A High-Octane October



Happy Henkels at baptism of Rowan Emilie Henkel




Brian, Hilde, Scott, Terri, Ray, Laure & Steve

October was a simply wonderful month for Mark and Hilde with the arrival of Rowan Emilie Henkel (6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches) on October 10 and the prompt baptism with Grandpa Loren Fritz officiating and Uncle Paul Fritz as sponsor.   Mark and Hilde rushed down to enjoy the new addition:  Mark's loving contribution was to do the necessary electrical work for Jim's dining room lighting, while Hilde played vigorously with Rhi so she didn't feel too displaced.  They returned the next week for the baptism, held at a Thursday night service to allow the pastoral members of the family to be there.

Hilde's niece Heidi is Rowan's other sponsor but she was in Minnesota for the other major event of the month:  the wedding of Heidi's brother Curt to Lori Peymann.  That joyous event brought all seven Bormann siblings together for the first time in many years, as shown above.  The wedding was truly beautiful and Terri was glowingwith joy.  Heidi was soloist and did a great job!

The busy run in Mark's law practice has continued.  He was in Madison early in the month for  very intense sessions with the judge to FINALLY get the work scheduled for the trial next March and then went straight from Curt's wedding to Iowa to do depositions there. 

Coming home for two days, Mark and Hilde did their own chicken butchering for the first time:  21 large roosters taking them half a day to kill, pluck, clean, cool and then reclean and freeze.  It is very tiring, for those who have not tried this rural entertainment.  The home-made clucker plucker worked very well for the first five (when the motor burned out) throwing wet and bloody chicken feathers high in the pine tree and in their faces.  The hand plucking was tedious, but the turkey fryer worked well for heating water.

Right after the chickens, Mark and HIlde were on the road to depositions in Platteville and Madison, home for a couple days and then, in the face of superstorm Sandy, flew to Asheville North Carolina for more depositions.  The storm was JUST to the north of there with snow visible from town, but melting at this altitude.

It turned out that Hilde's father did break something in the fall last month:  he ended up finally diagnosed with three compression fracture of his vertebra, the cause of his increasing pain and weakness.  This meant that he was hospitalized instead of attending grandson Curt's wedding, but after a procedure with bone cement to stabilize the vertebra, he is out of pain, and recuperating at a rehabilitation center.  The concern, calls, emails, conferences and lots and lots of prayers was the other way all seven siblings united during the month.

Despite the business nature of the trip to North Carolina, on Halloween, Mark and Hilde managed to take advantage of the better weather and make a late afternoon visit to the North Carolina Arboretum.  Even at this season of late fall, the place is enchanting, filled with tree and shrub species which were new to them.  It would be great to return to in other seasons...and would be enhanced by the company of Evie to help identify things!