Taps

If any of you have heard Taps, the military trumpet played notes at military funerals, then you have heard a truly moving piece of music in its true simplicity. I learned to play Taps when I was in school by pure chance on my trumpet. I have always had a good ear and tried to match the notes until I had the melody perfect. I was unaware until recently the true beauty if this music. So here is a small tale for you to all hear about how Taps came to being. Melding music, history, and poetry all in one.

We have all heard Taps at one point in our lives whether in person or in the movies. It brings tears to our eyes and lumps to our throats with it's haunting sound that moves us.

The Myth:

It all began in 1862, during the Civil War. The Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his troops near Harris Landing in Virginia. They waited to enter battle with the Confederate army who also waited on another side of the small strip of land that separated the two combatants.

During the night, he heard the moans of a wounded soldier on the field of battle and risking his own life, went to retrieve the wounded man not knowing if he was comrade or enemy. It was so dark that he could not see the man he rescued until he had returned to his camp. By then, the man was dead.

Light illuminated the face of his own son who had been fighting with the Confederate soldiers against his own father. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war had broken out and had not told his father that he had joined in the Confederate Army.

Even though he was an enemy soldier, the Captain asked if he could be buried with military honors and a band. His wish was only partially granted. He was only granted one instrument from the band to play at the funeral. The Captain chose a bugler (trumpet player) to play the music that he had found in his son's pocket.

The Truth:

The tune is a variation of an earlier tune called the Scott Tattoo used from 1835-1860. It was arranged in its present form by Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield while at Harris's Landing in Virgina, July 1862. His main objective was to replace the Scott Tattoo, used for "lights out" which was a French created tune. Butterfield's bugler, Oliver W. Norton, was the first bugler to play the newly arranged tune. Within months, both North and South forces had fully adopted the Taps tune.

Today, Taps is used to culminate military funerals around the United States as well as memorial services held within Arlington National Cemetery. When sounded, it is customary for military personnel to salute. The corresponding civilian response to Taps is to put their hand over their heart (much like the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem).

It is also sounded at each of the 2,500 wreath ceremonies held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every year, including the ones held on Memorial day. These ceremonies are viewed by thousands of people each year. Taps continues to be sounded at non-deployed military locations to indicate "lights out".

The Lyrics to the music:

Fading light dims the sight

And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright

From afar drawing nigh,

Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun

From the lakes, from the hills, from the skies

All is well, safely rest;

God is nigh.

Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.

God is near, do not fear;

Friend, goodnight.

Imagine those lyrics being sung to what I hear as the most beautifully haunting tune in America.

Learning to Live With an Infamatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

As some of you know, I have been suffering from an often debilitating illness that has been a mystery to me. My illness came on rather suddenly about two and a half years ago after catching a 24 hour flu like virus. The reason I am sharing my story with you readers today, is because the path that I have taken to get to where I am today (finally on the road to recovery) has been a very difficult one.

It began with a trip to my mother's home for Thanksgiving almost three years ago. My husband was deployed and I had just given birth to my second child a few months earlier. Only a few days after our arrival, my two small children (who were 2 years old and 3 months old respectively) and I, contracted a 24 hour flu like virus. After a horrible night of cleaning up after toddler, infant, and myself, I asked my mom to take us to the emergency room as she was on the way to work at the hospital anyway. The doctors proclaimed that I had contracted a gastro-intestinal flu and that it would pass very soon. Their major concern was hydration since I happened to be nursing at the time. At this point, I had no knowledge of the nightmare my life would become.

While most of my symptoms went away over time, one of the major ones did not. I continued to have issues with my lower GI tract (the small and large colons) and was often times consumed with debilitating pain. It began to slowly rule my life. I became very self-conscious of my body and what was going on with it which led to depression. My family would joke about my issues never realizing how deeply it cut into my heart. Often times, I would be so consumed with the pain and just breathing through it that I could not be the best mom that I wanted to be. I had also begun to notice itchy bumps that would pop up on my knees and elbows for weeks at a time with no rhyme or reason to them.

About ten months after contracting that first virus, my problems had become so bad that I finally sought help. I saw doctor after doctor until my Primary Care Manager at the Naval Hospital sent me to a Gastro-Interologist directly in my area. He did a few tests and performed an endoctopy (when they send a scope down your throat to look at your stomach and gallbladder) and proclaimed that I only had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). No treatment was given and I just suffered in silence for several more months. The bumps continued to come back to my knees and elbows so I asked to see an allergy specialist thinking maybe I had developed an allergy and that was causing my GI problems.

After both skin and blood allergy tests, the specialist that I saw proclaimed that I definitely did not have any allergies to foods and that my blood tests had shown inflammation. His diagnosis was to go back to the GI doctor. So... as you may have guessed, I went back to my PCM to request another referral since my last one was no good. It was at that time that I asked to be sent to a specialist out of our area. This was the best thing I could have requested for it finally led me down a path to answers.

The new GI doctor was thorough and ran all of the tests needed on the first visit with the intent to do a colonoscopy right away. What we weren't expecting to find was the salmonella I had contracted some time between my visit at the Allergist office and my visit to this GI doctor. My symptoms had become so severe by this time that I had a visit to the ER for fear of lost blood. I was treated and asked to recuperate from the anti-biotics before proceeding with the colonoscopy.

A week ago, I had my procedure, and already the answers are falling into place. I have been diagnosed with an IBD (inflamatory Bowel Disease) which is definitely not IBS. One thing about having an IBD is that it is not curable; only treatable. I will live with this disease and its flare ups for the rest of my life. I am still coming to terms with this and some days are better than others. With this disease, comes the importance of nutrition and well-being as well as being pro-active in taking care of myself. The medication I am required to take is an immuno-suppressant which in layman's terms makes the immune system take a breather. The down side to this is that I will be more open to catch colds and other illnesses so must take care. My small and large colons also impede proper nutrition because of the inflammation of the cellular tissues.

Because of these issues, I find it is even more important for me to remember to take my vitamins and other supplements in order to be proactive with my disease. Finding the best vitamins for this may have been difficult, but I am a firm believer that I was brought to the 5000moms team for a reason. Not only do I have a wealth of cellular level nutritionals at my fingertips, but I also have a team to fall back on for support as I learn to cope and live with my disease. Although I often feel like an island out in the middle of a lake, the water that surrounds me is not nothingness; it's the other women and mothers on the 5000mom team that flow around me. I am never alone; and for that I am grateful.

I share my story with you all today because I know that there are others out there like me who have dealt or are dealing with health issues. I believe that traditional medicine is important, but I also believe that good nutrition is just as important, especially for those who are ill. I also want to give hope to those of you out there who have a problem that has been undiagnosed. Don't be afraid to question. Listen to your body. Most importantly, love your body both physically and nutritionally, for the more love you give it, the longer it will hold up for you.

Finding Those Bargains!!

Hello everyone. This week's post is going to discuss ways to find bargains for all of our everyday needs.

In today's economy, every penny counts. Here are some ideas that my family follows when making purchases.

1. Major purchases (i.e. furniture, expensive electronics, etc.): try to make these purchases on a holiday weekend. Holiday weekend sales can be extraordinary and you can get great pieces for your home for a fraction of the price!


2. Clothes: I recently lost quite a bit of weight and none of my clothing fit- in fact, I had to deplete my wardrobe by over half of what I had. In order to make up for this loss, I looked for sales. I always shop for my needs last, so had been putting off getting new clothing. Old Navy had a 30% off everything sale and I was able to purchase- 2 new jeans, 2 jean Bermuda shorts, 4 t-shirts, jean skirt, 3 jean toddler shorts for my son, and a pair of flip flops for him and spent about$140. I also surfed my favorite local site www.lejeuneyardsales.com (you can go to this site and look for if you have a local site in your area) and purchased 2 new dress skirts for church for $7 total.


3. Online shopping: you can shop on sites like e-bay for items that are a fraction of the cost or major stores like Walmart when they have their free shipping promos!


4. Don't be afraid to go garage sale hopping! You can find great clothes for the whole family, accessories, and sometimes some great furniture and appliances! You may have to look through a lot of junk to find the jewels, but they are there! I like to go to garage sales in higher end neighborhoods! You never know what you will find!


5. Sometimes, we will open a store card to get the 10-15% off our total amount and then pay it off immediately in order to pay a lesser amount on larger purchases. If you do this, make sure your credit is good and make sure you do not leave a balance on it after the first month. It will accrue interest after the first month which will add that discount you earned when you opened the card back on (then there is no point).


6. Make sure you shop those sales! We just pre-purchased for the school year all of the shoes for my two children about a week and a half ago when Payless Shoes was doing their buy one, get one half off promotion. My daughter came home with 4 shoes plus her dance shoes for this fall (so 6 pairs) and my son came home with 5 pairs and I came home with 1 pair. We spent about $120 on all of these shoes!! (12 pairs of shoes!!!). Kids don't need expensive shoes when they are still growing, so if you are able, look for them at garage sales or purchase at discount shoe places. They have cute shoes for inexpensive prices!

If you have a great way that you save money when making purchases, let us know in the comments section! This is a great forum to share our ideas and every mom needs ways to save every penny!