Live - From the Birdhouse!

Happy New Year from the Birdhouse!  We didn't get our usual Christmas letter sent out this year and so I am putting out the e-version of our recap for the year. We are grateful for so many things.

We had a busy and great year.  The best news is that we are awaiting the birth of our 8th grandchild, a second daughter to James and Suzanne, any day now.  She has been on bed rest during most of the Christmas season and was released to resume activity normally on Christmas Eve.  Of course, the Dr. says that all looks stable and well now that they are ready for her to make her entrance.  We are so grateful for technology and modern medicine that has blessed our lives so much.  Grace has grown so much, is so animated, and will be a great big sister.  She is beautiful, with carmel skin & big brown eyes & looks a lot like James. We're expecting the next little girl to be a blue-eyed blonde like her mamma.

Ben and Laura's family is doing so well.  John and Catie are growing and they are loving being parents.  It is a joy to watch them, after waiting so long for the opportunity to be parents.  John looks a lot like Ben and Catie looks a lot like Laura.  They are exceptionally beautiful kids.  (No bias here.)  You never go to their house, but Ben isn't holding one of the babies when he answers the door.  They love taking them to experience new things.

Rich and Jo are busy parents of four young children.  With family, church callings and jobs, they do quite a balancing act - and they do a wonderful job of it.  Jo still works one day a week as a dental hygienist and I love my time with them on Mondays.  Cameron is in the 2nd grade, Eli is in Kindergarden and Miriam and Simon are at home with mom.  They are partners in crime and make quite a pair.  Miriam has the most beautiful blonde long blonde hair & Simon's has a tint of red.  When it comes to grandchildren, ours are exceptionally cute.  I hate to brag, but it is the honest truth here.

Scott will begin his last semester in January and will graduate in biology from BYU-Provo.  His options after that are either a masters program in Wildlife Management at the U of I, dental school, or Podiatry school.  Life is all about options and he has many!  It has been so nice to have him home with us for the holidays.

Jessica began her junior year at BYU-Idaho this fall.  She is majoring in business/finance but is considering a change while she still can, so we will keep you posted on that.  She love her life, her roomates and "the burg", as she calls it.  And, of course - guys.  It's so much fun to have her home to spend time with us.

Gordon is in his 6th year of serving as Bishop.  While it requires a lot of time away and keeps him extremely busy, the blessings have been overwhelming.  It has been a privilege for our family to have him serve.

I continue to sell Real Estate when things cooperate.  It has been an up and down (mostly down) market, especially this year. I predict a great year, though!  We did something out of the box for us this year - we went to Hawai'i!  We went with some friends and went  when Boise State played Hawai'i.   It was the highlight for me.  I loved the weather, the beaches, sun, laid-back lifestyle, food, just everything.

Because I like to put a positive spin on things, I realize that it can look like I am bragging, or like we have a life of ease, with no challenges.  Such is not the case.  Our challenges remain that - ours.  We have them; we battle just like everyone does.  Some times it seems like they are more and sometimes it seems like they are less.  We press forward, grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and realize that, through Him, all things are made whole, right and well.

Health, happiness and best wishes to you and yours this new year.

With Love,
The Birds

Fun, Fun Fall

 Aren't my two little Jedi Warriors the cutest?  Their little sister, Miriam was Princess Leia and Simon was Yoda.

 Yoda and the Cow.  Catie was a cow and John was a rooster.

 Grace was a beautiful Fairy, but didn't want anything to do with hanging in Rich & Jo's van during the ward Trunk or Treat.

 Now you can see John's rooster costume and princess Leia's hair rolls.

 What a character!  Grace keeps us entertained.

 James at Ben's surprise birthday party, imitating his Grandpa Wray.

Ben turns the big 3-0 on Nov. 5th.  Laura threw a surprise breakfast for him on Saturday and it was a full Birdhouse.  Happy Birthday Ben!
We have had a wonderful fall with the kids and grandkids.
But, alas - the next big thing is waiting just around the corner...We are leaving for Hawaii tomorrow and will be back on the 13th.  Sunshine here we come!

Here and Gone Again

 

It's hard to believe that summer has been here and is gone already.  It was such a fun one!  I will be posting a few pictures from the various activities.  Trying not to mourn the loss of summer too much - after all, College Football is starting!  Wahoo!

    We spent the fourth of July with Scott, Jessica, Ben, Laura and the twins just hangin' in the backyard.

                                I think we ate way too much, which is usually the case.

                       All the grandkids lounging by the pool and enjoying the amenities at Chez Bird.

                                                                  Slip n Slide too!

Having Jessica home for the summer was so much fun!  She brought out watermelon to share with everyone.  Having her and Scott home was fabulous!  More to come on that.

Is this the prettiest little thing you have ever seen?
This is my granddaughter Grace.  She has beautiful, rich dark brown eyes.  Her caramel color skin is like "buttah", I like to say.  It's as smooth as it is pretty.  When she smiles, it melts your heart.

Her mother has blond hair and blue eyes - go figure. We thought Grace would too (after all, her mom is so pretty).  No need to worry about that, though, she took after her papa and is like him in a lot of ways - in actions as well as looks.  She has been slow to warm up to me but I think we are making progress.

I think they are going to have to lock her in her room at age 16!

I love her.

Firsts

 Ben and Laura surprised me on Mothers Day with my first ever Corsage.  It's a beautiful orchid with a pink middle.  It has been in the fridge since; I can't get rid of it.  Not a great picture, I know, since it is getting brown at the edges but it was so thoughtful of them and I appreciated it so much.  I was so spoiled on Mother's Day.  I had the whole family together for dinner and chillin' in the backyard.  They all made sure I felt their appreciation, each one so thoughtfully  (Next post, I'll share what I had for the daughters in law since they are moms too).

 

This year is the first time my "Peace" rose has bloomed since I transplanted it to the front.  It struggled out in back and it's such a beautiful rose, I couldn't let that happen.  I believe this is my favorite of all the roses, even though it doesn't have a very strong scent.  That's the great thing about roses; they all have differing characteristics.  The yellow smells the sweetest, Mr. Lincoln smells classically elegant, Lucille Ball doesn't have much scent, but the blossoms are one of my favorite colors.  The transplanted pink one from last year has a beautiful scent as well.  I need to have a name for this one, as it is not a registered rose.  Hmmmmm.......

The many phases of the Peace rose as it gets to full bloom.

It goes from total yellow with red tips to yellow, pink and then white with pink tips.

 So pretty!

It took two years, but it was well worth the move.

Lunar Eclipse

We have some of the best neighbors around.  Sunday night just as we came home from a church meeting, there they were in our front yard with these smashing glasses.  There was a lunar eclipse going on!  I had heard there was going to be one but didn't figure we would see it, as you cannot look at it directly with your eyes.  (Which I apparently did when I took this picture - the clouds are covering it.)

 With the snazzy glasses this is what we could see:

Third time is a charm putting the glasses over the camera!  My neighbor Daniel helped me get it just right.  What an unexpected treat on a Sunday night.  I love this universe that God has created and marvel at it's intricacy and beauty.

Growing and Growing

It's been so long since I last posted, if you still read this blog, you will have a heart attack!

This is the latest picture of the Bird grandkids.  I probably didn't pick the best one of all of the kids, but we are still editing them.  Since Christmas, they have all grown so much.  Cameron is 7 and finishing the 1st grade, Eli is 5 and preparing to go to Kindergarden, Miriam is 2 and a princess, Simon is 1 and has the most yummy rusty hair color, Grace is almost 1 and has the most beautiful, carmel colored skin like butter, John is 8 mo. and smiles at everyone like he is their best friend, Catie is 8 mo. and never stops.

What a joy these babies are to us! 

We had them all here for Mother's Day Sunday and I was spoiled by each of my children and Gordon.  It was a wonderful day full of family - just the kind I like.

Birthday Week

 We had a nice long holiday with Jessica before she went back to school.  She left the day of my birthday for her second semester.  Here, she is out to dinner at Cheesecake Factory with us on our anniversary.  She posted on facebook: "you know your parents are old when they invite you along on their anniversary dinner!"

Birthday Week - We celebrated Richard's birth on the 8th of Jan., my Dad's on the 7th, Gordon's on the 10th and mine on the 16th.

 Rich opening his birthday presents.  I loved watching his kids at his knee, so excited at everything they gave him.

 Gordon's turn to blow out the candles.

 Eli loves little children, especially Grace.

 Grace loves playing with her cousins.

 Gordon actually saying, "Who's the Man?"  in his tenor-most voice.  (With actions)  He says it all they time, we were glad to document it.

 Everyone gets to be "Chuck" for their birthday.  Long story....maybe I'll repost it.

 My birthday cake made by Suzanne.

Grace loves Avacado!  All over her face and chair, that is.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.