O-N-E!

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

more

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

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.

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 :)

She's All Country

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 :)

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"

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

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

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

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