September & October Update in November

We were able to go to the L.A. Temple the week before the elections.  There were not very many there as everyone was out leaving door hangers for Proposition 8 before Tuesday's election.  Four days later the L.A. Temple was closed because of the protests against Proposition 8's passing.  It was only closed remarkably for part of a day.  We are so blessed to live so close to three temples.

In September, the Webingers came to California for a visit.  Partly to be with Dan's Mom & Dad from Nebraska and of course to spend time with us.  I don't know who was more excited, Her Papa or Nana Karren.  We had a great time spending one day in Disneyland and a day at Balboa on the beach collecting sea shells and playing in the sun.  That's the hard part of being here, not seeing the grandkids more often.

The two idiots here pictured below are from a homeless shelter near L.A.  They wandered into a district meeting on Halloween night and scarred some elders and sisters.We made several laugh and had a good time making fools of ourselves.  The one with his pants 10 inches above his waist seemed to play the part a little too naturally.

P-day in the Ventura district.  There was ultimate frisbee, basketball pictures here and their fan club and cheerleaders.  We fixed subs and had all kinds of fun, including how many marshmallows can you stuff in your mouth before you gag or throw-up??  What will they think of next!!

We do get serious every now and again, when we are forced to.  We are having fun and enjoying ourselves.

Morning Walks in Ventura

At 6:30 a.m. this is the trail I see.  It truly refreshes me for the day and gives me time to think.. I love it!

Sometimes for a reward at the end of the week, we take the trail by moonlight and stop at the 24-hour SPUDNUT SHOP, which is too close to home.

Labor Day

These last two weeks the Los Angeles Temple has been closed, so we received permission from our Mission President to travel to Newport and attend the temple there.  We went down on Friday night and visited the temple Saturday morning.  It is a very beautiful temple and very peaceful.  

On our way in we saw this cotton tail rabbit sitting on the edge of the lawn.  He has to be the most spiritual rabbit in the hutch.

That afternoon we visited the Getty Museum, located on the hills above Los Angeles.  It is an amazing place.  Very airy and open with lots to see.  There was an exhibit on Bernini's sculptures on loan from Rome which we enjoyed very much.  As you can see, it was a hot double fisted ice cream type day.

Occasionally, we find time to have a relaxing diner at a nice restaurant.  Here we have just

finished a nice seafood dinner of shrimp and scallops over risotto.  Couldn't have been better.

Mission life is not always work (anyway, that is my motto).  Cleaning up one's apartment is not high on the list of fun things to do on your preparation day.  In the spirit of friendly competition, I started the "Golden Plunger Award" for the three zones that had the cleanest apartments during the last transfer period (six weeks).  The winners are exempt from me popping in unannounced to inspect their apartments for the next six weeks.  I have been in some apartments where I felt I needed to be vaccinated against bubonic plague or something worse.

As you can see, we are surviving much better than expected and hope all is well with you.

To Our Readers

To Our Loyal Readers,

We were wondering who reads our blog.  We would love it if you will please post a comment so we know who is reading our blog.  

Sometimes we think that we don't have any readers so we just don't make any posts.

Thanks!  

The Karrens

Another Update... July & August

July and August have really flown by.  We have been busy helping the new Mission President get his feet on the ground.  

Our Ventura Stake put on a 24th of July celebration, complete with 7 covered wagons.  Each wagon had food.  They had pioneer games, like milking a cow, riding a horse and a banjo-fiddle group which were really good.  It was a fun afternoon.  The picture  with the elders face full of pie was the pie eating contest.  Everybody had a fun time.

Elder Karren is the keeper of the mail and in this next picture he hands out the long anticipated letters to the Elders and Sisters.  He was everybody's friend that day.  

This day was also p-day for the missionaries and they had a luau, put on by the Tongan in the group, Elder Tatua.  He loves to have a party and is always bringing something in for Craig and I to the office - like avocados, or fresh mangoes.  I'm going to miss him when he goes home in October.

This next picture is Elder Karren teasing un-relentlessly, Elder Johns.  His is one of the Assistants that has become very close to us.  He is from Blackfoot, Idaho and is a great elder. (He reminds us a lot of Scott!!!)

We miss you all and hope to hear from you soon!

Life In the Office

This first picture is for you, Mary, because you wanted to see us with our name tags on.  How do we look?

We are having a good time here.  I (Sister Karren) get much more homesick than Elder Karren.  But he keeps me happy and takes good care of me.  

We had some neighbors move out Monday night at MIDNIGHT and must have thought everyone was awake then too!  Craig slept right though all of it, but I laid awake until the wee hours until they were through slamming doors.  Let's just say it was a long night!

So Tuesday morning Craig let me sleep in!  He went to the office and got things started then came back to the apartment to get me.  I was grateful for that.

So here he is, Elder Karren.  Isn't he just so cute in this picture?  (When Caleb saw this picture he said, "Wow, Grandpa K. sure has STRONG muscles!")

So back to the post... This picture below is a typical Monday morning for us.  These elders get to e-mail home on Mondays and rather than taking the time to go to the library we let them use our computers here instead.  They seem to really appreciate it, and it's not a big deal for us to get up and walk around for 20 minutes, it's actually a relief.

These three elders (below) are from an area called Fillmore.  It's about 20 miles away from Ventura.  It is much hotter in Fillmore and the poor elders are on bikes, yuck!  They also come in every Monday and raid the nut and candy jars.  They are great elders too.

Thank you for all all your love and support and prayers.  We think of you often and miss seeing you all.

Love, Craig & Karma

It's Her Birthday!

I (Heather) had to post about Karma today in my own words because it's her birthday!  Birthdays are a big deal to Karma and I know she wishes she could spend her special day with all her friends and family.  Not to mention all that went on with them today.  (They got a new Mission President today so they bid their farewells to the old President and welcomed in the new President.  

Here are a few things that I love about Karma.  I love how much she loves everyone.  I had a hard time finding a picture to post of Karma because she is always hugging someone, or reading a book to someone, or playing Hulk or babies with someone, and the list can go on and on.  She has a heart of gold, and everyone who knows her agrees 100% that she is a true giver.  

As I was looking at finding a picture for this post I found that in all the pictures I have of Karma, she has a huge smile in EVERY picture!  It is obvious that she loves life.  She loves her family and friends, and she especially loves her grandchildren, and they all love her just as much.

Something that I love about Karma is that she always wants to help.  She loves spending time with all her grandchildren.  She loves taking them to her house or to the park to play, and then she plays with them.  

She always takes the time for her callings, no matter how big or small they may be, she loves serving in any calling.  She also is a great example at attending the temple.  She tries to go on a regular basis and she loves spending her time in the quiet rooms of the temple.

Karma is always up to inviting everyone to something and having a huge party.  She is great at putting things together so families can re-unite.  She has helped me with many birthday parties, baby blessings and other gatherings, and she puts on a great show.  

Karma has a strong love for music.  She is always finding a great new CD or sheet music to listen to.  She had a beautiful singing voice and has spent many years in the church choir.

I can go on and on about all the things I love about Karma.  She is just absolutely wonderful and we are excited to visit in November.  I know my kids talk about everything they want to do with Grandma after her mission...  

Happy Birthday, Karma.  We all love you very much!  We miss you but are so excited that you and Craig are able to give so much to the Ventura mission.  

Catching Up

Welcome to our new BLOGSPOT.  We are really beginners at this, so I have Heather as my guru who knows the system so much better, helping me. (Just cut, copy and paste.)

We are finally settling into a routine and it is so nice to be able to put clothes away and know that we don't have to pack them again in a few weeks.  The only thing I don't love is ironing SEVEN white shirts each week.  (I don't think many of the Elders iron their shirts, but there much easier.)

We like our apartment.  It's newly painted and has new appliances.  The best part is Craig is insistent on cleaning the bathroom each week, with his cute pink rubber gloves.

We have a weight room, club house, pool and hot tub.  Craig has used the weight room once and I haven't seen many people swimming.  We hear that the July, August and September weather is for the sunbathers.  We are looking forward to enjoying more time there.

We have a fun park across the street and we like to open the sliding glass doors to hear the sounds of the children playing in the park.  Sometimes it makes me homesick, but I know that they are having fun and doing well so I try not to worry.

This really is a beautiful place and our Mission President thinks it is the best kept secret around.  He thinks it's as beautiful as Hawaii, but he has been stick here three years and I think his vision is a but blurred.

We love you all and look forward to hearing from you when time permits.  Thanks for your love and support.  It is fun to be on a mission.

Older and Younger Sister Karren

What's A Blog?

We are trying out this blogging thing.  We have heard so much about blogging from friends, family and even the instructors in the MTC.  So, here we go!!!

We thought this blogging thing would help us stay in contact with so many friends and family while we are on our mission.  We will try to make regular posts and even add pictures of us doing crazy things...maybe.  

We would love to hear from all of you, so feel free to post a comment or two.  We love you all and miss everyone dearly, but are having the time of our lives serving as full time "senior" missionaries.