Teri Rauenhorst still lives in the home where she grew up, but with her own family now. And gradually she and her husband, Mark, have made the 1970s prefabricated home theirs.

Prefabricated homes were designed in two pieces back then; there is still a seam that runs down the center of the house. So far there hasn’t been any structural problem and Rauenhorst was glad she and her family have been able to make it their home.

“It’s just great I can bring my kids back here and they can grow up here too,” she said.

The couple has worked to phase out old color schemes like the green and orange which were so popular when it was created, but Rauenhorst was still a little hesitant to paint the kitchen a vivid red, because she was uncertain how her mom would feel. But there was no need to be worried, since her mom did approve. “She’s always been very good about and supportive and happy abuot the changes we’ve made,” Rauenhorst said.

Teri and Mark met at her cousin’s wedding. She was the maid of honor and he was the best man for his best friend. After the wedding, they went to a movie and knew from the start they were meant to be. They have two sons, Mark, 15, will be in the tenth grade this year and Travis, 10, will be in fifth. It’s hard for her to believe they’ve become so old.

“They say it goes fast and you don’t believe them at the time, but it does,” she said.

The past two decades have flown by for Rauenhorst who said she is amazed she’s worked at Riverland Community College’s Albert Lea campus bookstore for 19 years. She attended Riverland when it was still called Albert Lea Area Vocational Technical Institute. After she graduated in June, Rauenhorst was married in July and began to work in the bookstore in August.

It’s a job she thoroughly enjoys and plans to remain there until she retires.

“It is really wonderful. The people I work with are great,” she said. She also enjoys meeting and getting to know all of the students.

Every day she has different tasks, such as ordering books, cleaning, and rearranging, but it’s designing displays that she loves the most. This April, for fun, Rauenhorst hauled in sand and beach items to make a beach party display. “I like that I get to be creative too,” she said.

Rauenhorst loves to read, of course, and she enjoys fiction, especially novels by Steven King. “I don’t like th emovies but I like the books,” she said. “If I need to, I can put the book down and walk away.”

What she enjoys the most is spending time with her family and friends. It’s pretty easy to do since her parents and brother live down the road. And once a year both sides of the family travel to meet at a park in Alexandria for a week, the highlight of Rauenhorst’s summer.

“It’s like our own little family reunion,” she said.