Anticipate Fun

The day of our engagement!  On top of Stone Mountain.

We're planning a day trip to Stone Mountain this weekend, and I'm really excited about it!  Stone Mountain holds a special place in my heart, because it's where Robi proposed to me.  And also, we've had a tradition of going to "Snow Mountain" for the past several years during the winter break, so keeping up with that tradition makes me happy, too!

I try to remember to "anticipate fun," because looking forward to fun times makes me happier!  And I'm not the only one who gets extra happiness from anticipating fun.  The authors of this article in the journal of Applied Research in Quality of Life found that vacationers get a strong happiness boost before vacations, and have much higher levels of happiness than non-vacationers when looking forward to a vacation.  (After vacations, not so much!)

I try to let Flannery know our future plans, so she can benefit from anticipating our fun trips, too. Today on our morning commute, I talked to her about our upcoming Snow Mountain trip, and what we might do there--getting cocoa, building a snowman, sledding/tubing, perhaps riding the train around the mountain.  It really does make me happy to think ahead about the good times we're planning as a family.   We also have a quick weekend camping trip planned in a few months, and a beach trip we're planning for the summer, and just thinking about those getaways puts me in an instant good mood.

So, what fun time are you anticipating?  If you don't have a fun trip or vacation planned yet, is there a quick weekend trip you could start planning?  Do it!  Just be sure to plan it far enough in advance to soak up the anticipatory happiness!

Anticipate Fun

Since anticipating fun is almost as much fun as actually having fun experiences for me, I've been trying to think up small things to do each week leading up to our weekend of Halloween festivities. Today, we made some yummy Halloween Pudding Cones. Here's what you need:

1. 1 box instant pudding
2. 2 cups cold milk
3. fall colored sprinkles
4. a few ice cream cones that will stand up (not sugar cones)

First, make your instant pudding by adding the 2 cups cold milk, stirring or mixing with a mixer, and letting it set for about 5 minutes. Then, once it's set, scoop some pudding into each cone, and sprinkle with your holiday sprinkles. Voila!

You could vary the sprinkle colors and use this idea for pretty much any holiday. We love to make "holiday" pudding for practically every holiday (green sprinkles for St. Patrick's Day, Red Sprinkles for Valentines, etc.), because it's just so darn easy and yummy.

Flannery really enjoyed adding the ice cream cone idea this time, and, boy, you should've seen the sprinkly mess we made in the kitchen! But it was worth it, and it brought me a big happiness boost to do this little project together with her.



What food do you love most at this time of the year?

Anticipate Fun

One thing I've found that really makes me happy is just the anticipation of a fun event. I think that anticipating fun brings a great deal of happiness, which is why engagements and pregnancies are such wonderful times in peoples' lives. Anticipating fun is, well, fun!

Which is why I think I so enjoy decorating for Halloween. The preparation and planning I do for Halloween makes the whole month of October a fun time.

Last year, we painted little pumpkins, painted a witch ornament to hang from a shelf, hung pretend spider webs up on the porch, made homemade spiders to put in the web, and carved a jack-o-lantern.

This year, so far, we've bought a pumpkin.

Hmmm...I think I'm a little bit behind in starting my "anticipation" of the fun!


What fun memory do you have from Halloween or Fall Festivals when you were a kid? And what fun time are you anticipating right now?

By the way, this pic is Flanna dressed as a cat on her second Halloween! Oh my goodness, isn't that adorable? I remember she kept meowing the whole night, and really stayed in character! And the week afterward, she kept asking for more whiskers painted on her face. So sweet!

Celebrate Life

"He is mine in a way that he will never be hers, yet he is hers in a way that he will never be mine, and so together, we are motherhood." ~Desha Wood

My daughter's godparents just adopted a sweet baby boy.

A sweet baby boy with long fingers and wiggly legs and a wispy dusting of dark hair. A sweet baby boy who already likes music.

This baby is just a miracle.

He's been prayed for and hoped for and prepared for, for so long now.

What a gift to get to share in the joy of a new little life!

My mom once said, "Everything gets magical again when you have a baby." And it's so true. Every gust of wind outside is something brand new for the baby to experience for the first time. Every dog lick on the baby's naked curled up toes is a moment where you get to experience dog licks again for the very first time. Every photo you take now, one day becomes his view of how his life began.

(Baby boy, just so you know, your life began with so much love and wonder surrounding you!)

Magical indeed.




What miracle are you hoping or preparing for? Tell your friends and family, and let them share in the fun of the anticipation!