Chestnuts Roasting and Roy's Brain On Fire

Roy is in the middle of his first wave of law exams.  Or, more appropriately, his first tidal wave of law exams.  The entire semester rides on these scores, nothing else counts towards final grades.  No pressure!

I'm amazed by him.  Days ago I would have dropped into the fetal position and started crying.  Although he's talked about how hard it is, he hasn't complained or tried to find ways to procrastinate, like I'm sure I would.  There were several days this last week where he studied twelve straight hours in the library, with a one hour break for lunch.  Seriously.

I've been using my own lunch break to run him Wendy's or Subway sandwiches, reminding him that he needs to refuel.  When I missed a day because I couldn't get out of the office, Roy went without.  He just stayed in that cave of a library and roasted his brains.  So you see how important my job is. 

Even with Christmas decorations going up and all the holiday excitement, Roy refuses to be distracted.

He says it won't really feel like Christmas until he's able to yank his head out of those books.  But he's surrounded by Christmas craziness, all the same.

Mom and my aunts put on a gingerbread house making party for the great grandkids in the family.  {Mom being the only one without a grandkid!}  I didn't get to see the event, but what was left by the time we got home still looked adorable.  Before she whisked away the leftovers, Roy and I put together our own little gingerbread house.

It's our Christmas decoration in our bedroom.  Being at my parent's house for the whole month of December brings back childhood memories.  For example, Mom puts these wintery bedspreads on everyone's beds right after Thanksgiving.  It wasn't until I left Tucson that I realized the rest of the world switches to flannel sheets to keep warm!  At mom's house we do it to be cute and Christmassy.  Roy was stoked we get our own little tree too.

My parent's advent calendar is another childhood decoration I had to document.  This thing has been around for even my earliest Christmas memories.  

 Mason, Alexa, and I used to fight over who got to stick the daily figure onto the felt tree.  I remember waking up, running down the hall, and skidding into the kitchen trying to beat my little sibs to the calendar.

Even though a few elbows were thrown, this was one of our favorite Christmas traditions.  Roy and I better get something like this for our own family next year.

As far as the rest of our decorations, it will be so fun to open our boxes of them next year, since it will have been two years since I saw them.  I'll have forgotten most of them, probably, and they'll feel like new presents! 

Tonight Roy had to lock himself up to study.  Zac, Simon, and I made gingerbread men and rocked out to Christmas music.  I'm bringing some of the cookies to work tomorrow.  The office had a guessing contest to predict the genders of my expecting co-worker's babies, and I said I'd make cookies for the winners.  Lucky them, they get these beautiful creations.  {PS, she's having two girls, if you were curious.}

When baking gingerbread men, be careful they don't come to life.  They'll run away and you'll have one less cookie to eat.

One more final exam for Roy- wish him luck!