Sledding, and Our Visit from a Very Special Elf

After buying sleds on Sunday after church, we ventured out for some sledding. We headed to a popular sledding spot not far from an area in which many U.S. Embassy employees live. We had been told that the area was like a bowl, with paths coming down all sides into a central area at the bottom. We arrived around 2:00 on Sunday afternoon, and the place was packed with folks of all ages, sizes, and shapes, and possessing all manner of sledding devices. The veritable panoply of sliding contraptions included the old-fashioned wooden and/or metal sleds, sleeker, more modern plastic sleds, inner tubes, other plastic flotation devices, small, simple pieces of plastic with a small handle, plastic bags, ones' bottom (seriously, a handful of folks were just sliding down on their derrieres), and skiis. Yes, this was quite a scene. A madhouse of sorts, but a Serbian madhouse, which made it all the more interesting. I only got cussed out by one older woman who was angry with me for walking up a path with Graham, rather than schlepping through the 18 inches of snow off to the side. The kids had a ball, though, as you can see from these photos:

And, just when you thought things couldn't get any more fun, exciting, or festive, we had a surprise visit from one of Santa's elves on Monday. You see, the gift that I had requested from Santa for the Richardson children this year is something that will not travel. Since we will not be here for Christmas (more on that later), I had made a special request to the North Pole for an early delivery, but as of Monday morning, I still had not heard about whether the request would be granted, or not. But alas, around noon on Monday, I got a phone call from the North Pole informing me that one of Santa's elves was on his way to our house with the kids' gift. I asked the kids to stay in the attic, since, of course, it would be uncouth for children to actually see one of Santa's elves, and I let the little guy in and he did his thing. The next thing you know, the gift was ready, and the kids came downstairs to find their new .... Wii!!! Hours of fun followed, and of course, many questions about that little elf, what he looked like, what kind of shoes he was wearing, how tall he was, etc.

Have a super day!

Erin