All posts by Samantha Jolicoeur

Getting Ready for Family Retreat

Joni and Friends, Special needs children, ,

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

Special needs children, , , ,

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.

Christmas 2022

Faith & Hope, Parenting, Special needs children, , , ,

It’s hard to believe this is our 9th Christmas with Gideon. After his diagnosis, I never thought we’d get one Christmas with him; but here we are celebrating the birth of Christ for the ninth time with our little man!

I’m not gonna lie. This Christmas was rough. Kevin and I were up till 1:30 am getting all the things ready. Like usual, we waited until the last minute to assemble ride toys & electronics. But it’s never been that big of a deal…. until this year. Unfortunately for Kevin, Nya’s ride toy might as well have come from IKEA. Kevin spent hours building that thing from the ground up. Meanwhile, the new electronics proved my age and left me feeling uneducated.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

We laughed while saying all these things should come with a disclaimer on the box that says, “Estimated assembly time- several hours.. Do not attempt on Christmas Eve!”

We were asleep for just over an hour when Gideon woke up with a dirty diaper. Did he go back to sleep? Nope. Not until 6:30 am. The word exhausted doesn’t even begin to describe us at this point.

Of course our other children were up around 8 am. Praise God for Laynie! She made the littles Christmas pancakes (red and green with whipped cream and sprinkles), giving us an additional hour of sleep. God knew we needed her first in the birth order! Could you imagine if Josiah was our oldest!? Lol.

Christmas 2022 was the first Christmas we opened presents without Gideon present. He slept till noon and we felt bad making the other kids wait for him. Plus, he still doesn’t grasp the concept of opening a gift. He hates the feeling of paper and would much rather just be held. So it worked out.

Nevertheless, guilt (and fear) hit me hard as I watched my babies open their gifts while Gideon slept in. It was a visual reminder of what Christmas will look like one day, when Gideon is gone. It’s not a thought that enters my mind as much anymore because Gideon continues to defy the odds. But every now and then, especially when deprived of sleep, my mind goes there and I have to remind myself of the promises of our God.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light & momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts you.” Isaiah 26:3

“For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” Hebrews 13:14

The truth is that none of us are promised tomorrow. Even though I may think Gideon’s life is shorter than most, any one of my children could be called home first. It’s why we love big every day. It’s why we seek reconciliation and forgiveness quickly. It’s why we make the most of Jesus as well as every single moment we have, whether it’s a holiday or not.

Jesus is the reason for the hope that we have.

Lord, teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. -Psalm 90:12