Dear family and friends,
For the past few years, we’ve written an end of the year holiday letter and posted it here on our website. We’d usually post it in time for Christmas, along with some new family photos, to serve as an online Christmas card of sorts. As we’ve said before, it’s cheaper and easier than mailing out actual holiday cards. Some might even say we’re taking the lazy way out and we’re fine with that. Because we are.
And obviously the traditional year end holidays have already come and gone. So have all of January and half of February. But Valentine’s Day is a holiday. Sort of. So we’re officially counting this as our 2021 Holiday Letter.
Looking back at 2021 saw George and Henry both make some incredible strides, thanks in large part to the wonderfully amazing folks at the T.K. Martin Center. Henry started the year with only a few basic words like mama and please. He ended the year saying things like Parasaurolophus and “oh no, the volcano is exploding.” Except the way he says volcano sounds a little like potato and it’s insanely cute and hilarious when he says it.
George officially got his autism spectrum disorder diagnosis over the summer. We already knew as much and making it official opens some doors for therapy. He loves to run and be chased and to play with his collection of Pixar characters. Although he sometimes mixes in The Count from Sesame Street, too. And while he’s still mostly nonverbal, he has his ways of communicating, especially his love for cool ranch doritos. Seriously, it’s a little nuts just how much that kid loves cool ranch doritos, especially since neither Cynthia nor I like them.
Overall, we had a pretty good year, largely due to the fact that we were able to spend some much needed time with family. I was able to visit my grandfather for a long weekend, where he regaled me with plenty of family history. I was also able to get my hands on some old Buice family home movies from the 50s and 60s. My siblings and cousins and I worked together to digitize them as an early Christmas present for my mom, aunts and grandfather.
We also got to take a family trip to Florida to visit my Aunt Carla for a week during the summer. We took the boys to the beach and to the aquarium and just generally had a great time hanging out. We also got to spend a week in Virginia with my family for Thanksgiving and several days in Arkansas for Christmas with Cynthia’s family.
Looking ahead to (the rest of) 2022
The main reason this letter is a bit behind schedule, aside from the usual garden variety procrastination, is that we moved to Conway, Arkansas at the end of January. For those of you who haven’t heard by now… Surprise.
Just before Christmas, Cynthia was offered a new job as the Executive Director for Advancement Services at the University of Central Arkansas. Given that UCA is her alma mater and Conway is close to most of her family (not to mention only about 30 minutes from Little Rock), it was the proverbial offer we couldn’t refuse. The end of December and most of January were a bit of a whirlwind as we packed up the house in Starkville, moved and then unpacked in Arkansas.
But we’re settling in nicely so far (knock on wood). While we’ll miss Starkville, we’re looking forward to being close to family and getting some help with these chuckleheads. Plus, Conway has a bunch of roundabouts and I love roundabouts. Makes me feel like I’m driving in England.
Though this is late, we hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that your 2022 is off to a great start. And if you find yourself in Arkansas, please feel free to drop by for a visit.
Love,
Philip, Cynthia, George and Henry