Alleluia! He is risen!

Thanks be to God my family got to spend another Easter together. We took this photo after beautiful Easter Sunday mass at St. Mary Catholic Church (Spokane Valley).

Yesterday we celebrated Easter Sunday and per usual it was the most glorious day of the year for our family. Because of the magnitude of the day for humanity and the personal emphasis Sid, Sloan, Sid, and I place on it, each year I write a quick post reflecting on how we celebrated it.

Sloan and Beau in their Easter Sunday best as they stand in the vestibule at St. Mary Catholic Church (Spokane Valley).

Thanks to everyone who made it special…

Our Easter Sunday started at 6 a.m. when everyone awoke. It was a dash down the stairs to see if the Easter Bunny paid a visit overnight. Much to the delight of Sloan and Beau, he did. Their baskets contained clothes, a book, and some candy.

Beau and Sloan scope out their Easter baskets. The Easter Bunny treated them well.

The focal point of the day then took place when we drove to St. Mary Catholic Church for 9 a.m. Easter Sunday mass. My brother, sister-in-law, and niece sat with us in the overflowing quarters of the sanctuary. Speaking of the overflowing quarters, during his homily, Fr. Jeff Lewis spoke about the influx of people not just parish-wide but worldwide joining the Catholic Church. He then preached about an obvious line that separates the world into a pro-Jesus side and anti-Jesus side. He told us to get on the pro-Jesus side. Our family had the honor of bringing down the gifts with our Godson.

Fr. Jeff Lewis concludes Easter Sunday mass at St. Mary Catholic Church (Spokane Valley). It was beautiful as usual and my family had the blessing of bringing up the gifts.

After mass we caught up with friends and then ventured into the St. Mary parish hall (aka the gym) for fellowship and sweet treats. After a long Lenten season, the cinnamon rolls and donut holes sure tasted good.

Beau and Sloan help themselves to some sweets after Easter Sunday mass at St. Mary Catholic Church (Spokane Valley).

Back at the house, Beau and I made a dessert dip for our family celebration later that afternoon. Sid then took over the kitchen and made a pizza dip for lunch. While the baking and eating was taking place, we watched a couple videos about Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Our family walking with swagger on Easter Sunday.

We then ventured up north to my parents’ house for our big Reser Easter celebration. My siblings and their families joined us as we all spent most of the afternoon outside as we hung out in lounge chairs, threw the football, and did chalk art.

Sloan and Beau with their cousins just loving the beautiful Eastern Sunday weather.

It was then time to eat as we sat down as a big, happy family to enjoy a ham dinner. As I always say about these meals, the conversation always ends up being better than the food even though everything on the table was incredibly delicious.

Our family sitting around the table for Easter Sunday Dinner 2026.

After Easter dinner, Glen and his wife staged their annual Easter egg hunt for the kids (you can watch the video I made here). This was the first time since my family moved to Spokane that a jacket/sweatshirt wasn’t needed for the hunt. All kids were great sports and had fun. We concluded the Reser Easter celebration with dessert and continued conversation.

Glen and Carrie pose with all the cousins after their annual Easter egg hunt.

Sidney and I returned home just the two of us. My sister took Sloan and Beau to her place to spend the night with their cousins as all the kids are now on spring break. We would close out Easter Sunday by watching some of “Jesus of Nazareth.”

Alleluia! He Is Risen! Sloan celebrates inside the St. Mary Catholic School (Spokane Valley) gym after the Easter Vigil.

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With yesterday’s celebration, we now enter Eastertide, a period of 50 glorious days to celebrate the resurrection. At the beginning of Lent, I referenced a homily from Archbishop Hicks that reflected on the hunger we feel in our hearts during lent. He mentioned that binging on jelly donuts during Fat Tuesday would do little to satisfy our appetite on Ash Wednesday. Well, the same holds true as we enter the Easter Season. Although the season of fasting has passed, the indulgent foods that will now be more accessible to us will do little to satisfy our hunger.

As Archbishop Hicks said seven weeks ago, and it still holds true today, there is only one thing that will fill our hungry souls: Jesus.

Happy Easter. Don’t Blink.

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