my incredible grandsons

Marisa and Melissa drove the long drive from Hutchinson KS to Henderson TN bringing with them the most adorable little fella's ever. Israel Jacob 2 1/2 and Judah Nathanael 8 months. we had the most fun too. Israel helped me bake cookies, another time he whisked the eggs for omelets. He helped me put paper chains on the trees and bushes for Melanie's prewedding reception,etc. He was quite the helper. Judah, well he was also something else. He likes me holding him and singing. we had a lot of bonding moments on the front porch and at church. He loves music. everyone loves both of my grandson's and they were so adorable Easter Sunday, Marisa dressed them like little men and they were precious. At Hopewell Israel was up on the platform with the rest of the New Dimension Family Band and it was noted that not only was he singing but that he was moving his mouth and singing the right words exactly what we were singing. At Lighthouse in Jackson Israel wouldn't come sit with Papaw and Me but Judah let me hold him most of the whole service and when I was jumping and shouting and praising God he just laid his head against me and went to sleep. out like a little light. lol. but he was wide awake for the candy rain afterwards and both Israel and Judah got their pictures taken by the Jackson Sun reporter who was there that sunday and got put on the JacksonSun website. The whole week went by much to quickly though and I loved every second that they were here. I will try to get some pictures uploaded and posted. maybe even make a smilebox digital photo album of some of the great times we had. ~ GrandStar.

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Loving the Skype thingy

Just experienced the thrill of reading a book (The Peppy Puppy) to my grandson's via Skype. We have had it now for nearly a week. so much fun to actually get to see their faces and to hear their voices. Thank You Jesus that we can have this type of technology. May we use it for His glory. ~ GrandStar

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

After much trial and error yesterday we got the Skype. it still isn't perfect as the people we are talking to can see us and we can see ourselves but we can't see them. However, Marisa said that Judah just loved it when he could see me yesterday, he just cooed and jabbered and laughed and was talking to me. I can't wait till we get it fixed so I can also see him. Israel was asleep that first call but later we tried it again and Israel also loved it. I put the camera on back camera and gave him a tour of the house. He would call out who was in the picture as I scrolled through several pictures I have sitting out. I can tell this Skype thing is really gonna be lots of fun. TYJ



Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Marisa let me know that they now have Skype.. however, we still do not. I can't wait to get it. Our iphones have facetime but we can't find our password to use it. lol

anyway, Marisa sent me pics of the boys today at the Hutchinson Museum. so adorable. I always took my girls there when we lived in Hutch. In fact Melissa and Melanie both attended Museum school. I don't think they offer that anymore, but it was really neat.

I also wanted to post how that the other day when Marisa was driving home from somewhere they went by the church and Israel saw it and said he wanted to go to the church to play (with his friends) and Marisa said no we don't have time now.. Israel starting crying and saying "I want to go to the church to pray and get the Holy Ghost". Marisa took him to the church and he did pray for a couple of minutes but then was off to do other things. I told her, oh girl, he is learning how to play you. And she said I know it sure seems like it. lol. - well, at least he did pray for a couple of minutes.


Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Marisa told me a couple of days ago during our phone chat that Israel had just just out of the blue the other day "I love PaPaw, I love GrandStar" and then started to list off all the names of the people he loves. That is just sooo cute.

Then during another phone call she turned her back for a second to do something and Israel went and bumped into Judah who was sitting on the floor and knocked him back and he went under the bed, but thankfully he didn't bump his head or wasn't hurt. when Marisa was telling me what had just happened I could hear Israel in the background "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry". He wanted to make sure that we knew he knew that he did wrong and that he didn't like his momma telling us about it either. lol. I am always just so thankful of the evidence that God is all around us and keeping His protecting hand on us. Things such as this do happen, but thankfully nothing serious. amen! I sure do love my little grandsons, they bring a lot of light and life to me.

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

I sent Judah and Israel book bags with a book and a card and a stuffed animal for valentines day. Marisa posted pics of them on facebook. I'll try to get the pics uploaded here.

okay here are the pics...

I received a envelope from Israel Jacob in the mail with three pages of writing with crayon. To PaPaw and GrandStar. I also got clippings of his hair from his last hair cut. Thank You Mr. Israel, I love you!


Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

GrandStar

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

our Music Minister/Praise and Worship leader in the making...

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

so I hooked up my iphone to the picasa on the computer, it is now copying 632 files, lol. I will select some of the best photos from that and post them here.


PaPaw (PopStar) holding Israel and Judah

GrandStar with Israel and Judah and the keyboard.

Here's my cup, fill it up (original design made for and by GrandStar)

Family Tradition, making Gingerbread house

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

GrandStar in Branson for Christmas...

this past week GrandStar got to spend several days with my sweet grandsons. Israel has grown so tall and so very smart. Every second of everyday he was doing adorable and smart things. We were so very impressed and amazed by how talented and gifted he is. Judah - oh my what a joy he was too. I think we should have a new baby grandson or granddaughter every Christmas, lol. they sure do make the heart grow fonder. I enjoyed holding and cuddling on Judah and listening him laugh and I would sit him on my lap and have him grip my fingers and I would lay him backwards against my legs to where he was upside down and then he would pull up to let me know he wanted back up, so I would pull him back up, then he would let me know he wanted to stand up completely, so we would do that, then he was ready to go back down upside down again.. lol sometime he would pull back when I tried to have him come up, to let me know he wanted to stay upside down a little longer. lol. we really had a lot of fun doing this. Israel loves his little brother and we got to see them interact quite a bit. - so many awesome moments, no way could I list them all. We did try to get quite a few pictures but of course pictures don't even come close to capturing the actuality of being there. Melissa, Marisa and Israel did our family tradition of making the gingerbread house. well, Israel enjoyed eating the candy anyway.. lol. we had a wonderful time. here are just a couple of pics of some of the best moments.

well, I guess all the pics I thought I had on the computer were actually mobile phone pics that I had uploaded to facebook and not picasa. I will try to remember to connect my cell phone to the computer and upload (800 plus pictures lol, sometime soon)... these two pics were taken at the Dixie Stampeed where we went on Dec 23rd to celebrate Mark's (PaPaw's) 50th b-day. we all had a good time and Israel loved the animals and the angel. He was really impressed with the angel going up in the sky. the next day I was curling my hair and he came to where I was and he would slowly raise up on his tiptoes and point up and say "angel" it really made a big impact on him. So cute. I think my favorite thing at Dixie Stampeed was seeing the live camels, well that and seeing Mark cry. It made me all thrilled inside when I saw him touched by the living nativity and the dove that represented peace. Thank You God for my awesome family!! ~GrandStar

Was on the phone with Marisa yesterday when she had to stop talking to me to say to Israel "get off of him, you are hurting him" she had the phone on speaker phone and I could hear Judah protesting to Israel's roughhousing. I said "Israel...." and no answer, "Israel... no answer... then I asked Marisa if Israel was still there and she said he took off into the other room she didn't know what he was doing. - a few minutes later I heard talking again and I asked if it was Judah and she no it was Israel... I realized that he had come right over to the phone... he knew that GrandStar had been getting on to him and he wanted to hear what I had to say after all. So I said "Israel you got to be nice to Judah, it hurts him when you lean on him. ok? still nothing, I asked again.. ok? and he said "uhhuh... then gave the phone back to his mom again. lol.

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

received a snail mail envelope from the Swartzentruber family today. GrandStar's heart just about burst with love and pride when the lovely photo card and other portraits emerged. what a beautiful family and adorable grandsons. TYJ

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

got to listen to Judah laughing and having fun with his mommy today. He has the sweetest laugh. Marisa said he laughs a lot at things Israel says and does too. I am so blessed to have two very precious grandsons. I will take as many as God will give me. TYJ ~ GrandStar

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

I have been getting to talk to Israel on the phone every now and then. Yesterday he wanted to talk to us and I asked him to sing "The wheels on the bus" and he did. he is so sweet. Marisa sent me several pictures while they were in Ohio of the boys and also with their cousins and great grandparents, etc. also Tim posted some pics on his facebook of everyone. I have been showing the picture of Israel and Judah with their thanksgiving outfits on to all my friends and they just love them. I am one anxious GrandStar just itching for Christmas to get here so I can just spoil them rotten. I love those precious gifts from the Lord above!! TYJ

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Marisa texted me this evening and said that Israel wanted to talk to GrandStar so I called them and he told me about his day and about his playing with leggo's. Marisa told me that he had asked her earlier for a cookie and she said she didn't think she had any and he had said "GrandStar does". lol
so cute!

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

pray for Israel Jacob

Marisa said that Israel has been having a deep cough. And that he was tired a lot yesterday. _ Praying for the little fella and for Judah Nathanael too, Fall and Winter might be hard on them with all the weather changes and germs everywhere.

Bless them Jesus.

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Today I got to talk to both of my grandsons on the phone. Marisa and I were talking and she put me on speaker phone and Israel was singing his Abc's to me and Judah started jibber jabber talking too. So adorable.

I am so thankful for my sweet and precious grandsons and looking forward to seeing them soon.


Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

received a Thank You card from Israel Jacob today for his blocks, candy, money and card for his b-day. so sweet.

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Israel Jacob called me today...

my cell phone rang and it said Marisa, so I picked it up and said hello, - nothing there, but I saw that it still was activated, so I said "israel is that you, this is GrandStar and he said "uhhuh, and then he went on and on for over a minute nonstop telling me something, I have no idea what he was saying, but I know it was very important. Then Marisa heard him and asked who he was talking to and he said GrandStar. then the call was lost. She called me back later and said that he had fallen and cried for a bit and then he got the phone and got back on the chair and wanted to call me again. So she called me for him but she said she never called me the first time. Amazing however he figured it out. lol. love him.

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

I love my grandson's!! So blessed to know that when we got to go meet up with them in Springfield MO the end of August and my first time to see Judah Nathanael that we bonded. I felt the bonding and it just warmed my heart so. When I was holding him he peeked at me to see who was holding him and he got a smug look around his mouth and he closed his eyes again and contently went back to sleep/resting. I knew right then and there that he approved of me and that he felt my love and was content in that. - Somewhere there is a Bible Study/ object lesson in this. I know that God holds us in His arms and though we might not always see Him, we feel Him, we sense His presence and His love and in that we find true contentment. TYJ. It was this way with Israel Jacob too. Even though we live far apart everytime we meet up again he remembers us and we don't have to have those reacquaintance times. It is just like we can pick up where we left off. I think that preaches too. If we stay in close contact with God, we don't have to pray 20 minutes or more to "get into the flow of it" we can just make our prayers and petitions known and give thanks and just keep on where we left off. pray without ceasing type of thing. TYJ

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Sept 27 - Israel's 2nd b-day. _ Marisa uploaded a video clip of Israel at a mexican restaurant and he was so cute and happy and trying to figure out what they were putting on his head (a sombrero) and turning to see them singing to him, but when someone put a plate of cream in his face he didn't like that and started to cry. Marisa said that after he figured out what it was that he liked it. - GrandStar doesn't like seeing her little angel not happy... got mad there for a minute at whoever put the plate in his face... but it was for fun and Israel had a good b-day.

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

So glad that Israel Jacob had a good b-day party yesterday. I dressed up in a red shirt and plaid skirt and wore a cowboy hat and had mark take my picture to send to him so Israel could see I was celebrating too.


Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Marisa posted the cutest little video clip of Judah Nathanael tonight. He is starting to interact more and is so cute and full of personality. - I love my grandson's. they are both so adorable and a gift from God!!

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Mark was talking to Marisa on the speaker phone and I walked into the room, Marisa also was on the speaker phone and we could hear Israel so we were both talking to Israel too and I sang wheels on the bus, and he laughed, then I asked him what he wanted for his birthday... Marisa whispered to him to say clothes, but he said "candy"... lol.

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Marisa has been telling me some of the cute things Israel and Judah have been doing. - with Judah being colic - he fusses and cries alot, screaming really. Marisa called the doctor and found out it was normal. well while she is on the phone telling me this, she sees Israel by Judah and asks him what he is doing and he is stuffing the paci in Judah's mouth and Marisa told him to turn it around because he had it upside down. - he knew how to make Judah stop crying. lol.

then Marisa made chocolate chip cookies before church on Thursday night. Israel asked during church for a cookie and Marisa said he could have one when he got home after church, and he looked at her and asked "two?" lol.



Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

So this morning I get a phone call around 7:30 and it is my daughter and she and Israel start singing Happy Birthday to me. she said that she told him yesterday that they needed to call GrandStar to sing happy birthday, well he woke her up this morning singing it, so she said yeah, let's call GrandStar now and they did. so adorable!!

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Bannie Chilton

Israel and Judah, today - September 3rd, is your great great grandma's birthday. Bannie Elgar Voils Chilton was momma to 16 children. My mom, Nina Anne Chilton Kelley was the youngest girl in the family, so I only knew grandma when she was in her late 60's and 70's. But she was one who loved God, she laughed a lot with a wonderful sense of humor. She embroidered and made beautiful pillowcases and dishtowels. I never heard her play the organ and sing, but many have told me that she sang very good and played the pump organ. She was a short and plump lady when I knew her, she had shrunk to about 4'10 or 4'11. As all older people do shrink some. She was a good cook and was a very great lady. - you might not care about any of this now. but would be nice to know someday. So I thought I would tell you what I know about her. She lived behind our house in a apartment and I spent many hours at her house watching her embroider and just being with her. She was my best friend for those few years that we lived by each other. Very special memories of her. I always liked the fact that her birthday was in September like me (september 11) and that my other grandma (Altha Omeeta Southern Kelley) had her birthday October 11th. So I had the same month as one grandma and the same date as the other. It made it easy for me to remember their birthday's that's for sure. - well, I just was thinking I would write this in the blog for you. Luv GrandStar!

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

Happy month b-day to Judah Nathanael

that sweet little boy that I finally got to meet this past weekend is offically a month old today. it doesn't seem possible how fast time is going. He is a real sweet heart. When I got to hold him for the first time, he peeked at me with one eye and then closed his eyes and went back to sleep. He just wanted to see who was holding him and he was fine with it. lol. - He was a very good baby and only fussed a little when it was his feeding time. Very gentle natured and very precious. I liked seeing how Israel acted around Judah and was very loving. They are going to be best friends, I can tell. I am blessed to have such wonderful grandsons. ~ GrandStar

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

the pics from this past weekend in Springfield MO 2011

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

will post a few pics soon

Mark (PopStar or Pawpa and I went to Springfield MO this weekend to meet up with Marisa and Jake and our grandkids Israel Jacob and Judah Nathanael Swartzentruber. we meet at the Bass Pro Shops and it was so exciting to see everyone. We had the lunch buffet at Hemingways which is on the 2nd floor. It was delicious with so many selections. I got to sit by Israel and he was fun to watch.
After lunch we walked around and I got to hold Judah for my very first time. He slept most of the time, but he did peek at me a time or two to see who was holding him. lol. around 3:30 he was waking up and ready to eat so we left and got checked in to the Drury hotel. We didn't get the discount that Marisa had for us, they were stupid about that, but we didn't put up a fuss about it. We tried getting Israel down for a nap but he was too afraid he might miss something. Mark and Jake ended up taking Israel with them and they went to go see a college that Dad Peter had attended in 1955. Marisa took a nap and I help Judah somemore. then it was time to go to supper, which we ate there at the motel. then I wanted to go to get ice cream so we all went to Andy's frozen custard. it was very good. then we went to a walmart so we could watch Israel in the toy aisle. that was interesting to see the toys that he enjoyed. Mark kept trying to get him to play catch with a soft ball and catchers mitt. Israel wasnt interested in it. Then Mark tried to get him to ride a bike, Israel was okay with that but it was too big for him. He really liked a leap frog train that had all sorts of noise makers and pop up buttons, etc and he spent a long time with that. He also liked the big BALL's and some little trucks and cars. we were getting ready to leave and he spotted a bus. He grabbed a box with the bus in it and headed toward the check out. lol. He knew we were leaving and he wanted that bus. lol. so we got it for him and he loved it. In fact he didn't want to go to bed, just wanted to play with the bus. Marisa ended up letting him sleep with one of the passengers (the bus came with a driver (an aligator) and four passengers, a bear, a monkey, a tiger, a elephant) and she hid the bus. it was funny that his very first words in the morning was "wheres my bus?" lol. Judah woke up several times during the night and I got up and brought him over to his momma so she could feed him. We slept in pretty late, well, late for me. Mark got up and wanted to go back and see the college one more time and video tape it for his dad. So he did that while the rest of us got ready. then we went to breakfast. Mark wanted to take us all out to a real restraunt like Bob Evans' which is Jake's favorite but they didn't want to, they said that the breakfast at the motel was good enough, so we just ate there, since it was included anyway. then it was around 11 or so when we all got packed up. we wanted to do one more thing before leaving so we went to the Nathanael Green Botanical gardens. there was a play ground there too and Israel loved the slides. then we went into one of the buidings and cooled off, but then it was time to go, so we didn't get to go have devotions in the gardens like I had wanted to. so we just held hands in a circle and prayed by our vehicles and Marisa and I sang a part of "I don't know what I would do without You Lord" and then we said our goodbyes. They got to South Hutchinson a little after 6 pm, and then at 7:15 Marisa texted me that they were on their way to church right then. I told her that mark and I were at Arby's in Jackson. so we got home a little after that. - I thank God that we all had a safe travel and that He has blessed us so very much. Love my family. I just wished I wouldn't had to miss church Sunday morning here, but it was my sacrifice for this time. To God be all the glory, GrandStar

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

looking so forward to tomorrow...

God willing I will get to meet little Judah Nathanael Swartzentruber for my first time tomorrow. PopStar and I are going to meet up with them and I will get to see my Israel Jacob too. I am so past ready to get there. I hope things go well and that we all will have safe travels and that God will keep His hand on us and on our homes also while we are away. My neighbors watch out for me but I am talking about natural disasters too. TYJ for keeping us safe this far and I am trusting Your protection for a long time to come. In Jesus Name, amen... GrandStar

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.

looking forward to this weekend!!

If the things go the way we are wanting them too, we will get to see our new grandson and our little Israel this coming Fri and Sat. I am so eager!! I haven't got to meet little Judah yet and it kills me that he doesn't even know that I exist. I know he will love us and we love and adore him already. Israel is cuter each day and we are excited to see him too. TYJ for my grandsons!

Thank God for His love and mercy and for allowing me to have another day.