Sidelined....and a link to a wonderful giveaway!

I sit here sipping my morning cup of coffee on my sofa with my feet up while my sweet children play on the floor beside me.  Sound idyllic?  Maybe....the boys are being unusually cooperative this morning.  But the real reason I am able to sit with my feet up is that I have a broken toe.  Such a silly thing to bang a toe on a coffee table and then spend two hours of your life in an emergency room and several days with a foot elevated on an icepack in all its purple bruised glory.  "Try to stay off of it, don't flex your foot when you walk and don't do a lot of walking," the doctor had said.  Hmmm....define 'a lot.' 

I don't often sit down during the course of a normal day.  Like most moms with young children, my 'to-do' list is always growing.  As a matter of fact, despite my intense love of making lists, I rarely bother to take a moment to write one down.  Dishes, laundry, meals, dishes, nose wiping, snacks, dishes, grocery shopping, appointments, (did I mention the dishes?)....all clutter my day and my mind.  Feet up on the couch while I blog and drink coffee?  Yeah, right.  But as it turns out, here I am.  Pigs are flying somewhere. 

I'm choosing to be thankful for being sidelined this week.  I have actually been thinking that I should sideline myself more often (minus the broken bone of course!).  This morning I cuddled with my boys and read a pile of (very overdue) library books instead of putting the laundry away.  This afternoon perhaps we'll sit and play a game on the floor that desperately needs the dog fur vacuumed off of it.  A broken toe is certainly an inconvenience; but sometimes maybe convenience is overrated.  I would rather have precious, simple moments with my boys than constant, mindless, busyness any day!

And now for the give-away!  I am a big fan of authors Clay & Sally Clarkson who founded Whole Heart Ministries.  When we lived in Colorado, I had the great pleasure of listening to Sally speak during a homeschool co-op support group, at her home for a study of one of her books, and at one of her conferences in Denver.  I have been very blessed by the words of encouragement they have for moms and families. 

One of their books, "Educating the WholeHearted Child," was recently updated.  I got a hold of an earlier edition awhile back and it is the one homeschool book that I turn to repeatedly for encouragement and ideas.  Now, Sally is doing a giveaway on her blog for a copy of the new addition.  I plan to enter - and even if I don't win, I know that the new book will soon find a way into my home library!  Here is a link to the giveaway:
http://www.itakejoy.com/educating-the-wholehearted-child-a-giveaway-for-the-best-book-ever/#more-3603
You'll need to act quickly to enter as it ends tomorrow, July 6.  Good luck and have a very blessed day!