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!

she scraps.

for lack of a better blog post here is a look at what I was busy with last weekend. it was Super Scrap Day! I completed 9 layouts. here are some of my faves.

not even close

Because of the economic state of our fine neighbors to the South and the internet many magazines are folding. Many really GOOD magazines. My favorite is Domino. I have had a subscription for a little while now and was sad to receive my last issue last month. I just got a notice in the mail saying they are replacing my subscription with Glamour magazine... seriously?? In the notice it says because Glamour has the same ideas and quality that Domino magazine had. What??
Have they picked up the two and compared.. I think not. Just my rant for today.

6 years ago...

yesterday. i met my husband. just been reminiscing today. remembering a good friend who is celebrating a birthday and lives far away. she is part of who i am today. she impacted me and she is significant in helping me make the decision to give my heart to Dave. went through my old journals... found this entry from that day 6 years ago. i remember sitting on my top bunk at the house on 10th in Vancouver where I lived with Kristina & Lindsey before the Wake Tour. My mom and Lisa were visiting... anyways I remember it so clearly. he was and still is so cute!!

I also found this picture which was taken a month later... on our tour across Canada we stopped in Manitoba and after a long talk with Emily and a sleepless night I decided I wanted him to have my heart.... and here we are 6 years later.


the pic is horrible and old but it's making my heart happy after this trip down memory lane.
So to my best guy and one of the best friends I have known.
Thanks for the love and Happy Birthday!!

a culinary night of magic

Our dinner party decided to go with a spring theme this year and we decided on Citrus. If you are unaware of our group.. we take a theme and we try to create things that challenge not only our culinary skills but also our pallets.
This was my first try at dessert. Normally I shy away from desert... I guess I am just a bit insecure in that area.
We were wowed by a menu of duck a la'orange, mushrooms in a citrus oil, salad topped with the best feta I have tried in a long time, roasted potatoes with sage and orange peel, a citrus tampenade for an appetizer and lastly my citrus cakes (or as dave called them citrus burgers)
I often forget to mention the citrus punch the loewen's graciously made us. Forgetting only because I helped myself to many glasses and it was oh so good (mainly in part to the whole bottle of gin) :)
My camera died so Crystal sent me these pictures of our sweet time together and for some reason I couldn't make them bigger after I saved them so here you go.

wny not norwex?

this is what I have been doing in all my spare time these days. march was a huge month for me. it marked the end of a big fundraiser I did for a preschool. Thanks to Jenelle I got all the product bagged and then I delivered it today! things do not look like they will slow down either. I am so thankful for such a great company to work for.

growing up with gummy bears

so we have entered new uncharted waters here at the difran house... not going back either. we are had a successful week of potty training. monday went really well. tuesday was horrible till later in the afternoon then it seemed to click. and since then it's been amazing. so i am pleased at the progress. i was ready to give up but am so thankful for people encouraging me to stick with it. it is so worth it.
by the end of most day's i was totally exhausted and my knees hurt from kneeling at the potty all day long. but i am proud.
and what is cuter than little bums in gitch.


hard to believe spring break has come and gone. we managed to thrive for the most part. a trip to the library, playing with friends, reading, putting together new puzzles

and going for walks.

i am ready to go back to work mainly beacuse i love my job.. but i am also so glad i had this last week at home with the boys all day.
i also wanted to say i so appreciate the comments from last weeks post. i am grateful for my community of those who believe in me. i plan to make it a habit of sharing the raw and the real with you...

for real.

i know a girl. she is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother and a friend. she is wounded, forgiven, hard working, loyal, fearful and aware of grace. she lives in a world of judgement, a hill of hope and a valley of self doubt. she is on a good day pretty self confident and on a bad day she can barely see through tears. she desires real vulnerability and a community of truth. she can see through most bull shit and yet finds herself consumed with self loathing.
she tries to keep a nice home, a well fed family, good looking kids and a successful business. she wants to love her husband as he deserves and she doesn't want to yell at her kids but often falls short. she would rather have you see her for who she is than gloss over everything with perfect words and a i'm fine all the time attitude.
most days she feels alone but lately she finds when she opens up and lets you see her for who she is she is astounded at the amount of others who are just longing for the same thing.
she wants you to know you are not alone.
she wants you to know that motherhood is hard work and those who act like it isn't are lying.
that being a wife isn't always easy.
that being a good everything is not attainable.
she wants you to know that there is grace for each day.
her kids love her in spite of all her shortcomings.
her husband longs for her to see how beautiful she really is.
her friends think she is fun.
her parents really truly believe in her and can't imagine life without her being in it.
she wishes she could go back and change some of the things she's done and the people she has hurt but she is realizing that she just has to keep walking out truth and believing that grace is hers again and again.
she is me.

for grandma & papa