Monday, the beginning of a new week, and a new hope that we will hear good news from the Philippines Inter Country Adoption Board.  I’ve been told that the Board meets on Thursdays to review cases, but that doesn’t necessarily align with the timing of the round of questions that they sent us before Christmas…so every day is a possibility to me!  Every time the phone rings these days, my heart skips and I am thankful all over again for that little invention called Caller ID that for so many years we did not have (we just recently changed our phone plan for a cheaper one, and lo & behold it included Caller ID!).

I am definitely feeling a little bit like an overdue pregnant lady these days.  I remember well the anticipation of those due dates when we were expecting our other children — how even though in my mind I knew that there was no guarantee attached to them, I couldn’t see past that magic date!  Hale’s due date came and went without so much as a hiccup out of that baby boy! Looking back, it was a good thing…as all things in God’s perfect timing are…because it allowed Kevin and I to celebrate our second wedding anniversary at a fantastic restaurant where they felt so sorry for me (I must’ve looked gigantic and pathetic) that they gave us a beautiful and delicious dessert for free!  Much better than celebrating with hospital food had Hale decided to make his debut on his due date!

My patience is now TRULY being tested!  I guess it has to do with the updated photos and seeing how much John Mark has grown since the first picture we received….and not wanting to miss one more day/week/month of his life.  I want to be taking those pictures from now on — pictures of him playing with the four siblings that ask about him daily and have so many things planned for him!  As much as I look forward to taking my first international trip and experiencing a completely different culture, I also just want to get that part over with and get back to raising my family without this “event” hanging over our heads!  I want to fulfill this calling that the Lord has placed in our lives, and be able to witness to others who may be wondering if what they are considering is a calling or just an idea they came up with…

As we begin this new year and anticipate all that it will bring, I have many things for which I am praying.  Of course, I pray that the Lord would continue to open my eyes and my heart to what He would have me do each and every day, and that I will seek out those things rather than hiding from them;  I pray for my marriage, that Kevin & I would continue to keep God in the center and know that we are not in control, but that we have a choice every day to love each other and work together (and I pray that KJ knows that I think he gets hotter every day, and I’m truly a happy girl to be married to him!); I pray for my children, all five of them, that they would grow in their relationship with their Heavenly Father and find peace in knowing that they are loved and never alone, because sometimes it just feels hard to grow up; I pray for the Lord’s provision, in this slow season of work for Kevin, especially given the remaining expenses of the adoption, and our desire to continue to be a help to others.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Happy New Year! Wow — 2012! Rolls off the tongue easier than 2011, I think. This year (in just a week and a half, actually), my parents will celebrate FORTY years of marriage! Reid will turn four in a few weeks; Kevin and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary; Hale will be 10 this springs; our big dogs will hopefully make it so see their 12th birthday in June; Mackey the WonderPup will turn 2; I will no longer be able to round down to 30 but rather up to 40 when I turn 35 this summer; this will be the 6th year we have lived in this house; Addison will be 9 years old in the fall; the cats…if they can continue to escape death by coyotes, will have been with us for 7 years; Sydney will turn 6 years old right before next Christmas….and the one thing we’re all a little more focused on than the things previously listed…we will, God-willing, welcome our fifth child into our family — officially, that is! We already feel as though he is part of our family; we are just waiting on everything to be official!

Update: we received an updated medical file and two new up-to-date photos of John Mark a few days before Christmas! It was a wonderful gift and an answer to prayer. I had begun to feel a little like we were stuck in a stalled vehicle going nowhere!  The Inter Country Adoption Board (ICAB) in the Philippines had a list of about seven questions for us…mostly just clarification on some things that were in our home study.  When I finally stopped shaking and crying from looking at John Mark’s new photos, I did my best to answer their questions as thoroughly as possible.  The answers were sent back to ICAB and we continue to wait for a response.  It could be that we receive even more questions; it could be that we receive approval; and yes…it could be that we are denied.  The last one would be the most bitter pill to swallow that I can ever imagine…but I have to be honest with myself and with our family.  And we know that the Lord has a plan, one way or the other, and that we need only to lean on HIM, not our own understanding.  Easier said than done, but it is what I truly believe.

We do have some people to thank for what they have done to support us throughout this adoption journey.  First and foremost, everyone who has prayed and continues to pray for John Mark’s well-being, as well as for our family as we wait. These prayers have been like a warm blanket on a cold night!  We are so very grateful, and we ask that you continue to pray!

Secondly, to my friend Ivy, who is also my hair stylist.  She has sacrificed a portion of the income that she would normally make from doing my hair in order to give me a cheaper rate, as she knows that the expenses that come with the adoption are a little daunting!  At first glance, this might seem minor.  But I tell you, I was moved by the fact that Ivy thought of this and was willing to sacrifice income on our behalf.  That is a good friend!

Thirdly, a thank you goes to the individuals involved with our church’s Global Outreach Team.  This team granted us $500 towards our adoption expenses.  This money has already been applied to the remaining amount that will be paid upon our adoption approval.  THANK YOU to the First Church of God Global Outreach Team for supporting our family, as well as others!  This gift was completely unexpected and humbling!

Of course, there are a lot of other things going on in our family besides the adoption.  Hale & Addi continue to excel in school, and we are so thankful for their capacity to and love for learning.  Sydney & Reid are making great strides as well, making new friends and most notably enjoy their Sunday School lessons like no other child I’ve even known!  It is amazing the details they retain from their lessons, and incorporate the Bible stories into their playtime!  While the real estate auction business has slowed due to the time of year, Kevin continues to work long hours on technology projects.  We give God all the glory for the way in which he enables Kevin to provide, and for the opportunities to earn the funds needed for the adoption.  In fact, it is one of the sweet things that comes up in Hale’s nightly prayers, and it goes something like this: “Dear God, thank you for this day….and please give Daddy work so that he can make money that we need to pay for John Mark.”  Of course, we have explained that we are not BUYING this child, but you can see how it seems that way in the mind of a child!

We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to begin leading a new small group of married couples at our church.  We’re blessed by the relationships that have been formed and we pray that the Lord continues to do a mighty work in all our lives and within our group.

That’s about it for tonight…the hour is getting late and I am getting sleepy!

We are officially two months along in the adoption process.  Wow, it seems like it has been WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY longer than that!!  I know it sounds pathetic to say that my patience is being tested, especially considering that we should be good at waiting…experiencing infertility is one HUGE lesson in practicing patience!  But seeing our (fingers crossed) little boy’s face everyday in the photo that we have displayed in our kitchen makes me impatient, because for every day that the process is delayed, it’s another day that he is in an orphanage rather than in a home with a family to love on him, provide his needs and tuck him into bed at night.

We received word last Friday that our home study report is (finally) complete and had been received by our agency.  Today we received word that our background clearance from Illinois had been received (finally!) — background clearances have to be done in any state prospective adoptive parents have lived since the age of 18, and  Kevin & I briefly lived in Illinois.  Now, our home study report is being reviewed for completion.  Our next step is to receive clearance to travel to Indianapolis to be fingerprinted.  After that takes place, our completed dossier will be sent to the Philippines, and then we wait for approval to adopt from that country, and then approval to adopt the little boy that we already feel as though is ours.  We are realizing that it’s silly to attempt a guess at the timeline, but that’s us…silly people.  So we are guessing that our dossier will reach the Philippines by the end of October. And if all goes well, our approval to adopt and our approval to adopt our specific child will occur in quick succession.

I know, that update is not all that exciting.  Most people that ask (and it occurs daily that someone asks where we are in the process!) are hoping we have a travel date and know exactly when we will be bringing him home.  You can’t imagine how much I wish that were true!  I already have our Christmas card design floating around in my head just in case he’s here…but of course, I have the alternate Christmas card design in mind if he’s not here…and at this point I’m quite certain he won’t be.  I am even preparing myself for another YEAR of waiting…because I know that could be the reality.  Hale came to me three days ago and said, “Mom, what happens if the Philippines doesn’t let us adopt him?”  Yeah, even THAT is still a possibility.  Ugh…….

But because this adoption was a calling from the Lord…and we truly believe that…we still have peace about this process.  I still envision this precious child teaching us more than we could ever hope to teach him.  I envision walking into the bedroom that he will share with Hale, every night, to see two brothers sleeping peacefully.  I envision the normal ups and downs of a family, but instead of herding four cats, KJ & I will be herding five.  And I.Can’t.Wait.  I have reorganized Hale’s room and closet; I’ve hung the little clothes that we have begun collecting; my mom has begun cross-stitching a ‘blankie’ just as she has done for the other four (not to mention a fifth stocking to hang on the fireplace!); I’ve even tried to convince KJ, without success, that we will be needing a vehicle with more seating!

So for now, we will continue to pray for our little guy.  We ask that you do the same.  Pray that he is well, that he is being taken care of by people who love him enough to want to see him go home to a FAMILY.  Pray for all of us – that the Lord continues to provide peace and patience throughout this process. Pray that our children will be understanding while we are called to travel to the Philippines to bring our precious child home.

It’s that time of year again when we settle into our routine of a school schedule – which means EARLY BEDTIME for kids – and I feel as though I have a little more brainpower left at the end of the day than I do during the summertime!  I have always had the best of intentions when it comes to keeping up with our blog, but intentions do not always come to fruition!

Back-to-school this year finds our family with a fourth-grader, a second-grader, and as of tomorrow morning….a PRESCHOOLER!  A strange sensation came over me as I hung a third backpack in the mudroom this evening in preparation for Sydney’s first day of school!  A year from now, FOUR backpacks will hang.  Three years from now, FIVE backpacks???!!!!!  YOWSA!!!

Yes, we will be welcoming our fifth child into our family in the near future!  We are in the middle of the adoption process, praying to bring a little boy from the Philippines into our home.  This little guy will be two years old in November.  Of course, we can’t get him here fast enough; but we know there is no such thing as ‘fast’ when it comes to adoption, and so we just pray daily for him as we patiently wait for approval from the powers-that-be!

Some of you might be asking what spurred us into the realm of adoption.  Some of you have a few choice words for our decision!  Some of you think it’s great but still don’t understand why a family of six would choose to add another.  We’re prepared for such reactions, but not by our own power.  I can tell you that one person has suggested to Kevin that I am forcing him into this because I must be regretting not having anymore biological children, and that he should put his foot down and let me know what’s what!  Okay, so those of you who know me well probably take a step back when you read that and expect to hear that my reaction was explosive slightly negative…but it wasn’t…which is WEIRD for me!  There’s no other explanation, other than it’s a total God thing!  Not only has our family been called to walk this path and expand our family in this way, but I have also been called to tolerance and peace for such assumptions.  Wonders never cease, I tell ya!  This is sooooooo not me!  But I am loving *this* me — the peacefulness, the assuredness, and the knowledge that it only comes from one source — my God!

Hale, Addi, Sydney & Reid are all excited at the prospect of a new brother – most especially Hale, as you can imagine!  Sydney & Reid giggle every time we talk about what John Mark (yep, that’s his name — isn’t it sweet?!) will call me….”Mommy,” I reply.  And thus begins the giggling!  Sydney wants to teach him how to play with stuffed animals and all about Jesus!  Reidie wants to teach him how to go pee-pee on the potty (yay!  I’m all for that one!).  Addi wants to introduce him to our dogs & cats and show him how to play nicely with them, and read bedtime stories to him.  Hale wants to teach him everything he knows about Nerf guns and video games!  John Mark is going to be one lucky boy to have such amazing siblings to teach him everything he needs to know (and then some!); and we are all going to be very lucky blessed to have another son/brother who will undoubtedly give more to us than we could ever hope to give to him!

“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.”  -Matthew 18:5

It is fair to say that I’m an early adopter on some things. When it comes to technology, ‘some’ becomes most. You won’t find me camping out at the Apple Store waiting for The Next Big Thing! or buying the latest and greatest computer or phone but in terms of free software — I’m on the bleeding edge.

Back in 2002 I made syndicated news reading part of a daily ritual. Using what are known as feeds, websites can provide new content in a specialized file that programs or other websites can gather, parse, compare, and determine what is new on any particular websites. The benefit is that, instead of going to hundreds of websites that I like and trying to determine what I’ve already read and what is new, I can use a program or website that shows only the new content and lets me focus on it. The best program (okay, it was one of the only programs doing this) back then was called NetNewsWire, developed by a guy named Brent Simmons over at ranchero.com.

I found Brent’s website back then because I was interested in the Perl programming language and was actually creating my own feed-reader website. And really that’s what NetNewsWire was missing — the ability to sync the feeds across multiple computers — something a web-based reader could do systemically. Speeding up the story, after a year or two of rolling my own I found Bloglines, which did a better job than what I could muster. I switched over and spent many years there until last year when Bloglines planned to shut down. And then didn’t. But by that time I had switched to Google Reader, which I’d kept current with my feeds since it started back in 2005.

If you’ve used Google Reader, though, you might feel that it is lacking (like I do). I really just couldn’t get comfortable with it. Don’t ask me why. There are many people that it works great for but it just didn’t click. So I was pleased that, when I went searching for my old standby NetNewsWire, that after Brent had sold out, NetNewswire had become ad-supported (aka free) and the software would keep my Google Reader subscription list synced between devices. It may all sound silly, but I spend a lot of time keeping up on news and websites and, consequently, this matters to me.

So now I can use NetNewsWire at the office, on my work laptop, on our home laptop, on our home desktop, or on the iPod Touch and I never have to read old news. For efficiency’s sake this is a great combination.

This was the kind of day that I love.  Not every moment was ‘lovely’…but for the most part, it was the kind of day you look back on and say, “Yep, that was a good day.”

Today we had no schedule.  No agenda.  No To-Do list (well, there is a To-Do list, but it wasn’t happening today!).  It was a family day.  Kevin had been away for a few days, and Nannie & PaPo – whom had saved the day by taking care of the little girls yesterday so I could chaperone Addi’s school field trip – left this morning. So what is a family to do with a whole day to themselves?  And a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L day at that!

I don’t want my kids to grow up with a sense of entitlement, such that they feel as though their every waking moment should be filled with mindless entertainment, catering-by-the-parents-to-the-children, extravagant spoiling…you get the idea.  However, it is rare in our family that we have a day like today…with nothing what-so-ever on the calendar, so to speak.  Of course, there are always things that could be done.  Did Kevin have work at the office waiting on him?  Yes.  Was there a pile of laundry waiting to be done?  Yes…more than one pile.  Was there yard work waiting for us?  Of course.  But today we spent our entire day enjoying each other.  Well, with the exception of the little girls getting a late nap, which meant they were pretty stinkin’ whiney for most of the day.  And then there was the conversation we had to have with Hale & Addi, explaining that when THEY were the ages of Sydney & Reid, they got to do all the things that they try to convince us NOT to let Sydney & Reid do because “they’ll mess it up.”  Other than all that, it was a super day!

We started off by taking the kids to see an animated movie they’ve been wanting to see, called Alpha & Omega.  It’s about two wolf packs who eventually overcome their adversity so that they might be a more effective pack, together.  Hmmm…good lesson for the kids…better together.  BUT…it cost us sixty bucks for our family of six to watch that movie.  Yep.  You read that right.  SIXTY BUCKS for an hour & a half-long kids movie.  It was only offered in 3D, which upped the price.  Did we have to go ahead and pay the sixty bucks?  No.  But we fell into the trap…not wanting to disappoint the kids.  And not only did we pay sixty bucks for movie tickets, we spent an additional fifteen dollars on popcorn & pop!  Grrrrrr!

Exit movie experience, which by the way, was without major incident!  It is so nice to be able to do things as a complete family now, as the kids get older.  As I looked at Hale & Addi on my left, and Sydney & Reid on my right, with their too-big-for-their-faces 3D glasses on, stuffing their mouths full of too-expensive-popcorn, I couldn’t help but smile, and thank God for my family.  And as I often do, I thought to myself (about myself)…”Who would’ve thought?!”

So as if the movie theater didn’t cost us enough (anyone keeping track knows that we’re already at $75 for the day so far), we stopped at the kids’ favorite Mexican restaurant, Bandido’s, on the way home.  Bandido’s has a small arcade room that our kids go nuts over.  Interestingly enough, they’ve never actually PLAYED any of the games because we’ve never given them money to do so.  They just love to go in and pretend like they are playing.  Sweet.  Chalk one up for the ‘rents…a FREE activity for the day!  But then we were seated, and apparently nobody was really hungry except for Mommy & Daddy. (Fortunately, we’ve learned to find two kids’ meals on the menu and then divide those two meals between the four kids, because on their own, they NEVER eat an entire meal. )  But again, no major incident…just a couple trips to the bathroom for potty breaks and Sydney trying to convince us that the wait staff needed to sing Happy Birthday to her like they did for the girl at the table next to us.

Back home, it was OBVIOUS that it was naptime for the little girls.  So after a quick de-lousing, off to dreamland they went.  Kevin & Hale went to ride in a combine with our good friend, Gary.  Hale has been enjoying this particular activity since he was a year old.  It’s just something he does every harvest.  It is a good way for him to learn a little about the farming industry, get a good look at how the equipment works (which I think is his favorite part), and spend some good quality time with his dad!  While the boys were ‘down on the farm’, Addi & I were making plans for the remainder of our day.  Addi is all about GAMES!  She loves games of all kinds, but especially board games.  So she chose an evening filled with Sorry!, Twister, Go Fish, War and Uno.  Upon the boys’ return & girls waking up from naps, we took to the great outdoors for a game of Twister, PIG (basketball), “adventures” around the property, scooter-riding, sidewalk chalk and playing with our four-legged kids.

Back inside, it was shower time…and while all that was going on, Daddy built the best blanket fort in all the land, down in the basement!  Tonight is the first time that the little girls have slept in one of our ‘famous’ forts!  They were over-the-moon excited!  Rarely do you see them volunteering to go to bed!  I’m not sure that even now, two hours since being put to bed, that they are actually asleep yet.  But this is what it’s all about…making memories!

I know…it was a long description of one random Saturday in our lives.  But I just loves days like this.  Our family.  The kids have their moments when they absolutely drive me up the wall.  They can be whiney, selfish, self-centered, irritating, demanding, and annoying.  Hmmmm…aren’t I that way sometimes, too?

I love my family beyond measure.  I am incredibly blessed.  I will wake up in the morning and thank God, as I do every morning, for what He has given me.  Or should I say ‘loaned’ me.  This life is not permanent.  But while I’m here, I’m going to LOVE days like these.

Okay, I FINALLY remembered to ask Kevin how to add posts to the blog WHILE HE WAS HERE!  I always seem to think about it when he is out of town.  Which is when I’m usually looking for something to do in the evenings.  But tonight he is here, I am here, and I remembered.  YAY!  See, he changed the format or the something-or-other and I no longer knew how to post! So I’m glad to be back because I feel like I have LOTS to share, for better or worse!

Tonight I want to talk about my most recent Facebook status update, which basically said something like “we all need to remember that our actions do not only affect ourselves.”  I am usually not into the ambiguous status updates that send my Facebook friends into a tizzy, wondering what in the heck is going on with me…but that particular update was due to the very heavy heart that I had that evening.  And I wasn’t at liberty to divulge exactly what I was referring to.  Let me break it down for you now…

Those who know me well know that my husband and my children are at the very top of my list of priorities…second only to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gives me the strength to deal with said husband and children!  So when someone messes with them or their feelings, they are messing with me.  Unfortunately, someone very dear to them  (us) has (seemingly) unknowingly hurt them, and I am doing my very best to pick up the pieces and help them deal.  This is where my Lord and Savior comes in, because I could do nothing for them without His guidance.  And again, unfortunately, my human nature often times gets the better of me and prevents me from keeping my emotions in check in regards to this situation.  So I guess you could say I used that status update as my forum for venting!  Whoops.  I’ve always said Facebook is fun for me because I don’t take it too seriously and I just try to be upbeat and casual with it.  Fail #1.

Fail #2?  Well, I like to think I haven’t made it yet, in this particular situation, that is!  I sat my two older kids down today for a heart-to-heart.  I was honest.  I was transparent.  I was emotional (and so were they!).  But I was NOT derogatory.  I was NOT mean-spirited.  I was NOT persuasive.  And I was NOT sweet.   I let my eight-year-old and my (almost) seven-year-old express their feelings, concerns and emotions.  I learned a LOT about how they are feeling and what they are and have been thinking.  I let them “get it all out” … and boy, did they ever!  There were tears, there were even fists hitting the couch cushions.  It wasn’t dramatic, it was just real.  My kids impressed me with their level of understanding as well as their level of vulnerability.  They were just confused kids who expected more from a person they love.

This made me think.  What do my kids expect from me?  What does my husband expect from me?  What do my family and friends expect from me?  And the one thing I kept going back to was…R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  That’s essentially what we ALL except from our parents, spouses, family and friends.  We just want to be CONSIDERED.

So getting back to my point…

I’m sure I learned as much today from my children as they learned from me.  We talked about choices and sin.  We talked about forgiveness, forgetfulness – wouldn’t it be nice if we were all afflicted with forgetfulness sometimes? – and we talked about ‘living beyond yourself’.

My husband is amazing.  He is handling this situation with such grace.  My kids are amazing.  They are resilient and brave and so filled with love.  Me…?  I’m a mess.  I don’t deal well.  I NEED grace.  But I am learning…through their eyes I am learning.

It will come as no surprise to those in my inner circle when I write that my favorite television show is one that most Americans have never heard of: Top Gear. Top Gear is a British automobile comedy starring three ‘gents named Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond along with a weekly collection of supercars, a celebrity or two, the news, and typically an off-the-wall challenge of some sort. And oh yes, The Stig.

The Stig is an unnamed, faceless, speechless character who’s main purpose on the show, outside of some comedy relief at his expense, is to drive each car around the same test track in order to be able to compare lap times. It has been a great stroke of planning to keep his identity and opinions outside the subject matter of the show in order to let the cars compete basically against each other without driver flavor. And the speculation as to the driver in the suit doesn’t hurt either.

There have been several men who have worn the outfit unbeknown to the viewers through the 15 series of the show. Well, I guess it was clear at one point that they had changed people as black Stig met his fate and white Stig emerged. The point of the character has been that The Stig is a… character, and that the person playing the character doesn’t matter as long has he can perform the tasks that come along with playing the part.

Intro the lawsuit. The actor who played The Stig for quite some time decided to write an autobiography about his experience. The show wants to block its publication. Andy Wilman, the producer of Top Gear, wrote an interesting article entitled “The Stig. He’s ours” and here’s an excerpt:

As you can tell I’m quite cross at the moment, but there’s plenty to be cross about. Last week, instead of working on the next series, I had to go to court. If you go to court you have to look smart, which meant I had to dig my suit out of the back of the wardrobe, and the last time I wore that suit George Michael could still drive in a straight line. So on Monday there I was, dressed like somebody who works behind the till at NatWest, having to listen to people from HarperCollins telling me that they have the right to reveal who the Stig is. Well actually, that’s tosh. The whole point of the Stig is the mystique – the bizarre characteristics he has, the wonderment created about what he might think, feel, do or look like. Kids adore the conceit, and I believe adults, although they know it’s a man in a suit (or is it?), gladly buy into the whole conceit because they find it entertaining. Even the papers, who love to make mischief, have kept everyone guessing over the years because they acknowledge that viewers like the Stig secrecy thing.

Being honest, I have an interest in reading the book. Not because of the person who wrote it — I could really care less about him. As a fan of the show I enjoy the outtakes and behind the scenes stuff. The book falls into that category for me. However, I appreciate the post that Wilman made. He showed where Top Gear is coming from in the same give-it-to-me-straight kind of fashion that makes me enjoy the show over and over again.

In the same way that many of Top Gear’s episodes over the years have not been great on their own, the progression of the series makes each show necessary for the overall sum to be a success. Their stance on this lawsuit may be very similar. You can argue their position on it pro or con just as you could Jeremy’s hatred of the Porsche Cayenne (aka Cockster). However, in the end this is just one more ‘episode’, albeit outside of any series, that — pro or con — will not spoil the whole.

The Apple marketing machine was in full “on” position today as they streamed their product event live using a new video-streaming scheme ala Pandora‘s “chunk”-based delivery method. But this post isn’t about that, but rather the AppleTV, a topic I recently wrote about.

In my last post I was interested in replacing the hard drive in my AppleTV with an SSD version which would make the machine run cooler and quieter. Steve Jobs mentioned these two items as feedback they’d received from consumers. He also mentioned that AppleTV owners wanted all HighDef content which I can understand but which imposes some limitations. So, in no particular order, here’s my list of how even though the price of the new AppleTV is quite a bit reduced, so (apparently) is its usefulness:

• There is no local storage so you can’t load the AppleTV up with kids’ movies and take the thing with you on vacation (sans computer) like we did last year on our trip to Florida. Well, there is obviously some unreported amount of local storage but the point is you can’t sync movies to it anymore and then “unplug” from your local network or the ‘net in general and watch those movies like you can on say an iPod Touch.
• The UI of the new AppleTV seems to only give HighDef options. That may be fine for those with fiber-to-the premises in apartments in New York but with my 3mb DSL connection (380KB/s actual peak download) I can’t order an HD movie and plan on watching it within the next 90 minutes. StandardDef movies are awesome in this regard — rent-to-start time is literally within seconds on my connection. I’m sure this is part of the reasoning behind keeping iTunes HD rentals to 720p resolution instead of 1080p but there is still a huge connection speed gap for most of America.
• No apps? Come on! My son is becoming quite the weatherman and I’d like to be able to show some weather map widgets on our HDTV. Don’t tell me the new AppleTV doesn’t have the processing power at this resolution — the A4 processor is an apparent workhorse and can do wonders on the iPhone/iPod Touch at 960p.
• I understand that, for size & cost’s sake, the component-out on the old AppleTV didn’t weigh in that heavily as a must-keep item but I’m glad to have it on the old version. In a few weeks we’re having an outdoor movie night and the projector I use has component-in. Much easier to connect for that application than HDMI-to-DVI-to-RGB. Options are good to have if you can afford them.

All that being said, I’ll probably buy one of these new AppleTV’s somewhere down the line (rev B or C in 2011 or 2012?) but at this point it just seems like you get less utility for less money — which is only half what I’d expect from Apple after 4 years of product development.

After a week of negotiating a number of deals on behalf of my clients — some that got done and some that didn’t — I enjoyed reading through Breaking down the breakup on the BackBlaze Blog. It is the story of their 6-month negotiation with several companies that were in the hunt to acquire them. Ultimately the deal didn’t go through and the time spent had no immediate reward, monetary or otherwise. Again, a lot like my week. But at the same time, in the midst of that kind of experience, lessons learned will pay future dividends. Here’s what they learned:

Lessons Learned
I feel like I took so many lessons from this that I couldn’t possibly capture them in one blog post, but let me start with a few:

1. Build trust – it’s job #1.
Spreadsheet models can show anything. Due diligence can overlook things. Commitments can be lawyer’ed out of. Ultimately, the difference between success and failure of a merger is whether the teams trust each other. Start early. Partner. Meet live. Talk to references. Do whatever it takes to make sure both sides trust each other. If either side doesn’t, no amount of legalese in a contract will help.

2. Getting acquired is expensive.
In our previous companies, the process cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees alone. We worked with our lawyers to offload as much of the work to us as possible and use them only when critical. This helped a great deal. It was still very expensive. Consider whether you can “afford to be acquired” and look at getting a breakup fee and/or working out a deal with your lawyers just in case.

3. Find great advisors.
I cannot overstate the value of our advisors – our lawyers, our accountants, and our business advisors. We did not hire bankers. They sometimes make sense. But advisors help with contacts, getting perspective when you are really deep in the process, understanding what is common in the market, background references, and more.

4. Know your wants and walkaways up front.
Unless you’re desperate, you probably do not just want to be acquired. What do you consider being fairly compensated for the company you have built? Do you want to stay and run the company or does everyone want to sell the technology and leave? Where will you be physically located? Will you be able to continue executing on your vision or will the technology simply be repurposed? What about your existing customers and partners? Figure out what is important to the team up front and write it down – it easier to stay true to it throughout the process and for the internal decisions to be less emotional.

5. Require quick movement.
Deals have a flow and when they stretch too long, people get “deal fatigue.” We sell one core service, have fairly few employees, no VC funding, no complicated contracts, and are generally a very simple company to understand. If a deal is taking months to execute on, this is suboptimal for both parties. If two companies want a deal to happen – push for it to happen quickly. Get people in rooms. Ensure the decisions makers are there. Set short deadlines. Don’t let the deal stretch out into multiple months.

BackBlaze is a remote/online/cloud backup company that potentially saves your digital life (photos, emails, documents) from catastrophic loss due to fire or hardware failure. I particularly liked the details they put out several months back regarding their custom-built data storage hardware. It impressed the Boilermaker Engineer in me.