The Newsome Family: Father's Day Early And Cara's Gifting Style

Darrell is going to be visiting his dad in Mississippi on Father's day, so we decided to all celebrate him together on Tuesday of this week. Bailey, Matt, Jack, Shawna and Bryan (and Bryan's son Hunter even got to stop by) and us Newsomes all got to come down and hang. We ate yummy food, and the kids gave their gift. Cara is a mini-Bailey. My sister's love language is gifts (not sure if you knew this about yourself Bailey) :). She is great at putting a lot of thought into things and finding THE PERFECT gift for someone. She listens well and remembers things people say they want/need. She thoroughly enjoys making things for people. You typically show love to others in your preferred love language, so hers was pretty easy to figure out. [ A person whose love language is gifts doesn't mean that they necessarily just love being gifted with extravagant gifts, it truly is the thought that counts. ]

Anyways, I have been watching Cara's personality and LOVE for crafting emerge these last few months and it hit me a few weeks ago that she is so similar to my sister. Once I mentioned it to a friend of mine, we were like, why didn't we see it before. Now it is so obvious :), which helps me know how to love her better.

When she starts a gift, it is ALL SHE CAN DO for weeks. She spends every free time minute she has sitting at a little table getting glitter and glue and little cut up pieces of paper everywhere: and this couldn't make her happier! She spent a good 3 weeks on my Mother's Day pop up book that she made. I will always hold it dear to my heart because I watched her be oh so secretive and focused on completing it.

But the most precious part of this little girl is the gift giving event. She has to know the person's favorite color. This is how our conversation went about Papa's gift:

C: I need to call Papa and ask him his favorite color.

M: I'm sure he'll love anything you make him baby.

C: Then I'll do rainbow.

M: Oh, well, how about you do camo, it's like rainbow but with browns, greens and black :)

C: YES, that's great!

So she went back to her table and began making her typical things she includes in the gift bag (also with pictures of Eric's birthday gift from her today):

Colored 'tissue paper' in your favorite color (i.e. 3 blank sheets of paper colored and then folded to use as tissue paper.)

A personalized page with your name, in your favorite color, with a cute note on the back. (notice the camo). Typically, this is in do-a-dot, but she forego that for Papa's.

Paper cut into a heart, telling you that Jesus (or God) loves you.

Candy from the stash (it may or may not be from Christmas--so I tell the receiver they may or may not want to eat it)

New candy, the receiver's favorite, because mom feels silly for giving old candy.

A small book, she made out of paper and stapled in the middle.

Papa's had pictures she drew of all the animals she imagined he hunts. The first page was a gun, then bear, wolf, deer, and the list went on.

My little Cara, who is having a birthday next week, is just too precious for words. She gets so excited to give her gift (per my parents, just like I did) that she tells you half of what you're getting before you

can open it :).

And she wants everyone in on the event. She loves Micah and Anna to be just as excited to give her gift.