thrifty

i am in the process of a birthday bash post but in the meantime.. i found some great thrift finds last week at MCC. the chairs (there were two) have already been painted a lovely glossy white and look amazing with my egg chairs (also a find at mcc). the vintage quilt with flowers is even lovlier in person and although there is no baby on the way or in the works it was too lovely to pass up. the yellow blanket is crocheted with obvious love in my favorite color. dreamy. if i could live near amazing thrift/vintage stores i would be so happy. do you like to thrift?

turning three

I feel proud today. My boys are three! I have three year olds!

It’s hard to imagine those little teeney tiny guys in the NICU are now these handsome stocky boys. I celebrate you today Ari & Noah not only for who you are but who you have made me.

Ari you are so goofy and fun loving. You are stubborn and hard headed. You are funny and love to play rough. You love trains, tractors and anything with wheels. But your heart has been stolen by anything from the Cars movie. You love Mack and Lightening and all their friends. You have an incredible imagination and can keep yourself occupied coming up with new scenarios for all your four or two wheeled friends.

You have a love/hate relationship with growing up I think.. you are still holding on to your soother (thankfully only for naps and nighttime) You were fully potty trained till this week when you decided you didn’t want to be anymore and could care less how much pee you walk around in. You love to drink out of cups but often want to be carried like a baby. You still love your frog stuffy. And there are not many places you go where he doesn’t follow.

I see strength in you and the quality of a leader. I can only hope you continue to grow in your individuality. I love you.

Oh Noah my sweet soul. You have a depth of character already and such a sensitive heart. You are hurt easily but after some cuddles can usually bounce back quickly. As much as you love people you also love quiet time. You use imagination as an art form. You can quickly immerse yourself in the life of tractors and trailers and ramping any emergency vehicle you can get your hands on. You love to be held and carried and I often feel such guilt when I realize all you want is my attention. I find some days I just need to sit and watch you in order for you to feel content. Like your brother you love anything with wheels. I find you talk more than Ari not necessarily to anyone but you love to make up games in your head and talk to your cars. You also love to drive and point out where we are and what we passed. You yammer on and on about combines and busses and tractors and the bells in the tower at the church down the road. I hope you continue to love people to wholeness.

I love you through & through.

Bedtime has evolved into such fun these days (ok still some fighting too but mostly fun) you must read books and daddy reads them the best (let me tell you a secret though and one day you will find out he doesn’t really read the words but is awesome at telling the story through the pictures) You then curl up in your big boy beds and we sing three songs.. Jesus loves me, Alive Alive and Deep & Wide... the later two thanks in part to Shirley. We then go through the list of your favorite people and pray for them including things you may have seen that day.. ie. praying for buses, excavators and bells.

I can't wait for you to see what we got you this year. An awesome train table with some train sets. Hopefully hours and hours of fun.

My wish for you this next year is that you would always feel safe and loved, unafraid to try new things and that we would instill a sense of identity in each of you that is unlike any other and each your own.

Love love love you.

Mum

sweet dreams

this is what we found last night at 10:30.. so sweet.

rough & tumble

dave is in the pile on the top right.


it's just the way the difran's roll.

the one

i'm not too late. i have an hour left to celebrate the best guy i know. he is many things to many people. words that come to mind... patient, fun, solid, gracious, peaceful, decent, generous, young at heart.. life for us would never be full without him in it. we are lucky to have him. he is many things.. here are a few that make me love him.

he makes new friends easily

he is silly

he never cares what people think of him

he sees the absolute best in everyone

he is a good friend

the very best father

an amazing husband

a good son & a good brother

he is peaceful



he enjoys life

he knows when to be quiet and when to be loud

he is comfortable in his own skin

he takes such good care of us

happy birthday to my very own Italian Stallion. i heart you.

Happy Day.

A friend sent this to me today and it made my day!!

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=15iqhii3CMJRR_9gvu5uTzExNzM4Mjc4&referred_by=15792594-xrJKFSx&p=csm

this post brought to you by the number 8 ** edited.

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
- going to Ontario in July
- my magic day
- being all the way through potty training
- finding artwork for my dining room wall
- finishing the decor projects in the boys room
- shopping in Ontario in July
- warmth
- coffee tomorrow morning.
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
- drank coffee
- went to church
- visited with good friends
- made lunch
- read stories and watched The Cars movie
- watched my husband play football
- went for a run
- shopped for clothes online (just needed retail therapy)
8 Things I Wish I Could do:
- sing outloud again
- design & sew my own clothes
- run a marathon
- sit on a beach somewhere
- eat whatever I want when I want
- walk down Commerical Drive
- go on a unlimited shopping spree
- buy a new computer
8 Shows I Watch:
** edited to say.. we do have tv. i had copied this from a friend and forgot to take it out :)
- Grey's
- Amazing Race
- Top Chef
- Lost
- Sarah's House
- Sarah's Cottage
- Design Inc
- Iron Chef America
8 Favorite Fruits:
- mandarin oranges
- granny smith apples
- mango's
- pineapples
- pomegranates
- saskatoons
- raspberries
- strawberries
8 Places I’d Like to Travel To:
- Italy
- Spain
- Ireland
- Australia
- Vancouver
- L.A.
- Minneapolis (shopping)
- Jamaica
8 Places I’ve Lived:
- Winkler (in 3 different houses)
- L.A.
-Shelton, WA
-Seattle
-Colorado Springs
-Winnipeg
-Vancouver
-Dundas, Ontario

Thanks Holly. That was fun!