Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we had fun with the kids putting our cookies for Santa and food for the reindeer and watching the boys with Grandma for their annual tradition of sitting down with her to hear Jesus birth story and The Night Before Christmas (I really hope Christmas 2014 Rachel is better at sitting still so she can join this sweet moment). 

While the boys were upstairs reading and after I snapped a few pictures, I headed down stairs to work on a few breakfast casseroles so that we wouldn't have to be in the kitchen in the morning to cook, just stick them in the oven and go watch the kids dig into presents.

I did three casseroles

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole found HERE on the Gast Family Recipes 

Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake which can be found HERE on Alexandra Cooks

 and finally one I was super excited to make because it was going to cook in the slower cooker OVER NIGHT  . . . . . Yippie!!

Slow Cooker Sausage Breakfast Casserole found HERE on the Jimmy Dean website

We did not put the green onion or sun dried tomatoes in it so that it would be more appealing for the boys.

After we were done in the kitchen we hugged on the kids gave them a kiss and they checked one more time on the cookies for Santa to make sure we did a good job setting them out and then off to bed then went.  SHOCK OF ALL SHOCKS they did not get out of bed ONCE like they normally do.

Then it was Santa time . . . hang the stockings, put the presents under the tree, eat the cookies, drink the cocoa and milk and finally put out the Santa gifts.

We don't have a fireplace so the stockings are all hung from the stairwell wall with care . . . . .

  Every year I give a new ornament for each family member . . . . Rachel's of course this year was ballet slippers because of starting Ballet Babies.

 I HAD a plan in mind for the boys ornaments, each year their ornaments fits with something we have done or what they are in love with that year.  I had planned on getting circus themed ornaments at Pier 1 but they were sold out.  So these cute penguins came home with us instead.

 Daddy did get the circus tent though ;-) because he is the ring master of our circus and because we attended one this year.

 We THOUGHT we had nothing to put together this year, we were just going to take Rachel's kitchen out of the box . . . . . turns out it was in a thousand pieces and we had to put it together.  So instead of getting to bed at 11 PM we didn't make it to bed until 12:30 UGH

 Finally Finished!

Off to bed, hopefully no one will get up too early and we can sleep in a bit!

Merry Christmas EVE everyone!