Easter 2022

The holiest day of the year was a beautiful one for our family. From the time the kids woke up to the moment they shut their eyes, our day was full of blessings, of course nothing greater than the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. Here is a quick look at the highlights from Easter 2022…

The four of us prior to Easter Sunday mass. What a wonderful Easter 2022 it was.

When Beau and Sloan woke up, they discovered the baskets left for them by the Easter Bunny. Nothing like a sugar high before church, right?

Sloan and Beau with their Easter baskets.

Speaking of church, we didn’t do anything more significant the entire day than attend 9 a.m. Easter Sunday mass at St. Mary. It was so inspiring to see the church filled to a pre-pandemic capacity level. Fr. Jeff Lewis used his homily to stress the importance of family and how the family serves as the true building blocks of the Church. Thanks be to God!

We are so thankful for our St. Mary faith community!

We returned home and ate some sweet treats for brunch. We turned on some Easter hymns and Sloan helped me make a special dessert dip for later in the day. You will have to stay tuned for this week’s Thursday Rundown to learn the details of this dessert dip…it was dangerously good!

Sloan enjoying some sprinkle donut holes.

After Beau woke up from his nap we went out to my parents’ house for our family Easter celebration. It wasn’t long before all of us were hanging out in the living room enthusiastically chatting about anything and everything.

While my parents prepared the Easter meal the rest of us chatted in the living room.

Eventually it was time for our Easter meal as my mom prepared ham, scalloped potatoes, corn casserole, salad, and veggies. This was all complemented by side dishes that all of us brought as well. Per usual, the dinner discussion was engaging, silly, and fun.

The Easter meal hit the spot.

It was then time for the annual Aunt Carrie and Uncle Glen Easter Egg Hunt. They spread Easter eggs out in the backyard and after giving Sloan, Beau, and their cousins a pep talk, they let them loose. Once again it was an egg-tastic success.

Glen and Carrie gave the kids some instructions before letting them loose in the back yard.

The egg hunt was followed by dessert. We had peanut butter lasagna and tuxedo cake (my dessert dip was served prior to dinner) and I can say that I am still full from it.

You are looking at peanut butter lasagna and tuxedo cake.

Before returning home for books and prayers, we posed for some pictures, including the fabulous image below of my parents with their grandchildren.

What a special photo and a nice way to conclude Easter Sunday 2022.

He Is Risen! Thank you God for your Son and for a blessed Easter. Don’t Blink.

Easter 2021
Easter 2020
Easter 2019
Easter 2018

Continuing the Turkey Bingo Tradition

With inflation skyrocketing, there is one thing that people are focusing on this month: the price of a Thanksgiving dinner. Supposedly, 2021 is supposed to be the year that Americans will fork over a small fortune to provide a Thanksgiving meal. It goes without saying what the priciest item on the table is.

So, how do you make Thanksgiving affordable this year if you plan to serve turkey? You win one of course!

Back as a child, one of the highlights every fall was when the Knights of Columbus council at my childhood parish, St. Thomas More in north Spokane, would hold Turkey Bingo. Our entire family would arrive at the church social hall on a Sunday in November to eat popcorn, visit with friends, and try to win a turkey. It was here that I learned about the competitiveness of bingo and the agony of the words “clear your cards.”

Turkey Bingo is a popular fundraising event for Knights of Columbus councils. Council 4196 (St. Mary – Spokane Valley) is no exception.

Fast forward a couple decades to this past weekend. Once again I found myself at turkey bingo. Only this time I was bringing my own family and I was one of the Knights putting it on.

Our large supply of turkeys we gave out at our Turkey Bingo event.

On Sunday, the Knights of Columbus Council #4196 of St. Mary Catholic Parish in Spokane Valley held its annual Turkey Bingo (you can probably guess…turkey bingo events are pretty common in Catholic parishes). After I moved from Myrtle Beach I transferred from Council #5086 to #4196. What a blessing it has been to go from one awesome council to another and what a blessing it is that we are finally back to doing in-person events!

After we set up all the tables and chairs, I took this photo of our set up inside the St. Mary School gym about an hour before we opened to the public.

I had a lot of fun helping my brother knights put on the event but the best part was definitely playing bingo with Sid, Sloan, and my dad. I was given plenty of time to leave my post and enjoy the afternoon with my family. To give Sloan her first taste of bingo and see how much she was genuinely enjoying it was really cool.

Sloan and Sidney at Turkey Bingo at St. Mary Catholic Church in Spokane Valley.

My wife, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly there to “enjoy” it. She was there to win! She had her eight cards spread out in front of her and knew all the combinations she had to hit in order to score a turkey.

Sidney playing her six cards at Turkey Bingo.

Success didn’t come right away but her persistence paid off. In the second to last game, she won the “top and bottom” round to win a bird for the Resers! In addition to walking away victorious, it was an afternoon marked by sweets, 50/50 raffles, and laughs.

Sidney holds up her winning card along with the ticket voucher she was given for her turkey at the Knights of Columbus Turkey Bingo event at St. Mary Catholic Church in Spokane Valley.

To introduce my daughter and wife to one of our old family traditions and to actually now contribute my time to making the event itself function was pretty special. If there is any Catholic man out there who wants to become a Knight, please feel free to reach out to me. Now, let’s get that turkey cooking! Don’t Blink.