L.O.V.E.

 21 Valentines day cards 

signed by GABE!

how long do you think that should take before you excuse yourself 

and go slam your head in a door 

because it would be less painful? 

 im not sure how long it "should" take 

 but it took me about 5 minutes,

i feel me and homework have a long road ahead of us,

 as it teaches me yet again
another lesson in patience!

and its adorable how hard he concentrates on every letter and how his tongue follows along proving he is laser focused, but i am not kidding when i say it took a good 90 minutes for him to fill out every last one of those lightning mcqueen  V-day cards and so help me......
i LOVE him!

we go all out for the "day O' Love" here at the Echols house.

toys and candy waiting when big and middle woke up was mind blowing. 

gabe even score his very own bottle of "cheers" which he thought was pretty amazing!!!

he reluctantly saved it for our special high class valentines day dinner!

as i said, no expense is spared. 

unless you count plates or forks or knives or cups as an expense

then i guess some expenses where spared.

but i got the very bestest most expensive plastic table cloth i could find on the dollar isle.

this style of family eating is not for everyone. 

say if you value things like manners and napkins and such,

but if you wanna blow some little kid minds throw pasta and sauce in the middle of the table 

and go to town with your hands.

to quote gabe "what is happening?" 

it didn't take him or mr. mac long to get in the spirit of things.

{it was just another meal time for mac}

  

we invited nana nancy and grandma-great over since they were dateless 

and quickly conceded that the no fork rules only applied to those 80 and younger. 

it didn't take gabe long to forgo fingers all together and move to a dog style of consumption.

but what are you gonna do? tell him to use some manners? 

you should probably just join him at that point and at least keep your hands clean. 

and while we are on the subject of holidays that are often over-hyped and under-delivered.

a very sneaky leprechaun broke in and turned our milk green. 

that was the beginning and end of it!

#saintpattysdayfail

i sure hope the easter bunny gets his her act together!!

I Believe...

There are not many things better in this world then watching your husband exercise his priesthood authority. 

My testimony and belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is something that has never wavered,

 not because i have a complete understanding of it.

and not because i've never questioned it or the trials i've gone through

but because

I BELIEVE faith is a choice!

 We live in an imperfect world, surrounded by imperfect people who do imperfect things.

and what a relief that is considering that i too am imperfect.

but my Heavenly Father is NOT.

and my Savior Jesus Christ is NOT.

and if I BELIEVE those two things, then my questions become irrelevant 

because at the end of the day i trust my Heavenly Father has a plan for me,

he knows what he is doing, and if i ask he will NEVER lead me astray. 

and to say that we are surround by imperfection 

does not mean there is not PERFECTION all around us.

 the birth of a child is PERFECTION no matter the outcome. 

that spirit has come to earth for one purpose!

 to receive a body. 

that earthly body will NOT be perfect.

but that spirit has every opportunity to be perfected through our savior

Jesus Christ.  

I BELIEVE being a parent is PERFECTION

not because i am or ever will be a perfect parent

but because the opportunity to serve a child day in and day out

through the ups and downs, darkness and light, tears and smiles

is a path that if you walk down hand in hand with our Heavenly Father

leads to nothing other then eternal happiness. 

 I BELIEVE a mothers love is PERFECTION.

i know this because i've looked into 3 tiny sets of baby blues on the best and worst of days and never wavered in the LOVE and DEVOTION i feel for them. 

 I AM BLESSED

 i will never ever be able to repay my Heavenly Father for the blessing of being a mother to these 3 imperfect little boys.

but i will walk down that path with him hand in hand

wrapped in imperfection and do all i can to help my three littles gain their very own testimony

so someday they can be just as imperfect as their daddy.

because spending eternity with all my imperfect men

WILL BE PERFECT!!

2013 wrap up

2013 is over and i'm ready for a new year, with a fresh start and a whole new set of adventures!

don't get me wrong 2013 has been good to our family of 5

but new can be good, new can be fun, and new WILL BE pregnancy free!

here are a few fantastic things i forgot to document 

but are still worthy to be on record...

in no particular order. 

* 

cousins are sorta like the cherry on top of the most perfect chocolate drizzled sunday. 

they are friends that you can count on being around forever. 

even when they move across the country.

they are family and they will always come home.

and when they do...

 you go torture yourself trying to get the perfect picture  

to hang on the wall so you have a little piece of them when they have to leave again. 

Our first date was on February 7th 1996

he took me to a monster truck show and bought be a snow cone. 

i mean talk about knowing how to win a gal over!

fast forward to july 16th 2013- our 12 year anniversary! 

we had 2 kids with one on the way.  

we've laughed, traveled, cried, fought, made up, grew up, and a thousand other things.

i'm so lucky to be married to someone i want to be with even when i want to be alone. 

he is the best husband, dad and friend.

i'm one lucky lady!

and mr. echols is one lucky guy to be married to someone who "lets" him go on backpacking trips

with no cell service, for 5 days, with a bunch a dudes. 

while she is pregnant, with 2 crazy little men at home!!!

but since he is pretty fantastic and deserves a break from the daily grind.

i guess going on a "man trip" every year to someplace beautiful to become one with nature

is a good thing!!

especially when he catches more fish with his lightning mcqueen fishing pole then 

everyone else with their fancy flies and poles and lures and what not. 

i had my doubts that he was even able to catch a fish!

his history as my guide.

bets were made....debts collected....i've learned my lesson... he can catch a fish!

and you know how fishing is the perfect segue to a first hair cut....

well obviously it leads us to this handsome little dude

 and the lovely locks that were snipped and the tears that were shed

all to end with a sucker, balloon and a smile. 

man the price of beauty is high!

or $13.99 + tip, but whatever!

one might ask..

how did you forget to post halloween costume pictures? 

well i was 8.75 months pregnant, 

my feet and hips where in competition to see who could inflict the most pain

and to be honest these two are lucky they even had a costume to go trick or treating in!!

the weather even cooperated and was warm enough for a costume that was not october proof.

and man did they work their costumes like the little models that they are.

 the cutest Neverland pirates i've ever seen. 

grandma and grandpa had their annual halloween party and as always it was fantastic. 

why you ask is there no pictures of arron and myself in some clever costume sure to win a prize and be talked about around water coolers all year? 

.... did you not read the part about being 8.75 months pregnant? 

as mentioned above,

winter started out unseasonably warm and these "too cool for school"  dudes 

soaked up every last warm ray of sunshine that 2013 had to offer. 

i mean literally they were outside everyday 

with no coats or boots or snow hats (unless used as an accessory to be highly fashionable)

it was heaven sent for their mama as i tried to check off all the things on my never ending "nesting" list before little man #3 arrived.

and while waiting for above mentioned #3,

#1 went from toddler to little boy right before my eyes. 

its mind-blowing the transformation that happens when you blink. 

because thats how fast it happened.

panic sets in if you think about it too long,

about how you waited and waited for a baby and then you got one and that baby isn't a baby anymore.

and it literally was only yesterday and tomorrow is catapulting at you at an unprecedented speed.

and you are trying to capture every single moment 

(except the meltdown, i wanna pull my hair out moments, because those are not your finest hour)

all while trying to live in the moment!

its exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. 

this is Gabers on his first and last day of nursery

now he is going to be a sunbeam and i'm going to have my very own kid to watch in primary programs. which is something i've always wanted, to have my own littler person wave at me from on the stage while not singing the words to the songs they've been working on all year. 

but i didn't want it to come so fast....? 

i'd hold him back in nursery if he wasn't already a foot taller then everyone in there! 

so as you can see a lot happened while we were waiting for Pax man to show up 

and oh boy was he worth the wait. 

we are all so in love with him and his cheeks and his freakishly long fingers and toes.

he's been to his first Utah football game and secured a place in his big brothers hearts as well as mom and dads. 

 i found out i was pregnant when mac was 6 months old.. to say i was in shock would be the understatement of the year (2013 to be exact..haha)

but now it makes perfect sense, i don't know what life would look like without him.

so the best gift of 2013 definitely goes to the arrival of mr. pax 

and becoming a family of five!

whose to say we won't be a family of 6 someday, that is still in the 

"To be determined" category.

but it will NOT be in 2014!

i'm taking a year off!

CHEERS 2013