Dear Family and Friends:

Welcome to the 2018 edition of the Lacey Family Digital Christmas Card!  As has become our tradition, we begin our annual letter with the following two observations, which remain true year after year:

First, and as sincerely as it can be said, we give thanks for all of you, our extraordinary group of family and friends.  We are deeply grateful for your love and support, for your laughter, for your stories, and for your joy.  We are appreciative for all the moments we spend with you each year, and look forward to many more in the years to come.

Second, we express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who take the time to send us cards and letters this time of year.  We take great delight in the photos of you and your families, and in the accounts of your recent adventures.  Each year, our mantle is wonderfully crowded with colorful images of stars, trees, elves, and angels, and adorned with a host of smiling faces.  These cards, and the relationships they represent, are invaluable to us, and add immensely to our Christmas cheer.

This year, we begin our annual review with the introduction of our newest addition, Louis the puppy.  Named after the incomparable Mr. Armstrong, Louis, like Bix before him, is an English Springer Spaniel.  His name is pronounced to rhyme with chewy, poo-wie, pee-yewie, and kablooey, all words that in recent months have been associated with this sublime pup.

Some of you may wonder as to the nature and timing of the puppy acquisition.  At the outset of 2018, the understanding among middle management in our household was that a new dog would be acquired in the second quarter.  Senior management then informed middle management during the first week of February that senior management was looking to accelerate this timeline.  Senior management observed during the second week of February that market research had identified a range of adorable puppies, and that external negotiations had commenced in earnest.  It then was announced early in the third week of February that senior management would be traveling to South Dakota to consummate a transaction, pursuant to which it would secure a puppy, and that this transaction would be completed prior to the fourth week of February.  As is often the case, middle management was simply grateful to have been kept informed. 

It is safe to say that in the 11 months since Louis was “acquired,” he has brought a great deal of joy and excitement into our home.  He also has consumed a fare share of it.  What’s more, on many occasions he has happily returned to the home what he previously had consumed from or of it.  This, of course, has created enhanced job security for middle management, whose expanded skill set includes spot cleaning, large spot cleaning, and you-cannot-possibly-be-telling-me-that-a-dog-that-size-created-that-“spot” cleaning.  

Fortunately, with his first Christmas only hours away, Louis is now mostly housebroken and only chews items located below the fan blades in each room.  Challenges aside, we love our new pup, and have included a special gallery of ridiculously cute puppy photos, in addition to featuring him on this year’s Christmas Card cover.

Speaking of special galleries, we also have included with this year’s card a new gallery we’re calling “beautiful things.”  This is to recognize all the beautiful things that “senior management” creates and brings into our home each year.  On an annual basis, we recognize the tremendous amount of time Andrea dedicates to the feeding, maintenance, and general well-being of the children – a recognition that is well deserved.  Almost every year, we also comment on her work in the garden and make passing references to her other crafty endeavors.  But this year, as we were selecting images for our “the year in photos” gallery, we were struck by the many, truly wonderful things she has created in and around our house, and felt these contributions merited more than a mention.  

If you have a moment to trip over to the new gallery, you’ll find example after example of Andrea’s handiwork.  Among other things, we’ve included images of her homemade sauerkraut, flower arrangements, mosaic bird-bath, tree swings, playhouse and porch swing (both made from leftover siding pallets), stained glass work, monarch butterfly habitat (built this summer), rain garden (designed and installed in our front yard), straw bale garden (built in our back yard), and the garden she created this year at Kennerly Elementary School.  Each and every one of these efforts has added immeasurably to the quality and beauty of our home and our lives.  And that is why she is senior management.  

As to middle management, it has been a good year for Aaron.  The law practice continues to go well.  And he recently secured a new office chair that has worked wonders for his lower back (it is the small things in life…).  Aaron also is pleased that in-home survey results suggest his beard and temples are graying in a generally favorable manner, acknowledging that a generous definition of “beard” was used in the survey administration.  In his free time, he is attempting to set records for the number of kids’ soccer games attended in a single weekend and the number of times Chernow’s “Grant” biography is brought up in casual conversation.   

The children all have had good years, as well.  Each has done well-ish in school, and all are in good health.  On the extracurricular front, August and Ella continue to play copious amounts of soccer, and Truman seems to have a sincere and abiding interest in origami.  We’ve also spent time at gymnastics, baseball, school of rock, and church choir.  For all three kids, some of the biggest news this year was our trip to Florida.  In June, the whole family made it down to Disney World, where we spent seven days in a row hitting the parks.  Tremendous fun was had by all.  Just look at the joy on Tru’s face in our Splash Mountain photo above. For your holiday amusement, we’ve included in the year in photos gallery the photos from each of the coasters we rode while in the land of the mouse, and Tru’s expression is priceless in every one.  Following the trip to Disney, we swung by Jacksonville for a week, where we hit the beach every morning for sunrise along with Andrea’s sisters and all the cousins.  This was senior management’s idea, and it was another great one.  Every morning the kids had a wonderful time, and the photos are breathtaking.  

As always, we’re grateful that you’ve found the time to read the digital card, and invite you to check out the galleries, poems, and other items on the site at your liesure.

Warmest regards and Merry Christmas,

The Laceys