"Ma'am, you should never put water on a grease fire."

I loved the entries of Deb, Kay, Tauni and Carolyn for the caption contest, but this one, entered by Carolyn, made me laugh the most, and it edged out the other ones just a bit.

This is my grandson Elijah in his fireman costume and I think the photo was calling for a caption.

I thought about not choosing this caption, because Carolyn is my daughter and some might cry nepotism, but if anyone else had come up with this entry I would have chosen it.

Carolyn wins a Target gift certificate as September’s bloggy giveaway winner! Yay!

Thank you all….

Here’s a wonderful picture of my faraway grandson, Mr. McBoy.

Isn’t he the cutest thing you’ve seen in a month of Sundays? It’s hard to believe he’s only seven, because he’s so tall and sturdy he could easily pass for a big nine-year old.

What a fabulous blend of his parents he is. He resembles his daddy a lot and I always like to say he’s painted with his mama’s palette.

Next year we have big plans for this wonderful little guy. He’ll be getting on a plane in the East and flying all by himself to the Midwest, where we will love on him for a full week before returning him to his family, spoiled and worn out.

And he’ll also want Grandma to sing “The Life of the Voyageur” to him six times a day, so recently I made my visiting friend Carole from Chicago sit and listen to me sing it for her, in the way of practice. She was very polite and acted like it was a real privilege to listen. Everyone needs a friend like that.

Now look at this little beauty.

She is Mr. McBoy’s sister, Mrs. Nisky. She’s five years old and just started Kindergarten last week, something she has been waiting for and talking about for months now.

Mrs. Nisky is an artistic little peanut with copper colored hair and eyes, and a wispy little voice that makes my heart skip a beat when I hear it. In fact, I have voice mail messages from them that are years old, and I still save them and replay them on a regular basis, and cry.

She knows that when she’s old enough, it will be her turn to fly to Minnesota for a visit with Grandpa and Grandma. I’m sure we’ll do lots of coloring when she’s here.

Mrs. Nisky loves to draw and create, and she’s a protective and doting big sister to 2 1/2 year old Gleegirl, who will be featured on the blog at a later date.

Mrs. Nisky is a dancer too. When she and her family visited a couple of months ago, she put on a fairly lengthy little one-person dance production in the kitchen for any of the family who cared to enjoy it. She twirls and spins and kicks and smiles exuberantly, always making eye contact with her audience, and it seems like she’s a five-year old joy machine when she’s in motion. She looks joyful, dances joyful, smiles joyful, and makes me joyful.

Oh, to have these grandchildren as my own! I can’t believe it sometimes. How in the world did God ever have enough patience and mercy with me to keep me alive all these years, to see me through my horrors and follies, and bring me to this place in my life where my cup runneth over with such precious grandbabies?

I am blessed. Thank you Lord…you are so good to me.

For September’s bloggy giveaway, I’m having a Caption Contest!

Take a look at this picture. This is Elijah David, one of my two handsome grandsons, wearing his happy fireman costume. This photo makes me laugh, and I thought it could use a good caption, but I just can’t think of anything.

That’s where you come in, dear readers. I know you (at least most of you, I think), and I know there are some witty and wordy people out there who could come up with a fitting caption for this pic.

The winner of this month’s bloggy giveaway will win something nice. So far, See’s candies, Target gift certificates, books, CDs and amazon.com gift cards have been won in the monthly giveaways. It’s your turn! Be brave! If you’ve entered before, enter again. If you never have, what, you don’t like books, CDs, candy or gift cards?

Comments/entries will be taken until Sunday, September 6th. The winner will be announced on Monday the 7th.

Now, name that photo!

Today’s quote is a little longer than most of what I post, but since I couldn’t stop crying as I read it, I think it’s worth sharing here. This is excerpted from James Dobson’s most recent newsletter.

“ ‘As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.’  (Psalm 103:15-16 – KJV)

“….What an incredibly important scriptural concept this is. If we really grasped the numbering of our days, we would surely be motivated to invest ourselves in eternal values.

“Would a 50-year-old man pursue an adulterous affair if he knew how quickly he would stand before his God? Would a woman make herself sick from in-law conflict or other petty frustrations if she knew how little time was left to her? Would men and women devote their lives to the pursuit of wealth and symbols of status if they realized how soon their possessions will be torn from their trembling hands?

“It is the illusion of permanence, you see, that distorts our perception and shapes our selfish behavior. When eternal values come into view, our greatest desire is to please the Lord and influence as many of our loved ones for Him as possible.

“I ask each of my readers this important question: If we really believed that the eternal souls of our children hang in the balance today – that only by winning them for Christ can we spend eternity together in heaven – would we change the way this day is lived? Would we ignore and neglect so great an opportunity if our eyes were fully opened to this awesome responsibility? I think not. I pray not.

“Addressing myself now to the mothers and fathers of young children, I urge you to keep this eternal perspective in view as you race through the days of your lives. Don’t permit yourselves to become discouraged with the responsibilities of parenting. Yes, it is an exhausting and difficult assignment, and there are times when you will feel like throwing in the towel. But I beg you to stay the course! Get on your knees before the Lord and ask for His strength and wisdom. Finish the job to which He has called you! There is no more important task in living…”   (James Dobson)

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My children are all grown now, and as I read this I can certainly look back and see countless times where my behavior was influenced by my selfishness and not from an eternal perspective. Even now that I’m old enough to have seven grandchildren, I sometimes plod through my days like I used to when I was young, caught up in the myriad things that must be tended to daily, with nary a thought to what eternal value my words, prayers and actions might have.

Lord, help us to number our days. Give us an eternal perspective about our loved ones, and all of our choices, and help us to walk in Your light. In the name of Jesus we pray…Amen.