Everyone he told thought is was a joke – that one of his Father’s Day gifts was an iron. But it wasn’t a joke. He loves to iron. (My clothes, too. Aren’t I blessed?) If you asked him why, he would probably say something like, “It is so satisfying to bring order out of chaos in a short amount of time. You know, life can just seem so unmanageable sometimes, and ironing a shirt is a small domain to conquer – plus it’s quiet and meditative.” But he also enjoys a well-pressed shirt – and I have to say that I think he looks great in a button down!

Would you believe that in 18 years of marriage we have never used the dry cleaners – except for things like his suits and jackets. I think that one time for his birthday I took around 5 of his favorite shirts to the cleaners and requested “heavy starch.” He liked that, too – even though he didn’t get to do the ironing.

Well, in 18 years of marriage, the average cost of our irons have been somewhere around $19.99. And their average lifespan? About 2 years. The one we have now has a short in it, and you have to jiggle the cord to keep it on. So, I knew he would really enjoy having a new and more quality iron. He examines them often while in Target or Sears, dreaming of the day he might own an upscale iron of his own. Well, today was his lucky day – a brand new T-fal iron with automatic shut-off, vertical steam, the patented Easycord System, and the Ultraglide Diffusion soleplate. Truly amazing features for the reasonable price of $45. (Couldn’t go for the $200 versions quite yet. Maybe after the kids are out of college???)

And of course, we had to get him a new Gap button down shirt in order to test drive the new iron.

And then, after a semi-dramatic morning at church (another post, another day), we went on a hike which has been our yearly Father’s Day tradition. This one required us to drive about an hour to the southwest corner of Massachusetts to Bash Bish Falls State Park. We had come here years ago, and decided to visit again, as it boasts one of the most spectacular waterfalls in all of Massachusetts. We started with a climb to a scenic view which was beautiful. You could hear the falls below.

Then the quarter mile trek down to the falls and a drop in elevation 300 ft. Breathtaking greenery all around….

It was very steep and and slippery in places…..

And very dark and forest-y in places….

And the beautiful, delightful, surprise and reward at the bottom of the gorge is a cool and refreshing spray from the rushing falls! There are rocks to climb and places to just sit and take it all in….

We even caught a glimpse of a rainbow in the mist…..

and Kayla and Daddy found an inchworm on the trek back to the top.

It was a wonderful afternoon, and the Krum fam is truly blessed with a wonderful Daddy who wraps them all up in the protection of his godly character, his strength, and his constant and faithful prayers on our behalf.

We love you, Robert, and know that we don’t even fully realize the gift that you are to our family and to our church. Thank you for humbling yourself and sacrificing yourself and your own needs and desires to make sure we are all so well taken care of. You are an incredible and faithful man.