Rockin' awesome dad and husband that we adore!

You're in the jungle baby!

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." -- Unknown

Happy Father's Day! I have posted some very random pictures of Tod and the kiddos. I know I say it all the time, but the life we have tomorrow is because of the father we have today. Though packaged in an unconventional way, Tod is a kind, patient, and generous leader who has high expectations of himself and those around him. His family comes first and with that being said, it is important to me that you know it is not said out of habit or empty tribute. Tod has sacrificed much and without complaint to ensure each of us has all we need and that he is always available.

Tod takes Utah to school every day.. so I can leave for work early and Utah can sleep as late as possible. During the school year, Tod takes Utah to all his doctor's appts, orthodontist appts, and stays home with him when he is sick so I don't have to miss work. Tod kept his job for all these years because of the flexibility it offers him - he coached the girls, coaches Utah, and is always available for us when we need him. He works from home when I am sick so he can watch the kids and I can rest. He gets up every morning at 5am and feeds the dogs. He takes care of all the yard work and pool stuff. He lets us shop till we drop.. without whine or complaint! He doesn't chastise us for mistakes... usually says just to learn from the mistake or that we are only human. He often says, 'you work so hard all year, you deserve something nice'. He is faithful and loyal.. generous and yes, even wise! He is also adored by us and we are thankful for him every day of the year. God is Great!

Some pictures of my daddy are in here, too. We miss you Grandpa Doyle! Thank you for not being mad when I wrecked your car in the driveway... thank you for waiting on the front porch until I got home... thank you for working so hard every day so we could have all the things we need.. thank you for raising us all, friends and all, as if we were your own... you set an example for me that I never knew how precious it would be until I married Tod.

Welcome to the jungle! We got a new rug for the living room, Rudy and Hubb thought we got it for them and played all night on the rug!

Driving home yesterday there were three deer in the road by our house.. a doe with two fawns, twins most likely. They were no more than two feet high and still spotted, of course.. tiny tiny little things! I haven't learned how to zoom on my iphone yet, so the pictures arn't very good but I think you can make them out, look very closely.. adorable and one of the reasons we love it here! We have also been greeted by peacocks frequently!

Sarah Avery (December 2, 1992 - June 18, 1994)

And she just spread her little wings and flew away

I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore

Then I will walk yes I will walk

With patience through that open door

I have no fears, angels follow me wherever I may go

I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore

(Big & Rich, Live This Life)

June.... still going...

I have discovered that I have started using only facebook as a communication tool for what we are up to at the Julius home... well, many of you don't use facebook AND the I love to blog and write about what we are doing and how everyone is doing. So, back to blogging..... some of the photos will be repeats for you fbookers... but there should be more details on the blog.

School was done for me on June 4th... room packed and moved. I am teaching math only next year, so I had to move out of the science classroom. I have moved classrooms every year that I have taught. I am glad to be teaching math next year and excited to have the opportunity to one hour of reading, too. I have started planning for math, both 7th and 8th grade. I have the year sketched out, I just need to plan my focus and activities for each day. I am planning to change things up quite a bit this year to improve performance on open response questions.

I went to see my GP and, long story short, he noticed some 'spots' on my face that caused him some concern. He sent me across the hall to a dermatologist who did some tests and discovered that they were precancerous and I needed to do some treatments immediately. I havd the levulan acid blue light treatment done last week and boy was it noooooooo fun at all. I am peeling really bad right now but the discomfort has passed. I have another treatment in July and then another in August. They will evaluate my skin after the last treatment and we will go from there. I have had several spots turn very brown and scaly, which is an indicator that they were pre-cancerous (AK's is what the doc called them). Here is one photograph I took while putting ice on my forehead because it was burning! SUNSCREEN IS SOOOO IMPORTANT!

Our house is still on the market, but we went ahead and spent some money on the backyard on some plants.. I put most of them in pots so I could move them with me. We figure the more we do to make the pool area look fun and enjoyable.. pretty and enticing, the more likely we are to attract a buyer. We also hired a handyman for two days to do some work around the house and yard that we just do not have the time or resources to get done. He got all that done before I had my AK treatment, thank goodness! I will have to take another picture of the pool area, the plants have rooted and are really pretty. We have also added some hanging plants to the front porch and they are beautiful!This is what Hubb does when he wants to go outside... he doesn't fit, obviously, so he sticks his head out until we notice him and let him out. The handyman friend of ours is putting a big doggee door in a different door for Hubb. This is adorable but we worry he is going to hurt himself trying to get in and out such a small door... Emmet really likes my lip stuff. We went and got ice cream the first week of summer and he loved trying to put on my lip stuff. We don't get to see each other like we used to... it was once a week at least before, but lives have gotten busy and it is only a couple times a month right now. We sure miss the little guy... and I miss time with Elizabeth!

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