Happy 32nd Birthday, Sarah!

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

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Thirty-two years ago today, a spirited whirlwind of a girl blew into our lives:

Watch out, world – this one is loaded for bear…..

….and we have never been the same.  Where has all that time gone?

God has a wicked sense of humor – ask any family that has more than two kids, and they will tell you that the third kid threw them for a loop.  Just when you think you have the whole “parenting” thing figured out – you’re thinking you know everything there is to know about raising kids – the third one comes along, and you realize that you don’t have the first CLUE…..

By the time Sarah came along, we had been parents for 6 years.  Poor Sarah got the “leftovers” – we were a lot calmer about things, but we were also just plain tired.  Rachel was starting kindergarten and Michelle was only a year old, so Sarah got whatever energy we could muster up at the end of the day.

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Still Crazy (In Love) After All These Years

Posted on August 22, 2024 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

Forty-four years ago today, two starry-eyed kids said “I do”….

To my wonderful husband, Paul – thank you for all of the special memories, and for making me so incredibly happy.

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It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…..

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

Back To School
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This came out in 1996 – the first time I saw it, I almost fell off of the couch, I was laughing so hard.

All these years later, it still makes me giggle 😛

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Posted in Annual Posts, Contemporary, Family, Holiday/Patriotic, Humor, Just Because, Messin' with my kids, Music, The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Forever 26

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

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Today marks the day that we welcomed our beloved second daughter, Michelle, into the world.  It seems like only yesterday that we were counting her fingers and toes.

Never let it be said that God doesn’t have a wicked sense of timing. We had waited 2 years to start trying to have a 2nd child, and after 2 more years of silently mourning each time it was obvious that I wasn’t pregnant, I had finally resigned myself to the fact that maybe we were only meant to have one child. So I resolved to go see the doctor “the next month” to go back on the Pill.

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Happy Birthday to the Best Husband in the World

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

On this day 64 years ago, a very special little boy was born.


I just LOVE Birthdays!  (Especially mine….)

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Happy 23rd Birthday to a Very Special Young Lady!

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

On this day 23 years ago, we were given a very special gift:
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On July 10, 2001, we welcomed Rebecca Claire into the world.  She was absolutely perfect – another beautiful daughter.  A few hours after her birth, our pediatrician gently informed us that Rebecca had been born with Down syndrome.  The next 48 hours were a real emotional roller coaster.  We cried, we asked ourselves, “Why?”, and we prayed.  A lot.

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Softly Call The Muster….

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

Muster 9.
On April 21, 2009, I answered “Here” for my sister, Beverly Suzanne Hamilton ’84.

In 2018, Paul and I answered “Here” for our beloved daughter, Michelle Elise Koch ’13.

One day our children will answer “Here” for both Paul and me. It is the last thing that the family of an Aggie is called to do for their loved one. It is our sworn duty to do so.

Softly call the Muster,
Let comrade answer, “Here!”
Their spirits hover ‘round us
As if to bring us cheer!

Mark them ‘present’ in our hearts.
We’ll meet some other day
There is no death, but life etern
For our old friends such as they!

– from “Roll Call for the Absent“, by Dr. John Ashton ’06

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45 Years Later – The Best (Belated) Valentine’s Day Ever (a.k.a. “Boy Meets Girl”)

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

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Just a couple of kids…..

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It all started in a lecture hall at Texas A&M University in January, 1979. Yours truly was a freshman who started out in Pre-Med, but after one semester – and a tearful call home – I had decided to change my major to one which involved more math – Civil Engineering.

Well, the powers that be in the Engineering department told me that the Calculus class that I had placed out of as a Science major wasn’t really “the same as” the one they wanted Engineering majors to take, so I had to start all over again. I hadn’t changed my major until the spring semester started, so I missed the first “official” day of that class.

The next time that class met, I was sitting in a seat in the lecture hall, feeling quite lost since I didn’t know the professor’s name, office hours, etc. Some guy came in a little late to the class, looking all harried, and sat down in one of the few empty seats – right next to me.

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The Angel Tree (a heartwarming Koch family Christmas tale)

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

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Every family has their own “family lore” – stories handed down from generation to generation.  These are generally told around the campfire, on the front porch, or around the dining room table.  The good ones are side-splittingly funny; the really great ones are the ones which manage to embarass one or more family members.

Every year, Paul or I will drag out this old chestnut – it never fails to leave friends and family rolling in the aisles:

When Rebecca was a baby, Paul would oftentimes get Sarah and Michelle ready for school in the mornings.  Since they were ages 9 and 10 at the time, this consisted of waking them up, telling them to get dressed/ready, and driving them 3 blocks to the school.

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Celiac Awareness Day – “One Grain More”

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX
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….We’ll discover foods that even vegans have forsworn…..

In honor of National Celiac Awareness Month, I HAD to share this hilarious video (please note – the Kellogg’s Corn Flake Crumbs shown in this video are NOT gluten-free; they contain barley malt extract).

As anyone with food allergies knows, navigating restaurants and grocery stores can be a real challenge – especially when you are first starting out. When Rebecca was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2008, we got a crash course in gluten-free living and “Alternative Foods” – it’s been a real education!

I have to give credit to all of our friends and family – they’ve been very patient with us on this journey, and they are always sending us stuff that they think might be of interest to us. One of my Cyberfriends*** sent me this a while back – I had to pick myself off the floor when I saw it:
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