"You remind me of your Dad!"

My dad passed away 4 years ago on November 30th. I am so grateful for the life he led and for the example he was. This is the poem I read at his funeral. Also, I love this picture, I think I was 4 or 5 and it is from a day we went fishing while we were visiting family in Texas. It made me proud when people would say I'm just like you,

I've got your round face, big cheeks, & manly legs; yes, it's true!

You and I would always eat the fastest as we sat down each night for dinner,

Everyone else took after mom, maybe that's why they are a bit thinner.

Sometime our stubborn ways meant you and I did not always get along

If I was right and you were right, who would admit they were wrong?

We enjoyed playing pranks, like waiting for Steven after a church dance,

We nailed him with the hose and water ran down his pants.

Even though we are alike, and that means the world to me,

I still have a lot to learn because you're all I aspire to be.

I am grateful for your character and all the fun we've had,

Having you here when times were tough made it all not seem so bad.

You had so many good friends whose lives you deeply touched

That special way about you, everyone loved so much.

As a father you counseled, guided, and lead with all your might,

Teaching us to seek for truth and strive to choose the right.

You were one with great courage, you had faith in Heavenly Father's plan,

And though it's hard to see you go, you've left the mark of a valiant man.

You see, I miss you so much, but I am doing my best not to be sad,

Instead I will strive to live up to the phrase: "You remind me of your Dad!"

6 Months

It is hard to believe that Charlie is half a year old already. He has been such a sweet baby and so much fun to have around. Adam confessed to me the other day that he thinks he's kissed Charlie more times than he has kissed me... sad, but true!! Charlie has such a happy disposition, he got the stomach flu over Thanksgiving and he smiled through it all. After not eating much for a few days, I knew the little Buster was feeling better when he woke up and started freaking out because he was STARVING and wanted to eat that very second. He has mastered the art of eating; he loves his rice cereal and just about anything else that comes near his mouth. He weighs 17.6 lbs. and is 27 in. (75 percentile). Our boy is growing up too fast! One of my favorite things is Charlie's "lipless" smile (like he is doing in this picture), it makes him look like such an old man.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great time in Vegas for Thanksgiving. The week consisted of eating tons of food, watching football and going shopping!!! I ate pie for breakfast every morning and we stuffed our faces with left-over Thanksgiving dinner all day long. Adam watched every football and basketball game on every sports channel; sometimes even multiple games at a time. While the boys sat in front of the t.v. the girls went shopping. I got to see Sherie Koch in action by going shopping with her and Rachel at 4 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving... we found some great deals! The week ended with about half of the gang getting the stomach flu, including Charlie. It was so sad to see our little man so sick, but he managed to smile through it all. Four generations of handsome KOCH men.

My two favorite boys!

Charlie helping Daddy and Dadoo Richard hang up Christmas lights.

Rice Cereal

It comes as no surprise that Charlie LOVES to eat. I was not sure how he would take rice cereal just because I have heard from so many people that it takes a while for most kids to enjoy it... not our little man. Charlie was so into it that he tried eating the bowl, we could not spoon it in fast enough!!

Happy Halloween!!

Charlie had a great Halloween hanging out with friends. He was up until almost 10:30 p.m. ... the little party animal.