A New Season (In More Ways Than One)

It that's time of year.  The time when school supplies are chaotically strewn about the big box stores, kids are sporting new shoes and backpacks, and social media sites are buzzing with "The first day kindergarten or middle school or high school or college" photos posted by joyful, and perhaps tearful moms and dads.  Yes it's back to school time and the end of summer break.

As I viewed wonderful photos of the smiling children of family and friends it made me reflect on our own family situation. We too are experiencing new seasons in life with this school year. As in years past, the beginning of school also indicates that football season is upon us.  I love the game and at any level (pro, college, high school, pee-wee).  I have found myself walking around the house singing "Its the most wonderful time of the year" from the top of my lungs while Jenny is rolling her eyes! Yes I love football, but more than that I love watching our oldest son Kade play.  I'm probably living vicariously through him, but I really don't take that as an insult.  He's a joy to watch and much of our life has revolved around his football career (I even coached his pee-wee team for several years). You could say we are VERY into it, but hey we do live in Texas.

This year however, marks a new era in our life. WE NOW HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT.  That's right....Kade is a freshman.  So not only is football season much different this year, life is much different. Football activity is fast and furious, school is more intense, homecoming dates are a mainline topic of conversation (Some parents are referring to it as "The Homecoming Hunger Games.")   How did this happen? Where did time go?  It seems like yesterday that I was helping a cute and innocent second grader put his football pads on and today he woke up a young man. 

2nd Grade

 

Freshman

Regardless, he brings us as much joy now as he did back then.  He's a good kid with a good head on his shoulders. We are exited to see him grow in the years to come.  Okay - As a Dad I admit I am including physical growth in my definition here, but more importantly his growth spiritually (growing relationship with Jesus Christ), intellectually, in maturity, and his desire to be a good human being.

As parents Jenny and I will continue to guide, coach, teach, and train Kade, but we know that he is now also becoming an individual with his own thoughts, actions, and accountability.  We have to let go a bit but continue to support, honor, and love him as he continues on his path! 

Here's to you Kade - "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth."  Psalm 127:4. 

Our quiver is full!

Kade and the Gang

Pop (Me) and his boys - Camp Copass for "Two-A-Days"

Problem Solved

Ryan IS a problem solver.  It's his gift, his talent, his God-given ability.  It's THIS character trait that obviously makes him very good at his job.

I didn't always realize that his problem-solving ability was what made him so successful at work.  I attributed his success to intellect, charm, and hard work, to name a few.   But lucky for me, his problem-solving talent comes in handy in his {our} personal life as well.

Let me share with you how his gift was revealed to me...

It was 2004 and we were about to be married.  We were busy packing, planning, and organizing--not only for our wedding but for our California honeymoon that would follow.  We lived in Texas and the wedding would be held in New Mexico so we had to make sure nothing was left behind.  Check, check, check---we are good to go, let's do this!

On our journey to New Mexico, we made a pit stop at my parents' home.  As I unpacked everything to spend one evening at their house, I.REALIZED.SOMETHING.AWFUL.

My arm pits were wet, my face was breaking out in a sweat, my heart was pounding, and like the bridezilla that I was, I yelled Where are all of my clothes for the honeymoon?

Naturally, my clothes were exactly where Ryan I left them.  In a suitcase in Texas.

My first immature instinct was to yell at Ryan and blame him for the whole darn predicament.  I would now have nothing only my wedding dress to wear as we cruised Pacific Coast Highway.  I know that my reaction to this incident gave him cause to reconsider asking me to be his bride.

Well, fortunately I didn't worry about it for too long.  I was excited about the wedding and I was truly excited about the man I was marrying.  The wedding went great and the next day we headed off to jump on a plane to LAX.

When we arrived at the Fairmont in Santa Monica, I checked in and the hotel attendant presented me with a very special "gift."  It was a big box wrapped in brown packaging, and I was curious as to who sent us a wedding gift TO OUR HOTEL?  Ryan encouraged me to open the gift and as I ripped open the box, I discovered all of my honeymoon clothes neatly folded and ready to wear!

I looked questioningly at Ryan, who explained that he had overnighted our house key to a friend in Texas, who then went over to our house and grabbed all of my clothes.  The friend then used Ryan's FedEx account to send them directly to our hotel.

Looking back now, it seems like such an easy obvious solution, but at the time, it felt like a miracle for him to pull off this feat: my honeymoon clothes were indeed going to be worn on the honeymoon!

Ryan continues to build on his problem solving skills and I'm proud to say that he is as creative as ever at making solutions, both personally and professionally.  I share this story with you today to make you aware of his talents and let you know that his problem-solving abilities are well-utilized on each and every loan that he does.  If you want someone who can make things happen and work hard to make your loan experience successful, you've come to the right place!

2004

The Creative Process Behind the Logo

Although we've had our new logo for about three weeks now, we just unveiled it this past week.  We've received A LOT of positive feedback, and so we want to share the making of the logo.

We hired THE GREAT Rob Shiflet @ Tailfish Solutions to curate a logo that was reflective of who we are.

Ryan really didn't have any specifics to give him, so he only made suggestions on what he thought we would both like:

• Ryan liked the idea of a "G" (representing our last name and obviously the corresponding company name).
• Ryan also had the idea of somehow incorporating a crown with the "G". This was a nod to me, because my maiden name is King, and I loved the crown idea because of another meaning: we are the son and daughter of The King.  (My mom also pointed out that Ryan is the "king" of my "castle.")
• Ryan hoped that whatever Rob made would reflect the industry that we are in.

Being the creative genius that he is, Rob hit a home run and conceived a rustic skeleton key that incorporated all of the above elements.   A skeleton key is generally used to mean an antique key; however the term skeleton key derives from the fact that the key has been reduced to its essential parts.   

Here are the essential parts of our skeleton key:

• The key symbolizes opening a house, which our clients do shortly after they receive their loan from us.  
• The bow (top) of the key is in the shape of a "G."
• The shank of the key has grooves/bits that establish a crown.

We are so very happy with the finished work that Tailfish Solutions has done for us!  Thanks to all of you for your support and compliments!

Open for Business!

We are so excited to be in our new 900 square foot office space!  One thing that we love is the history of the old building--before it was us, it was:

1.  Wild Bliss - boutique gift store
2.  Southern Charm - boutique gift store
3.  Capital Title - a title company (who is now 2 doors down but is about to move to a new building in Argyle)
4.  The Real Estate Station - a real estate brokerage who is now in another cute old yellow building in Argyle.
5.  A carpenter's shop

We aren't sure on the history of it beyond that, but we think it's a pretty neat place!

We are a part of a set of three buildings built with similar architecture and style.  One of those buildings was previously an open-air farmer's market.  After the market shut down, the building was enclosed.

We signed the lease on the building back in December but the office needed new paint and some other clean-up before we could start to move in.

The walls and cabinets and trim were baby blue from the previous tenants.  See picture below!

There were other details that we didn't like, such as brass hardware on the doors, and in the bathroom, that Ryan had to replace.

Because the previous business was a clothing boutique, we had to take down some of the wall clothing racks (seen above, behind Ryan).  We also had to do a lot of new business "stuff"; including turning on the utilities, obtaining a certificate of occupancy, having a fire inspection, etc. etc. etc.

Then came the paint.  Generally my area of expertise.  Picked out the following colors:

From left to right: ceiling, wall, trim, cabinets.  In my mind: off-white, tan/khaki, barn red, dark gray. Got Ryan's approval.  Check.

Well, the paint was completed and here is what it looked like:

Not sure what your opinion is…but Ryan thought the red looked pink.  Any man of reasonable character cannot have a pink office.  Obviously.  My thoughts?  It was a more "earthy" red.  But the bright white fluorescent lights were throwing things off and Ryan just wasn't having it.

He also did not like the cabinet color: said they looked brownish/greenish instead of gray.  I have to say that I agreed with him there, but at least the color was masculine.

So….

He called the painters and asked them to paint a small area that would be a darker red so that we could get an idea of whether or not we really wanted to paint again.

Obviously now we are dealing with the reality that the "organic earthy red" is indeed pink.

So...here we go again.  Painters please come back and paint our trim "dark red."  Fortunately we were not moved in yet so it wasn't a big deal.  That is, if you don't count the extra cost.

Skip forward: we have moved our furniture into the office, got everything kind-of arranged (but not organized) and I just can't stand the color of the cabinets.  I suggest we change out all 48 of the fluorescent bulbs: from bright white to soft white.  I think this will help because:

1)  The lights already give me a headache.
2)  I cannot stand cool white lights (think Wal-Mart).
3)  I believe it will change the color tone of the cabinets.

Well, the bulbs make the place look A LOT better: warmer, inviting, more house-like instead of office-cubicle-like.  BUT I still hate the cabinet color.

Re-enter painter.

Please come paint the cabinets black.  I cannot even bare to pick out a shade of gray for fear that it will have any color tone in it that I do not like.

And now?  We have matte black cabinets.  We also have less money.

Final result:

Please note: these are iPhone pictures and they aren't high-quality!

We are both happy, happy, happy--and now we can move past painting and work on things that will actually earn us money instead of cost us money!

We are now working full-time in the new office and although we haven't decorated yet, we are completely functional!  Come by anytime and have some coffee!