Taekwondo was the planned focus for December, with Evie getting her black belt in grueling and lengthy testing in Madison on the 5th. Mark and Hil
de were able to get there to see her impressive performance! Then John and Hilde finally tested for sixth dan black belt the following week. Since the WTF requires candidates to be 30 years old, Hilde waited to test until John was eligible and then worked to match his awesome technique. Both wrote rather lengthy papers (Hilde’s was “Taekwondo: Training for Life and Success” and John’s “Teaching the Art of Taekwondo”), and gave speeches on the topics at the testing, plus did the Ji-Tae form in close unison. Then John wowed the onlookers with a spinning hook speed break thru three boards. Hilde’s board break was minimal—she was still beaming but shaken from hearing about the real news of December 12—a new granddaughter!Yes, Jim and Kayme became parents just before the testing started. Rhiannon Clara Henkel weighed 7 pounds 9 ½ ounces and took a long time to arrive, but she is absolutely beautiful. Kayme had a tough labor, but has been recovering very well and looks fantastic. Skyp
ing was neat, but Mark and Hilde got out there on Dec. 23 to spend Christmas cuddling and rejoicing in her! The heavy snows on the East Coast meant that flights were canceled and the happy grandparents got to spend an extra day delighting in the granddaughter. Jim and Kayme are already very good at handling her AND they made a wonderful Christmas feast also. It was a very memorable Christmas! The delay getting home sent the senior Henkels to go directly to Madison for Mark to do depositions, but that also allowed for a birthday breakfast with John and Evie---there was lots to talk about with baby news and wedding plans.All through the month, Mark was on the road, doing depositions and
prep work for the four long trials scheduled for next year. He was gone more than half the month and had a minor problem in central Illinois when an ice chunk off a semi damaged the rental car, but he managed it all well. The weather surely complicated things when central Wisconsin got 14 inches of snow on the 11th causing cancellation of the black belt Christmas party for the first time ever. It was very beautiful, however, followed by some really cold days with wonderful hoarfrost. Then after Christmas, warmer weather meant fog and rain and really messy conditions. Perhaps January will be calmer, weather-wise and work-wise!This year, Hilde did fewer Christmas cookies, but lots of stollen and ca
ndies to give as gifts. The fruit baskets for shut-ins went well this year and she even managed to run a meeting with 15 people by videoconferencing, which was challenging, and did better than usual when Mark was out of town so much, even when there was a dead hen to dispose of and a rabbit hunter to send away. This month really had everything in it!All in all, December was a wonderful end to the year 2010. We look confidently forward to 2011, trusting God to guide us and bless us all the way.
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