NO COMPARISON . . .

Santa lives at the North Pole. JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh . JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year . JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies. JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited. JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.

You have to stand in line to see Santa. JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap. JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?" JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly. JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO. JESUS offers health, help and hope.

Santa says "You better not cry". JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."

Santa's little helpers make toys. JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle. JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

Santa puts gifts under your tree. JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

Let's put Christ back in Christmas. Jesus is still the reason for the season.

May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008

And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year

Countdown to Christmas

Oh my gosh, Christmas is 3 days away! I can hardly believe it. Time has absolutely flown by and I don't just mean the month of December. Ryan and I have been so busy settling into married life, Ryan's new job, house projects, new family routines and so much more. It's no wonder that we are both so incredibly tired right now. The time off involved with the holidays will surely be a blessing this year. I foresee many naps in our future.

We made some more progress on the dreaded closet project this weekend. It's safe to say that we may be finished by Christmas! Because of the domino effect of this closet (getting it done will help so many other things - our bedroom will finally be clean, we'll have extra storage, all of our stuff will be in one place...) our relief is palpable right now. It just needs a few coats of sealer/varnish and some new hardware and we're good to go. We also found some time to install some curtain rods, hang some shelves and photos and a few other homey touches over the weekend. Each day the house looks better and better and I feel more at home. Our new stress involves a little mouse that has entered our residence and refuses to die. He's tricky. And he seems to be able to avert any traps that we put down. It's always something...

Soooooo close....

This weekend also marked our first Christmas Party and dinner party with Ryan's new boss. We had a lovely meal (lamb, roasted chicken, Cracker Barrel potatoes, sweet potatoes, challah bread and salad... and a few bottles of wine) and a fun time getting to know Ryan's boss and family and a few other co-workers. They are such nice people and I feel blessed that my husband can work in such a good environment full of support and encouragment. I know we've both been in much worse positions at work and hope that we never take that for granted.

Now we just have to get through a couple of days of work before we can truly enjoy the best of the holiday - family, friends, food, fun and more. I can hardly wait!

Words of great truth and comfort

2 Corinthians
Treasures in Jars of Clay

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Beautiful days

I don't know if it's the season or just a sudden realization of the world around me, but everything seems so beautiful lately. Yesterday, because of all the recent storms and clearing of the fog, we had one of those rare days where you could see the mountains clear down to the foothills, all caked in fresh, white snow. They were gorgeous. Breathtaking. The kind of view that makes you swerve in your car and almost hit a bike rider (okay, that was just me). I took this quick shot of the clouds on my cell while driving home from work yesterday.

It doesn't even do the view justice. When I got home, I ran and grabbed my nice digital camera and started snapping photos of the mountains. Sadly, none of them came out well. I need to re-educate myself on the settings... but it was just a beautiful day and I didn't need to capture it on film. The fading peachy golden light magnifying off the snowy mountain caps is burned into my memory. I love days like that.

The wonder of a Christmas tree

It’s become a rainy end to a beautiful weekend. I’m finally starting to feel some Christmas spirit coming on. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I finally caved and asked Ryan if we could get a Christmas tree. He gladly agreed that despite our tight budget, we needed one. So, on the very cold Friday night, we drove out to ‘R Christmas Trees in Kingsburg, paid way too much, and picked up a beautiful little noble fir, small enough to fit in my Pontiac but big enough to look at home in our living room. The house already smells like evergreen and I just love it! I smile every time I walk by the tree.

On Sunday, which was an absolutely beautiful, clear day in the valley, Ryan and I attended my home church with my family in Visalia to watch the Christmas program they were doing. It was so nice to sit there with my family and my new husband and hear beautiful Christmas music and the Christmas story. I couldn’t help but think back to last year at Christmas. I was up on that stage with the choir performing the Christmas program. Ryan was in the audience watching. We had just met but I knew he was someone special and I whispered to the ladies around me that I had met a really great guy and, “he’s here!” We went out for dessert with friends after that program. Little did I know that one year later, I would be sitting in the audience with that guy, as his wife! So much can happen in one year.

We spent the afternoon with my family, ate a huge lunch and hung around. The boys went out to the new Sportsman’s Warehouse while I lounged on the couch and watched the Purina Dog Challenge. It was nice and relaxing and just what I needed. We headed home in the afternoon and I finally got around to decorating our little tree. It’s a wonder how pretty one old strand of lights and a few borrowed ornaments can dress up a tree. It’s simple, but it’s beautiful and just what I needed to lift my spirits.

Wedding Photos

After hours of sorting and editing, I've finally pulled together some wedding photos. The professional ones by my very gifted photographer Staci Welch are WAY better, but these do a nice job of caturing the day and I'm grateful for the friends and family that shared them with us.

http://thecorumwedding.shutterfly.com

Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work we go!

The hubs, hard at work

Ryan and I made like busy bees last night and got back to work on the closet for another hour. It’s surprising how much work we got done in just one hour. It really does help when you have the right tools… and teamwork is always a good thing. Still, for just an hour of work, it was exhausting, and likely a health hazard based on how must dust we must have been inhaling. We resorted to tying a dish towel and t-shirt over our mouths to try and cut down on the dust a little.

A more realistic photo of the air

It’s looking much better but we’ve still got a long way to go… finer sanding to do, cleaning up the dust, staining everything, dry time and then sealing it, more dry time… then moving everything back in. It’s a bit discouraging, but I know we’ll get it done and it will end up looking much nicer. I just need to keep mediating upon that and put up with the ¼ inch of dust coating everything and mounds of stuff in our bedroom. That’s not easy for an obsessive Dutch woman like me. I’m just hoping we can get it done by Christmas. And to think… we thought we could finish it in a weekend?! Ha!

So close, but still so far!

Where did the weekend go?

Wow, that was a busy weekend! I think I can speak for my husband and say that we are completely exhausted. It didn’t even feel like a weekend and went by way too fast. We’re hard at work on the last few projects at home and are glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our biggest downfall has been not having the tools necessary to do any given job. But, we are Corums! We are tough! And we are improvisers! Sometimes, it works out nicely, and other times, not so much.

Saturday, we had in mind to work on refinishing our closet unit. We didn’t really anticipate sleeping in until 11, but that is exactly what happened. I guess our bodies knew that we would need the rest? After we did get moving, we emptied everything out of the closet, got prepped and started sanding. Small room + no ventilation + industrial belt sander = messy messy chaos. The sander was giving us trouble. The dust was incredible and thick in the air. And, it just took a lot more effort than we anticipated. We went through all of our sandpaper, and all of our patience, and decided that we needed a break and better equipment. We got a good start, but have a long way to go…

So, Ryan moved on to installing our new mailbox. This was also problematic because the US Postal Service has standards as to how high your mailbox can be mounted. Ours was about 8 inches too high. So, after attempting to hack 6 inches off our mail post with a tiny electric saw with a draining battery…we again resigned to give up and get some better equipment. We did end up borrowing an old fashioned saw from a friend, and Ryan expertly installed the thing by the end of the very cold day. It looks good and was the one project we finished successfully. Check that one off the list!

The closet is still in the works. We decided we didn’t have the heart or energy to start on it again and will likely spend the rest of the week working on it, an hour or two at a time. Instead, Ryan spent Sunday afternoon getting our fireplace ready for the winter. He successfully built up a nice fire that really warmed the house. It’s nice having a fireplace again. While he worked on that I spend endless hours editing the few wedding photos we have from friends’ cameras and ordered some thank you cards for the wedding. I think they will turn out nice.

Wow, writing all of those thank yous is going to be a chore. Before the wedding, I set a personal goal to have them finished by January 1st since I heard that most brides take 6 months or more to do it. I’m not so sure that is a realistic goal now, but I do have some mandatory time off around Christmas, so I guess I can work through them in batches.

We capped off Sunday evening with yet another trip to Home Depot. I swear that we spend more time in Lowe’s and Hope Depot than any other stores! We should have the necessary tools now to finish at least one project. By the end of the day, my head was pounding, so we picked up a Me N Ed’s pizza and crashed on the couch. Where did the weekend go?!

It's starting to get dark so early, and that's something I hate about winter. The days are so short and there is still so much to do. At the end of chaotic days, I just want to take a long walk in the orchards.

A new kind of Christmas

It’s been understandably hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year. Work, for me, has been tough, unfulfilling and emotionally exhausting. Ryan and I are still settling into the pace of married life. And, it just kind of snuck up on me to be honest. We had that whole wedding thing going on… ;) Add to it that we as a nation are in a crippling economy and Ryan and I are in our own personal financial recovery, and it leaves little to go around for the holidays.

Last year I was making Christmas cards in September, singing Christmas music about the same time and had ALL of my shopping done by Thanksgiving Day. This year… is a different story. I got used to living in my parents house and enjoying a vast collection of Christmas décor that filled the house each year. I realize now how blessed I was to have a mom that longed to make Christmas special for our family and turned our house into what looked like a Hallmark store of décor. Just gorgeous! I, on the other hand, have one small box of Christmas décor that equals one tacky wreath from the dollar store, about 4 Christmas ornaments, a few random candle holders and that’s about it. With money being tight, I don’t have the heart or means to go and spend on Christmas decorations and where would I even begin?! I can’t fill the house with red and green, so do I even bother picking up a few things?

While driving home from work yesterday, I happened upon a FedEx truck with a strand of gold and green garland wrapped around his side view mirror and I smiled. I doubt that was a mandate from their corporate office. I think that truck driver just made a decision to bring a little bit of Christmas with him to work each day and I admire that. I think this Christmas is going to be different for Ryan and in a wonderful way. Too often, people get swept up in the trees, lights, decorations, cards and presents and even people of faith tend to forget the reason for all this celebration. I think God may be BLESSING us by taking away the means to spend on all of the decorum of Christmas… and in that way, is allowing us to focus on the incredible gift of our Savior’s birth. Honestly, what is better than that? Though there are pangs in my heart for the smell of evergreen to fill the house and I will miss piling up presents to wrap in brightly colored paper and bows, I will also gladly rejoice for a God that has blessed my husband and I incredibly this year.

In all I think and say and do,
I long, O God, to honor You;
But may my highest motive be
To love the Christ who died for me. —D. De Haan

Everyone, meet Rena. Rena, this is everyone.

I almost forgot to introduce the newest member of the Corum country farm! This is Rena. She’s a horse. And she lives at our house! Yay! Say “hi” everyone! She was really skittish when she first got here, but she’s pretty calm now and is making herself at home. I think she is a long way from being ridden, but she seems to be enjoying her little patch of the farm.


Rena is a sweet white horse of some kind of breed that I can’t remember right now. She loves apples and carrots and loves to have afternoon chats (she is my personal counselor right now). She’s really friendly but hates unexpected loud noises and cars driving by, but then, so do I, so we get along well. She has long bangs that sometimes cover her eyes. She pretends that she is shy but is quick to run over and hang out when you visit her.


I should explain that Rena is not OUR horse, but is living in our corral and belongs to our very nice new neighbors. I can’t tell you how nice it is to look out at the front yard and see her staring back at me – as if our already beautiful view could get any better! She’s our own personal guard horse and our adopted pet, for now. (Ryan wants a dog and I'm not convinced that we're ready for that yet).


We’re slowly becoming good friends with Rena and are trying to spend time with her every day, even if it just for a few minutes. Welcome Rena!

Belated Thanks

This post is a bit on the belated side, but… Happy Thanksgiving! Ryan and I had a wonderful time spending our first holiday together. We thoroughly enjoyed a few days off of work and did absolutely nothing but rest, watch movies and enjoy each other’s company. We did traverse out a few times, but tried to observe a sort of long “Sabbath” and not exert ourselves too much. In our opinion, it was time well-spent and very much needed. We finally feel like we are catching our breath after the wedding.

Early Thanksgiving afternoon, Ryan and I took a long and beautiful walk through the orchards surrounding our house. I wish I had brought my camera because the fields were gorgeous. The trees are changing colors and dropping leaves like mad, leaving mounds of red, bronze, and striking gold leaves on the dark, damp soil. It was gorgeous and finally gave me an idea for the tradition that I want Ryan and I to start for the holiday (I even resorted to searching the Internet for ideas). So, after embarrassingly setting up a tripod on the country road beside our house and snapping a few test shots, we took the first of many fall photos in the leaves… our new Thanksgiving tradition!

Later that evening we drove down to Visalia to have our Thanksgiving dinner at Ryan’s place (not Ryan Corum’s place, but THE Ryan’s Place). It was a huge plate, actually multiple plates of home-style food and it was delicious! Say what you will, it was nice not having to cook or clean up and just enjoy the meal together.

This week was a special one and marked the one-year anniversary of Ryan and I meeting (December 1st), oh, and our one-month wedding anniversary too I guess (ha, ha). I’m still amazed that I met, fell in love with, got engaged to, and married the man of my dreams in a period of 11 months. When God delivers, he DELIVERS! Ryan sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers to work, which were done by our wedding florist, which was an extra sweet touch. She does amazing work. We also went out to eat, gorged ourselves on Italian food and capped the night off with cake and wine… and falling asleep on the couch while watching DVDs. We love the simple pleasures in life. :)

Ryan has been busy around the house helping pull things together and finishing up the many, many projects we have on our To Do list. Well that, and trying to kill the ridiculous little gophers that are tearing up our front lawn. I can’t tell you how cute he looked standing out there last night with a shotgun and hose… ahhh, country living. Too bad I didn’t have time to get a picture. The current project is our makeshift walk in closet. Ryan and my father got it installed in a day last weekend, but it now needs to be sanded, stained, sealed and made “pretty” (my part of the project). I can’t tell you how relieved I will be to have all of clothes hung in one place that isn’t cramped and dark, like our current closets.