Somehow our son Nathaniel made the crew team at Boston University. The whole family has come to see his event this morning beginning at 8 a.m.–woo hoo! KSH.

Abigail is a junior at the College of Charleston, Nathaniel a freshman at Boston University, and we just dropped Selimah off at The Hill in Pennsylvania. So it is just Elizabeth and I and the dogs, cats and birds, and sooner than we necessarily were ready for.

When I saw Mary Hays at the memorial service in Pittsburgh for Alex Heidengren recently, she said of the empty nest stage “It is great!” and I am trusting her to be right but like all transitions there is loss as well as gain. The good news is we are not in charge–KSH.

Elizabeth and I dropped our son Nathaniel off at Boston University yesterday to begin his freshman year. Where does the time go–KSH?

In the year 1849 I was stationed at Baton Rouge, and married Miss Frank E. Stuart, whose honored sons and one living daughter now rise up and call her blessed.

Passing over several years in which I was engaged as the pioneer of temperance and prohibition work, I found myself the pastor at Macon, Miss[issippi], during the war, where a singular episode occurred.

The Mississippi Legislature, driven out of Jackson by the Federal army, took refuge at Macon. In the course of legislation, a bill putting all ministers in the State up to sixty years of age in the army, and favored by Governor Clarke, passed to its third reading, before the final vote was taken. Hon. Locke Houston, speaker of the House of Representatives, invited me to open the session with prayer.

In the course of the prayer I invoked the Divine Father: “Have compassion on the members of the Mississippi Legislature, who, without the fear of God before their eyes, have laid violent hands upon the ordained ministry of Thy church, placing carnal weapons in their hands, bidding them to go forth to war as instruments of wrath and blood, instead of messengers of love and peace.”

“O Lord, for this wicked act, which stands out in all its gloomy isolation without any parallel among the civilized nations of the earth, we invoke pardoning mercy.”

“O Lord, let not this vile act of legislation fall in dire disaster upon the lives of our people.”

Continuing in this strain of thought, and holding them up before the great Jehovah of all worlds, was somewhat startling in its nature.

Their indictment before the august Chancery Court of Heaven was something unexpected, and greatly surprised them; and when the final vote was taken they reversed their previous action and struck out of the bill all ministers engaged in their regular work.

This prayer, and its results, invoked the wrath of the governor, and much of the secular press.

–The Rev. John W. Harmon, Select Sermons (Paulding, Mississippi, 1894), pp.2-3. The author is my great great grandfather (!)–KSH.

This is Kendall Harmon and Temah.

Elizabeth and Selimah (just home from school) and I went to the new Pixar movie last evening. Fantastic.

That is Abigail on the left, Nathaniel in the middle, and Selimah on the right.

Nathaniel graduates from the Pinewood School today; he plans to attend Boston University in the fall. His sister Selimah flew home from the Millbrook School in southern New York state to be with us, and Abigail drove up from the College of Charleston. Elizabeth and I, well, we just work here as many of you know. It is great to have all the brood under one roof–KSH.

I am in Boston looking at Boston University with our middle child, our son Nathaniel.

How do they grow up so fast. His girlfriend, Francesca, is accompanying him..

The following is our annual Christmas letter sent out to friends and family. Authored by my wife Elizabeth (Like most clergy I know, I married up) it may be of interest to some blog readers. For background, my wife is a Family Nurse Practitioner, and we have three dogs, a big black lab, a medium sized orangish puggle, and a small white toy maltese–KSH.

Kendall is a moving target for the dogs since he is never in one place for long (and the dogs follow him from room to room). He can be found running on the elliptical while listening to NPR, using the Apple TV for downloads or catching up on Nightline; at the computer answering email related to various publications and responsibilities or tracking the stock market or updating his blog; walking outside with the dogs throwing the ball; with his head in a book or the Bible preparing sermon texts or articles for journals. Never one to need a great deal of sleep his usually up WAY before dawn and has put in half a normal workday before the rest of the family is awake and coherent.
Elizabeth has switched medical practices and is working part-time in a family practice an hour north of her home in a small town with one traffic light and an IGA food store. Being available to her children and husband for support, talking, errands, counsel and laughter fills her days to the brim and sometimes it overflows in not the easiest of ways.

Abigail spent this summer studying French Literature in Paris, which was a perfect fusion of her love for French and English. She transferred this fall to the College of Charleston as a sophomore, and is enjoying every moment of her new friends and classes. Her American Literature and Literary Studies classes have both refueled her passion for her English major, and she is excited about pursuing this field in the future. After three years of dormitory drama, she finally has her own apartment, which is situated in the old ballroom of a historic Charleston house. She is an active member of a small group with Seacoast church in Mt. Pleasant, and enjoys every chance she gets to drive over the new Cooper River Bridge. Abigail misses the snow of New England and hopes to return North in the future; for now she is looking forward to spring in Charleston and its every-weekend mass exodus to the beach.

Nathaniel is currently knee-deep in the college-app period of his life. Juggling which schools take what form and when is it due and who is writing the references and (praise God) no more SAT exams. This fall he was not home much between school, girlfriend and 2 varsity sports – cross-country and swimming. He will adamantly state that he hates to not have something to do and so we mostly keep in touch by text messaging with a nightly check-in. At present he is considering a double major of economics and computer science but recognizes this may change (as in “have you ever heard of ocean engineering? I was reading up on it and it sounds fascinating!”)

Selimah has transitioned to a boarding school this year and is currently at the Millbrook School in Millbrook NY. Adjusting to freezing weather and lifestyles that may be radically different from hers has pushed her out of her comfort zone but she continues to be resilient with a wry sense of humor. She continues to ride Aherlow, her Irish Sport Horse, who is boarded near the school, and she has discovered the racquet sport of squash this fall, making it onto the junior varsity team. Her competitive drive gets its outlet in smashing the ball. She is also a worker at the Trevor Zoo on the school campus and is currently working with the otters this term and previously tended to the black and white lemurs. The future may hold some kind of animal training or husbandry for her as a work profession.