Happy 27th Birthday to this guy...

Some fun things you might not know about Nate:

He secretly thinks he plays football for the Cougars.

Every night, he tries to sneak "cheesy chips" into our bed as his bedtime snack.

He will pass out if he hasn't eaten in a while.

When we watch Jeopardy, he knows almost every answer, even the weird ones.

He USED to beat me every time at mario cart.

He is super organized and can clean the house as good as most women.

He doesn't say harsh things about anyone.

I wanted to post a couple things people have recently wrote about Nate. A girl in Japan where Nate served his mission, randomly met a guy Nate knew a few years ago in our singles ward. Nate's name was brought up in their conversations through email. He wrote this email to her, and she forwarded it to us. I saved it for a day such as this. This is what he wrote:

"I have always admired Nate for his depth of character, spirituality, and example. Nate is the kind of guy that everyone looks up to--a true leader. Every girl in the ward would have dated him, if given the chance. He proved that you can still be cool, fashionable, and a stalwart member of the Church. The best way I know how to describe Nate is "quiet dignity." He wasn't a man to speak much, but his actions were worth a thousand words. I always admired how he never let any attention he received get to his head--very unpretentious. Any gentleman-like quality he would attribute to me, I would ascribe to him many times over, especially in his manner and respect for women. Nate is a great athlete and I always enjoyed playing with him in pick up games and on our intramural team. He is a hustler on the court and has a rare ability to create shots and produce on the offensive end. I am excited for him and the coming addition to his family, how exciting."

One day I came across a touching message sent to Nate on his facebook account from one of his Muslim friends from High School. She had been persecuted in school for her religious beliefs, especially after 9-11. Reading this message just confirmed what I already knew about Nate and his character.

"Hello buddy, how is everything? I hope everything is going well for you. One thing that I admired about you above anyone else in school was your kindness. After September 11th I remember writing to you, and your email provided words of kindness. I still remember every word of that email and it has stuck by me ever since. You know in that email, is where you told me about your beliefs, and thanks to you I searched about that religion. Then I remembered that most of your great behaviors was molded by your faith. No matter what, faith defines us all. Now thanks to you I have learned much about Mormon. We were good friends in high school, and it was people like you that made the rest of us feel that we are all humans no matter where we have been or about to go.
After high school we were all hit with September 11th, some people believe that bad things and bring good out of people. And that's what happened to me, I became more religious. I started to understand other faiths so we can work towards understanding and accepting. That's what I did, and I have forgiven my fellow class mates, because I looked the good in them. And I continue to look the good in others, its a healthier way for all of us."

Happy Birthday Nate!!