the mecham family

October 2011 Family Pics.

2011-12-09T09:33:00.005-06:00

Courtesy of LP photography :)

Growing Up Fast.

2011-12-09T09:24:00.004-06:00

We hit TWO big milestones with these two babies. In September, shortly after moving into our house, THIS cute girl got potty trained! I used Lori Jensen's Three day potty training Ebook. It is AMAZING and worked WONDERFULLY. She was fully trained, even through the night with no pull ups in THREE days. I highly recommend it. I have several friends who swear by it as well. She has been doing so well, and what I thought would be a nightmare, has truly been a piece of cake!

In October, THIS handsome boy started WALKING. He followed in his sisters footsteps (no pun intended) walking at ten months. I LOVE when they first start walking. They are so proud of themselves and their wobbly little bodies are so cute! I can't believe my BABY is walking!

NINE.

2011-12-09T09:02:00.004-06:00

In September, Jace and I house sat/babysat for a family in our ward. They have S.E.V.E.N. children. Yes, 7. We were there for FIVE days. Including ours, we had nine kids, ranging from 12years-9months. This same week, Jace quit his job and left for training for a new job. That left me alone and STRESSED with all nine. My mom, who lives a couple miles away was also out of town. Luckily, MaKayla, a girl from church helped me a TON. I left the Nickels house with the UP MOST respect for Heather (their mom), and a suppressed desire to have any more kids, EVER.

Brower.Ira.Savannah.Sumner.Eliza.Selah.Emma.

Homeowners

2011-11-29T13:16:00.005-06:00

that's right folks. we are officially homeowners! we ended up living with my parents for just at a year. we finally closed on our first home in September. We LOVE having a house of our own. It's four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, big fenced in backyard. We live in a swim/tennis community, we are close to all the things we love and are only about three miles from my parents. We could NOT have gotten a better deal on this property, so to all you utahans, MOVE TO GEORGIA!! Our mortgage here, is close to what we paid for RENT in utah. It's WONDERFUL.

Here are a few pictures.

There are a few things we don't LOVE about it, but I have the most amazing handyman husband EVER! :) We will painting the cabinets something OTHER than black. We have started painting the walls, put up wainscot, tiled the fireplace and built a new mantel, put in built in cabinets, gave all the windows a new face lift with new sills and molding, and we have just started with the crown molding... wait. I say "we" like I helped, but let it be known it has been ALL jace. Everything is looking amazing and I don't mind living in a construction zone AT ALL! (Pics of the remodel coming soon.)

I just want to give a shout out to my amazing parents for putting up with our family for a WHOLE year. They were so patient with our kids, so giving of their time & space, and so supportive of our decisions. We owe them BIG time and LOVE them more than they could know!

August 2011 Utah Trip

2011-11-29T13:06:00.004-06:00

Jace goes hunting every August. When we went to buy his ticket, we found such a great deal that the kids and I tagged along. At the time, I didn't realize this meant I would be a single mom for the week while he was up on the mountain :( With the time change and the kids sleeping schedule, it was rough. Luckily, Kels and Zach came down from Boise to help with kiddos. We stayed at Marci and Landons for most of the visit and got to stay with Lynds and Cody for a few days too! All in all it was a good trip, but traveling with kiddos is hard. period. this is what most of the plane ride was like

gorgeous UT mountains

kels.kare.jace.zach.

best pic i got. cannons eyes are closed.

em.crae.cannon.

Promise.

2011-11-29T13:00:00.005-06:00

It's been FOR.EV.ER. here are my excuses: my camera is AWFUL & we moved out of my parents house so i no longer use my moms camera. i'd rather facebook than blog. i have two children that run my life. here are my solutions: i bought a new camera. it gets here tomorrow :) blogging will now be a priority because it's my only source of journaling. i will do it when the kids nap or go to bed. PROMISE. bare with me while i play catch up.

Mecham Family Photos

2011-07-22T09:28:00.004-05:00

the 14 grand kids

the whole bunch!

all of us again!

amy.monte.joni.jace

love this one! we had these pictures taken while we were in Bicknell, Utah in May. Needless to say, it was FREEZING. We all had jackets and sweaters wrapped around us. Right before the photographer said, "THREE!" we all threw them out of the picture. If you look close you can see Cannon is wrapped in a white blanket, and LUCKILY the sweater I brought for McRae was WHITE! We still had crying children and even whiney adults! However, our awesome photographer made the best of it and got some great shots! Thanks Faun! :)

Mecham Family Reunion

2011-06-30T11:43:00.004-05:00

Our reunion started with THIS kid coming home from his mission:

Elder Trent Taylor.

Columbia South Carolina

He now shares my love for the south :)

We then watched THIS kid graduate from Wayne County High School:

Rhett Taylor

pretty in purple :)

And now for the highlight of the reunion.

The Mecham Family AMAZING RACE!

the PINK team:

McKade,Tyler, Zack, ME, Cannon, Kiera

We broke into 4 teams of five people. We then raced around the Taylor's ranch and the town of Bicknell completing 13 various tasks! From barrel racing (on bikes) to building sheep herders' monuments, we had a BALL! We spent the ENTIRE day spending time together as one BIG family!

cowboy relay

target shooting

ALL the nieces & nephews with their FAVORITE aunt :)

the adults :)

A HUGE shout out to JONI for making this possible! She housed and fed ALL 22 of us for FIVE days! She worked so hard planning the AMAZING RACE and plenty other activities that kept us busy! THANK YOU THANK YOU! WE LOVE YOU!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

2011-06-30T11:33:00.005-05:00

130 :)

Po turns TWO

2011-05-17T11:28:00.029-05:00

McRae is my SUNSHINE

and she is TWO! cake pops i made for play group po on the morning of her birthday monkey joes with friends sumner.halley.justin.selah.crae.owen singing happy birthday her (MY) favorite present :) THIS girl keeps us smiling :)

Nicknames: Po. Popo. Crae. CraeCrae. MickeyRae. Sugar. Sissy.

Favorite Foods: PB&J. Pizza. String Cheese. Spaghetti. Oatmeal. Mac&Cheese. Cereal. Chocolate Chips

Favorite Songs: Wheels on the Bus.Pop Goes the Weasel.Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Sunbeam

Favorite People (besides US of course): Pappy. T.j. Nana. Mark&Wiz(Liz). Dami(Damian). Kiki(Kelsey).

Favorite Things To Do: play at the park. go to the mall. play the iPad. color. watch Dora.BubbleGuppies.Team Umi Zoomi.Max&Ruby.

Our Favorite Quotes:

"Po grumpy!"

"I go to the mall!"

"Help me find Dad's iPad!"

After being told something she is wearing is cute, "NANA BOUGHT IT!"

"Poop won't come outta me!"

to cannon: "Look at me! Look at me! Listen! Listen!"

"Too bad!"

"I don't wanna go to bed!"

(Notice MOST of those were COMMANDS!)

McRae is VERY independent! We are told she RUNS the nursery.

She is very persistent and quite the con artist. She will DO or SAY ANYTHING to stay up just a LITTLE bit longer.

She is SMART! She amazes us EVERY day. She knows ALL her colors and shapes including a HEXAGON! :)

We love her more than anything. We are so grateful to have her in our lives. She helps us remember what is important and not to sweat the small stuff. She is our everything and our all.

Tom turns 26

2011-05-17T10:46:00.026-05:00

Things We LOVE About TOM!

his GOOD cooking

his "technology" skills

his laugh

he's a GREAT dad!

his love of movies

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my FAVORITE BIG brother ;)

5 months!

2011-05-04T13:41:00.005-05:00

our sweet baby boy is 5 months already.

he is a scrawny little thing, 14lbs, due to his reflux.

he pukes and pukes and pukes.

after 4 different medications and two different formulas, he is back to nursing with a dose of maalox every now and then. doc says he just has to 'grow out of it'.

this little 5 month-er eats a jar of fruit everyday mixed with rice cereal. he usually keeps it all down due to the thicker substance.

he is so handsome although we aren't sure WHO he looks like.

he is a TOTAL mommas boy and can ALWAYS be found clinging to her shirt, hair, hip, shoulder, ect...

he is SPOILED rotten and SCREAMS when he doesn't get attention.

he is a finger sucker. and we LOVE him :)

Happy Easter

2011-05-04T13:32:00.004-05:00

This year Easter was filled with cake making, egg dying, 2 egg hunts and of course church!

Jace and I are in the ward choir. We put on a big Easter program for sacrament meeting and it went so well! This time of year I am especially grateful for Jesus Christ and for the atonement. Where would we be without it?

Easter was so much fun for little McRae.

Enjoy the pics :)

it's happening.

2011-04-11T12:18:00.006-05:00

okay, so when i started this whole BIGGEST LOSER thing, i cant honestly say that deep down inside i didn't know if I could really do it. if i could have enough self control to for go tacobell, resees cups, milkshakes, rice krispe treats, pizza hut pizza, powder sugar covered french toast, poptarts, chicfila. BUT here is my update thus far. January 1st: 159.5 February 1st: 146.5 March 1st:142.5 April 1st: 135 Goal weight: 130 it's HAPPENING! and i am ALMOST there. throughout these 3months I have exercised MAYBE seven days total. i have lost these pounds by eating HEALTHY! it REALLY works! i'm sure it helps that i'm nursing too. it seems as though he's sucking the fat right off :) i'm going to TRY to start exercising more often and at this rate, i may have to lower my goal weight :)

listen.

2011-03-25T11:22:00.005-05:00

bruno mars. mcrae saying "loves you". footsteps. thunderstorms. birds chirping. bubble guppies theme song. the doorbell. cannon cooing. best friends voice. jace playing the guitar. kitchen timer. splash in the pool. baseball hitting the bat. lady antebellum. babys heartbeat. beeping when you forget your seatbelt. football commentators. the singing of happy birthday.

Ty turned 17 and he didn't even hear us sing. I love this kid so much and am so grateful for his attitude toward life. He is such an example to me. On his birthday, I told him that if Heavenly Father would let him trade ears with someone, that I would do it! I would give anything for this boy to hear. He told me that he would only trade me one ear, beacause he wouldn't want me to be completely deaf. Ty has such a big heart and I cannot wait for the day that we are made perfect and his ears will hear.

Atlanta Temple

2011-03-20T21:50:00.003-05:00

so for those of you who don't know, the atlanta temple has been closed for about 18 months for remodeling. they basically left ONLY the outer walls and went to town making it better than ever. on May, 1, 2011 the temple will be rededicated and we can finally return to do the Lord's work. on the night of April 30, all of the youth in temple district will be putting on a program, singing and dancing, to celebrate the temple opening. this program will be broadcasted to all the buildings in the area for everyone to see. President Monson will even be there to watch. i recently received the assignment of teaching the youth in our ward the dance to be performed that night. i am so excited for this opportunity and have had such a fun time learning and teaching the dance. i knew that with our time limitations and with over 30 teenagers to teach, it would be a difficult task, but so far so good :)

BL Update

2011-03-20T21:45:00.003-05:00

Okay okay, so February didn't go so well. I felt like i did so well in January, that i needed a break. DUMB, huh? yeah, well I only ended up losing 4 pounds in February. FOUR! i guess 4 is better than nothing.

February 1st: 146.5

March 1st: 142.5

Goal: 130

Mountain View Bears

2011-03-20T21:33:00.004-05:00

high school baseball is one of my FAVORITE things.

luckily, we have THIS hot stud to watch this spring :)

our fam at the game!

GO BEARS!

crae LOVES the ballpark

she spends the whole time asking for money and eating treats :)

Valentine's Day

2011-03-20T21:21:00.005-05:00

i LOVE valentine's day.

this year, jace and i went to Atlantic Station for dinner and did some shopping.

i LOVE this man. he is my sunshine.

our sweet baby girl can't get enough

dear papa,

if you won't be my valentine,

i'll kick, i'll scream, i'll whine.

i talked to mom, she doesn't mind

she said it was fine.

i love you more than Dora and Boots,

chocolate chips and even fruit!

come on babe, now that's a lot!

plus, i'm really cute.

jace dane mecham, papa, and dad

you're the best i've ever had.

please oh please will you be mine?

or i'll be really mad!

love, crae

Blessing Day

2011-02-22T11:01:00.003-06:00

February 6th Cannon Jace had his special day.

Many family and friends came to share it with us.

Jace gave a beautiful blessing. I am so thankful for a husband who holds and honors his preisthood. He is such a blessing in all of our lives. I am also so grateful for my sweet baby boy and the joy he brings into our lives.

Catching up

2011-02-22T10:54:00.003-06:00

I feel really behind in the blogging world, but that's what two kids will do to ya. I'm just gonna post a few catch up posts, then I promise to try and be better! Here are a few photos from the end of January.

Biggest Loser Update

2011-02-22T10:41:00.003-06:00

On February 1st, we all weighed in again. I am proud to say that I was the biggest loser for the month of January!! :) I lost 13 pounds! Jace was right behind me losing 11 pounds! For me, changing my diet was the key! I only worked out maybe twice the whole month. I missed fast food so much, but the results were totally worth it. Only 16 pounds to go by swimsuit season! I think I can do it! :) January 1st: 159.5 February 1st: 146.5 Goal weight: 130

Cannon's Newborns

2011-01-28T19:58:00.006-06:00

Courtesy of HNMphotography

Big Stars

2011-01-04T12:18:00.002-06:00

Our family (mom,pop,tommy,meg,jace,me) is kicking off the new year with our version of the biggest loser! It's one of Jace and I's favorite shows so we decided to play a little game of our own. For those of you who haven't seen the show, you should watch it. Very large contestants spend 16 weeks eating healthy and working out and try to lose as much weight as possible. The winner at the end of the season goes home with $250,000 and a healthier self.

January 1st 2011, all six of us put $20 each into an envelope. We all weighed in, on the same scale. On February 1st, the person who has lost the most percentage of body weight (ME!) wins the $120. We will continue playing each month for 4 months. I am so excited to be doing this with my fam! Mom is keeping my eating in check and Jace is keeping my workouts going.

My goal: Not just to be able to fit into, but to look cute in my FAVORITE jeans :)

Oh, and with all the money I'm going to win, I'll be able to buy MORE :)

Starting weight:159.5

Goal weight: 130 29.5lbs to go.

Flashlight 5K

2011-01-04T12:10:00.003-06:00

New Years Eve our family decided to run the flashlight 5k (3.2 miles).

Jace and I had never ran in a race and well really, we never run... ever...

However, both wanting to get in shape, we decided to join mom and pop. Jace and mom completed the run without stopping! I had to walk some considering I gave birth 4 weeks ago and Pop stayed with me the whole time. The race was at night and volunteers lit the way with flashlights :) It wasn't THAT fun, and my WHOLE body ached the next day, but it was such a great experience!

Feliz Navidad

2011-01-04T12:06:00.003-06:00

This year we had a DORA the EXPLORER filled Christmas!

If you ask Crae what she got for Christmas, she says "Dora"!

She got a toothbrush, blanket, jammies, doll, slippers, potty seat, coloring book, and desk ALL featuring Dora! It was so much fun for Jace and I to play Santa this year. McRae loved every second of Christmas morning!

walked upstairs to find a room covered with balloons and presents! Dora desk! would rather eat candy than open gifts!

christmas jammies :)

crae wanting to hold "bubba"

side note: I got a SEWING MACHINE for chirstmas! i so excited to continue learning how to sew! thanks santa :)

Merry Christmas Eve

2011-01-04T12:02:00.007-06:00

Christmas eve we held our annual gingerbread house building contest (though, this year we used graham crackers)! Mine and Megans house won most creative and the boys house (Tommy, Jace, Ty) won best design.

Following the competition, we all opened one gift. We had all drew names as a family.

Mom drew my name and got me a gift card to the BEST STORE EVER.

CHARMING CHARLIES :)

Our little fam :)

Mother In Love

2011-01-04T11:59:00.004-06:00

The week before Christmas Jace's mom Nancy came to GEORGIA!

It was so much fun having her here! She helped me so much with the two little ones and was GREAT company :) We played rummy, yahtzee and did some sewing.

I didn't get many pictures, but McRae sure loves her "Gram Gram" :)

Cannon Jace

2010-12-22T10:11:00.002-06:00

Cannon Jace Mecham

made his debut on December 1st (13 days early) at 11:33 pm

weighing in at 9 POUNDS 11 ounces.

36 weeks: Moms belly was measuring full term. Ultrasound was scheduled to see just how big I really was.

37 weeks: Ultrasound estimated that I was already 8 lbs 6 oz. Dr. Wiist told mom that we are no longer going by due date, but by SIZE.

38 weeks: Induction scheduled for December 1st at 830 a.m.

December 1st 8:30 a.m: Momma and Papa arrive at Gwinnett Medical. Fill out TONS of paper work. The head nurse then lets them know that all the rooms are full and to go eat breakfast and come back in an hour or so.

10:30a.m: We finally get in a room and mom gets her iv.

12:00p.m: Momma FINALLY gets the pitocin. Hours pass and NOTHING happens. No contractions, no pain.

6:00p.m. Dialated to a four. Dr. Wiist breaks her water. It's game time. The contractions start, but Mom is tough. Uncle Tommy stopped by and he and Papa helped her laugh her way through the pain.

8:00 p.m: Mom gets an epidural. She says that it was the most painful part of the whole process but SO worth it.

11:10p.m: Mom feels pressure and is ready to push. Dr. Wiist comes in and lets her push once to see if she is really ready. After the first push he tells mom to hold on! He rushes over and gets dressed and ready for my arrival. Mom pushes through just two more contractions.

11:33p.m: On my way out my shoulders got stuck on moms pelvic bone. The doctor and nurses were quick to get me out of there. The doctor heard a pop and thought I broke my collar bone, but here I am, ALL nine pounds of me, healthy as can be!

9 lbs. 11 oz. out weighing sister by a WHOLE pound :) (and the sibling rivalry begins...)

AWESOME Dr. Wiist

My PERFECT family.

It was LOVE at first sight

Love this man ALREADY! and it sure looks like he loves me :)

37 weeks.

2010-11-29T12:40:00.002-06:00

thirty seven weeks: baby is measuring 8 lbs. 6 oz. and belly is measuring full term.

so ready for this baby to get here!

Pappy

2010-11-29T12:30:00.004-06:00

oh how McRae LOVES her Pappy.

Pappy works mostly from home so is around to hang out with us on most days.

McRae has THIS man wrapped around her little finger.

Not only does Pappy RARELY tell her no, he moves on her demand.

He takes her outside to play almost everyday, giving me a break :)

He is FAMOUS for having sweets on him at all times. McRae knows just where to go for candy.

And if I ever make her mad she cries to Pappy.

She LOVES this man and nana can't stand it :)

I am so grateful to him for all that he does for our family.

He is always so willing to help out before he is ever asked.

Not sure what I would do without him!

I am so glad McRae will have him when Cannon gets here!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T12:13:00.004-06:00

This Thanksgiving we spent at Uncle Todd's and Aunt Cheryl's.

Complete with Mom, Pop, Ty, T.j., Mamaw Peg, Papa Skip, Tommy, Megan, Lisa Wallace, Blake, Nicole, and EIi. and of course Todd and Cheryl.

We had quite the spread of DELICIOUS food! After lunch, we had four games of tennis going rather than nap or watch football! It was so GREAT to have so much family together!

I didn't get very many pictures...

Crae baby

Lisa and Mamaw

Todd and Cheryl Jace and my HUGE self. This Thanksgiving I have SO MUCH to be thankful for I can hardly believe it. my healthy beautiful baby girl. my baby boy on the way. jaces job. my parents. the gospel. food. healthcare. our cars. my amazing husband. wood burning stove. friends. scriptures. texting. thomas s monson. the cool weather. my favorite tv shows. music. ward members. jaces sweet family. the Savior. Dora the Explorer. washing machine. These are just a few things I am thankful for this year :)

Almost 30?!

2010-11-29T12:07:00.004-06:00

Happy Happy 26th Birthday J.Love!

He is now officially closer to 30 than 20!

30 sounds so OLD!

Reeses Ice Cream Cake :)

LOVE this picture of my TWO favorite people :) I LOVE this man SO much! I am SO grateful for his hard work that keeps this family going! I look forward to spending MANY more birthdays with this sweet guy!

Swagger

2010-11-29T11:57:00.002-06:00

This fall Jace got to play on a flag football team with some ward members! Ty AND Tommy were on the team as well! They went undefeated the ENTIRE season....

Until the championship game....

They got smoked.

Of course I didn't bring my camera to one game until this last one...

pep talk

I'm so grateful to be in Georgia with my family! It was so great to see Jace and my brothers playing together :) I'm glad they all get along so well!

Side by Side

2010-11-15T15:34:00.002-06:00

Crae and Cannon 35 weeks

40 weeks?

2010-11-15T12:47:00.003-06:00

No. Not 40 weeks yet.

Only 35 1/2. But this belly is measuring full term!

Dr. Wiist said we are now going by size and NOT due date!

Nov. 23 I have another ultrasound to see just how big Cannon is.

If he is measuring full term as well, induction will be scheduled.

Wish us luck!

I do not want to have a size 40 week belly for 4 more weeks!!

BaBa Gone?

2010-11-08T10:52:00.002-06:00

I finally decided that it was time to get rid of the bottles! With Crae turning 18 months this month, and Cannon making his debut next month, it was time. Since McRae turned one, she has only been allowed to have her bottle in bed. So only at nap time and bed time. This has made the transition surprisingly easy! Its been one week and we've have only had a couple of melt downs.

We got out ALL her bottles and lined them up. I told her it was time to "throw them away" and that bottles are for babies.

One by one she put them in the sack. I tied it up and let her put the sack in the trash can. She told them bye bye and that was it. Next nap time i layed her down and told her night night. She looked at me with the sweetest face and "baba gone?" I about lost it. It was so sad! I am so proud of her for being such a big girl making this an easy transition for both of us! I love her so so much!

Arrrgh!

2010-11-03T12:14:00.003-05:00

this year for halloween we attended our ward party!

the event consisted of wonderful chili and soup, a costume parade, and of course a trunk or treat :)

due to our budget, we decided NOT to splurge on costumes. jace suggested we go as nudist to save our pennies. after convincing him pregnant and naked do NOT go together, we borrowed these sweet pirate costumes from tommy and meg who wore them last year. i ended up finding crae's for NINE dollars at party city :) i was pretty proud of our 9 dollar costumes!

McRae LOVED the trunk or treat. I couldn't get her to say trick or treat, but "more candy" was her phrase for the night :) i LOVE my little pirate!

thanks tommy and meg ;)

ONE BIG JOSE!!! (deer)

2010-10-24T10:24:00.005-05:00

Here goes the first and only blog entry I will ever write unless I ever draw another big time tag, but this one is worthy of a blog post to me. The Book Cliffs is a limited entry draw area in Utah. It gave out 312 permits for around 4,000 applicants. Its too complicated to explain how it works but every year you apply you get a point if you don't get chosen. I got EXTREMELY lucky and drew a permit with only 1 point. (there are people with 8 points who are still waiting to draw a permit) In other words I am the guy everyone hates because I shouldn't have drawn and I did :)

I have been anticipating this hunt ever since April when I found out I got the permit. I saved my money just in case I could find a buck worthy of mounting. I haven't really been that into hunting before but this hunt really got me going. After 6 months of anticipation it was all over in ONE HOUR!! Opening morning we drove our 4 wheelers about 300 yards out of camp and stumbled across this bruiser. One quick shot and some dancing around with my brother Monte and my best friend Landon and it was over!!! The deer of a lifetime!! It scores 186 1/2 points which in normal world terms equals ONE BIG JOSE!!!!

The funniest part of the whole trip is my Dad decided to sleep in, and missed the whole thing! We had to go back to camp to get him to come see it :) We were worried we didnt have enough food to last the hunt and we came home the same day it started with a monster.

Needless to say I am addicted to hunting. If you haven't tried it you need to cause I am a believer:)

32 weeks

2010-10-21T11:52:00.002-05:00

Yes people, I am HUGE! I past my pre delivery weight with McRae a few weeks ago. Last doctors apointment, my tummy had grown 5 centimeters in 3 short weeks. The doctor scheduled an ultra sound for next appointment (29th) to see what's going on in there! The doctor said I am either full of a lot of fluid OR he is going to be one big boy! On a lighter note, only 8 more weeks :)

30 weeks

2010-10-13T10:07:00.002-05:00

Evening Things Out

2010-10-01T12:37:00.012-05:00

The pressure is OFF! We finally got an ultrasound and things are all tied up! We are looking foward to our family of two girls and two boys! Jace couldn't be more proud that he can "make a boy"! The look on his face was PRICELESS when the ultrasound tech said PENIS! :) I had been wanting a boy all along but I'm starting to have my doubts... I'm not the "play outside, get dirty" kinda girl. Looks like I'm gonna have my work cut out for me.

Mr. and Mrs. Luekenga (luke-in-gay)

2010-10-01T12:37:00.009-05:00

CONGRATS to these two LOVE BIRDS!

We were so grateful to big a part of their special day.

The sealing was so special and we wish them the BEST!

Utah Trip

2010-10-01T12:36:00.008-05:00

We recently were able to make a trip to UTAH!

Thanks to the little sis Kelsey who got married in Boise, ID.

We flew into Salt Lake to see Jace's fam and see our besties :)

Then we made the drive to Boise for the wedding!

It was so GREAT to be back in west, away from the HUMIDITY!!

Crae playing in the airport

meeting baby Broderick

meeting baby Beckham

meeting baby Hutch!

M found a new love for the trampoline

hanging with the girls :)

preggo Meag and sweet EASTON :)

lunch with the in laws

ZOO with the cousins!

bradley!

After the trip was over, surprisingly, Jace was the one who said he wouldn't miss too much about UTAH. Me, on the otherhand.... extremely sad. I love so many things about that place! My sweet friends, CAFE RIO, the fresh air, the mountains. My goal is to get us back there for good!... one day...

A BIG THANKS TO MEL AND TIM FOR THE CAR :)

Family of Three :)

2010-08-27T10:02:00.003-05:00

We left Illinois and headed to South Carolina to see these two love birds get married! The sealing was beautiful and so was the couple! We are so happy to have Megan and Damian in our family! Tommy will be such a great husband and DAD!!

isnt damian the CUTEST!? :)

The Windy City

2010-08-26T10:34:00.010-05:00

Our last weekend in Illnois we spent a day in Chicago!

The city was beautiful, the weather was awesome, and the pizza... TO DIE FOR!

Janelle, Dallas and I waiting for lunch at Giordanos. The AMAZING melt in you mouth deep dish pizza. McRae's first taxi ride. ZOO!

Lion!

McRae LOVED the Zoo! She called EVERY single animal from the monkeys to the rhinos "Cocoa!"

Jace says the only way we are EVER going back to Illinois is if it's to Chi-town! We had such a great time with wonderful friends! A big shout out to the Meyers for letting us stay with them Saturday night :)

20 Weeks down, 20 weeks to go!

2010-07-30T16:40:00.000-05:00

3 Years Down...

2010-07-30T16:26:00.002-05:00

Tuesday marked three years that I married my handsome man!

He surprised me and came home early with roses in hand :)

We then went to dinner and a movie which hasn't happened in a LONG time!

It was the perfect night!

Texas Roadhouse

Roses

I love this man so much! I am so grateful for the kind person that he is. I love that he is works so hard for our sweet family. He makes me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. I am so glad that he is mine forever and for eternity. ...but even THAT doesn't seem long enough.

Nauvoo

2010-07-27T15:34:00.009-05:00

Sunday made the two hour drive to Nauvoo, IL to check out some church history.

We stopped in Carthage, IL to see the Carthage Jail .

Despite the heat and humidity, we had such a great trip.

Jace and Crae with Joseph and Hyrum statue

Jace, Crae, Eric and Grahm Our fam in Nauvoo McRae was too hot and acted like THIS ^ most of the time. Unless we stopped for a snack. :) During our drive, we stopped in a cute town for some quick family photos courtesy of the talented Dallas Sullivan! She is amazing.

My Sweet Family.

Splish Splash

2010-07-18T21:15:00.004-05:00

This summer Crae has discovered her LOVE for the pool!

We spend AT LEAST four days a week, two hours a day in the water.

She was pretty skeptical at first, but she is now a dare devil.

We started this summer with me just holding her in the pool.

After the first couple of days, she wanted nothing to do with me.

She would walk around on the stairs by herself and TRY to wriggle out of my grasp when I held her.

I even got her to jump off the side into my arms. Then one day, she jumped when I wasn't looking!! Luckily, I was close by and all was well. That was when I decided it was time for floaties! She couldn't be more happy or feel so FREE! She recently learned how to kick her feet and maneuver around the pool all by herself. Maybe she should have been born a fish :) i LOVE that she LOVES the water.

Independence Day

2010-07-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

saturday jace was able to come home early for a change! we had a wonderful BBQ with great friends that i have come to LOVE already! we had a GREAT spread of AWESOME food thanks to janelle and dallas :) and OF COURSE i ate until i was sick! unforunatley, with this pregnancy brain of mine, i forgot my camera! a BIG thanks to Dall for capturing this sweet picture of my fam!

the fourth also marks FOURTEEN months for this babe :)

oh how i LOVE this baby girl.

every night i find myself excitingly spouting off to jace about all the sweet (and not so sweet) things she did that day... and as I relay the events of that day, i find myself falling more and more in LOVE!

she has two new teeth with several more on their way

new words she can sign and say: bug, ball, shoes, book, rock, yogurt, poop

she ALWAYS gets her way

she loves to scream we no longer make it thru an entire sacrament meeting

she loves to give eskimoe kisses

she loves PB&J, cold cereal, yogurt and mac n' cheese

she cries everyday when jace leaves for work.

she LOVES books. she always wants to be read to

after she poops she plugs her nose :)

she knows where most of her body parts are

this girl is super smart and is sadly growing up WAY too fast!

good thing we have another one on the way!

my baby just isnt a baby anymore...

Summer Madness!

2010-06-15T11:49:00.000-05:00

so this is a post about our journey in missouri thus far...

this pregnancy has been MUCH better than the last, so I can't complain TOO much! BUT i have been feeling pretty puny. THIS time i have been taking a prescription to help with the nausea and it has been such a blessing! i have only puked ten or so times. LAST pregnancy, I couldn't take one sip of water without throwing up. i am so grateful considering I have a one year old to keep up with this time around.

the first week in missouri was awful. jace would wake up with mcrae and let me sleep in. i would get up when he was getting ready to leave around noon. i stayed on the couch all day and slept when mcrae did. i felt like an awful mom, having no patience and being glued to the couch! By the time Jace got home around nine or ten, I was usually already asleep and Jace was left to make his own dinner. I felt like a LOSER! Jace assured me that he didn't mind and wished he was home more often to help out!! (he is amazing!)

Anyway, I decided I couldn't live like that MUCH longer so Mom suggested McRae and I come to GA until I was feeling better. On Mother's Day, Jace drove me 5 hours to Kentucky where he met Pop and that was only HALF WAY. I was so grateful to these two men for sacrificing their ENTIRE Sunday for ME!

McRae and I ended up spending FOUR WHOLE WEEKS in Georgia with my family. My family was so great! They all helped me so much with McRae and delt with me being so whiney! I got a nap whenever I needed and a meal or snack fixed for me about every two hours! I cannot thank my Mom enough for fitting us into her busy schedule. After about four weeks, I was feeling PRETTY good, and I missed Jace SO much, so once again, Pop and Jace made the ten hour drive to take us back to Missouri. McRae was so happy to see her Papa :)

Once in MO, Jace's company decided they were going to move their office to Idaho Falls, ID in one week! WHAT...?! We had JUST came from out there! I was so upset. I had been living out of a suticase for 6 weeks now and just wanted to stay in one place. I told Jace that there was no way I was driving clear to Idaho with a one year old, that McRae and I were going back to GA and he could go if he wanted. Jace decided he didn't want to leave his family again, so he would come to GA with us and work for Pop sooner than we has planned. Later that week, Jace's boss called to see if we would be willing to move to Springfield, IL where their second office is located. I guess they didn't want to see there 3rd best seller in the office get away :) Jace and I decided that we had planned to be out selling this summer anyway, and that Illinois was only a three hour drive so here we are.

Springfield, Illinois.

This better be our LAST move until we go back to Georgia in the fall.

Two Weddings and A Baby!

2010-06-10T16:47:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, my brother Tommy is marrying this pretty girl August 6, 2010 in the Columbia, South Carolina Temple. :)

And for more RECENT news, this little girl is ENGAGED!

Kelsey and Zach will be married September 4, 2010 in the Boise, Idaho Temple!

Kels will have JUST turned 19 when they get married, which is EXACTLY when Jace and I were married. I now realize that I was SUPER young! However, I wouldn't change a THING! We are so happy for these two little love birds :)

And last but not least, we are expecting BABY NUMBER TWO :) I am due Decmeber 15, 2010. We... well I, have wanted another baby since McRae was born! So we are super excited to welcome another sweet spirit into our home! These BIG events taking place in the McRae family will make for a BUSY, but EXCITING year :)

Road Trip!

2010-06-05T15:28:00.000-05:00

So first of all I just wanted to give a BIG thanks to ALL who helped us

clean.pack.watch crae.load truck.

we had so many awesome helpers that made EVERYTHING much easier!!

i am sad to say that i got NO pictures of us cleaning, or loading the truck, or of our apartment.

i just wasn't on top of it.

WARNING:LONG POST.

From the night before we left Orem, until we made it to Missouri!

The night before we took off we had dinner with some of our BESTIES!

i LOVE this pic of these THREE

landon says he is going to miss crae the most! Day One: Mom drove my car with McRae and I in the back. We followed Jace in the Budget truck that was hauling his pickup. We traveled from Orem, UT to Albuequerque, NM. We should have driven FURTHER because we arrived in NM around six p.m. and day two ended up being a LONG one!! However, we were ALL ready to get out! We decided to make the trip a little easier for McRae by putting her in her forward facing carseat for the FIRST time!! SHE LOVED IT to say the least! As soon as we took off driving, she was dancing and giggling. It was GREAT! This is what she looked like MOST of the trip: This is her the other part of the trip :) Day Two: We drove from Albuequerque, NM to New Boston, TX. After waking up, packing, loading the car and of course continental breakfast, we didn't get on the road until about 8. We arrived in New Boston shortly after MIDNIGHT! It was a long and boring drive across Texas. Day Three: We stayed all day in New Boston visiting family. It was so nice to be able to relax and show off McRae to the grandparents :) Me and Grandmother (my Dad's mom) Grandmother, Harrison, and Crae (Harrison is my cousin's son) Crae and Papaw Tommy (my Mom's Dad) love this pic :) I also got to meet my new cousin RIDGE :) (Ridge belongs to my Mom's stepbrother) We also visited with my Mammaw Peg and Papa Skip (mom's mom and step dad) but I didn't get any pictures! Oh how I love ALL of my awesome Grandparents and family in Texas! I was sad to leave not knowing when we would be back! Day Four: New Boston, TX to Lawrenceville, GA! This drive was only a mere TWELVE hours and we all were so GRATEFUL! All in all the trip couldn't have gone any better. McRae did GREAT! The car and truck ran smoothly, no one wrecked or even got ticket! We spent the next five days in Georgia relaxing before we headed to Missouri. We unloaded and returned the budget truck, watched nana play tennis and ALMOST made a trip to the E.R.! McRae and Nana in their tennis gear after a match! This iron decoration USE to be hanging over the guest bed. One morning McRae woke up but Jace and I weren't QUITE ready so I pulled her into bed with us. Well, apparently she was tired of laying down and wanted to play. She stood up and grabbed a hold of this thing. I quickly grabbed her hand and tried to get her to let go. I guess I pulled on her as she was pulling on it... and well. It came CRASHING down. LUCKILY, NOT on her, but on me. When it first hit me, I grabbed my head in pain and started crying. At this point, Jace was still asleep. Well not for long. He says at first he thought I was FAKING it! As soon as I pulled my hand off my head and saw ALL the blood, he JUMPED up and ran McRae to my mom, and then came back for me. We went to the bathroom as blood was dripping EVERYWHERE. He got me a wet rag and told me hold it on there. He then proceeded to tell me he needed to sit down because he was feeling lightheaded from all the blood. WHAT?! Seriously, HE was feeling lightheaded!? Well the smell of the blood starting getting to me. I started to walk out of the bathroom saying I needed to lie down and the next thing I know Jace looking down at me saying my name. I had totally passed out! To make a long story a little shorter, we called my uncle Steve (Pop's brother) who is a PA in the army. He said that I should be fine and if it were his head he wouldn't get stitches. I was a little nervous about having a HUGE scar and whole in my hair but decided NOT to go to the hospital. We actually ended up braiding the hair around the wound SHUT (Thanks MEL!) and it healed beautifully! The next day we made the 10 hour drive to Columbia, Missouri! It is so beautiful and GREEN here! Our apartments turned out being VERY nice and we are only about 10 miles from the University of Missouri (Mizzou). There are two pools, two gyms and free tanning! I was pretty impressed with all of the facilities. Okay, so sorry for the LONG post! More to come SOON! :)

O-N-E!

2010-05-18T20:13:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that my baby is ONE!

Time really FLIES by! It feels like just yesterday I was giving birth!

Let me just say that this past year has been the BEST so far!

This little girl is such an angel and brings so much joy and peace into our home!

I am so grateful to be a mommy and that she chose me!

McRae decided to have her birthday right in the middle of us packing to move across the country. So we threw a quick LITTLE party with some close friends at the park!

McRae and her "cake" (fruit pizza)

opening presents

FRIENDS :) Accomplishments Thus Far:

words she says and knows:

mama

papa

nana

cocoa

uh oh

she can sign:

milk

please

eat she blows kisses

Cocoa is my parents dog. McRae says Cocoa whenever she sees ANY dog. It is SO CUTE! She also signs "eat" every morning when she wakes up. She knows it will get her a warm bowl of oatmeal :) Sometimes she chooses not to sign but you can get a "please" or a "more" out of her with an oreo or popsicle FOR SURE!

To date, this one year old has NO TEETH! NOT ONE!! We are still patiently waiting for her to cut her first tooth.

Oh, we just LOVE her!

Our Life Lately

2010-04-16T00:40:00.000-05:00

This is just kinda one big catch up post. A LOT has been going on lately and I haven't had a whole lot of time to just sit at the computer. The past few weeks have consisted of friends, family, birthdays, receptions and PACKING! We leave NEXT Sunday! I cannot believe it. If I think about it for too long I want to CRY! My sweet mom is flying back out next Friday to help us clean and then make the 2000 + mile drive. The next ten days are packed with last mintue visits with friends, a small, early birthday party for crae (SHE IS ALMOST ONE!! ), packing, and cleaning. Did I mention we are both giving talks this Sunday...?! Harmony in Home, Through Jesus Christ. I'm FREAKING OUT to say the least. I knew we shoudln't have told anyone we we're moving.... Well my next post, I'm sure, will be once we get settled in Missouri the first weekend in May. Until then, here are some recent pics.

walking EVERYWHERE! PIGTAILS :) Easter dress

our fam.

outback for Marci's 24th birthday!

Jace and President Smith

Mission Reunion

Us and the Mannings

My Family :)

Church Office Building

the fam.

jazz game!

me and ty ty

Bennett's Reception

The Mechams are Moving.

2010-03-17T18:25:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, Jace graduated in December with quite possibly the WORST degree to have in this economy. CONSTRUCTION management. He applies for SEVERAL jobs daily, but has heard NOTHING! Residential construction is almost at a standstill! The job Jace has now with Southam and Hreinson is a construction job, but he is being paid hourly with NO benefits. He was told he would be getting a raise after he graduated, but 3 months later... nothing. He knows that there isn't much of a future with this small residential construction company.

Jace's current boss also owns a company called Clear Satellite. They have several guys go out and sale dish network and direct tv door to door during the summer. His boss has been encouraging Jace to go for some time now. We had always said that when summer came, IF we still hadn't heard from any other jobs, then we would move. Just for the summer, just for a few months. So, we are moving!

Where you ask? COLUMBIA, MISSOURI!

April 20, 2010

Well, I got to thinking about this whole moving ordeal. We were going to move half way across the country and then all the way back after a few short months, just to return to a job with no future? That doesn't make much since when we have ANOTHER option :)

GEORGIA! Pop and Mom have been BEGGING us to move home for some time now. Pop has said that Jace can work with him doing insurance adjusting until he finds something else. Not to mention the housing market is RIDICULOUSLY cheap compared to Utah. We would be able to have our own house in no time! This makes me smile :) So I proposed to Jace that if we are moving half way across the country (to Missouri), then we should go ALL the way (to Georgia)! So in the fall, after summer sales, off to GEORGIA we will go! Despite what MOST of you may think, I really would rather NOT move! If Jace was offered a great job in Utah we would STAY!!! I love Utah: the weather, our friends, our family, our ward, the mountains. It has been a long and hard decision, but we feel a move to a place with more oppurtunity is the right choice.

Walking :)

2010-03-06T23:52:00.000-06:00

She's All Country

2010-03-04T23:02:00.000-06:00

We're back from our LONG but GREAT trip to GEORGIA :)

We had such an AWESOME time back at home! It was wonderful to be able to spend so much time with my sweet family. Although the trip consisted with McRae and I both having a fever for a few days, followed by mom getting pretty sick, and concluded with Pop having hernia surgery... It ended up being a surprisingly FUN vacation.

crae and i on the plane

The biggest news from the trip... TOMMY IS ENGAGED! He proposed the night that we flew in! This is him and MEGAN shortly after the proposal! We just LOVE her and are SO excited for them! August 6th is the date! Our little fam on Valentine's Day! Nana LOVES her baby! my most FAVORTIE pic of the whole trip! brittanie, brittany and mckayla! one night i got to help backstage with the miss mountain view pageant! it was so much fun! i LOVE these girls! (they are all three in my home ward) uncle tom and crae! jace was only in GA with us for four days! he had to be back for work! so he spent about a week and a half here in orem ALONE! when mcrae and i got back into town i was surprised with a SPOTLESS car, house, and these LOVELY flowers and a card. i THINK he missed us ;) we certainly missed him! we are so lucky to have him in our lives!

McRae and I also got to spend a LOT of time with some GREAT friends! I took way too many pictures to post them all! but a big thanks to suz.taytay.brooke.alyssa.trice.and shan! We love you all! We can't wait to come back to the SOUTH!

Happy LOVE Day :)

2010-02-12T21:25:00.000-06:00

Dear Cupid,

I wanted to thank you, I couldn’t resist, Some don’t believe, but I know you exist. You first chose a man, and then took a shot. Your aim was right on, in his heart it caught. He then was star struck and in love he fell, With me of all people. What a story to tell. He's handsome and charming, one of a kind He’s just what I wanted you read my mind. It’s been 3 great years and much more to come, To you I must owe a very large sum. I’ll try to be the best wife that I can, Cupid, you rock! Dude, you’re the man.

Love, Karen

"if"

2010-02-09T23:41:00.000-06:00

if i were a month, i'd be may. if i were a day of the week, i'd be saturday. if i were a time of day, i'd be mid morning. if i were a sea animal, i'd be a starfish. if i were a direction, i'd be south. if i were a gemstone, i'd be a pearl. if i were a tree, i'd be a magnolia. if i were a tool, i'd be a cricut. if i were a flower, i'd be a gerber daisy. if i were a kind of weather, i'd be sunny & hot. if i were a musical instrument, i'd be a piano. if i were a color, i'd be purple. if i were a fruit, i'd be a kiwi. if i were a drink, i'd be water. if i were a food, i'd be a ceasar salad. if i were a place, i'd be a tropical island. if i were a material, i'd be a floral print. if i were a scent, i'd be evergreen. if i were an object, i'd be a pair of sunglasses. if i were a song, i'd be "wannabe".

Superbowl XLIV

2010-02-09T23:13:00.000-06:00

we spent superbowl sunday with some GREAT friends at our place.

most of us didn't have a preference of who won except jace and blake.

jace rooted for the SAINTS! and blake, the colts.

it was an exciting game and jace got his wish!

WHO DAT?!

some pics from the evening:

brian and lauren :) blake, brinli and thaliea lynds and cody! i'm so bummed we didn't get a pic of ALL the AWESOME food. chips and salsa veggies! scotcharoos cookies pigs in a blanket brownies pizza marshmellow popcorn wings! thank you friends for coming! we had a BLAST!

Nothing On My Mind but GEORGIA

2010-02-06T12:31:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, McRae is my parents FIRST grandkid. Because of this, it is SO hard for them to go very long without seeing her. My mom can hardly stand it. So.... we are GOING TO GEORGIA!! We leave one week from today... the 13th! Jace can only stay until the 16th so he doesn't miss too much work. However, McRae and I will be there for TWO WHOLE weeks! We are so very grateful for my parents flying us home. It is hard to live 2000+ miles away!

Things I Love About Georgia:

my family!

mall of GA

trees!

steak n shake :)

my home ward

zaxbys!

the smell of my house

the warm weather :)

my moms bed!

frontera

friends!

So thank you mom and pop... but mostly thank you MCRAE! :)

(they wouldnt fly us home if it weren't for her!)

Jazz vs.Cavs

2010-01-28T23:10:00.000-06:00

Jace and I drove up to Salt Lake to eat dinner and watch the Jazz vs. Cavs game with some friends! My old college roommate Emily, her husband Ren, Kels and her friend Casey all drove down from Rexburg. It was so GREAT to see them.

EM and I at CPK Jace.Me.Em.Ren.Kelsey.Case

Jace and I

kels and i

DIPLOMA :)

2010-01-28T23:09:00.001-06:00

Oh yeah... she can crawl :)

2010-01-21T00:04:00.000-06:00

So I totally forgot to post this! McRae starting CRAWLING at seven months and one week.

Since then, she can now climb the stairs, give slobbery open mouth kisses, wave and stand alone for about 15 seconds. more pics to come...

Merry Christmas!

2010-01-20T23:49:00.000-06:00

We spent Christmas in GEORGIA! Despite not having a "white" Christmas, we enjoyed being in the south with family!

Sunday before Christmas Mom and I shopping! This is one of my favorite pictures of us! One of our Christmas Eve traditions is gingerbread house competition. This year we enjoyed the contest with the Nickel family.

This is the boys. They won.

Here are the girls. Second place....

McRae was LOVING unwrapping presents. However, as most babies do, she was only interested in the paper...

Our little family Christmas morning.

All the kids in our new p.j.s. on Christmas morning. (another christmas eve tradition)

Decorating sugar cookies!

About to leave for the airport to go home :(

me and my brothers whom I LOVE!!

We had such a great, relaxing vacation! thank you to MOM and POP for the GREAT food, entertainment and awesome gifts! I have so many more fun pictures but couldn't add them ALL! We can't wait for the fam to come out HERE to see us in APRIL :)

Ladies and Gentlement...

2010-01-20T23:46:00.000-06:00

WE HAVE A COLLEGE GRADUATE!

Jace Mecham

Bachelor of Science

Technology Management

Building Construction and Construction Management Emphasis

The night of Jace's LAST final we went to dinner to celebrate!

At Utah Valley University they only hold the graduation ceremony once a year in April. We look forward to seeing Jace "walk" later on this year!

ALMOST here...

2009-12-13T19:41:00.000-06:00

only FOUR more days until my JACE is a COLLEGE GRADUATE!

let the count down begin :)

Thanksgiving in V-TOWN!

2009-12-05T10:56:00.000-06:00

We spent this Thanksgiving in Vernal with Jace's family. We had a day FULL of delicious food and GREAT company!

McRae and Grandpa

Our Family

McRae going for the FUDGE

COUSINS! :)

Saturday after Thanksgiving we had a HUGE family Christmas party with over 80 people! Nancy and Amy were in charge and it was WONDERFUL! The decorations were awesome! The food was delicious and even SANTA made an appearance :)

Us with Grandma Merkley Jace and McRae with SANTA! LOVING the candy cane playing cards with Papa

Nancy and I :) Thanksgiving break was so much fun. It was great to get away! This Thanksgiving I have a LOT to be thankful for:

my sweet baby girl.the gospel.my FAMILY.my great husband.his job.our little apartment.the temple.cold weather.football.FRIENDS.yummy food.relief society.card games.laughing.our cars.jesus christ.the heater.jaces education.

A Quarter of a Century!

2009-11-24T17:44:00.001-06:00

mCrae and papa

all of us at fuddruckers! ty, jace, landon BFFs :) jace and his half frosted birthday cake ;)

Sunday November 22nd Jace turns 25!

Here is what I love about J. Love :)

25. his dilligence

24. he is a hard worker

23. his love for the Savior

22. his passion for his two girls

21. his sense of humor :)

20. his incredible good looks

19. his love for football

18. the sound of his laugh

17. his willingness to please others

16. he is smart

15. his handyman skills

14. he is a GREAT dad

13. he is responsible

12.he thinks im beautiful

11. he watches my shows with me

10. his positive attitude

9. he is ALMOST a college graduate :)

8. when he plays with my hair

7. he makes sure that i am happy

6. his example to the young men

5. he is trustworthy

4. his gorgeous green eyes

3. his willingness to try new things

2. when he winks at me

1. he can sing GREAT and play the guitar

Happy Birthday my LOVE!

You are my everything!

Family Pics!

2009-11-24T17:35:00.000-06:00

Photography by Noelle! I LOVE these pictures and I love NOELLE! She is so talented! She is not only a GREAT photographer, but one of the sweetest people I've ever met! Feel free to check out her blog at photographybynoelle.blogspot.com!

Lollipop Lollipop, Oh Lolli Lolli

2009-11-24T17:33:00.000-06:00

McRae's 1st sucker! and she LOVED every second of it!

Down, Set, Hike!

2009-11-24T17:27:00.000-06:00

marci and mCrae all bundled up mCrae and her new hat from grandma mecham!

the team!

Jace's flag football team made it to the top EIGHT in the BYU intermural league. Here are just a few pics from the season!

BOO!

2009-11-24T17:22:00.001-06:00

mCraes 1st halloween!

at the marina

Trick or Treat :) Jace caught a fish ;)

Halloween weekend we went to ELko to visit SEAN GRACE and GAVIN :) Jace served with Sean in Georgia, I grew up with Grace and Gavin and McRae are just two months apart. We had so much fun hanging out with them in their beautiful brand new house! We went to marina and picniced and fed ducks while the boys fished. Halloween night we took the babies trick or treating to a few houses! We had to DRAG the dads along... but it was fun! We had a GREAT weekend and we love us some SMITHS : )

Hiking the Y

2009-10-23T23:55:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have never hiked the Y, it is WAY harder than it looks! AH! It was exhausting, but a GREAT workout! Jace packed McRae up the WHOLE way!

At the top!

Overlooking Provo Half way down. She was POOPED!

Braedyn turns ONE!

2009-10-23T23:49:00.001-05:00

McRae's first birthday party :)

Braedyn is Paul and Cayeling's.

They were in our Provo ward.

All the little ones :)

Georgia Friends!

2009-10-23T23:44:00.001-05:00

BRADLEY!

1st time meeting McRae

ALL of us at Tucanos :) Bridal Veil

me and SHAN!

Morning before they left!

The BIg 2-5!

2009-10-23T23:38:00.000-05:00

Landon turned 25!

Marza and Lando All of us after cake and ice cream

Texas Roadhouse for his birthday dinner!

Mom Comes to Utah!

2009-10-23T23:26:00.000-05:00

McRAe LOVES her nana! She was only here for a few days, but we enjoyed EVERY minute!

September

2009-10-23T23:07:00.001-05:00

Four Months!

13.3 lbs 25.66 inches

Dinner with Lynds and Cody

Girls NIGHT! Pink Toenails :)

Spending time with Kels

BYU game !

August 2009!

2009-10-23T22:55:00.000-05:00

Here is a summary of our August:

McRae and Gavin

Lunch with the Smith's! Picnic with the Malone's and Day's

The Day's :)

Fuddrucker's with aunt KiKi :)

In Vernal for Dustin Bunderson's reception!

Missing...

2009-10-23T22:46:00.000-05:00

So for those of you who have been wondering where the heck I have been.... I'm back!

We haven't have internet at our house since we moved here in Decemeber. At first, we were able to connect to some unprotected wireless connections, but that only lasted so long. Then, I resorted to using the internet at friends' houses (Thanks so much MEAG AND JORD!! and MARCI AND LANDON)! Lately, however, I have just been going without. But no worries! We now have wireless and I am determined to get this blog updated no matter how overwhelming it seems! My last post McRae was only two months! and now... well she is almost SIX! Stay tuned for updates on the Mecham family!

2 months

2009-07-12T22:42:00.001-05:00

10 lbs 7 oz. 23 3/4 inches

Independence Day!

2009-07-12T22:40:00.001-05:00

McRae's first 4th of July!

McRae and Papa

Mamma and McRae

Our Little Family :)

Family Reunion

2009-07-12T22:31:00.001-05:00

The Garrett family reunion was held in New Boston, Texas just a few weeks ago. My family had planned on going for months and everytime I talked to my mom on the phone, this was all she talked about. I started feeling left out and really wanted to go. I asked Jace if McRae and I could go and he said, "find a ticket!". He wasn't able to go because of school and work. I decided not to tell my family that we were coming! Mom and the fam didn't expect to see us again until August. It was such a great surprise! They were all shocked and we had a blast!

Mom's reaction when she saw McRae.

Ty, McRae, ME, Teej, Mom and Kels 4 generations

Pop me Mom

Me and Kels!

The Fam! Minus Tommy and Jace

Me, Grandmother and McRae

home! my sweet husband. Thanks for letting us go :)

Blow OUT!

2009-06-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

OH MY! McRae hadn't pooped for seven days! We tried EVERYTHING to get her to go. We were getting pretty worried... then she let us have it!

Of course she was wearing a baby pink Polo outfit :( but luckily it came clean after a lot of Shout and scrubbing.

After a warm bath, the sticky, slimy, orange poo was gone and she was one happy camper!

Blessing Day

2009-06-16T23:15:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, June 14 2009, we blessed McRae. Jace gave a beautiful blessing and the spirit was so strong. I am so grateful for a husband that holds and honors the priesthood. Jace's entire family came along with some close friends and some of my extended family. My family wasn't able to come and were missed so much! Thanks again Jace. You are such a great papa and a wonderful husband :)

Jace's Family

Landon, Marci, us, Lyndsey and Cody

Our Little Family :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-18T16:45:00.001-05:00

My first Mother's Day as a mom! It was such a great day! Not only did I get to spend it with my brand new baby girl, but my Mom also! She is the GREATEST!

Mom and I opening presents :)

Me and my precious baby :)

Baby Easton and Baby McRae

Mommas and our babies :)

McRae Elizabeth Mecham

2009-05-18T16:01:00.000-05:00

McRae Elizabeth Mecham made her debut on Monday May 4th at 5:22 p.m. This is her story. I woke up Monday morning around 7:30 a.m. in the worst pain of my life! I knew that this was it! Luckily my mom was in town from Georgia and sleeping the spare bedroom. I frantically woke her up and told her to get ready FAST... this is it! She thought I was just being a weenie and wanted to make sure that I was really in labor. So she took her sweet little time getting ready as I'm in the middle of the living room floor rolling around in pain. Once she finally was ready, I was in so much pain I could hardly get dressed. Once I threw on some sweats and was on my way out to the car, Mom says "i'll be right out, i'm going to use the bathroom." I yelled"NO, you can go at the hospital!" We got the hospital around 9:00 a.m. I was already dialated to a four and within minutes got an epidural! I was in heaven! Jace came from work and got to the hospital after shortly after my epidural kicked in. I was glad that he didn't have to see me in pain. From then on... it was pretty much cake! Every hour the nurse came to check on me. An hour went by and I was dialated to a six. An hour later, an eight, and an hour later a ten. I was pain free the whole time :) Once I got to a ten, Doctor Jacob came in and said that the baby hadn't dropped down as low as he wanted her to be. He decided to let me wait and rest for an hour to let my body push her down on its own so it wouldn't take as long to push. After an hour he came back and the pushing began... Two and a half hours later... still no baby. The doctor said that this was going to be a big baby. He knew that I was exhausted from pushing and not much progress had been made. He then told me that he would try to use the forceps and if it didn't work, a c-section would need to be done. I started bawling and praying that she would come out with the forceps. After only a few pushes and help with the forceps, McRae was born! It was a miracle! Our baby is healthy and beautiful and we couldn't be more grateful! We are so glad that she is FINALLY here!

Jace and I waiting for the pushing to begin.

Dr. Jacob and baby McRae

McRae Elizabeth 8 lbs 11 oz. 20 1/2 inches

Our new family :)

We LOVE her!

We are so grateful for the love and support from our friends and family! Especially for my Mom who helped us for two WHOLE weeks! We were so sad to see her leave! I hope I can be as good of a mom as she is! We LOVE her!

April 28th. Still pregnant.

2009-05-18T15:55:00.001-05:00

Sumner Warren Nickel

2009-04-24T10:30:00.001-05:00

Sumner Warren was born on April 21, 2008 weighing in at 7 lbs 12 oz.

Baby number seven for Heather and Matt!

Congratulations! We LOVE you guys!

Can I just say that Heather was suppose to have this baby a day AFTER me... and I am STILL pregnant! Not to mention, Heather was only in labor for about 30 -40 minutes and was at home with her new baby 24 hours after giving birth. Let me just say, Heather Nickel, you are my HERO!

The End is Near.

2009-04-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

38 weeks. 5 days.

Georgia Atlanta North Mission Reunion

2009-04-21T11:32:00.001-05:00

saturday afternoon we went to Jace's mission reunion in salt lake. it was at the joseph smith building. we had an awesome dinner followed by a "zone conference". it was so great to see all of jace's old companions and mission president! he was so blessed to serve with such wonderful people in such a beautiful place :)

president and sister smith! they are the BEST!

mecham.manning.bingham.

Afton and Baby Tolman :)

2009-04-21T11:28:00.000-05:00

saturday morning i went to afton's baby shower! afton use to be in our old ward before we both ending up moving. she is due just a couple of weeks after me. it was so good to see her! she is BEAUTIFUL :)

EGGO you're PREGO!

2009-04-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

this is me at 37 weeks and 5 days!

getting QUITE large!

Girls Night Out!

2009-04-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

alisha, april, gracie, lyndsey and me!

while the boys were at the priesthood session of conference, we decided to have a girls night out! gracie and gavin just HAPPENED to be in town :) we all went to macaroni grill! it was so yummy! it was GREAT to see gracie and to meet her new little man! we LOVE you guys!

Ottavios!

2009-04-14T11:21:00.001-05:00

Ottavio's with the Pett's and Malone's!

the group

the girls!

me, lyndsey and april! the boys! stephen, cody and jace!

the boys being silly with their ice cream!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCI! :)

2009-04-14T11:08:00.000-05:00

april first 2009! marci turns 23! we all went to dinner at chilie's followed by ice cream cake :)

REASONS we LOVE marci:

1. she is SO talented! the BEST seamstress i know! not only can she make the most amazing quilts EVER, she often finds herself doing little odd sewing jobs for me :)

2. she is SO nice! she would do ANYTHING for ANYONE :)

3. marci is so fashionable! she is always wearing the latest fashions and hardly ever wears the same thing twice! she is super CUTE!

4. selfless! no matter what is going on in her life she ALWAYS puts others first!

5. GREAT example! she just graduated with a bachelors in accounting! she is very smart and her example makes me want to go back to school... sometimes :)

these are just a few reasons why we are glad to have marci as a friend! happy birthday!

Baby Shower # FOUR!

2009-04-14T10:48:00.000-05:00

i feel SO lucky! the last weekend in march my friends lyndsey and marci threw me my fourth and final baby shower! it was so GREAT! i had so many good friends there! the food was awesome, the games were fun, and i got so many cute and much needed things! thanks girls! i love you BOTH!

the whole GROUP! thanks to everyone who came! i LOVE you ALL!

baby CONVERSE!! thanks danna :)

CUTE diaper cake courtesy of meag and jaclyn :) lyndsey and marci! i LOVE you guys!