The 5 grandkids with grandma and grandpa

Emily, Noah, Andrew, Naomi, Michael
All 5 kids pile on Grandpa

Noah, Emily, Grandma, Andrew, Grandpa, Naomi, Michael

Christmas and New Year

opening gifts - what fun!
Cardinal fan hats and scarfs - made by grandma :)
grandma made a ping pong ball drop game
let's all dance to High School Musical songs
Mom, Dad, and their kids



We all got together to celebrate Christmas over the weekend. Emily, Michael, Naomi, Andrew & Noah all got lots of goodies - as well as everyone else. We started out with a devotion and Christmas Carol singing. Michael especiall loved to sing - he is going to be my musical child.

Over the weekend we played lots of Operation (Michael's gift), Don't Break the Ice (Andrew's gift), Outburst, Taboo, Carom, Pinochle (Greg & Jamie won the tournament) and lots of other family bonding. we ate lots of good foot and just enjoyed one another's company.

Merry Christmas!

Greg and Michael
Jamie, Naomi, Xavier
Jon and Jamie - the newlyweds
Singing on Christmas
Naomi helping to "decorate" Aunt Dawn and Uncle Craig's Christmas tree

Well - here it is the 26th of December. We spent a wonderful few days celebrating Christ's birth. On Sunday we went to Church and then celebrated Christmas at home with our family. Emily got some outfits for her American Girl dolls & Michael got many Star Wars figures. Emily also got two pair of pajamas, a Hannah Montana CD, and a nightlight. Michael also got baseball cards and a Darth Vadar video game. I gave Doug a replica of new Busch stadium as well as an Ozzie Smith figurine doing a flip and a baseball book. I got a nice robe and a GPS divice to help me not get lost so much :)

On the 24th we left for St. Louis - and arrived in Belleville, Illinois in time for Church. We went to Aunt Dawn's Church with mom, dad, grandma and grandpa. Then we traveled to Aunt Gayle & Uncle Laurence's house for the evening. After a light dinner a game of Gin Rummy took place. Mom and Laurence beat Dad and I - but it was fun anyway. Winning isn't everything right?

We slept in as much as the kids would let us on Chirstmas and played games until around 2:30 when we left for Aunt Dawn and Uncle Craig's house. It was great to spend the day with Grandma, Grandpa, mom, dad, Aunt Dawn, Uncle Craig, Justin, Leyna, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Kirk, Rachel, Xavier (who we met for the first time - he is so cute!!!), John and Jamie, Aaron and Katie, Riley, Erica, Aunt Gayle, Uncle Laurence, Jamie, Greg, & Naomi. The kids spent most of the time playing with Justin's Wii in the basement. Michael especially enjoyed it - and would love to have one. He knows what we have to say about video games though.

After a great afternoon of visiting and singing Christmas songs - we headed to the Drury Inn for the evening. We decided not to go all the way back into St. Louis - but to stay on the Illinois side so the drive home would not be as long.

Today we got up, ate breakfast - they are always so good at the Drury - and watched the kids swim. We then stopped at Target - and did not see anything we could not live without. Then we headed home.

After arriving home we unpacked and got ready to go hit a few places for couch hunting - in fact we had looked a few places that were on the way home. After looking at 5 places we found one at a place that made their own furniture in their own factories - so anything could be personalized for no extra cost. We could choose from any fabric they had for the cushions and throw pillows. We were very impressed - especially since they also had a sleeper sofa in our price range which we could personalize. :) We had about 100 fabrics to choose from for the base fabric - and then another 100 for throw pillows. Wow! We ended up with a blue for the sofa and a blue and creme pattern for the throw pillows. It should arrive in about 4 weeks since it is custom built- they will let us know when it comes in for sure.

Tomorrow I plan on purging Emily's rooom - it should be a long project but one which will make both of us feel much better. We will add a shelf from mom and dad after new year and we need to clean a space for it - instead of just adding to the clutter. Then I will hit michael's room - but that should not be as bad (at least I don't think so).

I will post pictures later - just wanted to catch up on "news" first.

weekend fun

We excaped the weekend "storm" which was predicted. We got rain and some sleet - but no snow. Mom and dad came down on Friday evening, instead of Saturday morning, which was good as they got snow in Indy and places in Indiana. It also kept us from hiring a babysitter - free babysitting is always nice :)

On Saturday we decorated cookies in the aftertoon - after Christmas program practice for the kids. We bagged goodie bags for the Sunday School kids (peanuts, oranges, candy...just like when we were kids) and then Doug helped get props and the sound system ready for Thursday evening's school program.

Sunday was the Christmas program. Michael was a shop keeper (baker) and Emily was the lead angel. She got to lead the procession around the Church for the entire program. Quite a big job :)

I will post pictures later - Michael and Emily want to play computer.

Michael's Gingerbread House

Since I made a gingerbread house with Emily - Michael wanted to make one too. Thus, tonight we sat down and got crafty. Emily wrote out Christmas cards for her school friends while Michael and I worked on his Gingerbread house.

Boo doing tricks

Boo knows how to sit, stay (sometimes), shake, jump, and dance. Here are a few pictures of him dancing. This was hard to photograph - as he moves quickly.

gingerbread house making

This is the Gingerbread House kit we used - it was great and came from WalMart. Look in the holiday candy section - not the Christmas stuff or the craft section.
Here is our final creation - wow! This sure looks sweet. We had to make sure to keep it in a high enough place so Boo would not get ahold of it. He loves candy.

Here are some pictures of the gingerbread house Emily and I made. I would highly recommend the gingerbread kit with the white plastic tray to hold the house. It made all the difference in creating the house easily. It stayed together without any extra support. It also came with stiff icing that really stuck together quickly. After 15 minutes it was dry (I only had to hold the roof for 1 minute to make it stay in place). Wow! What an improvement over ones I have done in the past.

Christmas Survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love wrapping paper. Unwrapping makes such a fun sound - rippp!

2. Real tree or artificial? Fake! After turning our carpet green when our real tree tipped over (due to the food coloring we were told to put in the water) I will not have a real tree again!

3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving afternoon

4. When do you take the tree down? Probably after New Years when we return home

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes indeed - especially with a little spiced rum

6. Favorite gift received as a child? my rub-a-dub dollie

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? many! Michael has them have "Church meetings" and loves to play with them. He wishes I would leave them out all year.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My dad!

9. Easiest person to buy for? Emily

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? various knick knacks from students. Once I got a brown ceramic squirrel.

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail! It's the only time some people get real mail from us.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love Charlie Brown's Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? January ...try to buy all year when things are on sale. Some years I do better at this than others.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I'll never tell

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? chex mix, dill oyster crackers

16 Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

17. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yes - I thnk just about every early childhood teacher can!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? neither - we have a cross

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Whenever we're together with family. Not necessarily Christmas Eve or Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? All the santas, reindeer, snowmen, and elves you can find - but not many nativity scene items.

23. Favorite Christmas tradition? making Christmas cut out cookies

24. Up early or sleeping in? I always like to sleep in when it's an option

25. Who hands out the gifts? We take turns.

26. Does Santa wrap your gifts? No santa in our house!

27. Do you tell the Christmas story? Someone does sometimes

28. Do you leave cookies for Santa? No santa in our house!

another December weekend

This week sure flew by. We had the Messiah sing along on Tuesday. That is a city wide event at our Church where people sing the Christmas portions of Handel's Messiah. It is a beautiful evening of music. Emily sat with me and Michael with Doug. Emily sang on the Alleluia chorus - and said, "I know this one, it is easy". I sang into her ear and helped her follow along in the music and she really stayed with us.

Wednesday evening was church with a fish fry dinner. Now our school smells like fish - and well for the next 3 weeks as we are having a fish fry each week.

Thursday was handbells and choir.

Tonight the kids and I had pizza, popcorn & movies. We watched The Hero & Meet the Robinsons. Michael had a gift card for Blockbuster which was going to expire next week - so he got to pick out two movies. He also got 2 20 oz bottles and a bucket of popcorn. He was excited as he got to pick out two sodas - he picked out sprinte and cherry coke. He drank a whole 20 oz. bottle of cherry coke.

Tomorrow Emily & I have a mother/daughter gingerbread house building event at Church. Should be a good time. Michael is going over to a friend's house to play while we are there. Then we are invited over to our friends - Chris & Sue's for their son Sam's birthday. He will be a big 1 year old.

Then on Sunday we are helping the youth put up the Christmas tree at Church.

Wow! In addition we have to catch up on laundry, pick up the house (the kids have to cleeeeaaan their rooms) and do all the usual stuff.

What a fun - but busy time of the year.

Early Christmas

Karen came in for a quick visit this weekend. We celebrated Christmas with her - as well as having a Thanksgiving dinner today at lunch and going out for Doug's birthday. We crammed a lot into about 28 hours.

We played games (uno attack, mexican train, trouble, othollo, chinese checkers), created with Michael's new erector set, made crafts with Emily's new craft kits, ate at Rocky's on the river, went downtown to watch the Christmas lights by the courthouse, went to Church & Bible class, and ate a Thanksgiving dinner. Wow! We had a fun time. Here are some pictues from our busy weekend.

Home Extreme Make Over

Two weeks ago the show Extreme Make Over Home Edition was in Louisville. Doug had the opportunity to "volunteer" on that Sunday afternoon. We went over on Saturday to watch - and the kids and Doug went again on that Tuesday to see the almost finished product. The "Move That Bus" occurred on Wednesday afternoon.

Here are a few pictures of the house in progress from Saturday. Although the kids did not want to stay long - it was exciting to see a show in progress. It will show in February sometime - will let you know when for sure.

On Thursday afternoon - after a lunch of Turkey, dressing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, rolls, and pumpkin dessert - we got ready for Christmas. The kids and I put up the tree while Doug put up lights outside. The kids did help him out with the lights - and even ventured up on the roof. They are all syked for January when they get to help take the lights down. :)

Come Ye Thankful People Come

This week I have been doing a lot about thanking God for all his blessings with my students. We made murals, wrote prayers, made acronyms... Yesterday one student said we sure are talking about thanking God a lot (the student was Michael). I said Yes, we were, but we were still not doing it enough. God gives us so many blessings! More than we could ever count! I reminded them of Solomon (we had that story two weeks ago) and all his blessings. This Thanksigivng take the time to Thank God for his blessings - and then do it again - and again - and again! God loves it!

Today we will do it again at school - and again - and again!

Thank you God!!!!

Braces

Emily had a new occurance on Monday. She got braces on her top teeth. She also was fitted for her bottom bracket. They will call us when that comes in & then they will put spacers back into her mouth and then schedule a visit to put the bracket in. With the holidays it was difficult to guess when things would be back. She has a sore mouth for now. I keep telling her in time she will get used to it. Until then it is jellow, pudding, yogurt, noodles, ... soft foods. Hopefully she will be able to eat turkey. Otherwise it will be more potatoes & pumpkin pie :)

Veterans' Day

In recognition of Veterans' Day - November 11th I had a Veterans' Day open house today. I had 7 different Veterans who shared with my class about their experience in the military. I also had 2 students who brought in items from family members who were unable to attend. What a great day to celebrate the wonderful country we live in and to thank our Lord for giving us people to fight for our freedom. I praise the Lord for all the members of the military - who helped to make America the country it is today. Thank a Veteran - and make Sunday a special day for them!

More about Indy

On Saturday we also went to the Children's Museum. Michael was a little disappointed - as they had a Star Wars show in the planetarium. We had tickets and were seated waiting for it to start. They tried to start it twice - and had technical difficulties. Due to the All Pro Dad activity he and Doug were going to later int he day - we were not able to attend a later show. He was sad, but I told him we would try to go again over Christmas break.

Andrew loved the trains and Emily and Michael loved dressing up as scuba divers and sea creatures. I enjoyed watching them play and have fun being a kid.

After everyone was back home the kids all enjoyed climing on and wrestling with grandpa. No wonder he has back trouble sometimes - what a load he had on his back.

Michael and Doug

On Saturday Doug and Michael had a wonderful bonding experience. They were able to attend a ProDad event at the Indianapolis Colt's practice field. Activities were done at stations - and they came home with free stuff. Michael got an autograph of a previous player - as well as a picture with an autographed helmet. They were two numbers away from winning an autographed football helmet. Dad and Gene were "volunteers" for the event - and did not enjoy it as much.

pictures from the zoo

Emily & Michael at the zoo!


Noah as a frog


Let's smile - Noah, Michael, Emily & Andrew
(Noah was asleep when we took the one on the rhino)


Let's all go trick-or-treating

Fall Fun

Michael and Emily by the camp fire. Michael is "belly dancing" while Emily is just dancing cool!



We climbed up this tower. Michael was freaking out the whole time - as he is scared of heights. He made it - but did not want to look down.


The view!


Saturday Gene, Holly, Andrew & Noah came down. We played Mexican Train, watched Andrew and Michael play trains (Andrew loved Michael's choo's choo's), played canasta, watched Happy Feet on a large screen in the back yard & went trick or treating at the zoo. Wow! It was a filled Day. They left after Church and lunch on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon we headed up to Brown County and camped for the night. We enjoyed the park - and the leaves. The kids took their bikes and they rode them all over the camp site area, we hiked, and we enjoyed a nature talk about turles & snakes and hybernation (we really learned a lot about snakes and turtles).

Hello Fall!

Well, it seems fall has officially hit us - we are not having 90 degree weather anymore. We also got 3 days straight of rain :) We did need it. In those 3 days we just about caught up on what we were behind upon for the last 3 months. Kind of crazy that after 3 days of rain they can say a 3 month drought is over.

I just finished 2 days of Parent/Teacher conferences. They all went well. I am glad they are over though. It is something that I really do not enjoy, as you write comments to parents all quarter - send a written progress report every 3 weeks - and talk to them - and it still seems they are surprised about some things. Oh well - one tries.

Two weekends ago on Sunday we went to a Pumpkin Patch with our friends Chris, Sue & their two boys. It was a great time. The kids loved jumping on the hay mountain as well as swimming in the hay pool. They also brought home incrediblly large pumpkins - 27 lb. and 21 lb. They wrote on them with washable marker and we will probably carve them on Monday (as we don't have school on Monday :)

On Saturday of that weekend was our fall festival at school. The kids had a great time and got all kinds of goodies (A.K.A. junk) to bring home. Luckily not too much candy as they will not be able to eat a lot of it this year due to their mouth expanders. After the Fall Festival we went to Chris & Sue's house for Ben's 4th birthday. Since Michael had just gotten a bike - we took his old one to Ben for a birthday present. He seemed to enjoy it - the only problem was we left it in the van and when we got it out it was too dark for him to ride it. That was a little dissapointing for him.

Last weekend I worked on report cards & Doug went up to fix a garage door opener for Gene & Holly. The kids stayed in there with Gene & Holly over night - and had the chance to go to an orchard & pumpkin patch. Talk about lucky kids - two pumpkin patches in a week. I did tell them to make sure they got small pumpkins - as they already had their big pumpkins. They did listen :)

This weekend Holly, Gene and the boys are coming down to go trick-or-treating at the zoo. It should be a great time. This is Andrew's 3rd visit - and he will be mobil this year. Should be fun to watch him see all the characters. Hope to get some good pictures. My "good" camera has been on the fritz - so I am using our old one (which the screen magically works now) and I can't find the cord to connect it to the computer. After I buy a new one I will get some pictures posted. Until then just imagine all the events I have written about.

Enjoy the fall leaves and great fall weather!
Have a great day everyone - God bless you all!

growing up

Last night we got Michael a new bike. A red & blue 20 inch two wheel bike. Tonight we took Emily's and Michael's bikes to school - for them to ride before handbells. Michael took right off and only wobbled over a few times onto the grass. He grinned from ear to ear and loved it. He felt like a big kid (which he is quickly becoming).

Last week he lost a tooth on his own (the other two he lost we had to have pulled by the dentist) at Steak & Shake last Friday. That also made him feel like a big kid.

My little boy is growing up quickly right before my eyes. I get to see him grow up 24/7 since I have him in my class this year. It is hard to see since I know he is my baby boy - and I won't have another one to see grow up like this.

American Girl Fashion Show

This afternoon I went to an American Girl Fashion show with Emily & two friends from school. One of the mothers went also. It was fun to see all the outfits and dolls as well as hear the stories of the dolls. A student from school (and whom I taught) was in the fashion show so that was neat to see. It was a fundraiser for the children's hospital in Louisville & it was at Churchill Downs in Millionaires Row. Wow! What a wonderful setting for a mother/daughter activity. They had fine china out and the waiters all served the food using coreography. What a memory. It was fun to see all the girls & their dolls. Although at first I really hated the idea of spending so much on a doll - the memories it has created and the fun Emily has had have been worth it. She takes her dolls on all kids of adventures - both real and imaginative.

games

Well, here it is a Tuesday evening. Doug is out of town so it is just the kids and I at home. Tonight the kids actually sat down and played a game on their own. Wow! They instigated it, set it up, and played it (almost to completion). They played a game of checkers. Of course, the checker board is in storage so they used the othello board instead - it works except is difficult to king. Then they played a game of othello. Kind of odd as I really did not need to help them. That is one of the first times that has happened with a "real game" and not a early learning game (like candyland, hi-ho cheerio...). Emily ended up winning othello - but Michael put up a good fight. Of course, they did not understand all the nuances - like getting sides and trying not to give up the corner. Oh well - that will come in time. They did think it was cool that I played the game when I was a kid with my grandpa in Minnesota. Hopefully this is just the first of much more game playing by the two of them(real games that is - not just on the computer/video games).

Tiger Cub Michael

Tonight I sewed on the patches for Michael's Tiger Cub scout uniform. Hard to believe that my baby boy is a cub scout. He and Doug are going camping this weekend with the cub scouts - should have a good time.

Boo update

Just got back from our evening walk with Boo. While Emily and I walked - Michael stopped off at a neighbor boy's house to play football. He had a good time while Emily and I got the chance to talk.

We are working on Boo not going bezerk when a dog is in it's front yard or on a leash. He does not seem to mind a dog behind a fence or in a house - but if there are no barriers between him and the other dog - watch out. He jumps and barks like crazy. We are working on saying shus and giving him a treat when he shusses. He barked like mad at a dog on the first leg of our trip - but the dog was closer to the house and on a leash on the return leg of our walk - and Boo only whined at him. That is progress. Hopefully it will continue. If you have any advice or tips please pass them on.

Boo really likes stuffed toys that squeek. He is not into the laytex rubber toys that squeek - except for balls. We have gotten him all kids of toys - but he seems to love the stuffed squeeky one. The hard part is keeping it inside - and not letting him take it outside.

Yeah Michael!!!

Tonight we went to our friend Greg and Juanita's house. They have 3 boys - two of which are close to Emily's age and one in 8th grade. Our two kids took their bikes. Michael was riding his and we suggested he just try Austin's bike (one Emily's bike size - and it did not have training wheels on it). He took off and rode across their yard and back without even hesitating (after getting started with a little balance help). With a little assistance getting balanced to start he rode all over the yard. Of course the camera was at home - so we have no pictures of this monumental occasion. Now that he discovered he could do it - I guess we will take his training wheels off. The only problem is his bike is too small for him - so it looks like we will need to go bike shopping. Walmart did have some for around $50. Hard to wait for Christmas for something that he can use right now.

Friday Night - Movie Night

Tonight we went to Tumbleweed for dinner. After that we went to see Evan Almighty at the cheap theatre. Although we are probably the last to see this movie - it was great! The kids enjoyed it and Doug and I also really had a good time. The theology in it is off, but if it gets people looking up Genesis 6:13 and other verses it is a good thing. Making disciples of all nations needs to be done in creative ways at times.

Hello from Michael

I met my A.R. goal. I earned 12 points. I almost have 13 Accelerated Reader points. I like to play basketball at school. I like to read. I like mystery books best. I can read whatever I want now that I met my A.R. goal. I want to read some science books from the library that are not A.R.

hello from Emily

Hi! We went for a walk tonight with Boo. He was barking a lot. I am doing good in school. I just finished a good book - Room 1 by Andrew Clements. I am now reading These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder & Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes. My teacher Mr. F. is reading a good book to us called Number the Stars. We are almost done with it. Tomorrow we are having genre day. We dress in a color that represents our favorite kind of books. I am going to dress in red for mysteries. I need 4 more points to meet my A.R. goal - I am almost done!

Last night Michael put on pajama bottoms and came into our room just laughing. They were about 3 inches too short - but had fit him last year. Emily decides to say pull them down - so he does which left about 3 - 4 inches of his underwear sticking out (he was sagging - what a comfortable way to go to bed). All the while Michael is just laughing and laughing.

We just passed Andrew a bunch of clothes - and I guess he grew more than I thought. We will likely be ready to pass some more things on to Andrew. The fun part comes now - checking his clothes each day or trying on every pair of pants he owns at one time.

100th post

This past weekend mom and dad came down. They arrived around 10:15 on Friday evening, due to dad having to work until 8:00 with one of his clients. Saturday we had planned to go to HolidayWorld, but due to the kids and myself not feeling on top of things all week, as well as being tired, we opted to stay in town. We went to the Gaslight festival - a small town festival with crafts, booths, freebies, bounce arounds... for the morning. Then we ate a CiCi's (after watching them race remote control cars in the parking lot of CiCi's) adn went home to rest & play games. After dinner we went mini golfing.

Sunday we went to Church had lunch and then loaded up mom and dad's van. They were delivering lots of hand-me-down items for Andrew. Michael handed down books, stuffed animals, his electric car, his pooh playhouse & pooh animals, his pooh stuffed animals (which were Emily's when she was little) and lots of clothes. This was hard for me - as it showed me even more that my little boy is growing up. In addition to the hand-me-downs to Andrew, he donated most of his stuffed animals to my prize box at school. He did keep his build-a-bear animals, his talking polar bear, his Webkinz, and some baseball/Cardinal stuffed animals.

After mom and dad left Doug ran to borrow a saw from a friend, and then he and Michael hit the backyard and started trimming trees. You should have seen Michael carrying limbs across the back yard. boy was he a big help! We have a stack of limbs as big as the swing set to get rid of now. This is in preparation of us taking out our "bamboo forest". We need more sunlight - in order to have grass grow in that area - so we had to trim the tree back. Once it gets cooler we will start taking out the ivy & bamboo in the back of the yard. We will transplant the hostas, but get rid of the rest. Will take pictures as we begin so you can watch our progress.

99th post

I guess I have been teaching first grade too long. The number 99 and 100 feel like such big accomplishments. At school we celebrate both the 99th and 100th day in various ways (mainly the 100th, but we do note the 99th day also). Wow! If you have been a reader for the last year and a half, you have read 99 posts. Wow.

Anyway, just got home from the grocery store. Kind of weird - here it is September (apple season) and oranges and grapes are on sale cheaper than apples. Very odd. I guess it may be due to the drought we had this summer.

weepuls and all that stuff

Well, magazine sales have kicked off again at our school. The kids would like to go on a limo ride which requires them each to sell 12 magazines. So far each has done 4 so we have 16 total to go for our family. For each magazine they sell they get a little fuzzy weepul. There is also lots of other prizes that come along with it - the highlight being a limo ride.

On Tuesday Michael happened to be the daily prize winner. He got to bring home an "annoying singing thing" It is a blue creature which makes a whining anoying sound when its belly is squeezed. Oh boy, I am sure glad I had him turn in magazine sales on that day.

On the bright side, because they each turned in 4 by today they will get to see a BMX bike show. It should be a fun time. Michael is especially excited to be able to see this.

I sure feel old ...

Today Michael sure made me feel old and out of it. He has this thing about leaving his dark church socks on after church and putting on shorts. Boy does he need a fashion consultant. Anyway... today he had on velcro shoes, dark socks (pulled up to almost his knees), jean shorts and a t-shirt. He was getting ready to go to the store with Doug and I asked him if he really wanted to wear those socks & shoes. He said, "why mom?" to which I replied, "So you don't look like a Geek!". He then said, "what is a geek mom - that sure is a funny word."

I guess that is how mom and dad felt at times when I did not get their lingo from their childhood. I guess there must be a new word for geek in today's lingo. If you know it - please fill me in so I can communicate effictively with my son next Sunday when he tries to wear dark socks with velcro shoes. :)