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.