Happy Birthday Nate

Happy Birthday Daddy!!  Nate is 34 years old.  Here are some fun things about Nate:

1.  He loves to watch the news.  Nothing new, but he is the one to keep the rest of us up to date on politics and world affairs.  He drives the boys to school most mornings and teaches them about current events, such as ISIS and the war in the Middle East.  He teaches them about Obama and the government and he has taught them all about the Ebola scare.  So our kids are pretty informed for their age!  They beg him sometimes to stay up late to watch Bill O'Reilly with him before bed.

2.  I just transformed our entry room into a library and put all the books we have there on the bookshelves.  Nate found a book he liked and began to read.  He made a discovery about himself:  he always thought he hated to read, but decided that he actually enjoys reading!  So he's been reading :)

3. Nate is very influential.  There are so many people that he has befriended, through work or church.  He has customers that call him up for marital advice and other customers that call him to ask if he could drive their kids to school.  He mourns when certain of his customers have passed away and he even has attended their funerals.  With Simplx, he has created a network of friends of people who trust him and look up to him in many different ways.  I feel honored to have married to the man so many people look up to.

4. Nate is trying to go without sugar. Even on his birthday he succeeded in this goal.  He is always determined to succeed at the goals he sets for himself.  And his reward will be good health.

5. Nate has little time for hobbies, but he really enjoys basketball.  He would love to open a real basketball league at church and has begun organizing it.  He wants to call it Legacy Basketball because many of those that will play, played with Nate on the church league as kids.  The league fizzled out over the years to much of nothing and Nate. Is determined to bring it back. He wants 4 levels:  6-8 year olds, 9-11 year olds, the youth team, and an adult level.  Each Ward in our stake will create a team for each age level, and tiebreaks would practice on their own during the week. All games then would be played at the stake center on Saturdays.  It will be a big project, but will be a whole lot of fun!

6. Nate never fails to show his love and loyalty to me his wife.  I married an amazing man.  His random acts of kindness and compliments toward me just make me love him and realize how blessed I am.  I married the most wonderful man who loves me, and shows it often.  

7. Nate is an amazing Father.  The kids adore him.  In our home we enact the song about "When daddy comes home" so perfectly like the song.  All the kiddos are running to the door climbing up him from every direction, yelling "Daddy!!!"  Its pretty funny.  As overwhelming as it might be for him to come home from a long day of work to a house full of chaos, he takes it.  

8. Nate is starting a second business, sort of off of Simplx, it is called Security Express.  It will begin as a wholesale distribution company of security equipment whose main customer will be Simplx.  However it has the potential to grow to sell equipment and other services to other companies across the country.  He is also working with his brother to develop a software solely for alarm / security companies that would integrate billing, monitoring, cellular, and finances all in one database and eliminate multiple data entries.  If it works well for Simplx's use, he may try to sell it to other alarm dealers.  

9.  Nate is coaching Cooper's Upward Basketball team this year.  So far it has been really fun for both him and Cooper.  They have a great team, and Nate has a lot of skills.  He is learning how to teach those skills to the kids in an effective way.  He enjoys it very much.  It is fun to see him "in his element" on the court, and Cooper is thrilled to have his dad be his coach.

10. Nate is a member of the bishopric in our ward.  Though it is a struggle for our family since he is very unavailable to help with kids, he is a strength to the ward.  He has a desire to help and serve and lead, and a lot of people look up to him and his leadership.  I'm so grateful for his willingness to serve the Lord, even when it is not easy and sometimes unpleasant.  I'm also grateful for the funny jokes he shares, and the testimony he shares that always includes his love for his family.  I'm so lucky to have him in my life.  I love him forever and always.

Happy Birthday Nate!!