We are expecting!

We are expecting! Jennifer is about eleven weeks along and today, we saw the first glimpse of our new baby. It was such a thrilling sight to see. So much so, Jennifer was in tears and I must have said the word "wow" at least ten times. The nurse commented with Jenn crying and me saying wow repeatedly that she was "about to lose it." The doctor even commented this is what she lives for to see the joy that is present when a couple first see the child.

We were so overcome that this little thing only 3.75 centimeters in length (almost 1.5 inches) was our new little one. The doctor says the baby's size looks normal and the heartbeat is strong. How amazing it was to see the pixels on the sonogram screen flutter, representing our little one's heartbeat. In ten weeks we will know the sex of the baby.

We thank the Lord for this wonderful blessing and pray for a healthy, bouncing baby. I firmly believe the Lord sets challenges in front of us to facilitate our growth. That is why I am convinced that the baby will be a girl

;-).

Anyways, we wanted to share the glimpse of our new baby with you which gave us so much joy. Jenn is doing great despite some nauseau and headaches.

Fast Forward to Catch Up!

Hallo aus Deutschland! It has really been a long time since I have posted so a thousand pardons. Let me catch up folks up on current events. Hmmm, it seems Daddy Cap is doing well. He is no longer visiting the ER for infections and having to stay. He is feeling so much better that he is able to go blow balloons, perform magic tricks, and visit kids at Wallmart. What a turnaround. His general health improvement has definitely made moving to Germany much easier. I speak to them almost every other day via phone or Skype. Here is a pic of our house with the Beemer outside!

So, we attempted to sell our house in Atlanta from Feb through mid June. This was an exhausting process as we actually had plenty of traffic with only a few serious repeat visits. Even with a wonderful real estate agent no one stepped up for a formal offer. We were convinced that couple from Chicago were going to buy the house as they visited a total of four times, even with extended relatives. We were even thinking that they had a small party in the living room as neighbors swear they saw a pizza box come out of one of the trunks of the cars as all ten of them came through the house. Alas, no sell. It has worked out for us though. We became friends with a wonderful couple-Craig and Melissa Neubauer in the neighborhood who were looking to get out of their rental house. They are now living at our place...a wonderful blessing as I really like both of them and they are just great people.

So here I am now almost three months living in Kaiserslautern, Deutschland. Jenn and I are living in small town called Weilerbach. We are northwest of KMC. Jenn is detailed to CHPPM Europe at LRMC (Landstuhl Regional Medical Center). This is the major medical center in all of Europe where most of the serious wounded warriors seek medical attention. Jenn, as a LCD (Lieutenant Commander), supervises fifteen personnel who provide preventive medicine and environmental support to Europe and Africa.
Jenn was able to circulate my resume and it actually got a hit with an HP Enterprise Services-Europe group Director in Ramstein-our friend Rod. I was offered a job with HP and now work as a DoD contractor with TRICARE Eurasia Africa. I basically provide software development in the way of applications to facilitate oversight of medical care affiliated with US military, across all branches of services. Although, we have a small team, I really enjoy the folks I work with and for. I now know my ranks for each of the respective services. However, working for the government has been a big change for me coming from private sector. It is most certainly a different beast. I never thought of myself as military except when growing up when Dad was active duty but now I definitely do feel like a spouse of active duty military person. It has been quite a change but a new and interesting one. The military provides so much for families when they are deployed. So much so, I don't know how Jenn and I could have made it without that support. So if anything, I really appreciate our military even more. Jenn and I both feel that we are actively contributing to making things better for our military while being able to live in a beautiful place. More on this later... BTW, I have finally put my bike together and have been able to go on rides. Germany is very bike friendly.

Precious Time

It has been a really rough week for Daddy Cap as he was hospitalized last Monday with bad urinary pains. He didn't sleep very much Tuesday morning because he was in so much pain and it took a while to determine the right mix of pain medication to give him reprieve from the pain. It was thought that the source of the painful spasms was the urinary cancer. Initially it was thought it had compromised his bladder. The attending physician was frustrated by his failure to subside the spasms and pain for most of Monday night. He told us plainly that we should start considering a hospice as he felt the cancer had compromised the lining of the bladder and the muscles that cause the spasms. This really discouraged us as we all felt that we could not do anything more. It was an especially difficult day for me and I was fortunate that my father-in-law and Pastor (the spiritual rocks in my life) shared some wonderfully comforting words.

Also, early Wednesday my father's urologist decided to scope his bladder area to see if we could get some answers. It was confirmed that blockages with his catheter and occluded tubes from his kidneys to his bladder were to blame for the pain and infection. It was NOT the cancer. Also, it looks like the catheter has messed up his prostrate which left him susceptible to infections. They replaced his catheter, placed two stents to facilitate flow from the kidneys to the bladder, and well the prostate will heal with time. Dad is feeling only minor pain and we're hoping that we now understand the source of all the complicating infections and hope to have some weeks without going to the ER. He will hopefully go home on Monday.

Eventually we will all move on to something greater as our time here is finite. What we do with those seconds, minutes, hours, days...etc with those that surround us should be cherished and treated as a gift. That special time is not guaranteed nor promised to us. The time spent today with my Dad at his side in the hospital was priceless. Having him sit right next to me with his shoulder touching mine and we both reading together-him reading his newspaper and me my fitness magazine- not exchanging words just enjoying each other's company was a gift from God. I hope I never lose this perspective.

Getting back on it

Sorry, it's has been almost two months since I've posted.  Not a good sign but it's due to being really busy handling our transition to Germany.  The short of it is Jennifer is already in Landstuhl,  our house in Atlanta is on the market (three weeks on market come this Monday), my workplace (AT&T) has been served notice, and we're both really exhausted.  Jennifer is settling into her position well.  She is working a lot to catch up with work and also to get a handle on her management position.  She claims its a lot more of reviewing other peoples work and less field engineering work...I think getting a handle on the deliverables for a staff of fifteen in addition to providing effective leadership will be a real challenge.  But I think she is up for it.  I on the other hand am trying to tie up loose ends at work and keep the house in a good showing state while also providing the illusion that we don't have a dog when in fact we do (Klause).  I told Jenn I could handle this maybe another month but after that something has to give.  It's a chore as I have to spend a good fifteen to thirty minutes cleaning up and hiding his bed in the morning as a real estate agent could call on any day for an appointment (that same day).  We are praying darn hard that the house will sell.   It would really simplify a lot of things to have it go really quick.  Despite it being a horrible economic environment, we are getting good volume of traffic (have had almost ten showings) up to now and the feedback has been good.  I am thinking we may need to lower the price to discount the top con on folks feedback list-a small backyard.  We will see.

 

Okay we're officially tired

Jenn and I have been working to get the house ready to go on the market.  We're almost there.  My in-laws have been a tremendous help.   Thanks guys.  Yesterday, Daddy Schuppe and I re-hung shelves, fixed cabinet doors, towel racks, and even replaced a very old step ladder in our attic.  Our day basically was get up early, Jenn make breakfast, work, work with Mom and Dad Schuppe,  stop for lunch, resume work, trip to Lowes, work some more, another trip to Lowes, dinner with Schuppes (Kristin, Mom, and Dad), work some more, and finally call it quits around 9ish.  Needless to say we both collapsed on the couches and woke up really early this morning.  Sounds like a productive day!

Props to David and Antoinette

When growing up there were times that I wondered what it would be like to not be from such a big family (6 total four girls and two boys). Thank goodness it did not take me long to realize how blessed I am to be from such a large family where the love for each other is so evident. It really shows when a family crisis occurs. Both my big sister Antoinette and brother David have really helped Mom and Dad get through a very difficult week with his bladder infection and cancer diagnosis. Thanks you guys. Its odd, as a kid I don't remember ever being alone. Even in the few home videos we have, I am always being carried by or pulled along by one of my family members. One of the benefits of being the baby of the family I guess. Its nice to know that this love is always there for me and anyone in our family. It seems I am doubly blessed as my extended family shows this same family bond.

Move over James, Borga is back home again

The end of this week finds me going home to Augusta (home to the funky soul singer James Brown) solo to be with my Mom and Dad. As I have mentioned, Daddy Cap has been going through a rough time with his health. This past week has been quite rough as he was in th emergency room twice. The latest episode involved his foley. This was accidentally removed and not replaced. Dad had so much pain in his bladder that he asked Mom to go into the ER which is so unlike Dad. The goal for this week is to focus on getting his bladder infection resolved and getting his health back so he can start his treatment for bladder cancer. I must say, he looked very good last night. I was able to have breakfast with him this morning despite jumping in/out of conference bridges and IM chats for work. We had very nice conversation and it was nice to have him ask how things are going with Jennifer and I with respect to our transition.

I am quite happy to work from my parents home even though it gets crazy. Jennifer is quite amazed at how I have this uncanny ability to stay focused with so much going on around me but I guess that is the life of a software engineer. It also helps to have an IPhone with radio tuner that plays really cool radio stations from around the world ;-). I am almost looking forward to the slower pace of life when we go to Germany. Who knows maybe when I land my next software gig, it will be the same. It will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable difference. At least I will have the opportunity to have a beer with my lunch.


Tomorrow I am hoping to get Dad out into some fresh air and out of the house. I am also hoping to patron my favorite little eating establishment in downtown Augusta, the Blue Sky Kitchen. You would probably stay clear of any restaurant that serves both Korean bbq and classic Southern dishes but the quality is good and consistent across all dishes in this place. Jennifer and I really enjoy eating there and love to visit downtown. Perhaps I might go with my sister Antoinette and her boyfriend Robert.
Here is a pic of the James Brown statue in gorgeous downtown Augusta.

Jennifer, My Better Half

My wife Jennifer has among many interesting characteristics the love of themes every season when she decorates the house.  I thought a Warhol of her would be fitting for a woman of many themes.  I actually put Klause, Jenn, and myself through the Warholizer process.  Jennifer wins hands down sporting that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis style.

Got the Biting the Plumber Blues

Our dog Klause Miro is quite the character. He is a rescue dog and apparently has issues with anyone in the service industry (I think it's the uniform) and simply does not do well in these service call scenarios. Take yesterday. We had a plumbing nightmare (probably warrants another blog entry) occur where we basically had to have our 59 year old cast iron plumbing replaced in our kitchen area (yeah, not cheap). I really was hoping that since the plumber was dog-friendly (has two dogs) that Klause would have shown an ounce of restraint with him. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way. Klause bit him on the soles of his work boots and on the calf muscle as he was sniffing his leg. I must have apologized a thousand times to the nice Bulgarian plumber. Anyhow, Jenn and Grandpa Schuppe had to court him off to McDonough so the plumber could work in peace. I imagine it must have made the plumber feel better after he wrote the big, fat invoice for the work. Thanks Klause for making an already dicey situation even worse! Jennifer and I joke that we need to find a way for Klause in biz talk...to be a part of a revenue generating profit center and not strictly a cost center. Still drumming the noodle on that one.

Why The Borga Files

Why the name The Borga Files? Well I have often wondered why I was given such an unusual middle name (Antonio Borga Caparoso). As I was going through the mental exercise of naming my blog, it had sort of nice ring to it. If anything, it's unique for a blog url which is a good thing.

The Not-So Good News about Dad

My Dad has been fighting his diabetes and renal failure for most of the year and his been going in and out of the hospital. His last bout with this happened last week as he was recovering from exploratory surgery. It seems he got a bladder infection and was being kept to observe his condition. Fortunately, he was released from the hospital yesterday as his kidneys recovered and began functioning properly. However, from a biopsy performed last week it was discovered Dad has in fact Urinary Bladder cancer. This is not good news as he has all the classic symptoms. He is meeting with his urologist Tuesday to determine what is the course of treatment and to field any questions. Personally, I am anxious to hear the state and grade of the cancer. Daddy Cap will be in our thoughts and prayers. Here is a picture of Dad and Mom with some of the kids in San Diego for their 50th wedding anniversary.

A New Year and New Beginnings

This year starts out rather interesting.  We have had several relatives in town visiting us for Christmas and New Years so we have had plenty of excitement.  I think Jenn and I realize how truly blessed we are with family and close friends as we look to transition to Landstuhl, Germany.  There are so many good things about Atlanta that sometimes we wonder if we have made the right decision as we are both excited and also tentative on our decision. In the end, I feel we have made the right decision and wherever it is we are called by the Lord to go, we will go.