A Black Day....

It was a "Black Day" here in the Friesen household, and it wasn't because it was a "downer" or a "bad" day...

Today, Marc earned his Black Belt in Taekwondo -- something he's been working on for roughly 2 1/2 years.

My parents, Marc's parents, and Luke and I were all there to witness the occasion.

I will say that Black Belt candidates definitely do get "put through the ringer." I do believe that Marc truly earned this Black Belt.

Without going into all of the details (because I'm not sure of all of the details), here are some photos of tonight's event....In all seriousness, though, if you want more details, just ask Marc :)

First, Marc at the punching bag (he's in the red uniform top)....



"Fighting" another Black Belter....And no, they don't truly inflict pain on each other. Remember -- Marc's in red.



Demonstrating techiques....



I just showed you a hand full of photos -- there are more, but I'll keep this post to a reasonable length.

In the end, Marc did earn his Black Belt.

There was a very nice presentation of his belt at the end, complete with a new uniform top.



And, the official Black Belt....



After he had his new belt, the instructor (Mr. Rangle) had Marc grab the microphone and share a bit about his journey of earning this Black Belt....Then, Marc prayed to close the class.



Luke and I were there for a little over an hour....Luke did very well, despite the class taking place during suppertime. I had some snacks. I was thankful that my parents were there, because they could help me with Luke -- you know, when he got bored on my lap, Luke was willing to switch laps for awhile.

Here's a cute photo of my dad and Luke....



I wished I had gotten a photo of my mom with Luke as well as photos of Marc's parents. But, between trying to pay attention to Marc (and take plenty of photos of Marc) and taking care of Luke for an hour during all of this (despite my parents' help), I didn't get anymore than that.

Oh well -- another time, perhaps.

But, I did get one very important photo right before we left -- the most important one of all.

It's one of Luke and Marc -- right after Marc got his new belt.