Turn to the Bible. These are verses from a book of Bible verses for busy women. I am having some troubles that I can't explain at this time. A good friend told me to turn to the Lord and not let Satan into my heart. I am being tested and it not going to work. Thanks SZ
Lord, I cry out to you. I say, You are my protection. You are all I want in this life. Listen to my cry because I am helpless. Save me from those who are chasing me, because they are too strong for me. Free me from my prison and then I will praise your name. The good people will surround me, because you have taken care of me. Psalms 142
The Lord will work out his plans for my life for your faithful love, O Lord, endurers forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me. Psalm 138:8
I am in pain and distress: my your salvation O God, protect me. Psalm 69:29
Also Thank you MS for being there last night when I needed a friend.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Fifty-six
Fifty-six that is the number of mosquito bites my daughter has on her body, 22 on just one arm alone. Next question your thinking is how can she let herself get bitten so much? If you read my last blog you will remember that our family bought new bikes last week and on Sunday we went for a nice ride. We didn’t get home until after 9pm.
Here is the story………
On the weekends in the am when our dogs want to go outside we often get up open the sliding glass door in our room and leave it open. This way we can get back into bed and snooze for a bit more and not have to get up again when they want back inside. Well……..we forgot to shut the door before we left for the day.
As you may guess by now leaving the door open all day a house might have a few bugs in it by 9:00pm. Lets just say there was well more then a few. It was just NUTS!!!! It was a mosquito family reunion in our house that night. David and I spent a long time trying to kill as many as we could. We just couldn’t get them all. I slept with a pillow on my head because I got tired of hearing the drive-bys in my ear. You know those times your just about get to sleep and you hear the buzz of a mosquito fly by your ear. UGH!!!!!
Before we went to bed we all put a ton of Off on our bodies. David and I didn’t get one bite, but our poor little girl was a buffet for those little buggers. They even bit thru her clothes because she has four huge ones on her butt.
This is just a small sample of some of them on her arm. These are the small compared to some of them.
Monday night wasn’t too itchy and she had no problems, but last night (Tuesday) she was miserable. I did everything possible to help the urge to itch. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
On a side note Jordan and I have been riding like crazy. I have ridden my bike to work every day this week. Then we have been doing all our errands on our bikes. I just drive to my Dad’s house and park my truck and we off go from there. On Monday night my friend Sara and I took a beautiful ride. We figure we rode at least 10 miles that day. If I continue by the end of the summer my legs should look awesome. I tell you it has been great therapy for my boggled little brain. Nothing like some good sweat therapy.
Another side note about the car accident, Jordan and I are both getting better. We both got some message therapy last night. And felt really good after we were done. I will keep you posted as we go along. Thanks to everyone’s prayers and kind messages we really enjoy them and it is nice to know we have friends and family that care.
Here is the story………
On the weekends in the am when our dogs want to go outside we often get up open the sliding glass door in our room and leave it open. This way we can get back into bed and snooze for a bit more and not have to get up again when they want back inside. Well……..we forgot to shut the door before we left for the day.
As you may guess by now leaving the door open all day a house might have a few bugs in it by 9:00pm. Lets just say there was well more then a few. It was just NUTS!!!! It was a mosquito family reunion in our house that night. David and I spent a long time trying to kill as many as we could. We just couldn’t get them all. I slept with a pillow on my head because I got tired of hearing the drive-bys in my ear. You know those times your just about get to sleep and you hear the buzz of a mosquito fly by your ear. UGH!!!!!
Before we went to bed we all put a ton of Off on our bodies. David and I didn’t get one bite, but our poor little girl was a buffet for those little buggers. They even bit thru her clothes because she has four huge ones on her butt.
This is just a small sample of some of them on her arm. These are the small compared to some of them.
Monday night wasn’t too itchy and she had no problems, but last night (Tuesday) she was miserable. I did everything possible to help the urge to itch. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
On a side note Jordan and I have been riding like crazy. I have ridden my bike to work every day this week. Then we have been doing all our errands on our bikes. I just drive to my Dad’s house and park my truck and we off go from there. On Monday night my friend Sara and I took a beautiful ride. We figure we rode at least 10 miles that day. If I continue by the end of the summer my legs should look awesome. I tell you it has been great therapy for my boggled little brain. Nothing like some good sweat therapy.
Another side note about the car accident, Jordan and I are both getting better. We both got some message therapy last night. And felt really good after we were done. I will keep you posted as we go along. Thanks to everyone’s prayers and kind messages we really enjoy them and it is nice to know we have friends and family that care.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Good Times!!!!
Yes you are seeing correctly I am blogging AGAIN and it has only been two days since my last blog. lol I am going to really try my best to blog on a regular basis.
Sorry to say there will not be any photo's for this post. I know a photographer's wife with no photo's. Kind of like the shoe makers kids running around with no shoes. But when you have photo equipment weights more the a small child it is the last thing you want to take with you.
Anyway on to our weekend.
4th was spent with family. After I got off work, yes I had to work it is a Canadian company after all, we headed out to my cousin Anita's house. It has been our tradition every year since Jordan was just a month old to go to Anita and Galen's house. It is a tradition I love. Well I love traditions period. I personally think it makes for special memories. I really don't like to faultier much from a tradition. But what I love about any holiday is I am with my family that means more to me then anything. The biggest reason why I keep traditions is my daughter, Jordan. She is big on it. If we have been doing it one way since she can remember she wants to keep it that way. If I tell her that something is going to be different or if someone who is normally there is not going to be is gets very disappointed.
Last year was a little bit of a disappointment for her. Our tradition changed a little bit. We still went to Anita's, but we didn't do any fire works as usual. Anita's and Galen had just moved into their beautiful dream home and they had neighbors. So we didn't want to be responsible for burning down anybodies house. So we had a BBQ, visited and then left. Jordan was a little bored. There is a big age difference between all the cousins and Jordan is the baby. We then went over and watched the Bellingham fireworks show with the Zerbst's Family, our good friends. We sat in the middle of the road.....yes the middle and watched the show. It was perfect and fun. That part wasn't a disappointment Jordan got to be with her best friend. But she didn't get to let of any fireworks herself.
This year we went over to Anita's for the traditional BBQ. Let off day time fire works. Then around sunset we headed over to Galen's brothers house for our nighttime fireworks. Gordy, Galen's brother bought a house this year that has the property and no close neighbor's so we could do our traditional show. Jordan had a blast. As I sat and watched the show I could hear her belly laughing down with all the big boys as they did the show. She told our friend, Sara, that this was the first time they let her light off the BIG fireworks. It was good to see the grin on her face. On the way home she said this was WAY better then last year. The only thing she missed was having her grandpa there to watch her set them off and also seeing her buddy Summer.
On Saturday we chilled out in the am, then did a little house cleaning in the afternoon. Then invited ourselves over to watch a movie at the other Dave and Michelle's house, our neighbors. It was a nice ending to a good day. It is so nice to have good friends and neighbors that you can text and say hey we are coming down to watch a movie at your house and them not thinking twice about it.....Thanks D & M.
On Sunday we slept in then got up and headed out to go bike riding on our brand new bikes. If you are the least bit interested here is the link to what mine and Jordan's bike looks like. http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/mountain_hardtail/3_series/3700wsd/ She and I got the 3700 just in different colors and sizes. David got the 3900.
Our ride started out in Fairhaven on the Inner Urban Trail. We did good on the flat parts, but found out that on the down hills and up hills Jordan just wasn't ready skill wise. She was too nervous going to fast downhill and doesn't know how to gear down to go up hill. So after a 3 mile ride we rode back to the truck put the bikes in the back. Then drove over to my dad's and rode around his neighborhood. Our first stop was at the Zerbst's were we visited and had appetizers. Then we headed over to Jordan's girl scout leaders house to say hi and show them our bikes. Since Mary Beth lived on the same street as our good friend Sara we headed over for a visit. Where she was having an unplanned BBQ. Other friends of Sara's had stopped by right before we did, so Sara threw some burgers and dogs on the grill. It was fun. We made plans with Sara for a bike ride on Tuesday.
All in all it was a good weekend. It is now Monday I have the day off since I worked the 4th. I am going to do a little pick up on my house then get ready for my re-do at the spa. I am getting a free mani, pedi and message today. I will explain later on a whole other blog. If I have time I just might tell you all about it tonight.
Sorry to say there will not be any photo's for this post. I know a photographer's wife with no photo's. Kind of like the shoe makers kids running around with no shoes. But when you have photo equipment weights more the a small child it is the last thing you want to take with you.
Anyway on to our weekend.
4th was spent with family. After I got off work, yes I had to work it is a Canadian company after all, we headed out to my cousin Anita's house. It has been our tradition every year since Jordan was just a month old to go to Anita and Galen's house. It is a tradition I love. Well I love traditions period. I personally think it makes for special memories. I really don't like to faultier much from a tradition. But what I love about any holiday is I am with my family that means more to me then anything. The biggest reason why I keep traditions is my daughter, Jordan. She is big on it. If we have been doing it one way since she can remember she wants to keep it that way. If I tell her that something is going to be different or if someone who is normally there is not going to be is gets very disappointed.
Last year was a little bit of a disappointment for her. Our tradition changed a little bit. We still went to Anita's, but we didn't do any fire works as usual. Anita's and Galen had just moved into their beautiful dream home and they had neighbors. So we didn't want to be responsible for burning down anybodies house. So we had a BBQ, visited and then left. Jordan was a little bored. There is a big age difference between all the cousins and Jordan is the baby. We then went over and watched the Bellingham fireworks show with the Zerbst's Family, our good friends. We sat in the middle of the road.....yes the middle and watched the show. It was perfect and fun. That part wasn't a disappointment Jordan got to be with her best friend. But she didn't get to let of any fireworks herself.
This year we went over to Anita's for the traditional BBQ. Let off day time fire works. Then around sunset we headed over to Galen's brothers house for our nighttime fireworks. Gordy, Galen's brother bought a house this year that has the property and no close neighbor's so we could do our traditional show. Jordan had a blast. As I sat and watched the show I could hear her belly laughing down with all the big boys as they did the show. She told our friend, Sara, that this was the first time they let her light off the BIG fireworks. It was good to see the grin on her face. On the way home she said this was WAY better then last year. The only thing she missed was having her grandpa there to watch her set them off and also seeing her buddy Summer.
On Saturday we chilled out in the am, then did a little house cleaning in the afternoon. Then invited ourselves over to watch a movie at the other Dave and Michelle's house, our neighbors. It was a nice ending to a good day. It is so nice to have good friends and neighbors that you can text and say hey we are coming down to watch a movie at your house and them not thinking twice about it.....Thanks D & M.
On Sunday we slept in then got up and headed out to go bike riding on our brand new bikes. If you are the least bit interested here is the link to what mine and Jordan's bike looks like. http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/mountain_hardtail/3_series/3700wsd/ She and I got the 3700 just in different colors and sizes. David got the 3900.
Our ride started out in Fairhaven on the Inner Urban Trail. We did good on the flat parts, but found out that on the down hills and up hills Jordan just wasn't ready skill wise. She was too nervous going to fast downhill and doesn't know how to gear down to go up hill. So after a 3 mile ride we rode back to the truck put the bikes in the back. Then drove over to my dad's and rode around his neighborhood. Our first stop was at the Zerbst's were we visited and had appetizers. Then we headed over to Jordan's girl scout leaders house to say hi and show them our bikes. Since Mary Beth lived on the same street as our good friend Sara we headed over for a visit. Where she was having an unplanned BBQ. Other friends of Sara's had stopped by right before we did, so Sara threw some burgers and dogs on the grill. It was fun. We made plans with Sara for a bike ride on Tuesday.
All in all it was a good weekend. It is now Monday I have the day off since I worked the 4th. I am going to do a little pick up on my house then get ready for my re-do at the spa. I am getting a free mani, pedi and message today. I will explain later on a whole other blog. If I have time I just might tell you all about it tonight.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Finally an update.......beware it is long.
Finally a new bog from me, this one should be a long one have a lot of catch up. May I quote my good buddy Stephanie this will be a monster blog.
The last month has been a very very busy and stressful month and I have just not had the energy to sit down and blog. Not that I haven’t had stuff running thru my head on what I want to blog about.
It has been since May 19th since I blogged, so here goes nothing lets hope I don’t forget something here goes nothing or here goes a lot………..
Memorial day weekend we had our Annual pre Ski-to-Sea BBQ. This originally started out as a BBQ for all the photographers that shoot the race for John Brunk Photography. Over the years it has grown into a come one come all event. Anyone and everyone are invited to next years. You don’t have to be a part of the photo team to be a part of the party. It was a great event. I got to chat with a lot of friends and just laugh and have a good time. Oh and eat lots and lots of good food.
One of the highlights of the day was I got to meet the other Michelle Marie Willoughby. I must say that she is AWESOME!!! And not just because of her name. She is just great. We really hit it off. As we got to know each other that evening we found out that we have a lot in common and we even have a few mutual friends so we are really surprised that no one has introduced us before. Her husband fit right in with everyone and the kids seemed to have a great time. Our two daughters loved playing together. Unfortunately we both have been very busy that we haven’t been able to get together again. There is no doubt in my mind we will get together again and continue to become great friends.
Michelle X 2
The next week was Jordan’s official 11th birthday. After almost 24 hours of labor she was born on June 2nd, 1997 at 9:51am. Little labor story for you…… When I reached full dilation I just wasn’t ready to push it had been a long hard night and I was really tired. Since my body wasn’t telling me to push the nurse decided to let me rest a little long, because the mom next door was also at full dilation and was starting to push. Since we had the same Dr the nurse thought she would let the other mom get ahead of me so that the Dr could have time to take care of us. WELL……..30 minutes later I was ready to push. I ended up pushing for two hours and the other mom pushed for 2 and a half hours. Calculate that and see that the babies were ready to come out at the same time. As Jordan was crowning our Dr was next door delivering a healthy baby boy. The nurse asked me to stop pushing for a little bit so the Dr had time to finish up with the mom next door. That was like telling me to hold my breath for an hour……NOT going to happen my friend. I had a few choice words…..”GET THAT DAMN DR IN HERE. To try and make a long story short the two babies where 7 minutes apart. Later that afternoon I went next door to meet the other mom and her son. Sorry to say I didn’t get a picture of the two babies. Not only were these two little miracles born on the say day and only minutes apart they are both named Jordan. lol So somewhere out there is a boy Jordan, born on June 2, 1997. If you happen to know him please let us know we would love to meet them again and this time get some pictures.
Jordan a week old
Jordan at six months
My baby girl is growing into a beautiful young woman. I am very proud to be her mother. Jordan my little Muppet I love you more then you will ever understand until you become a mother yourself. Thank you for being you.
The day after Jordan’s birthday we got the pleasure of having Ken’s Dad Tan come and visit. Tan is pronounced as Ton. It was a nice visit with him. I felt bad that he was stuck at home most of the time while he was here. We were all at work or school. Then we were so busy with graduation stuff that we really didn’t get much of a chance to show him around Bellingham.
On June 7th was graduation day for Ken. Since it was inside we only had six tickets to get into the event. Of course Tan, David and I went along with the other Dave and Michelle. It was a good ceremony and fun to watch. During the ceremony Ken and I kept texting each to other on our cell phones. I could not see him from where we sat.
Getting his diploma.
After the graduation we all went out for a celebration lunch. My Dad, Karla, Mandi and Sammy joined us for lunch. Thank you to Tan for paying for it all. It was a nice ending to a good day.
The Willett-Willoughby family
Ken and his Dad
Ken and Dave and Michelle #2
That night David and I got the pleasure of being chaperons on the senior all night party. Yes it was an all nighter. Since the class has been freshmen the parents have been doing fundraisers to save up the money for this party. After it was all said and done the whole thing costs about $35,000.00. No I did not add an extra 0 by mistake. They had three travel buses that took all the kids down to Seattle. Where they spent from 10am to 2am at Game Works. Just picture a huge arcade where they got to play what ever they wanted for free. They also had a buffet for the kids to munch on while they played. They also had a cartoonist there that did pictures of the kids if they wanted. After that we all hoped into the buses and headed to a nightclub. Where the kids got to dance. In one area they had a few black jack tables and also a henna tattoo artist. The last hour of the night they had a hypnotist. Which was really funny to watch. All the kids had a blast and they all crashed on the ride home. It was a long, but fun night.
On June 11th was the last meeting of the year for Girl Scouts. They had a nice ice cream party. The girls got the last of their badges they earned then they bridged up to cadets. Which means a new uniform. They are tan. Jordan and five other girls also got pined with their bronze awards. See below on her project.
Jordan walking over the "bridge" to becoming a cadet. One of her leaders Joanna is in the background.
Getting pinned with her bronze pin, by her leader Mary Beth.
The whole troop. Most of these girls have been together for five years
On June 17th we had a going away party for Ken, a bittersweet moment. I was happy to see all of Ken’s friends. It was fun to watch them interact, laughing and having fun with each other. We all got together on the deck to each say a little something about our time with Ken. Michelle and I could not keep the tears from flowing. Neither of us could get too many words out because it was very emotional for us. We all had gotten attached to him.
On June 18th our boy left us to go home to his family in Vietnam. It was a tough night for all of us. We spent time at the airport until the last possible moment that he had to go thru security. Michelle and I had tears flowing as we watched him go thru security. We watch as he walked past us heading to the holding area before he got on the plane. His little face was so sad as he walked by the window. Of course more tears from the two Michelle’s. When we could no longer see him we headed back to our car. As we walked out of the airport the emotion of him leaving hit Jordan and she started to cry. She cried all the way home. Once we got home she was ok. That is until bedtime. Then it hit her again that he was gone. She started to cry again. It gave her great comfort that he was in the next room. She ended up sleeping in his room that night and every night since he left.
He grew into a son and a big brother while he was here with us. He will always be a part of the Willoughby family. I am very proud of him and all that he accomplished when he was here. We love you and miss you very much Do Dang Khoa…….AKA Ken.
The official decision has not been made it yet but it appears that our boy might be back in Washington again next year for college. He has friends that live down in Auburn and going to school there. Ken might live with them and go to school down there. That just means he will be close to his American family. We really hope it works out that way. Then we can see our boy on a regular basis. Here is hoping……..
After all that emotion our week was not over. It was also the week of Jordan’s big project for her bronze award. This is the highest honor you can earn as a Jr. Girl Scout. The girls can either do it together or alone. It must be something that helps the community in some way. The project requires 16 hours of work. Half of the time is spent preparing for the project and the other half is spent doing the project. Jordan chose to do a blood drive. The Bellingham Puget Sound Blood Center chose for her to do an in-clinic blood drive. They dedicated a week to her project. It was June 17th- 21st. On Saturday the 21st she spent eight hours at the clinic being the juice and cookie girl. I was really impressed and proud of her. I thought for sure after a while she would get bored with being there so long. But she had a blast doing it all. Getting the juice and keeping the cookies stocked. They average 25 people on a Saturdays. That Saturday they had 38 people donate. Her goal for the whole week was to get anywhere from 25 to 50 people to donate. I think we got 30 people and that doesn’t count our friends and family from out of state that said they would donate in their hometown. Thank you to all our friends and family that took the time out of their day to donate for Jordan. We appreciate it very much.
Jordan standing next to her leader Mary Beth while she donated blood.
The next day Jordan and I had the pleasure of going to see Summer, Jordan’s best friend, dance in her ballet recital. The whole show was exciting, fun, cute and beautiful all rolled up into one big package. There are a ton of different performances from the itty-bitty little one’s to the older girls. Each performance was wonderful in its own way. Jordan and I both agree that Summer’s was the best of all, but we are a bit bias, She look so beautiful in her costume. We are very thankful that Stephani always includes us in this day.
Summer, Jordan and myself after the recital.
After the performance Jordan and I thought we would finish our Mother-daughter day with some dinner before we headed home. We stopped at Pizza hut on the south side of town and had some good pasta. Then……………………………..
One the way home I was headed down Ellis Street, by the old St. Luke’s Hospital which is now St. Joseph’s rehab building. I cannot explain why but I ran a red light. Which I am sure every driver has done one time or another in his or her driving life. Well this one time I wasn’t lucky. I hit a 1996 Jeep Cherokee. There was a young college couple in the Jeep. They were startled, but ok. They were headed to a potluck and had a crock-pot of chili on the back seat. Lets just say there was a total loss of chili. (Humors now) lol
As for us at first I was shocked, then I flipped around and looked at Jordan. Poor little thing looked just terrified. I jumped out of the car so fast that one of my flip-flops came off. I didn’t care I just wanted to get over to Jordan. We both walked out of the car. Once the cops arrived Jordan complained that her head hurt. So the paramedics were called in to check her out. After an exam they decided to put a neck brace on her and strap her down to the backboard. A little miss communication between the ER and the paramedics Jordan was called in as a major trauma and a 10-year-old boy. (Humors now) Once we arrived the whole trauma team was waiting for us. The DR assessed her and then got X-rays done. Every thing looked normal so we were released with directions to take Tylenol as needed. I think we were in and out of there in about an hour and a half. Thank the good Lord for watching out for us that day.
It has almost been two weeks since the accident. Jordan is still having back and neck troubles. She still needs muscle relaxants and Tylenol to get comfortable for sleep. We got a referral to a message therapist to see if that helps. Our first appointment is on Tuesday evening. As for me there is no trace of the small chemical burn from the air bag dust and the cut on my neck from the seat belt. I am still having psychological problems of the accident. As a mother it is a scary thing being in a car accident with your child in the car. I keep praying for peace in my mind. I keep reading my women’s devotional book the section for stressful times. It has helped a little. But I still need Valium to help me relax so that I can sleep at night. Each day I am starting to feel more like myself. Thank you to my husband for being so patient with me while I deal with my emotions. Also thank to my two good friend’s Michelle and Stephani who listen to me while I talk about it over and over again.
Not too bad could have been a lot worse.
As for my car I thought for sure it was a total loss, but as you can see by the photo’s of the car there really isn’t that much damage. It is getting repaired and we should have it back by the end of July. Another Thank you to my Dad and Karla for letting us use their car. Also thank you to David’s boss, Craig for letting us use the company van, as we need it. I haven’t heard about the Jeep Cherokee and if it was a total loss yet. I hit the Driver’s side wheel and the tow truck driver was thinking the front axel was damaged. I should know sometime next week.
As for our insurance company (Safeco) they have just been wonderful thru the whole ordeal. I have two agents assigned to me. Lenny who is dealing with the accident itself, then Linda who is doing all the medical stuff. If I have a question for either one of them I shoot over and email and they get back to me within an hour. The one part I find humors was it took them four days to determine who was at fault. I could have told them the day of the accident that I take full responsibility. I ran a red light…..hello people of course it is my fault. .
Another question is will my insurance rates go up? They will take into account my previous driving record. Which is no ticket since 1991 and no accident since 1986. They will also take into account what happens between now and November when we renew with them.
That does if for now please have a happy and safe 4th of July.
The last month has been a very very busy and stressful month and I have just not had the energy to sit down and blog. Not that I haven’t had stuff running thru my head on what I want to blog about.
It has been since May 19th since I blogged, so here goes nothing lets hope I don’t forget something here goes nothing or here goes a lot………..
Memorial day weekend we had our Annual pre Ski-to-Sea BBQ. This originally started out as a BBQ for all the photographers that shoot the race for John Brunk Photography. Over the years it has grown into a come one come all event. Anyone and everyone are invited to next years. You don’t have to be a part of the photo team to be a part of the party. It was a great event. I got to chat with a lot of friends and just laugh and have a good time. Oh and eat lots and lots of good food.
One of the highlights of the day was I got to meet the other Michelle Marie Willoughby. I must say that she is AWESOME!!! And not just because of her name. She is just great. We really hit it off. As we got to know each other that evening we found out that we have a lot in common and we even have a few mutual friends so we are really surprised that no one has introduced us before. Her husband fit right in with everyone and the kids seemed to have a great time. Our two daughters loved playing together. Unfortunately we both have been very busy that we haven’t been able to get together again. There is no doubt in my mind we will get together again and continue to become great friends.
Michelle X 2
The next week was Jordan’s official 11th birthday. After almost 24 hours of labor she was born on June 2nd, 1997 at 9:51am. Little labor story for you…… When I reached full dilation I just wasn’t ready to push it had been a long hard night and I was really tired. Since my body wasn’t telling me to push the nurse decided to let me rest a little long, because the mom next door was also at full dilation and was starting to push. Since we had the same Dr the nurse thought she would let the other mom get ahead of me so that the Dr could have time to take care of us. WELL……..30 minutes later I was ready to push. I ended up pushing for two hours and the other mom pushed for 2 and a half hours. Calculate that and see that the babies were ready to come out at the same time. As Jordan was crowning our Dr was next door delivering a healthy baby boy. The nurse asked me to stop pushing for a little bit so the Dr had time to finish up with the mom next door. That was like telling me to hold my breath for an hour……NOT going to happen my friend. I had a few choice words…..”GET THAT DAMN DR IN HERE. To try and make a long story short the two babies where 7 minutes apart. Later that afternoon I went next door to meet the other mom and her son. Sorry to say I didn’t get a picture of the two babies. Not only were these two little miracles born on the say day and only minutes apart they are both named Jordan. lol So somewhere out there is a boy Jordan, born on June 2, 1997. If you happen to know him please let us know we would love to meet them again and this time get some pictures.
Jordan a week old
Jordan at six months
My baby girl is growing into a beautiful young woman. I am very proud to be her mother. Jordan my little Muppet I love you more then you will ever understand until you become a mother yourself. Thank you for being you.
The day after Jordan’s birthday we got the pleasure of having Ken’s Dad Tan come and visit. Tan is pronounced as Ton. It was a nice visit with him. I felt bad that he was stuck at home most of the time while he was here. We were all at work or school. Then we were so busy with graduation stuff that we really didn’t get much of a chance to show him around Bellingham.
On June 7th was graduation day for Ken. Since it was inside we only had six tickets to get into the event. Of course Tan, David and I went along with the other Dave and Michelle. It was a good ceremony and fun to watch. During the ceremony Ken and I kept texting each to other on our cell phones. I could not see him from where we sat.
Getting his diploma.
After the graduation we all went out for a celebration lunch. My Dad, Karla, Mandi and Sammy joined us for lunch. Thank you to Tan for paying for it all. It was a nice ending to a good day.
The Willett-Willoughby family
Ken and his Dad
Ken and Dave and Michelle #2
That night David and I got the pleasure of being chaperons on the senior all night party. Yes it was an all nighter. Since the class has been freshmen the parents have been doing fundraisers to save up the money for this party. After it was all said and done the whole thing costs about $35,000.00. No I did not add an extra 0 by mistake. They had three travel buses that took all the kids down to Seattle. Where they spent from 10am to 2am at Game Works. Just picture a huge arcade where they got to play what ever they wanted for free. They also had a buffet for the kids to munch on while they played. They also had a cartoonist there that did pictures of the kids if they wanted. After that we all hoped into the buses and headed to a nightclub. Where the kids got to dance. In one area they had a few black jack tables and also a henna tattoo artist. The last hour of the night they had a hypnotist. Which was really funny to watch. All the kids had a blast and they all crashed on the ride home. It was a long, but fun night.
On June 11th was the last meeting of the year for Girl Scouts. They had a nice ice cream party. The girls got the last of their badges they earned then they bridged up to cadets. Which means a new uniform. They are tan. Jordan and five other girls also got pined with their bronze awards. See below on her project.
Jordan walking over the "bridge" to becoming a cadet. One of her leaders Joanna is in the background.
Getting pinned with her bronze pin, by her leader Mary Beth.
The whole troop. Most of these girls have been together for five years
On June 17th we had a going away party for Ken, a bittersweet moment. I was happy to see all of Ken’s friends. It was fun to watch them interact, laughing and having fun with each other. We all got together on the deck to each say a little something about our time with Ken. Michelle and I could not keep the tears from flowing. Neither of us could get too many words out because it was very emotional for us. We all had gotten attached to him.
On June 18th our boy left us to go home to his family in Vietnam. It was a tough night for all of us. We spent time at the airport until the last possible moment that he had to go thru security. Michelle and I had tears flowing as we watched him go thru security. We watch as he walked past us heading to the holding area before he got on the plane. His little face was so sad as he walked by the window. Of course more tears from the two Michelle’s. When we could no longer see him we headed back to our car. As we walked out of the airport the emotion of him leaving hit Jordan and she started to cry. She cried all the way home. Once we got home she was ok. That is until bedtime. Then it hit her again that he was gone. She started to cry again. It gave her great comfort that he was in the next room. She ended up sleeping in his room that night and every night since he left.
He grew into a son and a big brother while he was here with us. He will always be a part of the Willoughby family. I am very proud of him and all that he accomplished when he was here. We love you and miss you very much Do Dang Khoa…….AKA Ken.
The official decision has not been made it yet but it appears that our boy might be back in Washington again next year for college. He has friends that live down in Auburn and going to school there. Ken might live with them and go to school down there. That just means he will be close to his American family. We really hope it works out that way. Then we can see our boy on a regular basis. Here is hoping……..
After all that emotion our week was not over. It was also the week of Jordan’s big project for her bronze award. This is the highest honor you can earn as a Jr. Girl Scout. The girls can either do it together or alone. It must be something that helps the community in some way. The project requires 16 hours of work. Half of the time is spent preparing for the project and the other half is spent doing the project. Jordan chose to do a blood drive. The Bellingham Puget Sound Blood Center chose for her to do an in-clinic blood drive. They dedicated a week to her project. It was June 17th- 21st. On Saturday the 21st she spent eight hours at the clinic being the juice and cookie girl. I was really impressed and proud of her. I thought for sure after a while she would get bored with being there so long. But she had a blast doing it all. Getting the juice and keeping the cookies stocked. They average 25 people on a Saturdays. That Saturday they had 38 people donate. Her goal for the whole week was to get anywhere from 25 to 50 people to donate. I think we got 30 people and that doesn’t count our friends and family from out of state that said they would donate in their hometown. Thank you to all our friends and family that took the time out of their day to donate for Jordan. We appreciate it very much.
Jordan standing next to her leader Mary Beth while she donated blood.
The next day Jordan and I had the pleasure of going to see Summer, Jordan’s best friend, dance in her ballet recital. The whole show was exciting, fun, cute and beautiful all rolled up into one big package. There are a ton of different performances from the itty-bitty little one’s to the older girls. Each performance was wonderful in its own way. Jordan and I both agree that Summer’s was the best of all, but we are a bit bias, She look so beautiful in her costume. We are very thankful that Stephani always includes us in this day.
Summer, Jordan and myself after the recital.
After the performance Jordan and I thought we would finish our Mother-daughter day with some dinner before we headed home. We stopped at Pizza hut on the south side of town and had some good pasta. Then……………………………..
One the way home I was headed down Ellis Street, by the old St. Luke’s Hospital which is now St. Joseph’s rehab building. I cannot explain why but I ran a red light. Which I am sure every driver has done one time or another in his or her driving life. Well this one time I wasn’t lucky. I hit a 1996 Jeep Cherokee. There was a young college couple in the Jeep. They were startled, but ok. They were headed to a potluck and had a crock-pot of chili on the back seat. Lets just say there was a total loss of chili. (Humors now) lol
As for us at first I was shocked, then I flipped around and looked at Jordan. Poor little thing looked just terrified. I jumped out of the car so fast that one of my flip-flops came off. I didn’t care I just wanted to get over to Jordan. We both walked out of the car. Once the cops arrived Jordan complained that her head hurt. So the paramedics were called in to check her out. After an exam they decided to put a neck brace on her and strap her down to the backboard. A little miss communication between the ER and the paramedics Jordan was called in as a major trauma and a 10-year-old boy. (Humors now) Once we arrived the whole trauma team was waiting for us. The DR assessed her and then got X-rays done. Every thing looked normal so we were released with directions to take Tylenol as needed. I think we were in and out of there in about an hour and a half. Thank the good Lord for watching out for us that day.
It has almost been two weeks since the accident. Jordan is still having back and neck troubles. She still needs muscle relaxants and Tylenol to get comfortable for sleep. We got a referral to a message therapist to see if that helps. Our first appointment is on Tuesday evening. As for me there is no trace of the small chemical burn from the air bag dust and the cut on my neck from the seat belt. I am still having psychological problems of the accident. As a mother it is a scary thing being in a car accident with your child in the car. I keep praying for peace in my mind. I keep reading my women’s devotional book the section for stressful times. It has helped a little. But I still need Valium to help me relax so that I can sleep at night. Each day I am starting to feel more like myself. Thank you to my husband for being so patient with me while I deal with my emotions. Also thank to my two good friend’s Michelle and Stephani who listen to me while I talk about it over and over again.
Not too bad could have been a lot worse.
As for my car I thought for sure it was a total loss, but as you can see by the photo’s of the car there really isn’t that much damage. It is getting repaired and we should have it back by the end of July. Another Thank you to my Dad and Karla for letting us use their car. Also thank you to David’s boss, Craig for letting us use the company van, as we need it. I haven’t heard about the Jeep Cherokee and if it was a total loss yet. I hit the Driver’s side wheel and the tow truck driver was thinking the front axel was damaged. I should know sometime next week.
As for our insurance company (Safeco) they have just been wonderful thru the whole ordeal. I have two agents assigned to me. Lenny who is dealing with the accident itself, then Linda who is doing all the medical stuff. If I have a question for either one of them I shoot over and email and they get back to me within an hour. The one part I find humors was it took them four days to determine who was at fault. I could have told them the day of the accident that I take full responsibility. I ran a red light…..hello people of course it is my fault. .
Another question is will my insurance rates go up? They will take into account my previous driving record. Which is no ticket since 1991 and no accident since 1986. They will also take into account what happens between now and November when we renew with them.
That does if for now please have a happy and safe 4th of July.
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