Dear Family and Friends:

Welcome to the 2024 Lacey Family Digital Christmas Card!  As is 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.

And now, on to the retrospective!

As some of you may recall, last year Andrea bamboozled Aaron into taking on a second dog (Asher), which brings the household total to two dogs, three teenagers, and four chickens, at least two of which are domesticated.  While opinions may vary regarding which two, it is certain that the new dog is not among them.  There is a popular meme floating around on the interwebs that illustrates the three phases of dog ownership.  The first is a photo of a cute puppy (0-4 months), the second is a photo of a velociraptor (4-24 months), and the third a photo of a handsome, well trained adult dog (24+ months).  We are squarely in the velociraptor stage.  Yes, yes, the puppy is indeed adorable when sleeping.  And the next one to two years of terror will no doubt fly by.

Speaking of terror, the teenagers are all doing well.  We kid, of course.  They are well and they are delightful.  Seriously, for all of our friends and relatives without kids who are reading this letter, parenting is super easy.  You should have lots of kids.  Like twelve or thirteen.  They practically raise themselves!

August, for his part, is now a junior in high school and – pause for dramatic effect – driving.  He is mixing it up with school, marching band, ultimate frisbee, robotics, and various gaming and video production initiatives.  He also scored a summer trip with a school group to Paris and Nice this year, which we hear was great.  Perhaps one day we will even see the photos.

The twinnies are finishing up middle school, with half of eighth grade under their belts.  We are very happy for them.  Middle school is like a colonoscopy.  It serves a purpose, and we’ve all eventually got to do it.  But it is rarely a pleasant experience.  And at least with a colonoscopy you get an anesthetic.  When not in class, Ella is playing tennis, baking, and crafting, among her many hobbies.  Truman fills his free time with taekwondo, chess, sketching, and gaming, among other pursuits.

The Lacey clan enjoyed several great outings this year, which are captured nicely in our The Year in Photos gallery.  The whole crew made it out to Death Valley National Park, which exceeded all expectations.  And we managed to swing by Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam on the same trip.  Andrea and Ella made it down to Jacksonville to visit family in June, and Aaron and the boys had a great time kayaking the Current and Jacks Fork rivers in August.  The latter make up the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and offer some of the best floats in the country.

The other big development in 2024 was the long-awaited addition of a porch to the old homestead.  Shortly after Andrea and Aaron moved into the house in May 2010, they walked around the backyard with the amazing Mark Orf, contractor extraordinaire, and discussed adding a porch.  A mere fourteen years (and one set of twins) later, they finally got around to it.  Mark and his crew also were kind enough to tackle some kitchen updates as part of the project.  We’ve added a special Porch & Kitchen gallery this year with some before and after photos, for those of you who enjoy such things.  For Aaron, it is a dream come true.  He finally has a place to sit and rock while he yells at the dogs and waits for his oldest to pull up after busting curfew.

Notwithstanding the challenges of middle age, teen age, and velociraptor age, we are doing well.  All are mostly healthy and mostly happy. Andrea continues to garden, throw pottery, run the household, and generally guide our various creatures, great and small.  Aaron is blessed to work with an incredible group of attorneys at the firm, and in his free time goofs around on the guitar, hangs out with the kids, and occasionally pens a poem (or song) or two. 

As always, we’re grateful that you’ve found the time to read the digital card.  We hope you’ll swing by the photo galleries, and always welcome you to check out the new additions to Things Our Kids Said, Recommended Holiday Albums, and Christmas Poems.  We wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and hope your 2025 exceeds all expectations! 

Warmest regards,

The Laceys