Tag Archives: St. Mary

2024: Making Moves

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It was a questionable start. On January 1, I attended mass at St. Paschal Catholic Church. As Fr. Kevin Oiland chanted the Eucharistic prayer, a point in the mass that requires the faithful to be dialed in and reverent, I couldn’t take it anymore. Asking God for his forgiveness, I did the unthinkable and dashed out of the service.

I was sick.

The rest of my New Year’s Day was spent in bed or at the toilet throwing up. It was quite the miserable way to begin 2024 and I couldn’t shake what it might mean for the remaining 365 days (leap year) to follow. I wondered aloud to Sidney: Hopefully this isn’t an omen for the rest of the year…

Thankfully, it wasn’t.

2024 has been a blessed year for our family.

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I always say that even-numbered years bring about more change and surprises for my family than odd-numbered years. In 2024, this observation held true once again, at least from a professional standpoint. Duties, habits, commutes, and school drop-off routines were dramatically altered when I accepted the director of marketing position with Eastern Washington University.

But aside from that somewhat major development, the rest of our year was pretty low key. How low key? Consider that our family, at least up through yesterday, didn’t get on an airplane once nor did we visit any other state besides neighboring Idaho. Despite the lack of travel, we still managed to stay busy…

In January, Sloan figured a new way to generate revenue when she lost her first tooth. Speaking of my first-born, the next month Sloan asked me for the third-straight year to be her date at the St. Mary daddy-daughter dance. Also in February, Beau celebrated his fourth birthday with a Bluey-themed party and a few weeks later, Sid and I would present at our first Engaged Encounter retreat. Spring arrived and Beau played t-ball while Sloan hit the soccer field again. A Taylor Swift-themed birthday party for a certain 7-year-old was epically pulled off by Sidney. A new niece arrived in May when my brother and sister-in-law welcomed their first child, Olivia.

In January, Sloan lost her first tooth!

As is typically the case, things sped up during the second half of the year. A trip to Walla Walla to celebrate my aunt’s 60th birthday in June unofficially kicked off our summer. Wedding season also commenced this month as multiple couples Sid and I mentored entered into the sacrament of holy matrimony. Our family made memories volunteering at Hoopfest. In July, Sid’s parents visited from South Carolina and had their stay happily extended due to the CrowdStrike snafu. When the month ended, so did my employment with Washington State University. I would begin at EWU on August 1. After working my first week, we took a family vacation to Leavenworth. The fall was filled with festivals, galas, and birthday parties. Thanksgiving and Christmas were both celebrated with my family but the year is ending in South Carolina as the kids were given a surprise trip to visit “Gami and Dada” in South Carolina.

Sid’s parents visited us in July.

So that is the quick two-paragraph rundown of the events of 2024 but what about the themes? I am glad you asked. I can pinpoint two…

The first theme is emergence. Sid and I “put ourselves out there” by leading retreats and honing our public speaking skills. From a work perspective, taking a higher level job and overseeing more people also took a leap of faith. Sloan’s bravery increased as she became more comfortable in the water and fearless when it came to thrill rides. Beau shook off nerves and competed on his first sports team.

Sidney presenting at the March 1-3 Engaged Encounter weekend while Fr. Pat Kerst and Joe Schroeder look on.

We also faced disruption in 2024. As I mentioned earlier, our solid routines were turned upside down when I changed jobs. Sidney and I pretty much flip-flopped the household/kid duties we championed for the past couple years. It was tough at times but we managed and are now relatively comfortable with our roles. While we faced our own personal disruption, the nation was simultaneously facing its own. The presidential election was bitter and it polarized Americans. I followed the race extremely closely and was shocked when President-Elect Trump cruised to an 86-point Electoral College landslide victory over Kamala Harris.

Taking a job at Eastern Washington University caused some major adjustments to our daily routines and how we care for the kids.

In addition to those two unique themes of 2024, the same three values I highlight every year continued to be key for the Resers…

It all starts with family. With the four of us pretty much staying put this year, we had lots of time to spend together. Our house was a refuge as we spent lots of time reading, baking, and praying inside it. We cheered each other on at sporting events, volunteered together, and explored our Spokane community. A couple road trips resulted in precious bonding and our vacation to Leavenworth provided us with memories we will always hold dear. The Summer Olympics captivated our household and gave us hours of entertainment in which we learned about competition, the world, and pride for our country. Holidays, family dinners, and watch parties for my extended family became a tad more crowded this year. My niece, Olivia, was born in May but don’t worry—my parents had no issue finding extra room to accommodate the Reser family’s newest addition 😂. Sidney’s family also added a new face with nephew Patrick! I couldn’t be happier that Sid and the kids are spending time with him and everyone else in Myrtle Beach as this year comes to a close.

Sloan and Beau meet Olivia for the first time.

When it comes to our faith, it was another solid year. There might not be a greater blessing than sending our kids to the school that is connected to our parish. I’ll tell you what, Jesus was spot on when he lauded the purity of a child’s faith. It seems like each day that Sloan and Beau attend St. Mary School, they come home and teach me something about the bible or saints. Speaking of saints, Sloan was named a Future Saint of the Week in 2024. She also served as a lector, attended Catholic Summer Camp, and spoke of her faith development in the St. Mary promotional video. As a family we made a pilgrimage to the St. Francis of Assisi crèche in Spokane, attended every St. Mary Family Faith Night we could, and served as greeters at mass. Sid and I continued to grow with our Young Adult Catholic group, mentored more engaged couples for marriage, and presented at Engaged Encounter retreats. We celebrated the 13th ordination of Fr. Jeff Lewis, said goodbye to Fr. Kevin Oiland, and collaborated with Fr. Pat Kerst. Although I still continue to ask God every night to increase my faith, I feel I am making progress thanks in large part because of those I have around me.

My brother and I receive a blessing from Fr. David Gaines right outside of Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral during Bloomsday 2024.

Because of my supportive family and a strong faith, it allows Sid and me to pursue our careers with zeal. I couldn’t be prouder of the year my wife had with Traveler’s Insurance. She led multiple teams of international customer service employees, helped launch brand new software, participated in the company’s 24-hour Innovation Jam, and added so much to the daily workplace culture. I split my year between two great public Washington higher ed institutions. At WSU, my strategy to revamp our YouTube presence and the effort I led to recognize our system’s top graduating seniors earned award recognition from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). I was also proud of the #CougCounties social media campaign I introduced that spanned the state of Washington. At EWU I played a role in our brand evolution, assisted with the launch of our comprehensive fundraising campaign, and produced our holiday video. Over the past 12 months, the accomplishments at both universities were made possible by empowering bosses and talented team members.

Just like at WSU, when I started at EWU, I was connected with some awesome colleagues. This photo is of our film crew for the holiday video (L-R: Luke Kenneally, Sean Nelms, Me, Ginny Baxter).

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Wow, have I gone on long enough? I think so. But what do you expect? Like I said in my first blog post of the year, 2024 was an “every four years type of year.” As we lived our busy lives, a slate of 12 months highlighted by an extra day, the Summer Olympics, and a Presidential Election transpired in the background. It was a lot.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year a great one for my family.

As 2024 comes to a close, I am thankful for the many fruits yielded over the past 365 days (with the 366th day coming tomorrow). I am also mindful of the sorrows. Sidney lost her Uncle Tony and although he was mostly out of my family’s picture for the past 23 years, my Uncle Cliff passed away earlier this month. With 2025 almost here, let’s pray for health and peace. Thank you to my readers for an awesome year and I will see you all on the other side of the ball dropping. Don’t Blink.

Turkey Preview Thursday Rundown

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It is the last Thursday Rundown of November! Next Thursday is Thanksgiving so please forgive me as I watch football and eat pumpkin pie instead of tapping away on these keys. If it is any consolation, I will try and make this rundown good enough to hold you off until the next one publishes in two weeks…

Turkey Bingo – One of the most entertaining Catholic staples is turkey bingo. As I have written about before, many parishes will host November bingo gatherings with turkeys up for grabs. Our version at St. Mary (hosted by my Knight’s Of Columbus council) was held this past Sunday. Even though we didn’t win, we had a great time with friends. We will try to avenge our defeat this weekend when we attend the turkey bingo event at my parents’ parish 😂.

Our crew playing Turkey Bingo at St. Mary in the Spokane Valley.

It’s Peecan Pie, Not Pecaaan Pie – As we approach pie season, just a friendly reminder on how to correctly pronounce “pecan.” To use phonics that I think describe it better than the photo below, it is PEE-CAN, not PEE-CON. Of course, I write this in jest. I hope readers pronounce words the way they prefer. However, “pecan” is a funny story because I changed the way I pronounce it based on the relationship with my wife. She explained that “pecan” should be pronounced the way it sounds and not the western way I had employed for 25 years. I agreed with her 😉.

I took a screenshot of this the moment I saw it on social media.

Hot Chocolate Bombs – On this date four years ago, I tried a hot chocolate bomb for the first time. Although they were a TikTok fad and I had a fun time “activating” the “bomb,” the taste was disappointing. Even though I like hot chocolate that isn’t overly chocolately, the bomb produced a cup of cocoa that lacked in flavor. After I let the disappointment run its course, I wrote a detailed blog post nine days later about my experience.

The hot chocolate bombs I bought in 2020 at the Garland Mercantile.

Tropicana Bottle Change – There is a viral uproar over Tropicana changing the design of its orange juice bottle. The brand switched out its carafe distinctive bottle shape and crown bottle cap with something much more generic. Feedback from fans of the old bottle is that the carafe design seemed to convey the notion of fresh squeezed orange juice a sense of uniqueness. Tropicana responded by saying the new design is more eco-friendly and that it is easier to pour. Okay, I thought, both sides have good points. But then I learned something that tilted my support to the everyday fan: the new bottle contains less juice (four ounces) than the old bottle. Nothing gets me angrier than shrinkflation disguised as a re-design!

The old Tropicana bottle (left) vs. the new Tropicana bottle (right).

Hot Frosty – Netflix has gone all-in on Christmas movies while shamelessly duplicating Hallmark’s sappy formula. It’s recent foray into the holiday space is “Hot Frosty,” a film that reached #1 on Netflix’s top movies. A brief synopsis? A snowman comes to life and becomes the love interest of a young widow. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy watching a super corny Christmas movie with my wife, but “Hot Frosty” was just too unrealistic, elementary, and cringy for me.

Even though it received good reviews, I didn’t like “Hot Frosty.”

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Thanks so much for reading! Remember, start fasting now for the feast next Thursday. Don’t Blink.

Softball and Camaraderie

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The best thing I did this weekend was definitely play softball. On Saturday morning, Sidney and I seized the opportunity to hit the diamond with some of our favorite friends. But our weekend fun would not have happened without the vision and hard work of others.

Our pastor at St. Mary Parish in the Spokane Valley, Fr. Jeff Lewis, loosely challenged our Young Adult Catholic group to develop a recreational opportunity, such as softball, for parishioners and others to partake in. Brian and Hailey Eames, a dynamic couple in our group, took Fr. Jeff’s challenge and ran with it.

Members of our Young Adult Catholic group surround Bishop Thomas Daly (center, with hands in pockets). Also pictured is Fr. Jeff Lewis (back row, tallest person in photo). People in this picture who played on the softball team include Dylan, Fidela, Brian, Hailey, Sidney, and myself.

Brian and Hailey chatted with their neighbors who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They pitched them (no pun intended) the idea of parishioners from our church playing a softball game against members of their church. The planning took place in June and a date for the matchup was set for August.

Toward the second half of July, Brian and Hailey held practices for us. Man, how nice it was to pick up a glove and bat again. Our coaches were so organized and encouraging that it made the practices a blast and instilled confidence in us for gameday.

A look at one of our practices held on a ball field at St. Mary Parish in the Spokane Valley.

At about 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, Sid and I left the house and headed in the direction of the Mormon temple. Our Latter-day Saints brothers and sisters were gracious enough to host us on their fields. Our worthy opponents generated a lot of interest among their ward, attracting enough players to field three teams compared to our one Catholic team. Although outnumbered, the arrangement allowed us to play a tournament.

Sidney up at the plate. It was nice to play on a team with her.

Our team won our first game. The team that was victorious on the other field then came over to play us. In a competitive nail-biter, our Catholic squad hung on for an 8-7 victory and a tournament championship.

Yeah, it was cool to win, but the morning was more special for various other reasons. Fr. Lewis and Fr. Kevin Oiland, the other priest who founded our Young Adult Catholic group, were both present to cheer us on. Also, Sidney and I got to play on an organized team together! Not only that, but we batted back-to-back in the lineup and played right next to each other in the field (me at first, Sid at second). I even got to meet some St. Mary parishioners for the first time.

Another person in the crowd was my brother. He took this photo of me. When our team was at-bat, I would serve as the catcher.

But the absolute best part of the day was the fellowship with our new friends. Everyone on the Latter-day Saints teams were kind, supportive, and humble. Players from both sides played hard but there was a lot of humor and encouraging words mixed in. After the softball concluded, our two groups walked to the picnic area for a joint cookout. Does it get any better?

What a thrill it was to play softball with our Latter-day Saints brothers and sisters.

On a sunny Saturday morning, Catholics and Latter-day Saints prayed, competed, and ate together. As we enjoyed the cookout, one lady approached us and mentioned that cars driving down the road by the fields were literally stopping to watch the action taking place on the diamonds. Of course they wouldn’t know that two faith communities had voluntarily come together in such a meaningful way, but that would be cool if they did. In a day and age where division is so strong and toxic, the example that was set over the weekend was a powerful one.

After the softball was played, there was a cookout for players, families, and spectators.

Thanks to Brian and Hailey and their Latter-day Saints counterparts who worked so hard to make this thing work out. What a success! Don’t Blink.

Milk Chocolate Thursday Rundown

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It is an honor to pen another Thursday Rundown and I am appreciative that you have made time for my ramblings. In order to refrain from wasting more of your precious time, let’s get started with tonight’s five topics…

Preparing For A Big Softball Game – Before last night, it had been a really long time since I last played softball. But on Wednesday evening, I made a return to the diamond. Sidney and I joined members of our Young Adult Catholic group and other St. Mary parishioners for a softball practice. We are preparing for an Aug. 6 game against a team comprised of Spokane LDS members. Call it “Catholics vs. Mormons” if you want, but this is such a cool opportunity for two groups from the Spokane faith community to come together for some competition, fellowship, and food (yay for the post game cookout!). Thanks to our Young Adult Catholic group friends, Hailey and Brian, for organizing all of this!

On Wednesday night, we practiced at the St. Mary ball fields. It had been a long time since I last swung a bat.

Soda Update – Back in February, I told the story of the four obscure Coca-Cola machines tucked away on a side street in a very industrial area of Spokane. I revealed that 12 oz cans were only $.25 and 20 oz bottles a mere $.50. I pass the machines every single day and there is always a Coca-Cola employee refilling them. Last week I stopped to purchase a couple sodas while the worker was in the middle of the replenishing process. I took the opportunity to ask him how much business the machines typically do. He told me that they combine to dispense 70-80 cases of soda PER DAY. Do the math and that equates to approximately 2,000 beverages. Not bad for a quartet of basically hidden machines.

I pass these four Coke vending machines every day. It is insane how many people go out of their way to use these machines on a daily basis.

Hot Hot Hot – We are on the second day of 100+ degree temperatures that will likely stretch through Sunday. Not going to lie, it is hot! But I am thankful that our extreme heat hasn’t been as constant and relentless as some areas of the country this season. Also, Sidney is still amazed that during the evening as the sun starts to set, we actually get relief as temperatures cool dramatically. For example, after a scorching day on Tuesday, the four of us went to the local high school track. While I got some exercise and the children played, Sid could comfortably sit on a camping chair and read her book. Oh how I love summer nights in the Pacific Northwest.

On Tuesday night, the four of us went to the East Valley High School track in Spokane Valley after the sun started to go down and temperatures cooled.

National Milk Chocolate Day – I have written blog posts about chocolate chips, hot chocolate, and chocolate cake. But I have never dedicated a post strictly to milk chocolate before. You would think that on National Milk Chocolate Day I would get with the program and finally draft that post, right? Wrong. Sorry not sorry, but I am a dark chocolate guy.

Today is National Milk Chocolate Day!

Thank You Note Gun Jumping – I am concerned with the lost art of writing thank you notes. However, what was described in a recent Miss Manners column seems a little overzealous. The person seeking advice wrote that at a recent children’s birthday party, the attendees received a thank you note upon departure. The contents of the note thanked the family for attending and for the gift (a presumption that they brought a gift). Although this bizarre practice is better than no thank you note at all, I think we should end it. Please make sure to write your gratitude cards post-celebration so you can actually personalize it with what you did (or didn’t) receive.

Wait to write your thank you note until you can actually identify what you are thanking them for.

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I hope everyone has a safe and fun final weekend in July. If there is ever anything you want me to address in this blog, please let me know. Don’t Blink.

Holiday Cheer Thursday Rundown

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We are mere single digit days away from Christmas! How are you doing with your holiday shopping? If you are anything like me, your time might be better spent on Amazon as opposed to Don’t Blink. Well, at least I can make it quick for you. Let’s get started with our five topics…

Christmas Cheer – Another holiday tradition our parents introduced to us was something they called “Christmas Cheer.” On a couple different random nights close to Christmas, my mom and dad would gather us around the tree in the living room and serve us hot chocolate. They would dim the lights and play Christmas carols from the boom box. It was always a relaxing, festive, and slightly magical experience. Sidney and I have introduced the tradition to Sloan and she is hooked. For the past several days since we first did it last Thursday night, she will come up to us and ask, “Can we have Christmas cheer again?”

My cup of hot chocolate from last Thursday’s Christmas Cheer session.

Favorite Christmas Movies – I know you are curious so I suppose I will give you what you want. I have five favorite Christmas movies and this is how I rank them…#5 – “A Christmas Vacation” (Clark is hilarious), #4 – “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” (first Christmas movie I ever remember watching), #3 – “A Christmas Carol” (I love all versions), #2 – “Home Alone” (very underrated musical score), #1 – “Miracle on 34th List” (the old one). If you really want to pick my brain on these choices, I gave full analysis two years ago. Hope you watch a some of your favorite Christmas favorites this weekend!

Pull up your Santa chair and let’s watch some Christmas movies!

While on the Subject – A Twitter account I follow posted this rather intriguing question: Which movie’s version of The North Pole do you want to visit the most? (“Elf,” “Polar Express, “Fred Claus,” “The Santa Claus).  Although I thought it was a creative question, I didn’t think twice about my choice. THE POLAR EXPRESS! In my humble opinion, “The Polar Express” nailed it with both its depiction of the North Pole and Santa Claus. The movie really captures the magic of Christmas that many of us had as kids. 

Interesting but easy question.

Holiday Winner – Last week we had our WSU University Marketing and Communications virtual holiday party. The staff members in charge of the party did a superb job as they put together a Zoom gathering that was about as good as you can get. A scavenger hunt, holiday trivia, a recipe book, and a discussion about Christmas traditions all made the party engaging and fun. Another component of the morning was a costume contest. Yours truly pulled out the elf costume and won the award for “Most Festive.” The social media people always have the most fun!

I won “Most Festive” at our office virtual holiday party.

A New Special Ornament – You won’t find a school that does better arts and crafts than St. Mary. Sloan has brought home some really awesome projects over the past few months. On Tuesday she surprised us with our new favorite ornament. The two candy canes on the bulb form a heart and the card that came with it was beyond precious.

If you look closely you can see the reflection of Sloan and Sid!

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Okay, get back to Amazon now. If you need my address, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Have a great rest of your week. Don’t Blink.

Sloan’s First Day of Preschool

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After seven months away from school, Sloan returned to the classroom today. She is the newest student in the Pre K-3 class at St. Mary Catholic School in Spokane Valley.

This was Sloan this morning prior to Sid driving her to school.

For more than half a year, we had the pleasure of keeping Sloan home with us. After I worked my last day at CCU in February, I took Sloan out of daycare and spent the next three weeks doing fun stuff with her non-stop. I then left to work at WSU and Sid watched both kids fulltime as they prepared to make the move west themselves. Two months later in early May they joined me in Spokane. For the past five months, Sloan has spent every minute of every day with us. It has been incredibly nice—and I suppose a little challenging at times too.

But no matter how sweet it has been having our little girl at home with us, we know it is best to give her a little bit of structure with kids her own age. So, Sid dropped her off at St. Mary for her first day of preschool this morning. The primary reason why we decided to enroll her as opposed to keeping her at our house until she turns 18 is because we are extremely comfortable with the school. St. Mary School is the parochial school of our new church, St. Mary Parish (shocker, right?). This connection and the desire of both Sidney and I to have our kids receive a Catholic education made St. Mary a no-brainer for us. Sloan is in great hands…and she also looks really cute in her uniform!

Sloan is attending St. Mary Catholic School in Spokane Valley (photo courtesy of the St. Mary Facebook page)

It was still just a little sad watching Sid and Sloan drive off today. Saying goodbye to her after getting so used to having her around at all times was a bit hard for this sappy dad, even if she is going to school for just three hours per day…two days per week 😊

Sloan had a great first day at school.

Let me tell you this: If you ever have the means and opportunity to keep your child at home for an extended period of time during their toddler years, do it. I am not saying never send them to daycare or preschool, but if they are going through a major change (like we were), easing the transition by keeping them close by is good for the child and rewarding for you.

We are proud to send Sloan to St. Mary (photo courtesy of the St. Mary Facebook page).

I am excited to see how Sloan grows intellectually, socially, and spiritually at St. Mary. Thanks be to God. Don’t Blink.