Thankful Tuesday: Cousins Camp ’12

It is late on Monday night and tomorrow we will be driving away from Cousin Camp 2012, which has been a great success, despite my swimsuit bottoms being flushed down the toilet. (What? you say. Exactly.) Tomorrow we head back to my parents’ for awhile and Chris is already back in working-land.

I don’t have much time (or enough energy) to elaborate much around here on this fine Thankful Tuesday. But I’ll say a few things in my list of thankfuls:

That Chris was able to join us for the first two days of festivities
For my parents’ willingness to host Brooksie and his 5:30 am waking in their room so that August (and I!) can get some rest
The loveliness of sharing a hotel room on a Monday night with a giddy four-year-old who loves his cousins, his evening chocolate ice cream experience, and his big fluffy hotel bed.

Also, this simple verse that has been on my mind:

“Search for the Lord and his strength; continually seek his face” (Psalm 105:4).

And, I’m rereading The Ragamuffin Gospel with my college girls small group while we’re apart this summer. I marked this in my copy:

“The deeper we grow in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the poorer we become–the more we realize that everything in life is a gift. The tenor of our lives becomes one of humble and joyful thanksgiving. Awareness of our poverty and ineptitude causes us to rejoice in the gift of being called out of darkness in wondrous light and translated into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son” (81).

I love that idea of being “translated” into God’s kingdom.

I’m thankful for cousins
For gorillas and elephants at the zoo
That my baby is willing to sleep in his stroller
For a sore neck because I went down water slides I’m much too old for

For intertube floating in a wave pool with aunts and uncles and cousins. My nieces and nephews will be too old and too cool for fun soon. I’m grateful for these sweet moments now and for all the laughing.

Happy Thankful Tuesday. Link up in the comments and share what’s on your list today.