Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas at the Birdhouse

Suzanne helping Grace open her presents.  Grace was in such a fun mood and you could tell she was enjoying ripping presents open.  Who doesn't like that?

Miriam opening her present.
 After opening her boots, she grabbed the green tissue paper from the box and was so excited about it.  Kids need so little to excite them. 
Cam loved his BSU pillow pet.  Eli got one too but had to wait until the next day to open it.  He was sick and didn't join in the party.  We missed his smiling little face!
 Jo loved her Vera Wang brown riding boots.  I have such a great story of extreme shopping success on those that I'll share another time.
Ben is never seen without one of the twins in his arms.  Christmas came in September for Ben and Laura.

I feel such great joy when my family is gathered together.  That is the greatest Christmas present of all to me.
That, and the added bonus that they have all turned out to be such wonderful adults that I am so proud of.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Moms and Babies


 To celebrate Scott and Jessica getting home from school, Ben & Laura and James and Suzanne came over for dinner on Sunday.  I totally expected fair skinned little blond girls from James and Suz, but then came Grace with her carmel skin, big brown eyes and dark hair.  She is a cutie and getting cuter by the day.
 I love these pictures of Laura and John.  There's something to that Mother/Son relationship that I think is captured in these pictures.

The bigger John smiles, the wider his mouth opens.  It's priceless.

I am so thankful for all my daughters-in-law and the wives and mothers they are.

Monday, December 12, 2011

This year has been kind to us

As we reflect on this past year, we are so aware that it has been kind to us, to say the least.  We started it with three little blessings, and by the end of the year four more had joined us. 
Cameron's prayers (and many others) for Bird cousins was heard. 

Catie & John in the front - 3 mo.
Grace in the middle - 7 mo.
Miriam far left - 2 yrs.
Cameron holding Grace - 6
Eli holding Simon - 4
Simon - 9 months

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Attitude

 Grace is such a funny girl.  She has her own little attitude and will only smile if it suits her.
Luckily she always smiles for mom & dad.  Isn't that hat adorable?  Grace wore it when
Suzanne and Laura took their babies for a walk today during the 3rd quarter of the BSU/TCU game.

Speaking of the game; how very sad.  They didn't even look like our team late in the 4th quarter.  I wonder what they will be ranked tomorrow?  Oh well, I still love the Broncos.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Chick-fil-A Bowl

I meant to post these pictures in September, but once we got back from Georgia the twins were born and things happen.  So here are some pics from our trip.

First, it was most unusual to have four of our grown children with us.  Unusual, but oh how fun; your kids are so fun to hang out with as adults!  Clearly, they are my very favorite people.  The only one was missing was Ben, who had bigger and better things going on at the time and is a "died in the wool" (whatever that means) BYU fan. 
Eating lunch on game day at - where else?  Chick-fil-A, our new favorite place.  Prior to this picture we were discussing how to get the franchise to Idaho.
  Supah-Fans!
Only in all of this craziness would men wear necklaces.
                               
Waiting for the team to come through the pre-game fan area on their way to the locker room.

I should mention that football is huge in Georgia.  They are fans on a new level to me.  Just the clothing was amazing - the little red dress (for the "hot" weather during Bulldog games when I asked), the red pants, short, capris, hats, all with traces of intimidating black. Riding the subway, they were everywhere.  We were little peons riding the subway amidst them in our royal blue and orange. 
     We got comments of, "Why would you come clear down here?"  I wanted to say, "Because we're playing THE GEORGIA BULLDOGS, that's why!".   They were nice, but there was an overwhelming attitude of  "We'll make mashed potatoes of you in no time.  Don't you know who Georgia is?  JOR-JAH.  Have you heard of the SEC?"
    
I deleted my pictures of the Georgia Dome thinking they weren't very good, but now I wish I hadn't.  It was HUGE.  Before the game, they showed a video montage highlighting the big, tough, mean and cool Georgia Bulldog program.  Then the whole marching band, dance team, flag team and cheerleaders took the field in song and dance celebrating their team.  Between that and the fans, there was a solid sea of RED;  total red, deafening and intimidating.  And then the Bulldogs took the field and it intensified even more.
     On the jumbotron they then showed one of the Boise State informational videos in an effort to be fair.  The coolness comparison was huge....we looked like little lameys. 

Did I mention that we had 10th row seats?  Very cool.  But not so much when everyone stands during the game.  I kept thinking, "Do you people realize how comfortable we would all be if everyone just sat down?" A short person on the 10th row has advantage.  A short person standing up with everyone else - not so much. I saw a little less of the game than I'd liked and a lot more of the back sides of the people in front of me, which I didn't.

As Boise State took the field, I thought to myself, "I can't wait to make mincemeat of these guys and shut them up."  And of course, that's what we did.  I wish I could describe the transformation that took place from the insanity of red at the beginning to the stunned silence and eventual exit of these faithful red and black depressed fans.  Of course, we stayed until the very last possible moment, basking in coolness of what just happened. 

Once we got to the subway, there were crowds and crowds of people waiting to get on and it took a while.  We shoved our way on to a chock full car of red and black, standing room only. Finally, two young men stood and offered Jessica and I their seats.  "It's the least we can do, after the way your team whipped us tonight.  After that, we should be walking home." 

A classy acknowledgment. 

I loved Georga and the people there and the trees and the many, many Peach Tree streets, not to mention Piedmont Ave.  And of course, the Coca Cola headquarters.  Pictures of that and our trip to Stone Mtn. next post.



Friday, November 4, 2011

Pics of the Twins .

 Catherine Ray, Benjamin Ray, Gordon Ray and Richard Ray Bird.  (John included too but his middle name isn't Ray.
Adorable family of four. 

Catie has such bright eyes, I call them dancing stars.

Please scroll down for more pictures......

You asked, so......

You asked for more pictures of John and Catie, so here they are:
Four Generations

John loves his Baca

John

Four Generation; Jonathan Charles, Benjamin Ray, Richard Ray and Gordon Ray

Friday, October 28, 2011

Did you know?

Did you know that you can't hum with your nose plugged?

You're trying it right now, aren't you?  Have a happy day~

Thursday, October 20, 2011

James and Baby Grace

I love this picture.  The way Grace is looking into her father's eyes tells so much.  There is love, trust and adoration there.  James' face tells a lot too, but mainly, "I didn't know I could love someone so much".

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

A thought to ponder---

A bowl of lime Jell-O, when hooked up to an EKG machine, exhibited movements virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult man or woman.

Hmmmm?  Lime Jello, Mormons, Word of Wisdom?  

Sacreligious? 

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Monday, September 19, 2011

At last

Little Johnathan Charles came home from the hospital yesterday!  You don't have to be a grandma to know how much I wanted to get my hands on this little one.

And he is just precious.  He definitely looks "all boy" when you see him.  He looks healthy and ready for all life has to offer. 

The best sight of the day?  Seeing the two babies sleeping right next to each other in the crib.  It's been a while coming and words don't really describe it.

I was overcome with gratitude for this affirmation of some of my most fervent prayers. 

Overwhelming.  Wonderfully overwhelming.


(Ben and Laura have pictures and will post them on their blog)

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Oh, For My Camera

We had family dinner today and as usual, it was great.  Now that we have seven grandchildren, it is getting harder to give each one all of the attention you would like. And if it comes to holding one of them or holding my camera well, you know which one wins out.

So here are a few mental pictures from today:

Walking from the living room towards the family room, noticing that Miriam was missing. 
There she was, sitting in the big chair, guzzling back my unfinished diet coke and KNOWING she was getting away with something.

Cameron talking to his little cousin grace and getting beautiful smiles out of her.

Miriam trying to make Grace laugh.

Eli clipping some fresh Rosemary from my plant to take home with him.  (Green thumb?  I think so.)

At times I feel like I need holes poked into me to fully absorb all of the love these kids and their parents bring to us. 
Definitely a great time in life.

P.S.  The twins names are Jonathan Charles and Catherine Ray (Katie).  Jonathan breathed on his own today.  Another milestone bringing him closer to home.  Yesterday he pulled the tubes out of his nose.  The nurse said, "super sick babies just don't do that."
I think he really wants to go home with his mom and sister on Tuesday.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

We've got news x 2!

Ben and Laura's babies arrived yesterday!  Follow the link to their blog to read all about it.
Caution - some graphic pictures.
This is such a wonderful blessing in all of our lives and we are so grateful.

http://benandlaurafamily.blogspot.com/2011/09/baby-and-baby-b-have-arrived.html

Monday, August 22, 2011

One of the Summer's Best Activities

Boat camping!
We went up to Lucky Peak with Rich & Jo and the kids this past weekend. 
There's nothing better than August sunshine.

 This little guy stuck his hand in the curley cheetos and exclaimed, "There's nothing like a fresh Cheeto", complete with a big sigh.
 The best part of this year's boat camping?  It has to be telling stories in the tent.  Gordon, Jess and I had Cam and Eli in the tent with us.  Gordon told them "The Three Pigs" complete with actions and I interjected when I could. We told them "The Three Bears" and some other stories.  When things died down a bit, Eli said, "Now let's tell freaky stories", and he proceeded to do so.  It was so much fun
Rich & Jo did all the food, which was nice for us. 
Fun, fun, very fun.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Simon and Grace

Simon and Grace, taken on the 4th of July.  Grace has her daddy's carmel skin and Simon has beautiful auburn hair. 
They look like they are communicating. 
I wonder what they're saying?
Simon:  Whoa!  I didn't see you there.
Grace:  I've been staring at you for the last 5 minutes.

or

Grace:  Why do you have that big-eyed look on your face?
Simon:  My dad says sometimes my eyes look like I am headed downhill on a roller coaster.  But I can't believe I just saw Scott eat 7 pieces of french toast.

or

Grace:  What in the world is that smell?
Simon:  Is it you?
Grace:  No - is it you?
Simon:  Well if it's not you and it's not me, then who.....

or

Simon: This is turning out to be as good as I thought it would.
Grace: I could tell we were going to feel a lot of love when we got here.,
Simon:  Ya, I'm glad we're in this together.
Grace:  Me too.



Monday, August 15, 2011

Baby Grace

Baby Grace is now 2 1/2 months old, the age where their personality starts to show and they begin to interact with those around them.  She is no exception.  I have tried and tried to get a picture of James at 3 months to post along with this but my tech-savvy talents have their limits.  Even though concensus is that she looks like Suzanne, I would argue that the two pictures look a lot alike. 
It does look like she's going to have brown eyes, though, like her dad.  She has her mom's cute little lips and makes some of the cutest, funniest little faces with them. 
 Like this......
She is a sweetie pie and we are so glad she came to our family!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Some really great pictures of Gordon

 I got up Saturday morning (of course he was up before me) and found Gordon weeding the garden.  Love the glasses:)
 I just had to have another picture, so I went out and hollered for him to look my way.  No luck, thanks to his i-pod.  I finally got up close and personal and startled him.
This next one is my personal favorite.

Working in the garage in his watering boots, pajama pants, both sets of eyeglasses & hat.  The only thing missing is the headlamp.
He really believes in dressing for the occasion, don't you think?

Monday, August 1, 2011

Family Time

July is such a fun month.  It's warm (or HOT, like I like it) & the weather is good. 
It's also a gathering time for families.
 Miriam modeling her new swim suit for us.
 What a great view of the Black Marauder at Cascade lake.  We had a lot of fun waterskiing/boating.
 The kids & grandkids even got to ride the horses for a while.
 We used the Ewing family (Laura's) boat dock for the day.  It was fabulous.
 Gordon doing his famous "jump off the dock" waterski start. 
I had the cutest picture of the two new babies; Grace and Simon.  It was corrupted somehow and wouldn't print.  The most special event of the week was Grace's baby blessing.  She has grown so much since this picture.  More pictures soon.
Be sure to scroll down for more pictures of the week.

Family Time Continued.....

Party time for the Birds on July 4th!  We packed a lot of fun into a few days and it didn't disappoint.
What a dilema. 
 Eli was so happy to roast marshmellows.  I think he's our future pyro.
 Grandpa got some unexpected cuddle time with Miriam.
 Three men and a little lady.
 Cam idolizes his dad.
Most mothers know how it feels to have this kind of time with your family when the kids have left the nest.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Baby Grace's Blessing Day

Sunday was Baby Grace's blessing day.  It was a great day - James gave her the most wonderful blessing.  I am so grateful for the Priesthood and that my sons honor theirs. 

Simon, Eli, Cameron holding Grace, Miriam
 I am grateful any time that the whole family can gather together.  We had brunch afterwards at James and Suzanne's; it was yummy breakfast casseroles cinnamon and orange rolls, and fruit.

 Great Grandma Bird thought that pearls were appropriate for a special day like a blessing day. Grace looked so beautiful.