Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Ken has caught the blog bug........

Check it out. I have put a link over with all my other blogs I like to read. We are one lucky family to have such a sweet young man. His parents have done a good job with him.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas........

Getting the tree put together.

Jordan giving Ken the history on all of our ornaments.

Putting them on the tree. Jordan got a little bossy with Ken, but he was very patient with her. She did get talked to about being so bossy.

This is my favorite addition this year. I took all the photo frames in the hallway and changed the photos in them. They are all photos of Jordan and Santa or as you can see in the far right photo of me and Santa growing up. I just need to get an 8x10photo of Ken and Jordan with Santa to fill one more picture.

The final results. They did a beautiful job. I love Christmas and my kids.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Thoughts of Jordy

Jordan has really gotten into blogging at school and wanted to start her own blog site for home. Check it out. I have a link to the left of my page. She will be posting a photo soon for her first entry. She had to shower first and do her hair. WOW it is a surprise to hear that coming from my baby girl she is growing up so fast.

Family Togetherness.

The last couple of weeks have flown way too fast. Here is an update on events in the Willoughby household.

Ken
Ken joined Squalicum’s swim team last week. He has a very busy schedule. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he has to be at the school at 6am for weight training. Then he has turn out that afternoon in the pool. He gets done at 5:00pm. Either I pick him up on my way home from work or a friend of his gives him a ride home. Since David has somewhat of a flexible schedule he gets up early enough to get Ken to the school on time then heads to work. It works out really nice. I can assure you that David will be taking lots and lots of pictures at Ken’s swim meets as soon as that happens I will post some photos for all to see.

Jordan
Jordan still continues with violin. She is enjoying it a lot, but lately it has been a little bit of a fight to get her to practice. Why am I not surprised? lol She did however give us a concert on Thanksgiving day. It was cute to watch. She is very proud of the progress she had made on reading music. That was part of the concert is to show us what music she was reading and what she can read now. Jordan has also joined a math team at school. It meets Tuesday and Thursday’s after school. The meet for about an hour and a half, the nice thing about it is there is bus service after school. The teachers that are doing it got a grant to include transportation. Jordan is very excited about it.

David
David has been busy with photographing the Lynden playoffs this last couple of weeks. Yesterday were the semi finals and Lynden lost. Next is basketball season. He usually shoots just Lynden because he has a connection out there. He has been doing it for so long the parents come to expect him there. He did get some connections with Sehome and Squalicum that he might be shooting more and their games as well. Of all the photography he does sports are his favorite.

Me
I am still trying to adjust to my work schedule. Getting home at 6:00pm seems so late especially now that it is dark when I get off. Thanks to my husband who is still cooking all the dinners, otherwise it would be like 7:30 by the time we would eat.

Whole Family
Since David has been gone every Saturday shooting some sports event the last month the kids and I have been going to Church. I have started to attend Christ The King in Bellingham. The kids and I enjoy the music and the service. Jordan liked going to the Kids club while Ken and I went to the main service. Last week Jordan’s friend Summer wasn’t at Church so Jordan decided to go into the main service with us. I thought for sure she would get bored once the sermon started. That is not what happened she loved it. I think her favorite part was all the music that we sing before. She asked if she could continue coming with us instead of going to the kids club. I told her she could do either of them.

It has been interesting each week we go to Church we get someone new to join us. First it was my cousin Hilary she is 16. She has been the one driving us since David had the car. I thought it would be scary to ride in the car with a new driver, but Hilary has yet to scare me. She is a good driver. Then last week it was my little sister Mandi who joined us. She said she loved going to our church. (Sorry dad and Karla) I can understand the music is great I mean who wouldn’t love having a full band at Church. lol I know I do. Plus the sermons are good as well. It has been fun hanging out with the teenage crowd. I have been getting to know both Hilary and Mandi. Even though they all tease me about being taller then me. Now I know how my mom felt. At least Jordan is still shorter then me….for now.

Thanksgiving has come and gone but I have to give you a little recap on our Thanksgiving. But first I need to give you a little history lesson on the Willett-Willoughby Thanksgiving last year. The Willett’s, my dad, Karla, Mandi and Sammy were living down in Seattle. Karla and Sammy at Children’s Hospital. My Dad and Mandi at The Ronald McDonald House. They were not able to eat a Thanksgiving meal together. The Willoughby’s myself, David and Jordan were back in Bellingham. I had to work from 8:00-4:30pm that day. Thanks to my cousin Anita she had David and Jordan over for dinner that day and sent a plate home for me. As soon as I got off work I came home and packed up my family and the car and we headed down to Seattle. We got to RM house and about 8:30pm. We unloaded the car and got settled into the room. Then I went down to the kitchen and heated up my plate of food from Anita and eat my Thanksgiving meal by myself. Not much of a family gathering where we all eat around the same table.

So this Thanksgiving I was determined to make up for last year. Jordan, Ken and I made up five pies for dessert. We made an apple, cherry, a chocolate cream and two pumpkins. Ken even learned my secret ingredient for my Pumpkin Pies. Then David and I got up early on Thanksgiving and cooked all day. I can tell you it was so worth all the hard work to have all of us sitting around the table together. Our little Sammy didn’t eat much of the meal, but it sure was a blessing just having her running around entertaining us. It was by far a 100% improvement compared to last year. Christmas is next.
Here is a photo of Jordan entertaining Samantha. If you look in the background you will see the rest of us sitting around the table eating together. Great photo Karla you captured it just perfect.

Today is Saturday and we are enjoying the four-day weekend. David is sitting behind me on the other computer patiently waiting for me to finish with this one. Jordan is in practicing on her new heelies. (more on that later) Ken being a typical teenager is still sleeping. lol It is just a nice Saturday morning. We don’t have much planned except later today we will be getting out our Christmas decorations and putting up our tree. Yes I have a fake tree. I would love to have a real one, but I am allergic to real ones. It is not so bad that I can’t be in a room with a real tree for a few hours, but bad enough that I can’t sleep in a house for several weeks with a tree. Plus with my daughter’s allergies it is just better for us to have a fake one. But that just means we can put our tree up early since we don’t have to worry about it getting too dry. Both Ken and Jordan are excited to decorate the house. They both did such a great job with Halloween I can’t wait to see what they do with Christmas.

Before you get too bored let me tell you the story about heelies. You would think that I would have gotten these for Jordan as a Christmas present. Here is the story. Yesterday the kids wanted to go to the mall for the day after Thanksgiving sales. Normally I am one of those that get up at the crack of dawn no wait before the crack of dawn and get in line waiting for the stores to open at 4 or 5am. But after looking at the paper I decided there really wasn’t much worth getting up that early. Anyway I took them to the mall. Mandi and Ken went off and did their own thing while Jordan and I looked around. Jordan and I have been looking for a good pair of tennis shoes for her to wear on raining days. It has been about a month and we just couldn’t find ones that fit right. The shoes she has now are like track shoes and when it rains she walks around with wet feet. Not a good thing for a girl who gets sick easily. While we were at the mall we check all the stores again to see if they had gotten anything new. While we walked by Finish-line I saw that heelies where on sale for $29.99. Of course I walked right past on to the Sears. After trying on several different pairs and no luck I got to looking at the prices of the shoes she was trying on. It was about the same so I suggested it to Jordan and of course she was thrilled with the idea. Just for those of you that don’t know heelies are the tennis shoes you see on kids with have wheels on the back heal. I must say it was a great investment. It kept her very active yesterday and today. It takes a time to practice to figure out the right balance to do it. Trust me I put her shoes on and just about killed myself. I thought Jordan was going to pee her pants laughing so hard at me. Anyway she has improved a lot since last night. She has gotten to the point of not touching anything; she just needs to work more on her balance and she’ll have it nailed. I am sure by tonight she will be a pro.

That’s it on the Willoughby’s for now.

Little something to share.

Thought I would share a video of Jordan and our good friend Pete sharing a moment. Jordan is only two. It seems like yesterday that this video was taken, not eight years ago.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Father & Daughter

Jordan sure does look a lot like her father.


Last night was the Me and My Guy Ball. That is the politically correct way to say Father Daughter Dance. Since some girls don’t have fathers it is the Me and My Guy Ball. It is a Girl Scout function that was started last year. Last night Jordan got to get all dressed up and be her daddy’s center of attention.

As you know beauty can take a while. Jordan wanted to have curly hair. So I did it the old fashioned way. The way my mother did when I was a little girl. I put her hair in rags, small strips of material cut up. Ours was an old sheet that I was going to throw away. Here is what she looked like the night before.



Here is what her hair looked like the next day. Mind you this is after a whole day in school. It was really curly before she left for school. My little sister Mandi helped Jordan get ready since I had to work until right before they left for the night. Mandi always does a great job putting make-up on Jordan. She puts just the right amount on for a girl Jordan's age. Thanks Mandi for all your help.

I picked this photo because is showed off the back of her hair and it also displayed Jordan’s favorite part of her dress. The way is flowed when she spun around. She was doing it over and over. I am really surprised that she didn’t fall down from being dizzy. Sniff sniff my baby is growing up.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Mi xao thit bo




Mi = Noodles, Xao = Combined + Cooded, and Thit bo = Beef. To the Willoughby family is means mmmmmmmm delicious, yummy, great wonderful just down right fabulous.

Ken cooked dinner for us tonight as you can tell we liked it A LOT. He told us after dinner that it was the first time he has really cooked before. He said he has done things like made eggs and noodles, but nothing like what he cooked tonight. Thank you to Ken’s mom, Melanie and Melanie’s mom for consulting Ken on how to prepare everything. He listened to all your advice and it was a success.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

HPV....What do do.

Now that my medical insurance has kicked in at work it is time to take Jordan in for her yearly well check. We postponed it last June because she was still very sick. Anyway one of the things I want to talk to Dr. Knowles about the vaccine GARDASIL and if I should get Jordan vaccinated.

For those of you that done know GARDASIL is a vaccine for HPV which is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Human papillomavirus is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 100 different strains or types. More than 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted. Some of these viruses are called "high-risk" types, and may cause abnormal Pap tests. It can also lead to cancer. Both men and women can be carriers of HPV.

I have talked to a few friends about what they plan to do for their daughters. I have gotten both side of not to it and to just do it. Here are the opinions that I have gotten.

I have had a couple of friends say that they will not give their daughter the vaccine because they will educate their daughter to wait until they get married to have sex. One of my friends felt that giving the vaccination was like giving your daughter permission to have premarital sex. The other side is why not protect your daughter what would it hurt. A friend felt that it would be better to be safe then sorry later in life.

Now here is my side……I have thought about this for a while and this is why I have made my decision to have Jordan get the vaccine.

My mother died from lymphoma, one of her brothers died from prostate cancer. Another brother has survived a type of bowel cancer. Then her mother died of a lymphoma and her father died of prostate cancer. Then on my dad’s side one of my grandmother’s sisters died of breast cancer. I have had pap smears that have come back with signs of pre-cancerous cells. If there is something out there that could possibly protect my daughter from a certain type of cancer why would I not get her protected.

Yes I do hope that she will be responsible about her sex life and waits, but it is inevitable my daughter will have sex some day. As much as I would like to not think about, Jordan, my baby growing up and having a life of her own. This is not a virus that only women get; men can be carries are well. Only Jordan can be responsible for her body and what she does with it. She is not responsible for the man she marries. Even if he has had sex with one person and contracted HPV then he is a carrier. He could then give it to his wife, my daughter. How could I possibly live with myself knowing that I could have possibly protected her?

I know that it is not a 100% protection. But having lost several loved ones to a type of cancer even a 1% chance is good enough for me. No serious side effects were reported during clinical trials of Gardasil, the FDA-approved HPV vaccine. There are no serious side effects to the vaccine. The most common side effect of the HPV vaccine was mild soreness at the injection site. Other side effects of the vaccine include itching, swelling, and redness at injection site, nausea, fever, and dizziness.

Ok I am off my soapbox. I just needed to get that off my chest. I have been thinking about it for a while. Thanks for listening. Please feel free to leave you comments on what you think of this vaccine. If you have another side of the story or just want to post what you think. I would love to hear it.

Weekend recap.

On our way home Friday night Jordan was all excited about the weekend. Here is word for word what she said…..”It’s a three day weekend YAY!!!! And I get to make cookies this weekend. How could it be more perfect then that?” I remember a time when life was that simple. lol It made me think of my perfect weekend.

For me it would be someone else did my laundry and cleaned my house while I spent the entire weekend with my family. It could be relaxing and just chilling at home or it could be out and about for the day, as long as I was with them.

I did have a great Saturday. I got to spend the day with just my dad. It has been a while since it was just him and I. It was awesome. We just took a nice drive down Chuckanut Drive and went over to Whidbey Island and had lunch in Coopville. It was a great afternoon. We got to talk without interruption. I love it. Thanks dad I hope we don’t wait so long for the next trip.

Friday night David and Ken went and shot the Lynden and Whidbey Island High School play off game. Lynden sent Whidbey Island home with a big lose. Any way I guess Ken also shot some photos. You can check out his photos on David web site. The link is here on my blog site. Ken’s senior project is on photography. So this was a good lesson for him. He and David spent some time at the computer talking about the photos. David can get rather long winded, but Ken didn’t seem to mind….lol

On Saturday after my time with my dad I came home and picked up the kids. We went shopping for a dress for Jordan. Next week is the annual Me and My Guy Ball. That is the politically correct way of saying Father-Daughter Ball. Jordan and David went last year and had a blast. The dance is on Friday night. We of course found a great dress that will be suitable of Christmas and our cruise in February. We also get it for 50% off at JC Penny’s even better.

Then today has been a typical casual day. The kids and I both took naps mid afternoon. I did several loads of laundry. I has been good. The kids have tomorrow off from school. It is a teachers work day. My dad is going to come and pick them up and take them to the movies in the afternoon. Then Ken is going to make us some Vietnamese food. Looking for to it.

That is a small recap of our weekend.