Tag Archives: family retreat

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

Family Retreat Fundraiser 2019

Faith & Hope, Parenting, Special needs children, ,

So every year we do a fundraiser for our annual trip to Joni and Friends Family Retreat at Camp Allen. If you’ve followed our journey for more than a year, then you know how awesome this opportunity is for our family! They provide true-soul-restoring-manna-from-Heaven respite for families who have children with disabilities. Truly, it’s unlike anything we have ever experienced. For us, this is our “most wonderful time of the year.” 😉

This year we are using the Joni & Friends donation site because 100% of all donations go strait to our fundraising account. No fees taken out!! Which is pretty awesome!!

If you’d like to donate, click on the link below and you’ll be directed to our page. You should see Gideon’s sweet face and just to the right you’ll see a blue box that says “Donate Now.” That will take you to a secure site where you can make a donation, specifically on our family’s behalf.

http://jaf.convio.net/site/TR/FamilyRetreats/CampAllenFRManagers?px=1602238&pg=personal&fr_id=1472

We’d like to say thank you in advance for loving our family and following our journey. Your tangible gift means so much and we can’t wait to share our photos, videos and updates when we are there this summer.

Blessings to you and yours!

Joni and Friends Luncheon 2019

Faith & Hope, Parenting, Special needs children, ,

Every year, Joni and Friends hosts a donation luncheon to raise money for their ministry. This year, Kevin and I were asked to share how Joni and Friends Family Retreat has impacted our lives. I didn’t know it at the time, but our dear friend friend Lari was taking photos and then decided to record it. Thought I would share it with you all. We had already started speaking before she hit record, but not much was missed.

For more information about Joni and Friends and how you can support families like ours, visit www.joniandfriends.org/texas