Lights, Family and Blessings!

As with half of the population.......  I am sitting here today reflecting on this year of 2013........

I have to start this blog with giving credit where credit is due......  And all of that Glory goes to God!!!
We have been so very Blessed this year!!  There truly is not enough time to put into words the wonders that God has done for us this past year!!  That being said......  I'm going to attempt to share the "highlights"  :)

Quorum International 2013 January Market Party
January is always a busy month here at Lighting Etc. - Not only is it the start of a new year, but it is the month of Market.  The month that we go to the World Trade Center and walk hundreds of showrooms to find the new and beautiful treasures that we will sell for the next 12 months......  January 2013 had one additional element, and that was the addition of my Niece, Jennifer, to the Lighting Etc. staff.  Jennifer was an answer to Prayer!  We had certain administrative needs that had to be addressed and Jennifer was the solution to those needs!!  A true Blessing was realized when brother and sister joined together to establish the future of this 3rd generation company.

April 2013 marked the one year anniversary of our "Technology Endeavor" - Yes!  One year since we had begun to use the Ipads in the showroom!!  What a Blessing that turned out to be!!  LOL!!  And to think...... I didn't want to "waste" money on them!!  Forrest had a vision for the future (And Praise God that he didn't listen to me :) - and the path to that future included a completely redesigned website as well as a foray into social media!!  Lighting Etc. can be found all over the place!!  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & Houzz (just to name a few).  The future is going to be exciting!!



The summer months of 2013 were also full of Blessings!!  The first came in the fact that our beloved "Big Robert" came back to work in June!!  We are so very Thankful!!  Robert has been part of the Lighting Etc. family for over 10 years, and his absence was felt far and wide in our business.
July brought the addition of another family member - Tabitha answered our ad for a showroom sales position and moved here all the way from Minnesota!!  Talk about a leap of Faith!!  We Thank God for Blessing us with both of these people, as well as the rest of the wonderful staff here at Lighting Etc.

Fall of 2013 proved to be one of our busiest season's in three years!!  Builders built, Remodelers remodeled, Designers designed and Homeowners DIY'd!!  We were Blessed with God' Grace!!
New deals were made with many manufacturers, new product was bought and inspiration was found.  We brought in over 1,000 new pieces!  We revamped the entire Lighting Etc. Showroom!!
Softer finishes, cleaner lines and new designs brought excitement to the design table for 2013!



As we close out this wonderful year that was 2013, we will always remember December 13th......
The day that our PawPaw passed away.  We are Blessed to know that God's Promises are true :)
We will see him again!!

As we look forward to 2014 and the keys to the future that it holds, we will continue to stand on Faith and His Word:

Rejoice in our confident hope.  Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
Romans 12:12

As always, thanks so much for the "read" - have a Blessed day!  And we will Light It Up again next time!!
Denise

A Day To Remember......... 12/13/13

As a small family business - there are many times that we get so busy that the only thing we can do is keep up with the "fires" and juggle everything else that needs to be done.......

This blog has been one of the items that I have "juggled".......... I regret that........ Today that changes........

Our family business, Lighting Etc. was started by Bob and Norma Cooper over 35 years ago.......
They have always been lovingly known as "Paw-Paw" and "Granny" - even our customers know them that way.

Paw-Paw retired first..... about 15 years ago, Granny retired about 5 years ago.
Although retired - they loved to stop by the showroom and see what we were doing :)  What new product we had bought and how we were displaying it.


Paw-Paw also loved the all the new technology that we were bringing into the business, such as our web-site and use of Ipads and all of the Social Media we had begun.  He was the first subscriber to the blog.........
He loved reading it every time I would publish one.  He would tell me how great it was.  I don't know if anyone else ever even read it, but I know he did.  :)  And he always told me to write more........  Beginning today - I will.

Paw-Paw passed away this morning.  And now, in honor of him I write this post.

He was a man of few words, but when he said them they had immense meaning.
He was a man of incredible character that shaped and molded this business.
He was a man of strong love that will always be with each of us.

Thank you Paw-Paw for always being you.

Heaven is shining brighter today.
Until next time (which will be soon)
Peace and Blessings