Nathan is Student of the Week

We were asked to write up few things about Nathan to be presented to his class this week as they honor him as student of the week. So Mom and I thought it would be a good idea to post this entry on the blog and then to write our memories of each of our wonderful children. So, we will work from last to first over the next few weeks recalling things we love about each of you. It should be a fun walk down memory lane for us. We love all of you very much!

First, let me say that we love having Nathan in our home!! We love going places together and doing things together as a family. He often has interesting thoughts or ideas that he likes to share with us – often making us smile or chuckle. He is like having a best friend and a son all wrapped into one.

When he was little, he could never sit still. He had to be held, or walked around, wiggled or jiggled or he would cry his eyes out. We spent much of the first year of his life trying to keep him from crying. As he grew a little older, he was not quite as “fidgety” but still liked to be on the move and doing something all the time. He definitely won’t ever be a couch potato! One of our favorite things that we started doing when he was about two years old was going to watch Cleveland Indians baseball games. He would sit intently in his seat and cheer when the fans cheered. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was born an Indians fan. I also took him to watch the Kent State vs. Bowling Green basketball game when he was five years old. The hometown team, Kent State, led the entire game until about two minutes to go when Bowling Green finally took the lead. Nathan started to cry uncontrollably. I expect people thought I had hurt him somehow. I tried and tried to get him to stop crying and finally gave up and left the game before it was over.

Nathan has loved to play sports ever since he was a little boy. We would play basketball games down stairs – it was imperative that he win or he was an unhappy camper. We often played baseball outside with his neighbor friend David, but when the weather was bad we would play in the family room, often the ball hit things that were not meant to he hit. I was amazed at how well he could hit my fastest wiffle ball pitches at such a young age. He is now quite good at basketball, baseball, football and even golf. We love to watch him play and love to play with him when we get a chance. Nathan loves games of all types and is a good sportsman. He always wants to win, but is also concerned about playing fair and being respectful of the other team.

When Nathan was about three years old he wanted to help me do yard work. Because he was so small there was not a lot that he could do, so while I mowed the lawn he would get his toy lawn mower and follow me around the lawn while I cut the grass. I am quite sure he thought he was the one actually doing the cutting. I never told him otherwise.

My scariest moment with Nathan was at a Salt Lake Bees baseball game when he was seven years old. After the game ended, the announcer invited all of the kids to run the bases. Nathan went down on the third base side where we were standing and after rounding the bases, he was directed up into the stands on the first base side. By the time I worked my way over to the first base side he had gone up the stairs and I could not find him anywhere. We spent fifteen of the longest minutes of my life frantically looking for him. By then most everyone had cleared out of the stadium and I was certain someone had abducted him and he was long gone. After checking with security, asking people if they had seen a boy wandering around, and praying as hard as I knew how, I then went back down to the field and climbed up on top of the dugout and began to yell, please help me find my seven year old son!! There were not many people hanging around at that point, but in my desperation, it was all that I could think of to do. Finally, a security officer approached me and informed me that they had found a lost boy. I rushed up to the concession area to find him sitting with another security officer eating popcorn - without a care in the world. I cannot, even to this day, express the gratitude and relief that I felt in that moment. I suppose it may be a little bit like what our Heavenly Father feels when one His children choses to return to Him. I can't image and don't want to image what life would have been like if Nathan had not been found!!

Nathan has always been a kind and obedient son. He loves his older sisters, Whitney, Lindsey and Kelsey. He is a great uncle to his two nephews and two nieces. He loves to play with them and makes them feel very important. He always is of good cheer and has a way of making others around him feel happy.

He is everything we could have hoped for in a son! We love you, Nathan!!

Dad and Mom