, and I'm reminded again how amazingly tight a family can be!

Let me walk you through this family...

We have the rock and foundation of the family.. the parents!

Then, the crazy siblings (spouses count as siblings.. which was never ever a question around this family!)

And their adorable individual families with their kids..

 

 

the boys with their uncle!

the grandkids!

 

 had to include an outtake.. this was fun :)

Now, the reason for this wonderful reunion weekend:  Mr. Carsen!  This family got together to support 4 of the family members running in the Twin Cities 10k that next day.  And as you can see.. they have a reason to keep those feet going when they run.  Sweet Carsen has cerebral palsy.  As Katie stated to me, "he has to work really hard everyday, so we wanted to as well!"  Perfect, absolutely perfect reason to run.

 

 

Thank you to this sweet family for letting me be a part of this and giving me the chance to see such a loving, caring family!

Carsen's Courage

I double tied my timing chip to my 5 month old aasics, strapped on my orange number, pulled on my arm warmers (yes, arm warmers are the "in" thing now for runners) and kissed my husband good luck.  We headed out of the door at 5:50 A.M.  My older brother, who is not known to have good driving skills, was making sure we got to the metrodome on time.  At one point I yelled out sternly, "We need to go West!"  My mother kindly say's, "No, we need to go North!"  And my sister who knows the area well yells,  "Go South!"  Thankfully my husband has the brains and got us to the right direction.  We made a last minute stop to the portapots and joined almost 8000 runners for the 10 mile race.  Some were doing it for fun (yes, it is fun to run) and others were doing it with family and friends.  We were running for the best little man in the world. 

Carsen. 

Our t-shirts read, "Carsen's Courage" with a grass green ribbon in the middle. 

Cerebral Palsy.  That term just makes my stomach hurt.  Literally.  It is a term that is still so confusing to me yet is surrounded in almost every thought of my day.  If I can't do anything about our situation, I might as well try to do my best for Carsen.  So, we did.

7:08 A.M-  Our corral is started.  My sister, Matt and myself all run together the first mile.  Having Katie and Matt by my side was probably one of the most comforting feelings.  We were all in this together.  My tough mother was started minutes later and pushed through every mile to finish for Carsen. 

We are 3 miles into the race with a fast pace at 7:20 min/mile.  I was training at 8:00 min/miles and was wondering when I would hit the wall.  I take in my goo that has 2x caffeine and keep pushing it.  All I can think of is Carsen.  I wonder how hard I need to push myself in order to feel the fatigue that he feels with very simple tasks.  At this point, I don't care how hard I have to push myself and how much it hurts.

Quickly, we reach mile 8.  Matt says, "I have never run this far before."  I find the breath to laugh and tell him how proud I am of him.  He reaches over and holds my hand.  The amount of peace and love I feel at this time.   Running next to my adorable husband, who can understand the amount of love that I feel for our special little man.  I tell him I love him and we take off strong.  We are literally in this race together.  Our difficult race in life only makes us stronger.

I can see the sunshine coming over our last hill.  A man yells, "This is it, your last hill, take it from here."  Adrenaline runs through my arms and I am chilled to the bone.  I have so much strength I can barely believe it.  The picture that is placed on my back is engrained in my head.  It is a picture of Carsen learning to first walk with his gait trainer.  All the attachements are on the heavy piece of metal that keeps him upright.  But, he has a sweet smile on his face.  No complaints from him.

We are at a 6:50 min/mile pace and we see the Capitol.  Below it is a huge crowd and a sign that reads "Finish.  A down hill finish. 

We see friends along the way and then spot our cheering secion.  My dad, two brothers, my sister in law(who I owe big time for capturing these pics) my brother in law, my nephews Cohen and Ethan, and Carsen, the man of the day!   (more pics here).  Their shirts read, "Carsen's Courage."  They are all here for Carsen.  Because they adore him.

Matt and I reach over the fence to give Carsen a kiss.  Matt unhooks him from his stroller, that is lifted in the air, and pulls him over the fence.

See that smile?

You see, when Matt has an idea, he takes off with it.  For weeks we disussed the rules of the race.  There is to be NO children, No strollers.  I am a rule follower and he is a rebel.  Do you think he cared? Nope!  As I am yelling at him, he takes off for the finish line.  Proud as can be.  Carsen is bouncing up and down and has the most gorgeous smile.  Happy to be running with daddy and to be a part of a huge crowd.

I am so choked up seeing how happy Carsen is, that I can hardly breath.  We cross the finish line at 1 hour 16 mins.  Four minutes faster than our goal time.  And 30 lbs of pure heaven in our arms.  Officials quickly run to our side and escort Matt and Carsen out of the transition area.  All I have to say is,  "I told him he can't do this."  Suddenly, I am being interviewed for the star tribune newspaper.  This is the result...


Man finishes race while carrying son
With a few feet remaining in the men's 10 Mile race, Matt Schmidgall, who ran next to his wife, Kelly, grabbed his 3-year-old son, Carsen, and carried him across the finish line.
The Morris, Minn., residents said they ran to honor their son, who has cerebral palsy, and raise awareness about the disease.
The gesture violated rules of the race, so Matt Schmidgall was escorted briefly off the course with his son after he finished.
"I was crying actually [when we finished]. I didn't think I'd cry," Kelly Schmidgall said. "I told my husband not to finish with [our son] because we're going to get in trouble, and he got escorted out."
Matt said he understood the risk but wasn't worried about it.
"She did [warn me], and I said that was the only reason that I was doing this race and if I got in trouble for that, I'd deal with it," he said.

Article by: Myron P. Medcalf, Star Tribune  Oct. 2, 2011

Matt, what a rebel, but geez, what a dad!  And I can't believe I told him not to.

We eventually all found eachother to get a great group shot! 

Carsen is Loved!  We are blessed!