The Official Wallace Family Christmas Letter 2025

There is something wrong with time.

I don’t know what “science” would say, but my astute powers of observation lead me to conclude time is accelerating. Why, just yesterday I was sitting here at this very desk on this very MacBook writing the Official Wallace Family Christmas Letter 2024.

Seriously. What is going on here?

This is madness.

While we’re on the subject of madness, here’s the Official Wallace Family Christmas Letter 2026, the fourth time I’ve taken advantage of the worldwide media phenomenon that is New South Essays to let everyone know what’s been going on in our lives.

Dear Loved Ones (you know who you are),

It’s been another incredible year for this five-member band of fun-loving overachievers, and our cast of characters keeps growing. Carla and Lance celebrated 28 years of marriage in May, and rely on each other daily to stay on top of all the places the people in their lives need to be and the problems they need help solving. No one does this better than Carla, who runs carpool daily to Lawrenceville for Carlton and Kenna, keeps tabs on Mama at The Sheridan, plans great trips and serves as everyone’s therapist and cheerleader. She remains, quite simply, the best.

Mama and Lance’s parents, AKA Granny and Paw Paw, were able to be with us for Thanksgiving this year, and we were grateful they were all up for it. Granny and Paw Paw made two visits to Lilburn this year when Lance’s youngest brother, Lyle, flew from Texas to Orlando to drive them up for the funeral of Neal Ruth, Lance’s uncle, this summer. They bravely took to the highways themselves at Thanksgiving, taking their time and staying off the craziest of interstates to enjoy turkey and all the fixin’s with their Lilburn branch.

Lance made a surprise job move this summer leaving his job as vice president of marketing and communications at Oglethorpe University after nearly three years to take on the senior vice president of External Affairs for the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Leaving behind such a great institution and so many good friends was hard, but Lance is flourishing in this new role and eagerly anticipating the start of the Georgia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session.

Barron continues to work as an interior designer for the University of Georgia’s Office of University Architects for Facilities Planning. He’s enjoying the volume of projects he’s working on at the University, including the new Medical School campus and residence hall.

The big project he’s managing in his off-hours is the renovation of the house he bought in the Normaltown neighborhood of Athens in the fall of 2024. He finally moved in this fall after taking it down to the studs. He has learned valuable lessons about dealing with contractors, and as of this writing, he still doesn’t have a kitchen. But it’s coming together, and he’s learning important skills. You can follow his project and see stuff that catches his eye on his Instagram account.

He and Meg Rooney of Richmond, Va., celebrated their fourth anniversary as a couple this year, and Meg graduated from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in the spring. She is now a Ph.D. student in religion at the University of Georgia where she is working in the Department of Religion. She also continues to write for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship having recently been dispatched to cover disaster response efforts in Jamaica. She and her golden doodle, Bonnie, are wonderful extensions of the Wallace family whom we love dearly.

Harris is midway through his junior year at Mercer University, holding down three jobs, presenting papers at conferences, leading student groups and earning accolades. He works in Mercer’s Center for Career and Professional Development, serves as associate chief justice in the Office of Student Conduct Resolution and interns with the Campus Vote Project in their national programming office. All the while he is keeping a 4.0 grade point average. In the past year he earned the prestigious Stamps Scholarship and received Campus Compact’s Newman Civic Fellowship where he is leading a new initiative he founded called Macon Civics Matter, which connects judges to classrooms to enhance understanding and involvement in civics. Follow him on LinkedIn so you’ll know when he announces his campaign for governor.

He and Anna Hale of Aiken, S.C., are approaching the two-year anniversary of their relationship. Anna graduated from Mercer in May and is now working as a grad assistant and earning her Master’s of Public Administration in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia. We’re thrilled Harris and Anna are together and navigating the challenges of a long distance relationship well.

Carlton is in his junior year in the theater conservatory at the School of the Arts at Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville and maintains a busy schedule of performing there and with the Smoke Rise Academy of Arts. This year he took on the role of the Minstrel in Smoke Rise’s production of “Once Upon a Mattress,” the villainous John Jasper in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” and is currently rehearsing for the debut of a new work on the main festival stage at the Junior Theater Festival in January.

He appeared on that same stage as Agatha Trunchbull in a performance of “Bruce” from “Matilda” in January of this year when Smoke Rise won its group in the competition. It brought down the house of nearly 7,000 and is worth a few minutes of your time if you would like to view it here. You can see photos and clips showcasing his many talents on his Instagram account.

Carlton has recently taken an interest in lighting design and production. After a turn as Officer Lockstock in SOTA’s production of “Urinetown,” he did the lighting for the play “Migration Season” and was recently given the opportunity to do the lighting for SOTA’s spring musical in 2026, “Once Upon a One More Time.”

If all of this just sounds like bragging, well, it is. Parenting is not for the faint of heart, and we will take the wins where we can get them. We’re so proud of our boys and love seeing them thrive in such different areas of interest and passion.

Speaking of interest and passion, our roundup would not be complete without mentioning our household expanded this year when we adopted Archibald. He was a rescue from a very bad puppy mill situation in Coweta County, and he has done great after a little time with Mrs. Teri. Carla loves to cuddle him, and he’s a champ on Lance’s weekend five-mile walks.

Winston remains Carlton’s constant companion and will flash his jealous side if Carlton gives too much attention to this newcomer. Both Winston and Archie love having Bonnie visit, though admittedly, Winston needs considerably less face-time with his playful cousin (niece? I can’t keep up with dog relations in this family.)

There you have it: 2025 has been a year. We’re still here and kicking, doing Wallace things in that Wallace way we have. I hope through the ups and downs life has thrown each of you this year, you know how much we appreciate you and are grateful for the connection we have.

Keep sending us your Christmas cards and letters! We love seeing how your family is changing and overachieving, too. It makes the season merrier.

Here’s to a Merry Christmas and a happy 2026!

The Wallaces

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