And We Are Back

Life has been zooming past at an accelerated rate lately. We are finding joy in the busy times and thankful for a few relaxing evenings sprinkled here and there as well.

Nate and I helped out with a 5K walk/run fundraiser for Hands of Hope at the end of June. Hands of Hope is the pregnancy crisis center, here in Paulding, that we are involved with.

Some participants ran, some walked, Nate and I....well....we did neither. I shouted out times at mile two, and Nate was stationed at a water stop about half way through.

Abbey, Angela, and Shelby came out to support the event.

We had a great turnout, almost twice as many participants compared to last year.

There were several different age categories. Medals were given to the winners of each category, and Dick's Sporting Goods gift cards were given to the top female and male finalists.

On July 4th, we headed out to my good old stomping grounds. My family gathered at my parent's cabin for lunch and part of the afternoon.

A few of the uncles and nephews enjoyed lighting off some small fireworks. Of course they set them off in broad daylight so they were not all that bright, but the younger boys still enjoyed them.

Spikeball tends to be the yard game of choice in the Fiechter family this past year, mainly among the guys.

After my brothers introduced Nate to Spikeball, it wasn't too much longer that I noticed this item had appeared on my husband's Amazon wish list. We will see how much longer the excitement for this game lasts.

I love this picture of my niece Alivia. She is such a fun-loving, water-loving little girl.

Some of the kids braved the chilly water.

Others dug in the sand.

Some took paddle boat rides with Grandpa.

On our way home, we tackled a bike trail that runs through Van Wert. It was mild in length to my husband, but the perfect distance for me.

We are always looking for biking buddies, and we are accepting applications. Just kidding about the applications part, no requirements needed, except for a bike that is, and preferably somebody about my pace.

The weekend following July 4th was deemed as "John Paulding Days." Quite a big deal for our little town.

Friday night was the parade. Nate and I had never been in a parade together. While my husband was not overly thrilled when I signed him up, he enjoyed driving his cousin's truck. He would put this F-150 on his Amazon wish list too if he could. It even had sirens to go along with it. 

Our float was representing Hands of Hope, and some of us girls passed out diapers and wipes to mothers with babies. It was a great idea, but I had a hard time keeping up with my group. First we had to find the mothers, and then figure out the correct size of diapers to give them, all while trying to stay in line with our float. It took a little extra time compared to throwing out candy.

Thankfully we were at the beginning of the parade, especially since storm clouds began to roll in.

I don't think those at the end of the parade were quite so lucky.

Side note: I am a huge fan of cute, retro drive-in restaurants like the one pictured below. This little jewel called "The Rootbeer Stand" has become a favorite of ours. You can find this place in Antwerp, about ten minutes from our house. I would highly recommend it. Their chilly dogs and shakes are to die for.

While I am on the topic of Antwerp, I thought I would mention that my heart has really grown for this little town and the people associated with it.

After the doctor, whom I had worked with for a year, left the hospital last November, I went from a part-time status to a PRN (just as needed) status. Although there were some openings for other full-time and part-time jobs, at the hospital, that I could have applied for, I felt God calling me to be still for a while and just wait. He was preparing the perfect opportunity for me, and it was going to take some time.

I filled in here and there, at various offices. Some weeks I would work every day, other weeks I would not work at all. The hours were never consistent.

One of the offices that I got to fill in at was the Antwerp Family Practice. It did not take me long to fall in love with everything about this office. If I could use one word to describe this office, it would be "easy-going." I have worked at eight medical offices, and this one is at the top of my "favorite" list. The providers, co-workers, and most of the patients are usually relaxed and very easy to work with. WHICH.IS.HUGE.

When a part-time opening became available in June, I jumped at it. I felt like I had God's blessing to go ahead and do so, and I have not regretted it. I am so thankful to have a consistent schedule again. Working three days per week still gives me time to get things done and keeps me sane as a house wife. I will be honest when I say that I doubted that God would open this door for me, but once again He continues to show Himself so very faithful.

Last Saturday we enjoyed supper in Antwerp at "The Rootbeer Stand."

As part of "John Paulding Days," Paulding had a firework demonstration on Saturday night. Paulding does not normally have fireworks, so this promoted much excitement in the community. Nate and I did not expect much, but it was surprisingly a well done show.

This was the view from in front of the courthouse.

Needless to say, we did not venture out to get front row seats.

We enjoyed the show from our rooftop and got this view instead.

On Sunday morning we headed out to Toledo for church. There was a young group invite going on last weekend. My cousin Brooke had invited us a while back, and we thought it would be a good chance to go. It was a nice-sized invite for Toledo.

We knew most of the young group kids, seeing that a good majority of them were from Bluffton, Latty, and Junction.

After church, we headed over to Doug and Brooke's house for a while. They are wonderful hosts and served us some delicious ice cream.

That is about all that I have to report. Just enjoying a leisurely Saturday afternoon. I write this as I stare at a pile of unfolded laundry grasping for my attention. I do not know how some of you keep up with laundry, we are only a party of two and I find it unending. I better get to it, blessings on your weekend!