Category Archives: Special needs children

Why We Homeschool

This will be my 9th year homeschooling these beautiful souls. It’s crazy how time flies by. When people ask me why we homeschool our children, my answer is different today than it was when we began all those years ago.

What led us here

In January of 2013, our son Gideon was born. From the minute he arrived, every doctor suggested something was wrong with him, but no one knew what that “something” was. All his little oddities didn’t add up to a known diagnosis.

Fast forward to August of 2013, Gideon’s neurologist did a blood test that gave us the answers we did not want to hear- peroxisomal biogenesis disorder. The geneticist was the one who broke the news. She told us that Gideon would not live to see his first birthday and then she sent us home with hospice care.

To say we were devastated would be an understatement. Even without a diagnosis, we already knew that our little boy was going to have some challenges. He was not typically developing, his hearing loss was getting worse, his eyes weren’t right… but at that time he didn’t have any major issues. He was eating by mouth, breathing fine, no seizures… and still they sent us home with hospice care.

No one knows for sure

Gideon’s hospice was short lived. After 3 months, the hospice nurse told us that Gideon was too healthy for hospice. Something I already knew. During those months, I met woman whose son, Sam, had a peroxisomal disorder. He was 11 years old! I was hopeful as she connected me with The Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disorders. It was the avenue that led me to more families like ours.

Unfortunately, I quickly learned how different life could look for our family. No one could say for sure how long we would have our son Gideon. Children with peroxisomal disorders die for SO many different reasons; therefore it’s hard to give a life expectancy. Most parents were told what we were finally told after hospice ended- the average life expectancy for our child is 2 to 20 years.

Living intentionally

As we celebrated Gideon’s 1st birthday in 2014, I realized how precious this milestone was for our family. With each passing day, I knew I wanted to make the most of the time I had; not only with him, but also with our oldest Laynie. I wanted them to have as much time together as possible.

So I approached Kevin about homeschooling Laynie. Like most husbands, he was not too excited about that idea. He was still a teacher in the public education system and I had left teaching in 2012 to stay home with Laynie. He told me he would pray about it and even attend a homeschooling conference with me. So in the summer of 2014 we attended the Texas Homeschool Coalition Conference.

It was eye opening. The people we met were all so… normal. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I clearly had some preconceived notions about people who were homeschooling their children. We attended several break out sessions, visited every vender booth and talked to any parent who would give us their time. I finally purchased a curriculum called My Father’s World and we never looked back.

So here we are

As I reflect back on that first conference, I remember the reason why we began this journey in the first place. I just wanted Laynie to know her little brother well before he died.

Now that we are 9 years in (plus two additional kids), the reason why we homeschool is different. We don’t do it for fear that we will one day bury our son. We do it because we love it!

Homeschooling has given us the freedom to come and go as we please. When my children struggle with a concept, we don’t have to move on quickly because of time constraints. They sleep in and have extra time to pursue what their hearts desire. If our curriculum doesn’t work, we find a new one that does! The real life experiences they get are endless & our classroom is not bound by four walls!

There are many reasons why we love homeschooling; but our favorite is that we are teaching them God’s word. And that doesn’t just happen during Bible time. It’s ongoing throughout our day. The opportunities to apply what we learn from scripture are innumerable.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Homeschooling allows us to do this to the fullest! And as we head into this 9th year, I’m grateful that we get to do this at all. When we started this journey we were a special needs family of four on a teacher’s salary. The numbers didn’t make sense then, but God provided. I still struggle with insecurity & patience, but God is continually faithful.

If you homeschool, what is your WHY?

Getting Ready for Family Retreat

I am so excited because our favorite time of year is almost here!! We are just a 6 weeks away from going to our annual Joni & Friends Family Retreat! If you know us, then you know this is Christmas in July for our family.

This place is our little slice of Heaven on Earth. For 5 days, these sweet STMs (Short Term Missionaries, aka- volunteers) love on our kiddos from 9-3 each day so moms and dads can have some much needed respite. We are free to engage in planned activities such as skeet shooting, horseback riding, swimming, etc.. OR we can just go back our rooms and nap!

What is so unique about Joni & Friends Family Retreat is that they have STMs for kids like Gideon. I know that Gideon will be cared for and loved well by the sweetest person on the planet- Sophie. She’s been his STM for the past 6 years now. Outside of family, I don’t know anyone that loves Gideon like she does. The relationship they’ve developed is a special one for sure. Meanwhile our other kiddos get to do fun activities with other kids who understand what it’s like to live the life they do. There’s a unique bond among friends who “get it.”

So the reason I share all this is because there’s been a new development in our family retreat plan this year. My 13 year old daughter decided that she doesn’t want to be served at camp this year. Instead she’s decided she wants to serve others. 💜😭

So this means she will be going as a volunteer (STM) so she can make a difference in the lives of others. And if that’s not cool enough my niece Addison is going to join her as an STM too!!! 💜😭 I’m just overwhelmed that these girls want to serve in this capacity because it’s not easy. But ask any STM, and they’ll tell you it’s worth it.

So here’s the last part of my post. This year Laynie and Addison decided they wanted to raise the money for their ticket to camp. So that’s what I want to help them do. Each person that goes to camp pays $475. Whether you’re going to family retreat as a camper or an STM, everyone pays the same amount. So below I have some links- one for Laynie and one for Addison. If you’d like to pray for them or make a donation on their behalf, we’d be extremely grateful either way!!

http://form.joniandfriends.org/goto/LaynieJolicoeur

http://form.joniandfriends.org/goto/AddisonJolicoeur

***Update- After 2020 we stopped doing public fundraising for our whole family to go to camp. Just felt weird given hard times. However, a sweet friend encouraged me to post it anyways. So here’s the link to our family fundraising page.

http://form.joniandfriends.org/goto/JolicoeurFamily

Gideon’s New Wheels

If you follow our family’s journey on social media, then you know we attended the Abilities Expo in early December. This expo has a wide variety of venders that offer an ever wider variety of equipment, supplies, services, etc. for people with disabilities.

While we were there, I rode something called The Duet. It’s an adaptive bike that allows me and Gideon to ride together. The front half is a wheelchair fastened to a modified bike; but the wheelchair can be detached and used independently! How cool is that?

Duet Wheelchair Bicycle Tandem Duet Basic model
image credit: https://www.mobilityaccess.com/duet



I knew I wasn’t going to talk my husband into purchasing it… I mean, after all, the basic bike starts at 5k. As we left the expo, I felt like a piece of my heart was attached to that silly bike. I say silly because the bike isn’t necessary. It’s a luxury item. One that most families simply cannot afford.

Why did I have such a strong desire for this thing? I think my heart longed for what the bike represented- inclusion. You see every time we take a family bike ride, it’s not really a family bike ride. Someone always has to stay behind with Gideon. My desire is for him to be included in everything we do if at all possible. And this bike would make it possible!

Well…

Not very long after I posted that video, some people we love dearly got together and bought Gideon that bike for Christmas!!! They just bought it! I’m still in disbelief and still moved to tears over this. It’s such a huge gift! And while I would love to share their names, they’ve asked to remain anonymous. They want no credit for giving Gideon the gift of inclusion…and fun! It makes me love these people even more.

So hopefully we will have some random warm days this winter. (We do live in Texas.)

And as we do, watch our social media sites for videos of Gideon’s new wheels!

Thanks for following our family’s journey.
Thanks for loving Gideon and cheering him on.
He will be turning 10 on January 18th!!!!!!!

My 72 year old father took him for a ride.