My husband and i started our business 13 years ago using a $5.00 bicycle he bought me from a local Goodwill store. He would not allow me to drive his car, for it came with a special formula that only worked for him........
He'd have to pray for a designated amount of minutes, pound on the steering column for a few measured seconds, perform seven & 1/2 "Fred Flintstone-open-door-foot-action strokes", and finally the car would remember it was supposed to function and take off! It only responded to him! Everyone would know when we were arriving from hearing the distinctive piercing squeal originating from something defective in the under body. Of course all would know if the Rice's had been there from the red stained transmission fluid in evidence left behind on driveways and parking lots due to multiple leaks!
My son, (a teen at the time) and i would have to push the car as Tony steered whenever we had to get out of tight spots, for the car would not go in reverse. At night, we had to sneakily creep down side streets to avoid discovery of driving without lights! Turning them on caused the alternator to malfunction!
I needed to get around to tend to the business God led us in. Loaded with cleaning goods in a bag i'd, hang them over the handlebars of the bike and head a few miles away to clean houses. On days that it rained, i learned to maneuver with one hand holding to steer and the other holding the umbrella. I was laughed to scorn, but didn't know how funny i appeared to others.... They said i looked like Mary Poppins!
Because we refused to live above our income means, we had to do without materialistic things common to people we associated with, but though times were tough for us, we stuck it out. I remembered the days when i would open the refrigerator door wishing there was something appetizingly succulent in it that would quench my hankering taste buds.
We had "Potato Days" back then.... A 10 pound bag of potatoes from Aldi's was only 99 cents and had become our daily diet for a whole year! The creative side of me kicked in to manifest great potato feasts! Potato soup, potato casserole, potato salad, fried potato, boiled potato, baked potato, potato pancake, potato pie, creamed potato, tossed potato, potato Au gratin, potato sandwich, mashed potato, hot potato, stuffed potato, potato pudding, hash brown potato, etc. you get the picture?
The business began to grow! Our landlord gave us an opportunity to clean and paint his units, and later manage them, and we have continued on to make a name for ourselves. Of all the professions my husband could choose, he elected to clean carpeting and paint homes for he enjoys converting the worst of living quarters into miraculously restored places of habitation! I am so very much proud of him!
We will not forget our humble beginnings. My "Husbo" Anthony Rice, who clearly hears and obeys the voice of God, has been tried and tested and has prevailed with a commendable level of excellence in his field. He has retained the customer base he acquired from the beginning and has added to it! He is known for preserving carpets that ordinarily would have to be replaced, and he paints with such superior performance that he has no need for a drop cloth. His customers rave over his work and jealously guard him, not willing to share him too readily. His desire is to be a blessing to others as God has blessed him!
It gives me great pleasure to present..... Rice & Rice Painting & Carpet Cleaning - servicing South Suburban Illinois, & Northwest Indiana communities. The "Pillar" of Rice Property Management & Realty!
Happy 13 Year Anniversary Darling!
(13 Years in Business & 15 Years of Marriage)
To GOD Be All The Glory For The Things HE Alone Has Done