2nd post for the day...

Okay, a little more detail from last week. Saturday, I photographed some bridal photos in Big Cove, then rushed home and picked up the wife and kids and we set-out to the Smokies! Sunday, we re-visited the Gatlinburg aquarium. We've been before, but I'm not sure if Makayla has ever been and Mackenzie couldn't remember going. The girls had a blast! If you've never been, they really have a great aquarium! Ashley and Brooke came up that evening, so we met up with them at Texas Roadhouse for supper.
Monday was Makayla's actual birthday, so Kellie cooked pancakes in our condo and we gave her a present. I can't even remember what we did for the rest of the day; but I think we shopped and hung out in Gatlinburg some more. I still can't believe Makayla is five! I think I mentioned in Mackenzie's birthday post about the kids each having four names. Makayla's is Makayla Kellie Lorene Byrd. Her name was "supposed" to be Madeline, called Mattie; but Kellie and I couldn't agree on the spelling so we just went a different direction. Makayla actually came from Dr. Quinn Medicine woman; but it went good with Mackenzie so all was cool there - ha, ha. I pretty much begged Kellie to let me use Lorene as the third name, as that was my late grandmother's name. We were unsure of the second name and Kellie just decided last minute (after Makayla was born) to use "Kellie". No, it doesn't flow too good; but hey, it works! :)
Back to our vacation, Tuesday was when we were headed out, and we gave the girls one more treat. For some reason, Mackenzie has become fascinated with the Titanic. I think she must have watched part of the movie at my mom's or something. She has asked me countless questions about it! So we took them to the new Titanic exhibit in Pigeon Forge. It was awesome; and the girls loved it - it was the highlight of the trip for both of them! Of course, anything that has to do with history is right up my alley, so I had a blast myself. I even transcribed part of an old letter that the currators of the museum had previously been unable to read. I've read so many old wills and census records and letters that it was very easy for me to understand. I looked at it for like a minute and was able to tell what it said, so I went and got an official and let them know. It was cool.
Wednesday, I worked on Christmas pictures all day - ALL DAY! We went to church that night; but I spent an exhausting day at the computer!

Thursday, we did Thanksgiving at Kellie's grandparents and took Mackenzie that night to Scottsboro to meet my parents, who were going to keep her a couple of nights.

Friday, we shopped. We got up like at 3 a.m. and went shopping. We were in and out at Wal-Mart; but Target was a different story! I stood in line for almost three hours there to get an iPod for Mackenzie. And now stinkin' Santa Claus will get all the credit for it! Grrrr! :) Anyhow, we shopped all day long and got home that night and went to bed.

Saturday, we went to Big Cove to get Mackenzie and hung out with my parents all day, and then spent all day yesterday at church.

This Day in History...

Thirty-five years ago today, November 29, 1975, my grandmother, Bertie Lorene Adams Bird, passed away at a Huntsville hospital, after a long and tiring bout with diabetes. Unfortunately, this was about three years before I was born, so I never got to know her; however, I have missed her for my entire life. I wonder sometimes how different life would have been for me had she lived as long as Granddaddy did (he passed away in 2003). I've heard so many wonderful things about her from my family and others in the community - I know that I really missed out now knowing her.

Also, I learned today that Mr. Mark Tucker passed away this weekend. Mark played Santa for a few Christmas shoots that Marty and I did at New Hope and Owens Cross Roads Schools over the past few years. He was always a pleasure to work with and genuinely enjoyed his role as Santa! Our prayers go out to his family during this Holiday season. Here's one of my favorite Santa photos of my girls with Santa Mark - I think from 2007!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We all have so much to be thankful for - I know I do. I've got everything I've ever truly wanted! No, not a new car, new house, plenty of money in the bank. But everything I ever truly wanted - a great wife, healthy beautiful children, and most of all, a loving Savior. And on top of those things, I'm thankful for our 2002 Ford Escape with 230k+ miles on it - until now, we've never really had a minutes trouble out of it and never had to spend a bunch of money on it (besides gas and tires) to keep it running good. A nice home that keeps me warm and dry - one that I can afford. And this coming February will mark ten years that I've been at my present employer - they are really good to me and I while I don't make a bunch of money, what I make gets us by week to week. And there is so much more besides this that I could name.

This past Saturday, Kellie, the girls and I went to the Smokies for a few days. It was the first time just the four of us had gone somewhere in a long time. We did the aquarium in Gatlinburg, shopped some, and the highlight of the trip was probably our last day. We went to the new Titanic museum - Mackenzie had BEGGED us to go. She loved it. Makayla did too! It was really neat. And, while we were gone, Makayla turned FIVE! I can't believe it. I still plan to post more about her soon; but right now, we're fixin' to head out to Kellie's grandparents' for Thanksgiving, so I'll have to do that later. They're calling me to "come on!!!"

Happy Fifth Birthday Makayla! Will blog more later - in Smokies! :-)

New Harmony in concert with THE ISAAC's...

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I got my tickets today to see my friends, New Harmony, on stage in April 2011 with THE Isaac's! Tickets went on sale today and are selling out fast. If you're interested, better hurry! I'm in the middle of the third row; and can't wait!

Go to http://www.perfectharmonypromotions.com/

Thanks!

-BYRD

Weddings are BACK on the menu...

I should probably change the name of my studio to Wishy-Washy Photography! :) In the past year, I cut out weddings altogether and intended to focus more on family photography; however, due to a variety of circumstances (if you want the boring details, feel free to ask) including my latest health set-back, my plans have changed. I'm swapping horses (again) and planning to ditch a large portion of family photography and invest most of my time in 2011 in weddings. I started out in the business shooting weddings; and after some not-so-gentle urging from some of my friends and peers, I've decided to return to my roots and add weddings back to the line-up. Although it's hard work and time-consuming, it does have it's perks and it is always an honor to be included in such a special part of people's lives. SO - more details to come on that as the year rolls around. If you are planning a wedding for 2011 and would like more information about our wedding services, please drop us a line!

This Day in History...

Eighty years ago on November 16, 1930, my paternal grandparents – Walter Lee Bird & Bertie Lorene Adams – were joined in holy matrimony in a double civil ceremony in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, with Granddaddy’s first cousin, Winfred Bird, and his bride, Lorene Rhoden. Granddaddy was eighteen and Grandmother was sixteen. Over the next thirty years, their marriage brought forth ten children; and in fact, Granddaddy and Grandmother were still having children after they had already become grandparents!
They were together for forty-five years when the death angel called Grandmother away in 1975; and even though Granddaddy married again to a lovely woman several years later, his love for Grandmother never diminished. I still remember well, sitting in the back-yard swing with Granddaddy in the 1990’s, asking him about the day he married Grandmother. And as he began to tell me about it, his dim eyes lit up and he smiled as he spoke. I could tell in his voice that although she had been gone for many years, he still held her very close in his heart.
I never knew Grandmother; and Granddaddy left us in 2003 – but the love they had for one another is still reflected in the lives of their children, and fortunately, passed down still another generation – to my generation – in their grandchildren; and I hope to instill that same love in my own children as the years go by.

The photo is of Granddaddy and Grandmother holding my dad, Ronald, in 1954.
-BYRD

Happy Birthday Makayla...

I don't have a lot of posting time this morning; but I did want to throw a few pics up from Makayla's 5th Bday party, which we had this past Saturday. Her actual birthday is not until November 22; but with that being so close to Thanksgiving, we bumped up the party a couple of weeks. She had a great turnout and got lots of great presents! All the little girls dressed-up in their princess costumes, and some of the little boys even dressed up like princes and kings! :) They play "crown the princess" (kind of like pin the tail on the donkey) and a few other games. My mom made an AWESOME castle cake, from which we took the top layer off and froze it until Makayla's "real" birthday. All the kids, especially Makayla, seemed to have a great time!

I'll blog more about my precious little five year old closer to her real birthday!

See ya!

-BYRD

This Day in History...

Ninety-nine years ago today, November 11, 1911 (yes, 11/11/11), my great-grandparents - Wiley Virgil Bird and Willie Ann Josephine Hunter - became man and wife in a civil ceremony in Huntsville, Alabama. Wiley was eighteen and Josie was seventeen (the couple had the same birthday, May 21, with only one year difference in their ages). Wiley was a native of Walker County, Georgia, and had settled in Madison County in 1902 after his father was shot and killed in a well dispute near Monrovia. Afterwards, he lived with his grandparents, who settled in the Big Cove Community in 1904. Josie was born in Grundy County, Tennessee, and settled in the Big Cove Community with her parents sometime just prior to 1900.

Their marriage would produce ten children and last thirty-five years, until Wiley's death in 1947, at the age of fifty-four years old. Josie survived her husband for thirty years, but never remarried. She passed away in 1977, at the age of eight-three, and was laid to rest beside of her late husband in the Neal's Chapel Cemetery in Big Cove, Alabama.

Mackenzie...

Eight years ago today – we thought this was it! Kellie’s doctor recommended that we go ahead and be admitted to the hospital so that our little Mackenzie could make her way into the world. And what a perfect day! It was my late grandmother’s birthday; and being the sentimentalist that I am, I couldn’t have planned it any better! Mackenzie was due on Halloween, so we had already waiting longer than we expected and then here we were – about to become parents for the first time. Only problem… there was no room in the inn! Erlanger hospital was jam packed, so they sent us home to wait. Then we got the call that they were going to admit us to East Ridge Hospital at midnight! So we got everything ready, and Vicky, Kellie, and I took off to East Ridge, and settled in thinking we’d have a baby sometime early the next day. Wrong again! After thirty hours of relentless labor, Kellie was finally wheeled into the O.R. for a C-section; and moments later, the most beautiful child I had ever seen was wrapped in a blanket and laying in my arms! And she was HUGE – she was nearly 9 pounds (I don’t remember all of the details – that’s what momma’s are for)!
You want to talk about love at first sight?! Kellie had been able to bond with the baby for the past several months; but a brand new spot in my heart that I never knew existed had been awakened – the spot that’s reserved for the love of a father! I was a daddy! I was crying and just overly emotional (typical for me – I squalled watching the Walton’s last night); and I took her over to the head of the bead and bent down and showed her to Kellie. I said, “Look at her she’s beautiful!” Well, Kellie, who was exhausted and heavily sedated just glanced over at her and was like, “yeah”. But I was in love – and have been ever since!
It’s hard to believe that she’ll be EIGHT years old on Sunday. She's growing up so fast. She wanted to go to the Top of the River (a restaurant in Guntersville), to celebrate - so that's what we're doing tonight. Time flies. I already have regrets; and I know I’ll have many, many more before it’s over. But I’ve tried my best to be a good dad, though at times I know I’ve failed miserably! I really meant to be a whole lot better than I have been; but like Uncle Roy Guffey was quoted as saying, “It’s easy to TALK a good life!”
Overall, I thank God for Mackenzie Leigh Anne Byrd. She is beautiful, smart, healthy, and one of the most morally conscious children who has probably ever graced God’s green Earth. She’s just a good, good child; and I couldn’t ask for anything more.
Okay, you’re probably wondering about the name. #1 – I said that each of my children were to have four names, so that when they grew up and people asked them why they had four names, their answer could be, “Because my daddy loved me so much and thought I was such a special child, I needed a special name!” Makayla’s full name is Makayla Kellie Lorene Byrd – yeah, that’s a mouthful. Mackenzie’s first name is obviously for Kellie’s maiden name, McKenzie. Leigh is for Granddaddy Bird (Walter Lee). Anne is because it’s a third name that goes well with Leigh and my Great-grandmother Bird’s name was Willie Anne Josephine Hunter Bird – and besides all that, my sister’s name is Shawna LeAnn.
And, as mentioned earlier in the post, this day in history was also the birth of my paternal grandmother, Bertie Lorene Adams Bird, who was born on November 5, 1914. This picture is of Grandmother holding my dad, probably around this time of year in 1954. Ironically, it was taken on Sand Mountain, near where I live today, at the home of Monroe and Olgia Knight, my dad's sister, Peggy's, parents-in-law.

Trick-or-Treat...

Here's my little witch and Halloween fairy thingy. Mackenzie will be eight on the 7th, and Makayla will be five on the 22nd.