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!

Recent (Or Not So Recent) Happenings

Quick Note: For those of you who access my blog through social media, I did not post a link to my last four posts. I did a mini series back in April and May, prior to our anniversary. If you have any interest, you can scroll down or click HERE (Engagement Reflections 1), HERE (Engagement Reflections 2), HERE (Engagement Reflections 3), and HERE (2 Years). 

You know those Sundays when you get up a little bit earlier than normal, due to overnight guests or company coming later in the day, and then you wind up with extra time before leaving for church. We are usually rushing around trying to get to church before the singing starts most Sundays, but Mother's Day morning was very relaxed. I was hosting my family. Things were set in order and my husband and I even had time for a morning photo.

Mother's Day was extra special this year due to the fact that it was also my Dad and niece Aubri's birthdays. They make great birthday buddies. I went for six candles vs. fifty-nine.

The $7.00 cupcake pinata was not the best idea on my part. It was a bit too cheap to even withstand more than three hits with a cushioned baseball bat. At least I know for next time.

Red Rover was never my favorite game as a child. Skinny arms seemed to be somewhat of a detriment to my team, and usually a good target for the opposing team. This crowd I could handle though.

Grandpa and Grandma with their fifteen grandchildren.

Mom and us girls.

The Wednesday after Mother's Day, Nate and I headed up to Indianapolis for a couple nights. We brought our bikes along and biked along the Cultural trail, around downtown Indy.

We really enjoyed the trail, for it was unlike any bike trail we have ever been on. It involved a decent amount of starting and stopping, but that is usually fine by me.

Here Nate is acting as the "I" in Indy. Quite clever!

One evening during the following week, our friends Arthur and Wendy came over for supper. Afterwards we did a mini photo shoot. They just celebrated their first anniversary the day before we celebrated our second, and Wendy wanted an updated picture.

We had fun tromping through the wooded trails snapping pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

Every time I am with Arthur and Wendy, I realize more and more how perfect they are for each other. We appreciate their friendship, and hopefully we will always remember one another's anniversaries.

Last week was Latty's Vacation Bible School. I was able to teach for the first time this year. It was a fun week. There were not many dull moments with this clan of four-year-olds, but that is to be expected. What a blessed week!

Nate and I like to have Saturday projects that we can do together. A couple Saturdays ago, we declared it to be "mulching day." We beat the heat and got it done during some cloudy morning hours, and were pleased with the fresh look it gave to our landscaping.

This past Saturday, we tackled our kitchen. Remember the lovely blue-painted walls, with red accents. Well, it did not take me long to grow out of that, a year to be exact. We wanted more of a modern feel.

I decided to bid farewell to the blue.

It was just too much blue.

I went with Agreeable Gray from Sherwin Williams for the wall color.

So.Much.Better.

While I painted, Nate spent most of his day working on a back splash that we had chosen.

We are not quite finished with our kitchen update, but we are liking what we see. We love the back splash, do not miss the overwhelming blue, and are enjoying each other's company as we work together on this project.

I will post a picture once we are completely done.

Thanks for stopping by!

2 Years Already, How Can It Be?

Two years ago, to this day, the Bluffton country church was filled to the brim. Nate and I were humbled and speechless when we saw the overwhelming amount of support that had come to witness our wedding.

After the first service, my bridesmaids and I had a nice lunch at the fellowship hall. My appetite did not seem to show up, which is probably common for most brides, even bridesmaids.

We put our dresses on and still had plenty of time to spare. I enjoyed those pre-wedding moments with my girls.

We sang around the piano, and I remember feeling so happy and blessed. We sang the words to the song "Amazing Grace." I thought about the amazing grace that God so freely gives, the grace that led Nate and I together. Now here we were on our wedding day, prayers being lifted up on our behalf, and we truly felt them.

Soon the time had come to head over to the church. I was anxious to see Mr. Zollinger and to steal his last name. 

It all happened so fast, and soon a beautiful wedding ceremony was complete.

We made it official, and the rest is a blur.

I am constantly amazed by the man of God who permanently came into my life that day. He makes me happier than I could have ever imagined. I really do not know where the two years have gone. It has definitely been a learning and growing experience, but isn't that just life in general?

We love our stage of life right now, just the two of us. We know that God may call us to leave our comfortable phase one day, and we pray that we will be willing.

Whatever is in the future, we want to face it together, all while having our marriage firmly built on the foundation of Christ.

I will tell you one thing, we will not miss the bird seed shower that we had to experience that day.

And then we were off, at least we thought.

What are they all waiting for?

They look as if they expect something else to happen.

Maybe the return of the maid-of-honor is what they were anticipating.

 

All in all, we are thankful for a wonderful two years. Today is special and set apart, but we pray that we can show sacrificial love to each other each and every day.

Happy Anniversary to us!