Bob and Iris

I love the way Bob and Iris Eastman love each other.

When you marry, it’s about the two becoming one. While it may be hard for some people, Bob and Iris do it naturally.

They complement each other and fill in each other’s gaps. They help each other and support each other, not as two independent entities but as one whole being.

Bob is an old-fashioned, hard-working guy with the kindest heart. Humble, able to do just about anything, built their house, and spends as many hours as he can chopping trees, splitting wood, replacing fence posts, making burn piles, and caring for horses. He’s the guy who’ll quietly pitch in anytime someone else needs help, not at all for the sake of being noticed, just for the sake of lending a hand.

Iris has said many times that she is so blessed to have Bob. She knows what struggle feels like, and Bob has lightened her life.

Iris helps Bob with the physical labor outside and Bob helps Iris prepare her quilts. They work together, rest together, eat together, and care for one another.

Our older son has worked for these two for the past couple years and they treat him like family. They encourage him and they also challenge him. They have him in for lunch at the table in the middle of each work day, and I so respect their hospitality and kindness toward him. I feel like we should be paying them for giving our son the opportunity to have hard work – something that is sorely lacking for many kids. There are an awful lot of strong, healthy kids with nothing to do and no skills to speak of, sitting around on computers because no one has anything for them to do.

Thank you, Bob and Iris, for the way you live out your lives. You love each other and those around you well, and that doesn’t go unnoticed.