My sister Rhonda saw this painting I posted on Instagram and left a comment….

I love that mug with JOY on it!
I would paint that! Is that at your house? I’m your sis…..you know I love Christmas….🎅🏻

Me: Are you hinting for mine or are you going to paint it? 



Sis: I’m hinting ….😁



Me: In public, so now it's just awkward.
Guess I'll have to give it to you now....🤣

Today I wrapped the painting up with lots of love and will deliver it tomorrow.
Truth is, I owe her.
A lot.
She’s been a sister/mother/best friend to me all of my life.
Always believed in me and always took my side—(even when I was clearly in the wrong😂). 



She managed to talk me into doing the Sisters, Sisters song with her in 2015 and I'm so glad she did.
A beautiful memory to hold onto as the years have continued to pass.

When we were 8 and 12, we had the brilliant inspiration to write names on Christmas gifts with glue and glitter. Hid them in the washing machine until it was time to do the laundry. (Don’t ask me why. Do kids ever do things that adults would do? Absolutely not. And that’s what makes childhood so incredibly awesome.)
Glitter on clothing was the norm for everyone in the family for months....

My sis is one of the many reasons I love the holidays.
Memories galore and the ability to make new ones—what a gift! 

Christmas.
Full of old movies, old music, old recipes and yes

Old me 😉. 





My simple joys so far this season:

✉️ Christmas cards from near and far
🥗 Lunch with my high school girlfriends
🎄 Ornaments that take me back
🏡 The warmth of home on blustery days
❄️ Snow falling
🐦 Cardinals on the fence
🎄Christmas tree lot that 7 year old Gavin and I visit, hand in hand
🐾 Taking a walk with Rosie and realizing it’s not that cold
🌅 The quiet beauty of daybreak on a wintery morn
❤️ You, here, reading these words
✨ Falling asleep, counting my blessings

Share your warm memory of a holiday past here in the comments below. It doesn't have to be Christmas, it can be anything that makes you smile and feel happy.

May your cup of joy be filled to the brim, and glimmers of love and peace light your path forward.

Hugs!

Dreama




A Cup of Joy
8 x 8in oil on gold gesso panel

P.S. A few more songs from my sis--enjoy--consider it a front row seat to your own little concert! (Can you believe I've gotten to hear her sing all these years? Some of my earliest memories of her are her rocking and humming to herself when we rode along in Mom and Dad’s big ’64 Ford Galaxy.)

I’ll Be Seeing You/ Count Your Blessings

May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You

And remember to ask/hint for what you want. As Rhonda will tell you…it works😉!



P.P.S. In case you missed it, my watercolor journaling course, created in Paris, France, is 40% off right now (normally $497, holiday price $297 or two payments of $159.)
Here’s the info: Postcards from Paris