A HEART THAT KEEPS GIVING SAUGUS WOMAN HAS BEEN 'MOM' TO MORE THAN 50 KIDS.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

SAUGUS - More than 50 children have called Sherry Bird ``Mom'' - three are her own, and the rest are the scores of foster children, many with special needs, whom Bird has welcomed into her Saugus home.

``My mom is very giving, generous, loyal, always willing to do something for anyone else,'' daughter Shauna Bird said.

Four Los Angeles County foster children live with the Birds now. Many of the children have had physical disabilities, something the three grown children ``learned to roll with'' when these new brothers and sisters joined the family, Shauna said.

``I wouldn't trade it for anything,'' Shauna said. ``It's so enlightening and brings so much to our family. It's a house like no other - there's always something entertaining going on. Everyone should be in a family like this to see how it works and how they change everything.''

A determined woman with a giving heart, Sherry not only cares for her family, she also serves as a board member for the Santa Clarita Valley Special Olympics and will co-chair the volunteers for Saturday's Spirit Games with Shauna. Her involvement makes her the ultimate Team Mom.

The Bird family will be honored at the opening ceremonies of the Spirit Games with the ``Family of the Year'' award.

``She's always there for us, always there to help out and lend a hand,'' Shauna said of her mother. ``But it goes beyond my mom: Both my parents are so special, they raised three kids who are now out of the house and now they have those four kids there and they're giving them such opportunities, putting things for themselves aside. I think it makes them younger.''

Son Shannon said he was in high school when his mom realized she needed a new challenge.

``There's never a dull moment around our house,'' he said. ``When I was growing up, she was always very attentive and knew everything, even things we didn't want her to know. We thought she had radar because she always knew what was going on around the corner. But she was always there when we came home from school and always been supportive.''

Sherry wouldn't change a thing - her foster kids are giving her the time of her life.

``My sister-in-law got me into this. We always loved babies,'' she said. ``Our husbands said we're not having any more babies, but we showed them. She had six (biological) kids, I had three; now she has 12 and I have 7. She's Lucy, I'm Ethel; she thinks of these things and I follow suit. She's taken care of more than 100 kids, I've laid back and only taken care of 50.

``I had my three kids and then got into fostering when they were 9, 11 and 14. I took in babies and one of them (Jon) is now 20 years old. Dee is 15 and the twins, Marina and Teresa, are 10.''

Bird said when the infant twins came to their home, she let her foster license expire, dedicating herself to the four children under her guardianship.

Her children attend schools all over the map; one at the Transitional Learning Center on the campus of Placerita Junior High, another at Saugus High School, another at Emblem Elementary and the last at Cedarcreek School. Each institution has programming to help the students progress with their special needs.

Her daily routine includes juggling bus schedules, packing lunches, doing laundry and taking kids to doctor's appointments. But the family finds time to participate in Special Olympics together - when one is on the field, the rest of the family is cheering them on or helping run the event.

``Jon skateboarded when he was little. Now he plays basketball, soccer, softball and floor hockey; we go from one sport to the next. He makes up for a lot of deficits with his playing.''

The other kids followed suit as soon as they reached the Special Olympics minimum age of 8.

Dee, an enthusiastic 15-year-old, is ``more of a medical kid,'' Bird explains. ``He only has a third of a kidney. He's been in the hospital 27 times and had lots of surgeries. But he's doing great on the part of the kidney he has.''

Recently, Dee was put on the list of candidates for a kidney transplant, adding anxious pager monitoring to Bird's already tight schedule.

Twins Marina and Teresa were born prematurely and weighed only a pound each. Marina has cerebral palsy and Teresa struggles with developmental issues that set her apart from other fourth graders.

``Marina's sharp, more than I give her credit for,'' said Bird. ``She will never be able to be independent. But Teresa is more on the up side, she's a wild child. The most-often said word in my house is 'Teresa.' Teresa if you could do this a different way, Teresa slow down, Teresa ...''

Marina's sport is track walking; after surgery on her hamstrings and heel cords, she falls pretty easily. Teresa wholeheartedly participates in all the other sports; basketball, floor hockey, softball and soccer.

``She's a real mover, real fast,'' Bird said. ``She was on a regular soccer team for a couple of years, but she was just bouncing off the walls on the field and we had to take her out. I learned that long ago with Jon. They've all made huge strides, but if you put them next to a 'normal' kid, you see the difference. Not one of them walked before 18 months, but I wouldn't trade a minute with them. They're so much fun.''

Shauna praised her mother's enthusiasm and added that teamwork is part of the secret of her success.

Stuart jokingly requested that the next time Sherry was in the nurturing mood to ``please take on another cat instead of another baby.''

That feline would have to make its place with four other cats in the house and one loyal dog.

``I sometimes ask myself, What have I done? she said. ``But I love my crazy house.''

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Photo:

(color) Sherry Bird poses with her family, clockwise from bottom, Marina, 10, Demetrius, 15, Jon, 20, husband Stuart and Teresa, 10. Over the years, the Birds have welcomed more than 50 foster children into their home.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer