Christmas IS Magical!

There is no other explanation for Spencer acting like such a perfect, helpful, loving, generous child. And, I'll take it!!! And, I swear, if I get just one kid to fall into line like that, the others seem to follow suit. That's right kids, drink the kool-aid! Groupthink dynamic is not always a bad thing!!! (Let me just say that I'm not making light of Jonestown.... I watched way too many documentaries on that this past month, as it was the 30th anniversary, and Jim Jones was one disturbing man. Totally fascinating, though.)
Speaking of genocide (not to get off the topic of "Christmas is Magical"), I think that our generation is going to be very ashamed of ourselves (myself included) when history is written on Darfur. We look back on WWII and are HORRIFIED that 6 million Jews alone were systematically wiped from this earth. That was 78% of all the Jews living in Europe at the time. 78%!!! But, we also know that we (Americans) had a hand in fighting against Hitler and his regime, so we weren't completely void of taking some kind of action against the atrocities. And, don't think I"m simply focusing on Darfur. The world also failed Rwanda and Chechnya. And none of these places has recovered from the actions. Rwanda, though rid of its dictator and not completely vulnerable to ethnic/tribal cleansing, has never fully recovered from the problem. They have millions who were displaced and traumatized, their social working systems are still in dire need of attention (including safe food, medical aid, shelter, running water and electricity). The same goes for Chechnya.... and Chechnya is still at risk of more action by Russia. Their problems have not been quelled. Though I'm against the war in Iraq (at least in the manner that we have gone about it), I can say that it was necessary to take Saddam Hussein out of power, for he was another leader in ethnic cleansing. The point of this rant, I suppose, is that we look back at WWII.... we use Hitler as a synonym for evil... yet we haven't learned anything from the past. It's all very disturbing.
Back to "Christmas is Magical". I'm done with my Christmas shopping, which is a HUGE relief (thank you, amazon.com!!). The UPS man is my new best friend. (not really, Chooch. Nothing replaces you). The Christmas music is really getting me into the spirit of things. And, nothing gets me MORE into the spirit than the excitement of the kids. Counting down the days, making their wish lists, drinking hot chocolate around the table every night. It's just fantastic.
John gets part of his Christmas gift from me this Saturday. We're going to see Jim Gaffigan in concert (he's a comedian) in Cleveland. He is HILARIOUS. If you can rent "Beyond the Pale" (dvd) from someplace, do so. You will not be disappointed.
Our house needs new windows.... badly! Does anyone have any suggestions on who we should go through? We also need a garage built. Any suggestions there?
Oh, also: we have 3.5 acres of land for sale in a development out here in Columbiana county. It's beautiful land, in Leetonia school district (Leetonia is rated "excellent"). We really really need to get this land off our hands. Though, by "really really", I don't mean we're willing to take a loss on it. If you know anyone looking for land out in the country, but still want to live in a community, let them know about this. :D
I think that's all I've got for today. :D