The heroic 19

As I sit ready to watch the memorial service for the heroic 19, the hotshot crew from Yarnell, az who gave up their lives to keep us safe, so many emotions run through my body. First and foremost my the heart goes out to the families of those beloved firefighters. They were husbands fathers,

, sons, brothers and their lives and the tragic way they died touches every Arizonan and the loss has stirred emotions of gratitude through out this country and as far as countries abroad.  Like 911 this time will never be forgotten by the people of Arizona.

Another emotion that strikes me is gratitude. I don’t know how anyone could ever thank the men and women who go above and beyond to keep us safe, to keep us free and out of harms way. From firefighters, to police officers to military we come from an amazing nation of men and women willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for people they don’t know by name, may have never met, but their love of humankind, of America keeps them going into those burning buildings, the forest that is dancing in flame, or into the battle to keep us free.  Honestly, we, or at least I don’t thank them enough. So this is my opportunity to say thank you to those in my life who work for our well being!

My brother in law is a police officer in Arizona and has done his job protecting and serving for over 25 years. I say thanks to him. My nephew. (Pictured above) is a fire fighter here in Phoenix. I say thanks to him. Both of these men go to their jobs everyday leaving their families to keep others safe at the risk of their own lives.  Along with these two heroes in my life I know several who are in the military who again risk it all for us.  I say thanks to them.

We don’t realize how fortunate we are to live in a country that gives us so many freedoms and at the same time fights so hard and in so many ways to keep those freedoms alive.  So here’s to you heroic 19. May god bless your families, hold them close in his arms. We are in debited to you all!

And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

You need not fear the terror of the night,

Nor the arrow that flies by day,

Though thousands fall about you,

Near you it shall not come.

Arizona Walk for Lupus

We will be doing the walk for Lupus November 14 here in AZ.  I will post some pictures after the event so you can see the great support we lupies have here in AZ!!!!!  If you would like to donate…please go to www.givingfirst.com/lorianngumm.

Pirates, Hawaii, Life, Love, Laughter

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It has been a while since I have written.  There has been a lot going on in life…which I am sure is true for everyone!  The biggest thing is that we took a trip across the ocean to Hawaii to see our daughter Carolyn, her hubby barry and our two wonderful Grandkids.  Having lupus can always make the prospect of traveling a bit scary or daunting.  There are the medications that have to be ordered, enough to get you through the entire trip, checkups to be done just to make sure you’re not dealing with some unknown ailment before you leave, as well as all the other things that go a long with going on a trip.  But, I was so excited to go, there was nothing that was going to get in the way of this vacation for us.  So, on August 6, my husband, my son and daughter set off on the long airplane ride over the sea (did I mention I am terrified of airplanes?) to the Island of Oahu!

Oh my what a trip we had.  There was snorkeling, Pearl harbor, diamond head (which I made it more then half way up!), shopping, body surfing, luaus, stalking pirate ships, and plenty of exploring.  The weather was perfect.  And for someone who is basically, for all intense and purposes, allergic to the sun, the constant cloudyness, and light breezes made it a sheer delight to be outside enjoying God’s amazing wonders and miraculous beauty.  We laughed a lot, ate a lot, spent a lot of time together just talking and really getting to know each other in different and deeper ways.  And then there was….

THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBEAN SHIP!!!!!!

The fourth movie in the Saga is filming on Oahu, which we did not know.  But, we managed to get a peek at the pirate ship while at the Luau.  So, we decided that it certainly couldn’t be that hard to find  a pirate ship hiding on that little Island.  So we went on a hunting expedition.  And, guess what….we found the ship.  And we managed to get some great photos of it.  According to the bouncer who actually kicked us off the set sending us to the end of the pier to watch the ship sail off for a day of filming, Capt Barbosa was aboard as well as the enchanting Johnny Depp!  It was thrilling and exciting and well, about as close to real celebrity as I will ever get in my lifetime I’m sure.

But there were also some very moving moments a long the way.  One moment for me was a very simple one.  We went to a movie on the base, which is where we stayed while on vacation.  The movie theater was quite old..maybe from the 40’s or before.  But, before the movie began a film clip came up showing footage of different wars that we have fought in, different presidents addressing our troops, and during the clip the star spangled banner played.  And standing all around me were military men and women with their families, standing at attention, paying honor and respect to our flag, in this old building that had seen hundreds of other men and women just like them pass through, some who had never come home after fighting for our country.  It was so moving. 

Standing in the command room of the Battleship Missouri with a Navy Capt who kindly turned all the lights off, and then engaged all the ship lights, the control lights, radar screens, to give us a sense of what it was like the day pearl harbor was hit.  Feeling the awe and wonder of what it must have been like to be a soldier in that little room, trying to figure out how to save this ship, and the others around them.  Truly a goose bumpy moment. 

I did have a few lupus issues, but I managed to keep them well hidden from my family, and just  moved a long from day to day, enjoying each moment with them.  It was really a trip unlike any other.  I’m grateful that we had the opportunity to go together!

Mom and Dad’s final resting place.

It’s summer here in Phoenix, which is really difficult for someone with Lupus…at least it is for this someone with lupus.  I always have much worse symptoms in the summer time.  The heat increases my migraines, joint pain and back pain increases, and fatigue becomes almost unbearable.  In general the summer is just difficult.  I spend the bulk of it praying that it will pass quickly and that winter will arrive soon.  This summer the major health event I have had so far is the pulling of all my teeth.  It isn’t exactly the most attractive thing nor is it the most comfortable thing I have ever been through.  But it was a necessary evil brought on by the use of steroids to stabilize various infections and things over the years.  As all of us with lupus knows medications are amazing things and do help a lot but some can have some nasty side affects.  So, I am now patiently waiting for my mouth to heal so that I can have some teeth inserted into my mouth…what I wouldn’t give for a nice juicy steak!!!!!!  I do have a set of flippers that I wear when I go out in public so that I don’t scare a way small children and animals! 

We have found great humor in me being a toothless woman however.  There are many words that take on whole new meanings when said without teeth…and some things become quite creepy as a matter of fact.  I have learned how to make my self look a bit like a vampire, like a walrus and have a bitter beer face.  It doesn’t lend itself to very romantic moods however..which is somewhat unfortunate and makes me wonder when exactly my husband will go looking for another woman….at least until I get some teeth!  There are times with this disease when one can lose all self esteem and feel very small.  It gets depressing and I often feel lonely and like no one really knows what life is like for me, and it is difficult to explain it to them.  I remember asking my husband one night, not long after I had my teeth pulled “how can you even look at me, and want to kiss me?  I’m just a toothless woman.”  And he looked at me with this amazing look of love and he said “Lori, your toothlessness is the absolute last thing I see when I am with you!  I see a brave woman, and I love you!”  Those words meant the world to me that night. 

One of the things that we have done this summer is finally put my parents in their final resting place.  It is the new church home being built for community of Grace Church which is the church that was started by my brother.  My parents were alive when the church began and it is exactly where they would want to be.  So, now that the building is to a point that they could be laid to rest there we had a little memorial service for them and they are finally home!  I thought I would share a couple videos of the little service with you all.  I love and Miss you Mom and Dad!