Klingler's Breakfast

Good Thursday morning!

The Featured Ornament today is my Christmas china. My Mom bought a set each for me and my sister many years ago, and I've never seen any other china like it. It is unique. I love the pattern and the colors, and I always set the table the first day of December. We eat ALL of our meals on the Christmas china until New Year's Eve. It sets the mood.

Just as I predicted Tuesday... it was a rainy, gray, blustery sort of day on Wednesday. "They" told us we might even get snow today. In Alabama, there is always the hope of snow, but it is rare that accumulation actually occurs. We're the ultimate optimists though... always hoping, running to Wal-Mart to buy bread and milk (which we already have), and waking up to... you guessed it. Another day WITHOUT snow.

Sometime this winter, people will start talking about the blizzard of '93 (which was an actual blizzard -- not just 3" of the slushy stuff), and the kids won't believe us because, well, we're old and we exaggerate. And what we don't exaggerate, they think we just totally made up. (I do have pictures, however.)

We'll see what today brings. The anticipation is really the fun part. The anticipation is the fun part of Christmas, too, isn't it? Especially when you're a little guy or girl. "How many more days, Mom?" Even using the chocolate Advent Calendars and the paper chain countdown didn't stop the question, "How many more days?"

My kids know how many more days now. They even know the hours and minutes, and they can calculate these facts and figures all by themselves. They don't need my help with that anymore.

I know many moms worry about their children understanding the real meaning of Christmas. I know I did. Do they care more about the gifts and the parties than the story -- the very true story -- of how Jesus Christ came to this Earth as God's greatest gift to all of us? I think at different times in their lives, the priorities do get mixed up a little, but when I asked Josh a few years ago what his favorite Christmas activity was, it wasn't cutting down the tree, opening presents or going to the family Christmas parties. He said, "I love the Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve where we sing the old carols, and they read the Christmas story out of Luke. I love when the last song we sing is 'Silent Night,' and we light the candles and hold them high above our heads and the whole sanctuary is lit only by the candles. I love hearing what Christmas is really all about."

"Not the gifts the next morning, or seeing all the cousins that afternoon, or the other 'stuff' we do all month long? The Candlelight Service is your favorite? Really?"

"Really," he said simply.

Josh is a simple guy. He likes what he likes, and that's that. And I love that about him.

I remember his third Candlelight Service. I let him actually hold the candle (while I held him and Mike held his arm and I kept my other arm free to grab the candle should it suddenly become air born). His usually non-stop little body was completely still. Concentration was etched on his brow. His tiny voice sang, "Sleep in Heavenly peace. Sleep in Heavenly peace," and then following the lead of our pastor in the quiet aftermath of singing "Silent Night," everyone blew out their candle. The church went dark for just a second, and in that darkness.. in that moment when everyone was contemplating Heavenly peace, Josh yelled out as loudly he could, "I blewed them all out! I blewed them all out!" Because, you see, in a two and a half year-old little boy's mind, when you blow out a candle and every candle in the building goes out... well, you "blewed" them all out by yourself!

Don't worry if your child is a little more hooked on Santa and gifts some years than the Nativity Scene or the church Pageant. That's very normal. The Bible says, "When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things," 1 Corinthians 13:11. My Josh was growing up. He got it, and he was putting away some childish things. (Don't get me wrong. The kid still loves his presents, too!)

This week has been a little heavy post-wise, so tomorrow I will have a lighter story to share before we get to our weekend. But now, I'll share a favorite date of mine with my favorite guy, Mikie.

Klingler's Breakfast

Every December, Mike and I have a breakfast date at Klingler's European Bakery in Vestavia. It is warm, inviting, cozy and delicious. We drink hot chocolate out of clear glass mugs and eat quiche (me) and omelets (Mike). They have nutcrackers, fruit cakes, homemade gingerbread men, etc., etc. Eating breakfast at a bakery, especially one as nice as Klingler's, is like eating in someone's kitchen... someone who is a really, really good cook. It has a different atmosphere than a regular restaurant.

I realize if you are reading this and you live somewhere other than the great state of Alabama, planning a breakfast date with your beloved at Klingler's in Vestavia may pose a problem. However, I bet somewhere near your home is a special place you and your spouse could make your own. A place to get away on a cold Saturday morning, just the two of you, to talk and quietly drink your coffee before officially starting the weekend. In a busy month, with three kids and their busy schedules, taking time out to start the day (with a meal you don't have to cook or clean up after) with your spouse is a great tradition.

NOTE: Usually breakfast dates are a little cheaper than dinner dates, too... no dessert! Enjoy!

Tomorrow I have another wonderful Christmas book to read with the kids under the tree. This one is fun because you have to read it with a snack.

Have a wonderful Thursday, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.