All posts by Samantha Jolicoeur

Mother-Son Dance 2022

The daddy-daughter dance rolls around every January and for the past 2 years Josiah has expressed how “unfair” it is that he can’t go just because he’s not a daughter. 😂

So you can imagine my excitement this year when I realized that there is a Mother-Son Dance, and apparently it’s every September! So this past weekend I had the opportunity of taking Josiah for some much needed one on one time.

He ran back and forth- playing golf, dancing and snacking. He finally got tired enough to get his face painted. Then he played more golf and did more dancing. The funniest part is when he picked his tattoo. I didn’t have my glasses so I didn’t see the tiny writing above his choice of hearts. (I honestly thought it was a squiggly decorative line.) As the guy was airbrushing the hearts on his hands, he asked me, “You don’t want the Bad Girl airbrushed, right?” I almost spit my drink out! Obviously I didn’t see that! Everyone around the table had a good laugh.

And while we had the best time ever, my heart was conflicted because we didn’t take Gideon with us. I bought 3 tickets with the intention of taking both boys; however Gideon hadn’t been feeling well and about hour before we left, Josiah asked if it could just be the two of us.

My heart was broken for both boys. Kevin reassured me that Gideon would most likely rather have time with me in the hot tub later and that Josiah would benefit from my full attention on the dance floor. I couldn’t argue with that. Nevertheless decisions like these seem minor to some, but are hard for me as a mother.

Balancing the needs of multiple children is tough and when you add in a child with special needs the weight at times feels unbearable. I’m thankful we serve a God who carries us when we feel overwhelmed.

Our Story

The last time our testimony was recorded we had two less kids. 🙃 This past Sunday, August 8th, 2021, we were given a chance to share again how God has worked all things for His glory.

God took all our broken pieces and put them back together in a way we never could have imagined.

I pray it blesees someone today.

Snow Week in Texas

Snow week in Texas. Even as I type that it just sounds wrong. Like the beginning of a bad joke. I’ve lived my whole life here and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen snow in the DFW area.

So before I tell you about our snow experience, let me back up and tell you where we were when these single digits & snow hit our area.

We were in a local hotel.

Why?

I’m glad you asked.

So at the end of 2020 we had water damage to our floors due to a cheap shut off valve under our kitchen sink. So naturally we had to get new floors because they could not match the ones we had. The date was set to rip out our floors for Wednesday February 10th. They said it would take a week to get the old floors out and the new floors and baseboards in.

But, alas, snow week in Texas arrived after 2 days of construction. The contractor called and told us they would obviously not resume the work till possibly Friday the 19th. But the good news was that the floors were in! So we had a choice. Stay in a hotel with four kids for another week (at least) or go home to a construction zone.

We did not choose wisely.

We knew we’d have some major cleaning to do. But I had NO idea how much cleaning we would actually do. We came home Valentine’s Day and didn’t go to bed till 12:30 am. Kevin was vacuuming floors & walls while I did at least 10 loads of laundry. There was dust in places that I didn’t even expect (given some areas were taped off!!!).

But I digress.

Thank God we did all the things Sunday night because as of Monday morning (until now) we’ve had minimal power. Apparently with the “rolling blackouts” we get one hour of power around 7:30 am, another hour around lunchtime and an hour before bed. It has been crazy town here. Especially when neighborhoods a mile from us never lost any power!

I don’t understand why it happens like this, but I also know we are lucky. This experience has been both eye opening and humbling as to just how privileged we are in this society.

We had some friends who lost power on Sunday and they came to stay with us because, at that time, we had power. So they’ve been riding this out with us and we’ve learned some interesting insulation hacks from them.

Thankfully we’re sleeping around a fire place, & to keep it extra warm, we’ve taped off a few windows & doors that are super drafty. And the kids have had so much fun sledding down the driveway on boxes, making snow ice cream and playing charades.

This will truly be a snow week in Texas that I will never forget. And I’m thankful I got to do it with my best friend and her family.

Here’s some of our memories.

How we blend Gs food with no power.

Praying for all those negatively affected by this crazy winter.