What Makes A Day Worth the Effort!

It's moments like this that inspire me to create child number ten!
After your child hits the toddler stage, the tender moments of holding them or feeding them are way laid by an incessant stream of expletives and "Don't touch that's!"  Oh sure, they have their moments of sunshine but the majority of the time you're consumed by concerns for child proofing the house and protecting your electronics and precious belongings.  It never ceases to amaze me just how fast and expertly such little hands and feet can create such BIG calamities!  What makes it all the  more difficult at times is the knowledge that for all intents and purposes, you don't exist, merely an obstacle to overcome in the achievement of their single minded objectives.  As is the way around our home.  It has always been a running gag that the kids don't realize they have a father until they hit about or around two.  Angi is the center of their world, as it should be.  As God intended, the woman plays the role of the caregiver, while the man (hunter and gatherer) is the provider.  I have no problem bending to the will of nature.  But it sure can be lonely and unforgiving at times.  That makes the magic moment, where you see the undeniable clarity enter the eyes of your child, all that much more memorable.  That point when your child really looks at you, smiles and silently says "there you are!"
I had just such a moment last night!
Miranda, who has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she is our most devout "Mama's girl" yet was having some sleep issues last night.  Angi came to the shop yesterday afternoon to join me for lunch.  Taking advantage of the fact that Elijah is still "in house" and available to watch the kiddo's. After lunch she hung out until close, trying hard to ignore the fact that I was watching a "Tick" marathon!  That evening the telltale signs that Elijah had allowed Miranda to nap far to long made themselves apparent.  After dinner and bath time, as the girls were going to bed Miranda performed the  all to familiar ritual of sitting bolt upright, emptying the content of her crib onto the floor, and playing with the light switch, alerting us to the fact that she was not yet ready for sleep!
With a heavy sigh, I extracted her from her confines and with feet jigging furiously she was set free into the living room.  Of course the Magic game that Logan and I had engaged in now became a secondary game of "keep away" from her tenacious bout of "gimme,gimme!" 
Finally able to complete the game, we gave up on round three and retired to the media room and some Netflix.  After about an hour or so of playing "Keep the coffee cup safe" with me Miranda crawled up onto the other end of the sofa, and with bottle in hand, absent mindedly watched our show. 
Then it happened.  As Angi and I sat together at the opposing end, Miranda slowly turned and looked at me.  Thankfully I was not so engrossed in what we were watching that I didn't notice.  Once she realized I was looking at her, a broad smile broke out behind her bottle and with her normal bouncy gate strode across the couch and plopped down on my chest.  Playfully she tugged at my beard and rubbed my face.  All the while looking very intently into my eyes.  And the familiar realization spread across her face.  "There you are!"  After a while she rolled over and lay across my chest, snuggling my neck and proceeded to fall asleep.  To some, this may seem rather routine or even mundane, but as I realize the pecking order in our little microcosm, it was a monumental occasion.   After an hour, even though my leg was falling asleep and I really needed to use the facilities I hated for the moment to end.  But in the interest of her comfort Angi helped lift her and  I gently carried her to bed.  After one final kiss goodnight I couldn't fight a rising teary eyed swell. 
As I said, it's thing like that which make everything worth while!





Now on to work!
Yesterday once again found us in  flurry of labor!  Managed to put out two newbies while at the same time keep the repairs up to date (thank you all so much for your trust and patronage!) Also, marking a milestone is the fact that we FINALLY found a home for the Trek 1000!  A beautiful road bike, it took quite some time to find the right master!  Also, took in a whole mess of new rides to work with.  Granted, several were just for parts, but got a couple potential gems as well.  So with that, you will please forgive me as I have a bevy of work to put out!  Check out the new ones below and we'll see ya real soon!

CLASSIC PEUGEOT HYBRID!
ONLY $150.00!!

26" MOTIV MTB!
ONLY $95.00!!