Family Letter May 24, 2009

Missionaries Family and Friends

Did you know that I am a slob? I know some of you may not know this but I assure you that if you call my mom, she will tell you what a slob I am. If you know Devin, you will also know that Devin is a neat freak. Everything has a place and it goes in its place. For example, I frequently place my phone 6 inches from where it belongs and I wait to see how long it can be in the wrong place before Devin casually walks by the phone and subconsciously moves it 6 inches. I want to tell you that this week Devin did something that has not been done since we have been married; about 2 ½ years. Devin did not make the bed. I want it known that I frequently do not make the bed. I do not see the point of straightening up the sheets. They do not move anywhere. They start roughly where they ended up, on the bed. Why not just let it be messy? Devin sees things different. The sheets are not put away unless they are lined up with lots of magic lines and all the sheets tucked in the correct way and the bed spread centered on the bed. Remember that everything has a place and needs to be there. I want to point out that the bed has not been made many times during our marriage. Devin works early in the morning and when I am in the bed sleeping Devin does not kick me out and make the bed. Devin leans over and gives me a kiss and says she loves me instead. In those cases I am responsible for making the bed. I usually do this when Devin calls at 6:30 pm and tells me she is on her way home. If I can not sleep up stars because it is too hot, when Devin gets up the bed is always made. Also if both of us are home and I get up last Devin rushes upstairs and makes the bed before I have time to walk out of the bathroom. Tuesday was not a work day for Devin so when I got home and noticed that something seemed different I was a little disoriented. It took me a little while to figure out that the bed was not made. I needed documentation that Devin did not make the bed and I asked where the camera was. Devin asked why I needed the camera. I insisted that I needed to take a picture. Devin knew something was up but I relented and got the camera. I then darted to the bedroom before she could catch me and took a picture of the first time in our marriage that Devin did not make the bed. Yes I know this is a big event. Many of you think that Devin is a perfect home maker and always has things put in its place. You now know that even Devin does not live up to that standard all the time either.


Over the last month or so I have had a song going through my head and it has motivated me to do something. The song is “The Prophet Said to Plan a Garden”. Now this is not very easy for us to do because we do not have any space to plant a garden. We live in a town home and enjoy a decently large shared yard. This means we do not have any place for individuals to grow stuff. So I decided to grow some vegetables in planter boxes. We are starting out with some simple stuff, like peas and beans. We also wanted some other things like strawberries so we have a box of those. Finally I wanted something that I am not sure we can grow but wanted to try, cucumbers. I am hoping to at least get a few vegetables out of this experiment. I was thinking that if we are in the same place next year I might try some hydroponics. Since we only have 4 planter boxes that are 2 feet long our garden is small and hydroponics may be a way to get more out of our limited space. Devin does not seem very excited about planting a few vegetables but I am. Here is hoping that we get something out of this.

Friday night we learned something sad. Owen Burnham died this week. Owen is Grandma Hurst's Brother In Law. Saturday we went up to Ogden to attend the funeral with Grandma and Granddad Hurst. Shannon and Melissa went up with us. The service was nice and it was fun seeing the family, even though it was a somber event. We wish the best for the family and hope that everyone has a great week.

Jared & Devin Payne