The newest of Katie

Lisa sends these two of Katie for your pleasure and enjoyment. Does she look terrific or what?

This just in from Kirk!

Hey, Family!

Here are some pics of Madalyn's Junior Cotillion Dance from last Saturday at Hillwood Country Club, Nashville, TN. Madalyn has been attending the Junior Cotillion classes for several months and has done quite well in the program.

Best, Kirk

Supporting McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center, in Chattanooga

Yesterday Lisa sent out an all-points bulletin asking for us to support the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center in Chattanooga. On the steps to the front door, Coleman and Truman are looking for replies.

If didn't get a request from Lisa and would like to support the work of the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center, visit her Fundraising Page by using the link below and help her reach her personal goal by making a secure online donation today... https://owa.eku.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=86b1d734689e4052a08280b3dca9e6bd&URL=http%3a%2f%2fmy.e2rm.com%2fpersonalPage.aspx%3fSID%3d1697733

Kirk in India

This in yesterday from Kirk: "Today I walked barefoot on the cool white marble floors of the Taj Mahal." Let's hope we all get a Taj-Mahal-with- some-Swaheli-proverbs magnet for our refrigerators! Come home soon, son!

Andy recommends The Pillars of the Earth

For the past week Andy has been reading Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth. Here's an appreciative review by Suzanne Cross posted at http://www.amazon.com/:

I've never been a fan of Follett, and picked this book up with some misgivings - anyone these days can try to do an "historical" novel with some quick sex, some fake archaic new-speak, and a TV-movie-miniseries concept of history. While there are some minor flaws in this book, its sweep, characterization, tensions, and love of its subject are simply riveting. I could not put the darned thing down and have lost sleep for a week compulsively page-turning. Follett, unbelievably, seems to have made little splash with this book when it first came out - more shame to the critics who missed a "Gone With the Wind" from a conventional thriller author.

His primary strength in the book is his magnificent characters. By the end, Prior Phillip, Aliena, Jack, Richard, "Witch" Ellen, William of Hamleigh, Waleran Bigod, and a host of supporting characters are as real as people you know. Their strengths and weaknesses feel as sound as earth. I've just reached the part where the Cathedral is finished, and its magnificent image, built in love, hardship, and devotion, colors the whole book like light through stained glass. And I suspect the ending will be as immensely "right" as the entire rest of the book in its proportion in spinning out complicated human lives and emotions.

Follett manages to write of an age of religious devotion without tumbling into the two pits - making fun of medieval Christian faith, or uncritically adopting it. An IMMENSELY satisfying read.

I could quibble with what I feel is some gratuitous sex, some slightly contrived plot twists, but that's like complaining about some flotsam in the river as you're going over Niagara.

DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK if you love wonderful story-spinning and history. Well done, Mr. Follett!

Adam celebrates his twenty-first birthday!

It's been quite a week in Georgia. On Saturday, a few days after Adam's birthday on February 11, Wayne and Becky took Abigail, Adam, June and Andy out to lunch at the Buckhead Diner, a really neat eatery. Great time--and Adam had another among his many "firsts": a margaritta! On Friday, June and Andy saw The Great Debaters, and on Valentine's Day they went out for supper at The Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle. All in all, a great week!

Brunch at the Galt House

This morning Art, Liz, Cheerie and Dave Bultman, and we Kentucky Harnacks shared a wonderful brunch at the Galt House in Louisville. Andy and Dave, both of whom lived near each other in Indianapolis during the mid 50s, had not seen one another for fifty-five years! And--wonder of wonders!--neither one of us looks any older than when we were fifteen or so, heading off to different high schools. Even our life histories have much in common as we found out. Most importantly, it looks as though all six of us may have found so much in common that we'll be spending some time together later this spring and hopefully during the summer at the lakehouse. Thanks so much, Art and Liz, for bringing us together!

Retrospective: Adam and his buddy

A few days before Christmas Adam and his buddy Ellie came over to the lakehouse to get their picture taken as a gift to his parents, Becky and Wayne. This photo gives you a good idea as to how well behaved the four-footed Ellie could be. But moments after the pose, he was off to the lake, splashing in the cove waters, dashing in and out, getting thoroughly wet. Adam kept yelling, "Here, Ellie, Ellie, Elllie!" That pooch sure has Adam well trained at yelling!

Retrospective Christmas 2007

I'm a good bit behind in posting this lovely picture of Chelsea holding her five-month-old niece, Katie, at Amy and Kevin's home. The two of them--aunt and niece--sure look good together, and Katie is so fascinated with Chelsea's fingernails. Let's hope the two of them get to see lots of each other in the years to come.

We all had such a good time with the whole family gathered in Nashville!

Christmas at Amy and Kevin's Home

December 30, 2007: The First Sunay after Christmas (and the Fifth Day of Christmas)

Last night June, Chelsea, and Andy returned to Kentucky after a ten-day stint in Georgia and Tennessee for the tail end of Advent and the beginnings of Christmastide. Making the rounds of various churches to which members of our extended family belong, we worshipped at First Baptist Church in Barnesville, Georgia, saw a good bit of spectacle at mega Rock Springs Church in Milner, Georgia, participated in a quietly beautiful Communion at First Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia. While non of these parishes considers itself liturgical in any traditional or historical sense of the word, each one in its own way (although all are Baptist) celebrated the Birth of Christ with reverence, a strong need to share the Gospel, and inspired singing.

June's side of our family met together at the lakehouse on Christmas Day (pictures forthcoming!), and Andy's side met at Amy and Kevin's home on December 28 (Amy, thank you for all the hard work and hospitality!); then most of us met again the next morning for a terrific brunch at Lora and Kirk's home, just a day before (that's today!) they're flying to Cancun for a well-deserved rest.

All of our family gatherings were especially wonderful--really!

The Granny Greene Thanksgiving Reunion

We do it every year! On Thanksgiving weekend, we get as many descendents and relatives of Granny Greene together as possible. Then the men play golf on the Friday after Thanksgiving while some of the women to shopping on "Black Friday." Then on Saturday we get together for great food and games. Our thanks to Tom Lowery for taking the photo!

Miss Tennessee!

She wiggles, she burps, and then she looks at you with those beautiful eyes. Yes, it's Miss Katherine Elise Simonds, now almost four months old. Isn't she a beaut?

The Family at Thanksgiving

On the Sunday before just before Thanksgiving, the Harnacks, Kuhns, and Simonds got together at The Chattagnoogan for a terrific chamgaine brunch with the grandkids. Our thanks to Lisa and Tim for making the reservations. And a b ig round of applause for everyone who drove in for the gathering! What a wonderful setting for a small family reunion, and as you can see from the post-brunch photo, we're looking forward to next year's get-together.

Chelsea -- A Champion Crossrunner

For several months this fall, Chelsea has been running with Model Laboratory School's cross-country team and doing exceptionally well in all nine difficult races. Practicing after school four days a week, Chelsea runs smoothly and beautifully. During the State Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park, Model came in seventh among some fifty schools, and Chelsea ran her personal best for the 3.1 miles (5k) at 21.20. Watch out for her this spring when she goes out for track. She can really burn up the quarter-mile in 4x400. Way to go, Chelsea!

The Mountains Beyond: A Presentation on Haiti

Last evening on St. Andrew's Day, Pastor Luckey and I introduced about a hundred or so members of Faith Lutheran Church to the work of Christian Flights International in Haiti. With real Haitian coffee and delicious fruits sprinkled with coconut-sugar made by Mama in Ivy Solomon's home, everyone got a very good introductory feel as to what it's like to live in Haiti and how we as Christians might provide witness to the kingdom of God making itself manifest among the people of Ranquitte, a small mountain village in northeastern Haiti. Right now several of us are planning to go again to Haiti, sometime in mid-April after Easter. If in your resurrected life you'd like to visit Ranquitte and return a person in love with Haiti, let me know. And if you wish to love the Haitian people now and from this day forward, please include them and the missionary folks of Christian Flights International in your prayers and intercessions. Thanks.

Katie Elise Harnack says, "Hello, family!"

Good morning, Katie! Little Katie, the daughter of Lisa and Tim Simonds, was born on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, shortly after 5:00 a.m. Weighing 4.11 pounds, she--and her mom (Tim is a mess!) are doing well, thanks ever so much for the loving care of Carol, Katie's grandmother, a wonderful nurse. Katie and Lisa will be staying at Erlanger Medical Center for the rest of the week. When you get a chance, offer God a prayer of thanksgiving and then give Katie a phone call! We're all so happy for you--Lisa, Tim, and Katie! As you can see from this photo that Tim took right after the delivery, we have a beautiful new girl in our family!

Peeing and Pooping Again

For three now we been not going to the bathroom (Yeah! Right!), and now today we can go again, thanks to Best Septic Tank--Tony and John--who have replaced our old field tile with a brand new system of pipes. Now all we have to do is throw out the corn cobs, go to WalMart and get some toilet paper!

Having returned from our family reunion, this year at Dauphin Island, I'm delighted that our family has been able to keep itself together. It's a real effort to gather everyone together because we are so separated geographically and at times spiritually. In spite of--or at times, I think, because of--our differences, the blood of us Harnacks runs thick and deep. As paterfamilias, I'm so privileged to have such a wonderful bunch of kids, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. O yes, we argue a good bit (mostly about politics), but in the end there's always the huggings, the looking forward to seeing one another again, and the prayers that sustain us in our variety and differences. Some of us are politically conservative (yea, a libertarian!), others are liberal (listening, of all things, to NPR!), and others largely a-political. But in blood, and I like to think, in the blood of Christ, we are a real family. One, Carol, comes with enormous forgiveness in heart, and her presence is the light of Christ among us. Others come with professional preoccupations, overloads of work that don't disappear even on vacation times. Still others come as precious children, innocent of our family's history, but eager and willing to be lilke the children about whom Jesus says "are of the kingdom of God." For all who came to this year's week-long reunion, I give heartfelt thanks to God for their presence, their determination to keep the tradition going, and their holding of hands in prayer and in grace before our meals. It's all quite wonderful!

Back from Ranquitte, Haiti

On the day before Thanksgiving Andy got back from his trip to Haiti, where he went to the village of Ranquitte with Dr. Ray Jackson, a local ER physician. The trip was an eye-opener. Although Andy knew that Haiti was the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, he had little real understanding as to how desperately poor the Haitian people are. When the pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," they genuinely know what they ask God for--the next meal. Andy went with a group of seven affliliated with Christian Flights International. Jennifer kept a journal that you may wish to look over at our new CFI blog. For Andy, meeting Per (Father) Andre was the highlight of the trip; Andy and Father Andre, the local Roman Catholic priest in Ranguitte at the Church of St. Francis, have become good friends. Not only does Fr. Andre lead his Haitian people in a wonderfully joyous daily Eucharist, he also works as a day laborer repairing the damage that erosion does to the worn-out roads. Andy also became friends with Honore Roger, a carpenter (who made the doors in front of which he stands) and lay Seventh-Day-Adventist lay preacher. Roger has asked Andy to find him a French-language History of Christianity (If you have a copy, tell Andy right away!). In the next few days Andy will post more pictures showing you the poverty, beauty, and faith of the Haitian people.

The Greene Family Reunion, Thanksgiving, 2006

This weekend over forty of the far-flung extended Greene family came to Barnesville for their annual family reunion. Carol Patrick did an absolutely terrific job planning the whole affair. The men played golf on Friday while many of the women shopped. Then on Saturday we all got together at First Baptist Church for scrumptous food, fun games, and lot of hugs. Tom Lowry took this picture and his wife April sent it to us; as with lots of photographers who stand back to click the shutter, Tom's not in it. Thanks for taking this great photograph, Tom!