Winter Basketball for Brandon

Waiting for play to begin is #24 - Brandon Battle!

Good game!

They won!!!!

Freezing Fog

The rails on our deck looked like they were growing whiskers.  The freezing fog was an amazing sight.

The trees and shrubs were decorated with little icicles.

Plenty of snow and ice around today!! 

Kolleen

Bill and his first cousin, Kolleen, were raised for a number of years by their grandparents, Mabel and Glenn Sherwood, in Packwood, WA.  We celebrated Kolleen's birthday on January 16th by sharing these pictures with her children.  Kolleen passed away in 2006 from a respiratory illness.

What special memories.  Glenn Alvin with Kolleen and the horses.  Bill and Kolleen with Laddie.  Kolleen with her grandpa, Glenn.

Family Christmas in January

We descended on Jason and Courtney's home for our family Christmas!  Brandon, Becky, Merry and Lindsey look happy, happy, happy!

Even Patches and Jonah wanted to be in on the action! 

Jayden on his phone and Brandon holding a gift card! 

Games and gifts!  It was low key and fun.  Good food, too!

A family photo to remember the day!

Winter Wonderland

It was a White Christmas.  This snowfall came just in time for the 2012 holidays.

We had about 14 inches after this snowfall.  Makes everything quiet and peaceful.

Christmas Eve

Surprise present for Lindsey and Brandon.  He is eight weeks old and a real cutie.  Grandma and Grandpa got to hide him for several days until Christmas Eve. 

Look at the smiles.  The surprise was a success.  It didn't take the kids long to decide on a name - Mac. 

Pajamas are the gift for Christmas Eve at the Battle house.

Mike and Becky lost the guessing game when they opened this gift.  Brandon had to search every page of this Mad Lib book to see if there was any cash still hidden between the pages.

Carol Fletcher (a friend, day care for kiddos, dog and house sitter) shares Christmas Eve with us.  She was surprised with a ticket to the Carrie Underwood concert in Yakima in February. 

"Smacked by an Angel"

Why do we forget the camera?  This was a special occasion where a camera was needed.  Crossroads Community Convenant Church presented their 6th Annual musical production (presented during the Christmas season) with all money raised helping the local community.  Our daughter-in-law, Courtney, and granddaughter, Merry, were part of this production.  They both dedicated many hours to practice and it was awesome they could experience this together. 

So many people worked on this musical to make it a success.  Courtney was the angel, Sarah, who got to do the smacking.  At family gatherings, she manages to make us laugh with her antics and we love her for that.  Merry played several parts - Frank's daughter and a 50's girl.  She will follow in her mother's footsteps in being able to create and entertain.  The production was fun to watch and always with a special message for the season.  Congratulations, Courtney and Merry, for a job well done.