Late last night my loves came home. After a week of being separated, Tim walked in the door with both of them in his arms. Their faces were buried in his neck, half asleep from the lateness of the hour, but when I spoke to them they opened their sleepy eyes and smiled. They were home. We carried them upstairs and laid them in their beds. As I covered them in kisses, they settled into their pillows and drifted off to sleep.

Today they filled me in on some of their adventures of the past week. They swam in the Gulf of Mexico and they visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. But their absolute favorite activity was the time they spent at their great grandmother’s house with their cousins, playing hide and seek and celebrating her 90th birthday. My brother in law was kind enough to share some photos with me of their time down there. Enjoy!

My savages = my loves.

Two years ago I decided to do a 365 blog. I had never attempted anything like it in the past, but my sister-in-law had done one and I loved that at the end of the year she had an irreplaceable record of every day of her family for an entire year. I was impressed that she had never missed a day, and I had spent the year reading about the adventures of her family. When I started mine I wasn’t even sure if I had the discipline to follow through, but 767 posts later, I am still writing. This blog took on a life of its own, treading into topics I never imagined attempting and challenging me with subjects that I was honestly afraid to tackle.

Through it all there were two topics I did not broach… My Job, because I work in a professional environment and did not think it was appropriate, and any difficulties in my marriage because marriage is a sacred institution that needs to be a place of trust and confidence. And while writing about my children and our adventures and mishaps, I have strived to be honest and yet spare my kids future embarrassment. I pray I have been successful with that.

I’m not sure what this year will bring, or if I will continue to write daily, but I am hoping to be here often, continuing this tradition.

Thank you for joining me as we continue Eating With Savages!