Tag Archives: St. Mary Catholic School Spokane Valley

2024 Homemade Mother’s Day Gifts

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My mom has always said “homemade Mother’s Day gifts are the best” and I think that rings especially true this year. Sloan and Beau worked hard the couple weeks leading up to Mother’s Day at school to create some truly heartfelt and unique gifts.

In the first grade class at St. Mary Catholic School, the children made portraits of their moms surrounded by characteristics describing them. Vibrant colors and jaded shapes were infused to make the standalone piece of art almost Picasso-esque…well, that might be a stretch 😂. But what isn’t an exaggeration is that this gift came straight from the heart of Sloan and her love shines through. Her dad might be slightly embarrassed that she can already draw better than him.

The Mother’s Day gift that Sloan made in Emily Lunsford’s St. Mary Catholic School first grade class.

Beau’s gift looked somewhat similar to something Sidney received about three years ago. Oh that’s right! Sloan made the same oven mitt present when she was in Mrs. Shaurette’s Pre-K3 class for Mother’s Day 2021. Well, if we use Beau’s version as much as we use Sloan’s, it will be an immensely useful gift.

Beau holds the Mother’s Day gift he made in Mrs. Leanne Shaurette’s St. Mary Catholic School Pre-K3 class.

But of course it isn’t the practicality that makes homemade Mother’s Day gifts so special (although it is an added bonus). Rather, it is the personality, love, and memories tucked into each one. Beau’s oven mitt is stamped on the top with his own personal mitt…err…hand. It also came with a bookmark containing a cute poem and a “recipe” straight from Beau’s imaginary cookbook. For those who can’t zoom in on the “Pasta” recipe card, it says: She cooks the pasta in a pan in the oven. Then she puts blue raspberry syrup on it (she likes that). Then we eat it at my Grandma’s. I love you. – Beau

A close up look at the gift Beau gave Sid.

Like I said, it is all about the memories 😂.

Much gratitude to St. Mary for pushing their students to make meaningful Mother’s Day gifts. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for Father’s Day 😉. Don’t Blink.

Turning Point Thursday Rundown

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Okay, the soreness from Bloomsday is starting to fade away. Thankfully, that discomfort never infiltrated these fingertips because they are hitting the keys at a rapid rate. While I am still in top notch typing form, let’s get to the rundown.

509 Day – Happy 509 Day, friends! As a born and raised Spokanite who now resides here once again after a 15-year hiatus, I have a genuine pride for those three numbers. Did that pride burn intensely in my soul when I left the state as an 18-year-old? To be honest, probably not. But after all those years of being away and noticing from afar that I didn’t live in such an awful place, the digits started to mean a little more to me. I wrote this post on 509 Day two years ago.

I took this photo from my seat window as we flew over Spokane in Nov. 2022. I love the 509!

Crowning – It is the Month of Mary and one way to honor our Blessed Mother is by crownings. Sloan and Beau had their Mary crowning at school earlier this week. Every student was invited to bring flowers to lay at the feet of the school’s Marian statue. Sidney made sure our children were prepared by purchasing flowers at our local grocery store florist and then arranging them into two bouquets. You can view Sloan placing the flowers with her classmate, Mariano, at the 2:10 mark of this video. St. Mary, pray for us!

Beau and Sloan hold their flowers that they used for the crowning of Mary at the St. Mary School (Spokane Valley) 2023-24 crowning.

Kids vs. Parents – Earlier this week, an unfortunate miscommunication between coaches left Beau’s t-ball team without an opponent. Since the miscommunication didn’t become apparent until a few minutes before game time, Team Navy had already traveled to the ball field. Thankfully, we made the best of it. Moms and dads joined forces to play the kids. Although I wish Beau’s team had players their own age to compete against, I had a great time squaring off against my son and his teammates on a gorgeous early May evening. Oh yeah, the kids won.

We weren’t going to let a beautiful, sunny evening go to waste so us parents played them. My son is up to bat and that is me at short stop.

Turning Point – I recently finished up a pretty deep historical documentary series titled Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War. The Netflix series is comprised of nine installments and begins with the rise of Stalin and ends with Putin’s rule and the current conflict in Ukraine. In between those two events you have 100 years of history! The show chronicles Russia vs. USA relations with a particular emphasis on the Cold War. It is quite the investment time-wise but if you are a history buff like me, you will appreciate (and be alarmed by) it. The footage is superb and the commentary on-point. If you want much better context on what is happening in Ukraine today, I highly recommend.

“Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War” was well done.

Blonde Brownie Ode – I kid you not, today is National Butterscotch Brownie Day. Not trying to brag but yours truly can make a pretty mean batch of blonde brownies. Don’t believe me? I made this video of me baking them a couple years ago. If learning off TikTok isn’t your thing, you can reference my top secret recipe (😂) by tapping here. Come on people, who doesn’t love a warm, gooey blonde brownie?! Chef’s kiss.

A pan of blonde brownies I made a couple years ago.

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I can’t wait for the weekend! It is going to be gorgeous and busy as usual. Let’s pray for the innocent people in Ukraine who continue to suffer devastation. Don’t Blink.

Fruit Medallions Thursday Rundown

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Do you prefer root beer or cream soda? I really have no reason to ask that other than I needed something to begin this blog post. Now that we got that out of the way, I am pleased to present my latest Thursday Rundown. Here we go with tonight’s five topics…

St. Mary Video – At this past Saturday’s gala, the latest St. Mary Catholic School promotional video made its debut. After watching it on the big screen in the middle of a large audience, I was able to view it again in a more private manner when the video was published to social media earlier this week. Principal Stephen Hart discussed the school’s mission of “making saints” but he had some help from his students. One of these students happens to be Sloan (shocker, right? 😉). Well, let me tell you, when it comes to her performance, my brother summed it up perfectly: Sloan is going to Sloan. You can watch the video here.

A screenshot of Sloan in the 2014 St. Mary Catholic School promotional video. You should watch it!

Sweet Prize – Earlier this month I won a social media contest. I participated in a See’s Candies X promotion and notched the victory. Last Friday, UPS dropped off a large cardboard box at my door. See’s took great care to add ice packs and plenty of packing to secure my prize. They sent me a box of their signature chocolates and a bag of their fruit medallions. I was pleasantly surprised by the medallions. I figured they would be chewy but instead they were soft and so fresh. I don’t think I have ever tasted a better gummy candy. Thanks, See’s!

Beau holds the See’s gummies while Sloan holds the See’s chocolates.

National High Five Day – With today being National High Five Day, I couldn’t resist calling to mind the most legendary brother high five/handshake there is. My brother and I developed a special handshake when we were kids and it has stuck around for a few decades. It is intricate, goofy, and pretty fun. You can read about it and/or watch it.

My brother and I in 2003 right before we executed our handshake.

Waterdog Challenge – I don’t normally do eating challenges but when I do you better believe I complete them. Today is the ninth anniversary of my successful completion of the Waterdog Challenge. I visited a tiny beach ice cream shop in South Carolina to attempt a tall task: 7 scoops of ice cream, 5 toppings, 1 waffle plate….FIVE minutes. It was quite the experience as I gave it my all to win that t-shirt. When the time elapsed, my last piece of the waffle dish was in my mouth and I was declared a winner. My mouth was numb for the rest of the day but my pride was not. Here is the full account of the wacky challenge.

I once ate seven scoops of ice cream in five minutes.

Pyloric Stenosis Awareness – Next week, we will mark the seventh anniversary of Sloan’s successful corrective pyloric stenosis surgery. I have documented this traumatic event in Don’t Blink before (and with this video), but as a newborn Sloan could not keep her food down. Each time she ate something, she violently threw it up. In addition to his permanent spot in our nightly prayers, we send Sloan’s surgeon a note of thanks/update each April. Thanks be to God for Dr. Robert Cina and Sloan’s health!

This photo was taken on April 22, 2017. This was moments before Sloan went in for surgery at MUSC in Charleston, South Carolina. Both of our parents were there for support.

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Well, come on, root beer or cream soda? I like both but the latter is my jam. Thanks for reading and have an amazing weekend. Don’t Blink.

Safeway Thursday Rundown

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Another week has seemed to speed by! Before it is gone for good, I want to tackle the Thursday Rundown. Here are my latest five topics…

Daddy/Daughter Official Photo – On Tuesday, Sloan was holding a manilla envelope when I picked her up. Inside that envelope was our photo from the St. Mary Daddy/Daughter Dance. Sloan looks beautiful! As for the other character in the picture? Ummm…not so much.

Our official St. Mary Catholic School Daddy/Daughter Dance photo.

Get In My Belly – I would try this in a heartbeat. Lucky Charms ice cream with Lucky Charms marshmallows infused with whipped topping and gold glitter? Yes please! I think I need to make a stop at Cold Stone at the end of the month. I always like to tell the story about my friend from high school who worked at Cold Stone and would occasionally bring me home the free ice cream she would get each shift. The friend knew I loved the peanut butter cup perfection creation and would go overboard loading it with toppings. Man, those were the days.

I want some of this!

National Cereal Day – If I don’t blink an eye when it comes to putting cereal on my ice cream, you can probably figure that I really enjoy it out of the bowl. To use the cliché, I am a “cereal killer” and I definitely have my favorites. A dozen years ago I named Rice Krispie Treats Cereal as my all-time favorite unhealthy cereal. In 2016 I wrote about my top healthy(ish) cereals as granola, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Cracklin’ Oat Bran made my shortlist. Last year to commemorate National Cereal Day, I thought “outside the bowl” by listing my top ways of consuming cereal when spoon and milk aren’t involved. However you happen to celebrate cereal, I hope you are able to do it today.

I love cereal and these cereal bowls we own!

Easter Pop-Its – I could hardly contain my excitement earlier this year when I discovered that TNT made “Exploding Hearts” for Valentine’s Day. Well, now they have Exploding Bunny Poop too. I love how TNT is expanding its trademark Pop-Its product beyond just Independence Day. Although I passed on actually buying the Exploding Hearts, I think I might have to give in with the Easter version; after all, they are just right across the street from me at Safeway.

I found Exploding Bunny Poop at Safeway.

Monopoly Birthday – Monopoly was created 91 years ago today. I played the game a lot as a kid but have not “rolled the Monopoly dice” in quite some time. As I brought up in a blog post from 2.5 years ago, I have the distinction of never testing my board game prowess on a specialized Monopoly set (i.e. WAZZU-Opoly, Spokane-Opoly, Cat-Opoly, etc.). If you are more adventurous than me, what specialized Monopoly game have you played?

Have you ever played a specialized Monopoly game before?

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Okay, that will do it for tonight. Thanks for your readership and have a fabulous weekend. Don’t Blink.

Kicking Off the 2023-24 School Year

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Watch a “First Day of School” video of Sloan and Beau

A new school year has started and the excitement is palpable at the Reser household. Today we sent both our children off to the same school, a pattern that should hold for (fingers crossed) the next eight years.

Sloan and Beau stand outside St. Mary Catholic School on their first day of school on Sept. 5, 2023.

This morning, St. Mary Catholic School welcomed Sloan and Beau with open arms. Sloan is a first grader in Ms. Lunsford’s class. If you remember, Ms. Lunsford was Sloan’s Pre-K4 teacher during the 2021-22 school year and we couldn’t be happier that she has moved up to lead the first grade classroom.

Sloan is a first grader in Ms. Lunsford’s class.

Beau started his projected 11-year run at St. Mary with his first day of Pre-K3. There is plenty of familiarity with his classroom too. Ms. Shaurette, who taught Sloan during her Pre-K3 year, will teach her second Reser child. Like with Ms. Lunsford, we are so happy and comfortable with Ms. Shaurette.

Beau is in Ms. Shaurette’s Pre-K3 class.

Besides Sloan and Beau, someone else had their first day at St. Mary today—the principal! Mr. Stephen Hart was hired at the end of last school year and there is much joy with his arrival. Mr. Hart has an impressive teaching background and an unwavering devotion to the Catholic faith. He will set the tone for this year with his strong leadership and passion for academic excellence. At the same time, there will never be a doubt about what is most important at St. Mary during his tenure: instilling a love of God that is infused with an unstoppable pursuit of salvation. Stephen is a great family friend and we can’t wait to watch him do amazing things.

St. Mary Principal Mr. Stephen Hart opens the doors for the first time during the 2023-24 school year. He will do great things.

Besides our kids, Sid and I are also excited for the school year. There is nothing like the St. Mary community, especially the relationships you get to build with the parents and family members in your child’s class. We have met so many friends and faithful Catholics by getting to know the parents of Sloan’s classmates. Lucky for us, we will have even more chances to build additional meaningful relationships with Beau’s new class. We can’t wait!

It is great to have both of our children at the same school. 🙏🏻

Best of luck to all students beginning a new school year! May we pray that everyone has the chance to learn and grow, both mentally and spiritually. Don’t Blink.

A Wilderness Adventure For Sloan

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That special week in the early summer is here: Catholic Summer Camp! On Sunday night, the kickoff event for this year’s event was held on the St. Mary campus. We attended mass, ate dinner, and learned about this year’s theme…

This year’s Catholic Summer Camp theme at St. Mary in Spokane Valley is Wilderness Adventure Through the Sacraments.

For the next several days, Sloan is on a wilderness adventure. Or, to be specific, a Wilderness Adventure Through the Sacraments. The campers are taking each day to learn about 1-2 of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. For example, yesterday was baptism and today is Holy Eucharist.

Sloan loves going to camp! Each camper received a t-shirt that they wear each day. All first graders received green shirts.

As they learn about the sacraments, the kids are treated to all the fun stuff you would find at your typical vacation bible school: crafts, music, skits, games, and, most importantly…snacks! So the curriculum and the child-appeal factor are both definitely present.

Marie goes all out with everything she does. This photo backdrop that Sloan is posing in front of is awesome!

But what sets this camp apart from other vacation bible schools—both Catholic and non-Catholic? The answer is Marie Bricher. She is the camp director, which encompasses part of her role as St. Mary’s director of religious education. Marie goes absolutely all out for everything she does, including Catholic summer camp. You would be amazed at the decorations, organization, attention to detail, and enthusiasm she pours into this program. Most impressive of all, however, is how she can explain the content at a level that makes sense to elementary students.

Marie Bricher addresses campers, staff, and parents at the kickoff event inside the St. Mary gym. She is phenomenal at what she does.

And that special ability that Marie possesses is crucial, especially with this year’s theme, because nothing is more important than the sacraments. Ever wonder what makes being a Catholic so unique and why more than a billion people belong to the Church? It is because of these graces given to us by God. Needless to say, the sacraments is a topic that deserves the utmost attention and care when being explained to anyone—especially children—so it is such a comfort that not only is this year’s camp based on it but that someone of Marie’s caliber is leading the discussion on it.

All the decorations and props for this camp are so cool.

Sloan is on fire for this camp. She loved attending yesterday and I was impressed by all she told me about baptism when she returned home. What makes this year’s theme resonate even more is that in Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Catechism In A Year podcast we are currently right in the middle of the sacraments. He just finished baptism and is currently on confirmation. While Sloan is learning about the sacraments on a children’s level I am learning more about them on an adult level. Although two different modes of delivery are at play, Sloan and I are able to “compare notes” and know that we are still learning the same thing. How cool is that?!

Please pray for the campers, the volunteers, and Marie as they continue to go through this week. As Pope John Paul II said, “Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.” Don’t Blink.

Hoopfest 2023: More Than A T-Shirt

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Going into Hoopfest 2023, I was just hoping for a win. When the dust settled on Sunday, I felt like our team scored many more victories than just quadrupling the on-court win total I was crossing my fingers for.

I felt like our team overachieved in a pretty competitive bracket. People in this photo include (from l-r) JJ Nazzaro, Amy Martin, Fr. Jeff Lewis, me, and Ryan Andrade.

How It Went Down On The Court

What an experience this past weekend was. The St. Mary Squad started off the tournament on Saturday morning with a tough 20-15 loss to the Rez Runnaz. We knew the team we played was pretty decent and didn’t let the small setback get us down. We would win our 12:30 p.m. game (20-14) and then return the next day ready for a big run.

A look at our finalized bracket. We came through the loser’s bracket to play in the championship game.

Our team notched two comfortable victories early Sunday morning and then held on for a victory at noon to successfully seal our loser’s bracket odyssey to the championship game. For the title we played our opening round opponent—the Rez Runnaz. After playing three games seemingly back-to-back-to-back we had little gas left in the tank for the team that was undefeated and had last played at 10 a.m. Although we fell short, we had secured second place and a coveted finalist t-shirt.

We brought home a t-shirt! Ryan, Amy, myself, and JJ sport our finalist t-shirts in front of the Hoopfest backdrop on Sunday afternoon (photo courtesy of Amy).

But just a little bit of context about all those victories: I didn’t have too much to do with them. My St. Mary Squad teammates and fellow Young Adult Catholic members were simply spectacular. Everything started with our lead scorer and athletic specimen JJ Nazzaro. Then we had our 2-point ace Ryan Andrade who would answer the 1-point baskets of our opponents with bombs from downtown. Last but definitely not least, we had our team’s heart and soul—Amy Martin. Because of Hoopfest co-ed rules, a member of the opposite sex must always be on the court so that meant Amy played every single minute of all six games we competed in. Not only did she have the guts to go the distance, but she was an incredible contributor on both sides of the ball and never stopped hustling.

Ryan’s flawless shooting form is captured as he drains a 2-point basket.

Me? I was the fourth man who would give JJ and Ryan breaks while trying to play some defense and pull down a rebound or two. It was an honor to share the court with my teammates.

Even though I contributed the least to our team, I am pretty sure my kids thought I was the MVP 😂

Playing For More Than Hoopfest Glory

But enough about our on-court exploits and team scouting report. Hoopfest 2023 was so special because our St. Mary team was playing for more than a t-shirt.

Our team came together because we wanted to give thanks to God, pay special devotion to our Blessed Mother, and promote the Catholic faith. Helping us with this mission was Fr. Jeff Lewis, our pastor at St. Mary in Spokane Valley. At coffee and donuts one Sunday as our team was starting to come together, Fr. Jeff said that St. Mary would sponsor us once our roster was finalized. However, our dedicated priest did so much more than just make sure that our registration and uniforms were paid for.

Fr. Jeff Lewis poses with our team after the first day of the tournament. What a blessing it was to have him as our team chaplain.

Fr. Jeff rode the shuttle downtown with us, cheered our team on from the sidelines, and hung out with us after the games. But most importantly, he was there as our dedicated team chaplain. He led us in prayer before/after each game, had the materials in his pocket to distribute the anointing of the sick if needed, and was on-hand to give blessings and answer questions to the numerous people who approached him. Regarding prayer, as Ryan said, it was such a peaceful way to begin and end competition while at the same time drawing other people in. In fact, before the tournament was over, we had everyone praying with us from an opponent to our kids to the court monitor.

Fr. Jeff Lewis rides the STA Hoop Loop shuttle with us after the Sunday games.

This mission to put God before Hoopfest glory motivated those associated with our team to make sacrifices. Fr. Jeff gave up his Sunday morning masses to accompany us. Ryan and JJ both left their close-knit Hoopfest teams to play for the St. Mary Squad. And Amy played through serious knee issues. What selfless commitments from some truly great people.

Amy, Sloan, Sid, and Fr. Jeff walk through Riverfront Park on Sunday. Fr. Jeff hung out with us throughout the tournament.

Team Bonding

Because we were all so invested in this opportunity, it came as no surprise that we had such a fulfilling experience that went beyond the streets of downtown Spokane. Prior to this weekend, we got together for a couple of practices. We also had a lively text thread that was full of planning, joking, and anticipating (sorry for all the countdown texts, guys).

Perhaps I was a little too excited to play in Hoopfest.

Between our first and second games on Saturday, Sidney provided us all refuge from the heat by taking us to the break room of her work which happens to be in the heart of the downtown area. The four of us, some of our families, Fr. Jeff, and Fr. David Gaines took time to just relax and chat. Some of this break was spent talking about faith matters and some of it was spent talking about other things. But it all equated to some really nice fellowship.

Thanks to my wife’s connections, we had access to an air conditioned “team room” where we could find relief from the baking hot streets of downtown Spokane. In this photo, Fr. David Gaines and Fr. Jeff Lewis join the four of us and some of our families for a nice break.

Later that night, Sidney and I hosted a cookout at our house. Once again, us players and our families came together for more fellowship on a beautiful evening. In fact, do you want to know how close this Hoopfest experience has brought us together? We were all comfortable enough to play the game Stir the Pot as a big group. Don’t know what that is? Look it up! 😂

We had a team cookout on Saturday night that was pretty dang relaxing.

Finally, the icing on the cake was that when the tournament was over, we gathered for mass that night. With Fr. Jeff’s permission, we wore our finalist t-shirts to the service and he even incorporated our team’s Hoopfest success into his homily.

Holding up the number “2” after earning second place in our bracket. What a great weekend it was.

Gratitude

Before I close out this post, just a few shout outs: First and foremost, thanks to our families. Whether they were supporting us at the games or watching children at home, I know the four of us really appreciated the opportunity to concentrate on our six games we played throughout the weekend. Thanks to our spectacular court monitor, Keith Miner, and his daughter/scorekeeper, Maddie, for taking such superb care of our bracket. These fellow St. Mary parishioners always kept everything under control and applied all the rules perfectly. And finally, thanks to St. Mary for the sponsorship of our team.

Special thanks to my wife for all she did to prepare/take care of our family during the Hoopfest weekend.

I am grateful for the special Hoopfest opportunity I had this year. Amy, JJ, and Ryan…thanks for making our team work and for putting up with my less than stellar basketball skills. Fr. Jeff…you went above and beyond for us, thank you. Now, with all that said, who is sore?!

Thanks be to God. Don’t Blink.

Back For Hoopfest 2023

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I’m back! After not winning a game in Hoopfest last year, I am returning to Spokane’s signature event in search of a “W.” This weekend I will hoop it up on the streets of Spokane at the same Main and Post location I played at last year. But not everything will be the same…

I hold the 2023 Hoopfest player shirt while Sloan holds the Inlander Hoopfet guide.

This year I have a new team. With my siblings caught up in other obligations, I had to find different teammates. Luckily, I wasn’t a free agent for long. Instead of playing with my biological family this year, I am playing with my faith family. For Hoopfest 2023, I am representing St. Mary Parish and School with my good friends Amy Martin, Ryan Andrade, and JJ Nazzaro. We are bringing our love of competition and God to our bracket.

This year we are playing on the T-Mobile court. When I was downtown at Team Check-In yesterday I found our backboard. It is quite…pink.

A cool thing about our team is that we are legitimately sponsored by St. Mary. Fr. Jeff Lewis made sure that not just our registration fee was covered but our uniforms too. The tops we will be sporting this weekend have the St. Mary Spokane Valley logo on the front and a different Marian title special to each of us on the back.

Amy with our Hoopfest uniforms. I am wearing the Fatima top. Amy’s top pays tribute to Our Lady Undoer of Knots.

We begin our Hoopfest quest at 10 a.m. on Saturday. You can find us on the T-Mobile court right in front of the P.F. Chang’s restaurant on Main. Depending on the outcome of our first game, we will play at either 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. and then will resume our ballin’ on Sunday. Insert our official team name (St. Mary Squad) into the Hoopfest app to follow our progress or just come watch us in-person.

This is our bracket. Come watch!

Thank you to St. Mary for allowing us to represent our faith-filled community this weekend. Let us pray that everyone participating in Hoopfest has a safe tournament. Hope to see you on the court! Don’t Blink.

Kindergarten In The Books!

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We now have a first grader in the house. Sloan’s last day of kindergarten was this past Friday as the St. Mary 2022-23 school year ended with mass. In his final homily of the academic year, Fr. Jeff Lewis challenged the students to “love like Jesus” throughout the summer. With that message and a farewell address from the principal, the students were dismissed.

We weren’t on top of it enough to update her board, but thanks to my mother-in-law we do have a photo of Sloan on her last day of Kindergarten to go with the photo we took on her first day of school. Sloan has definitely matured over the past year.

At the beginning of the school year, I wrote that I hoped Sloan would grow academically, socially, and spiritually. She has made progress. From an academic standpoint, she has developed into a proficient reader over the past nine months and has grasped mathematical concepts. When it comes to social growth, there is work to be done. Sloan is extremely outgoing and loves her friends but is learning to control jealousy, especially when it comes to accepting that everyone can play together. From a spiritual perspective, I have marveled at the strengthening of her faith. Whether it be feast days, the 10 Commandments, understanding of the mass, or important Biblical stories/concepts, she has learned so much and grown in her closeness to God.

Although Sloan wasn’t perfect, she did make strides.

Sloan poses for a photo with her Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Jordan Roff, moments after mass concluded on the last day of school.

From a parental perspective, Sidney and I sure enjoyed getting to know the other families in this year’s kindergarten class. Sloan completed two years of pre-school at St. Mary but the opportunities to engage and work with other parents increased immensely this year. To develop relationships with people who share commonalities with us—both in familial makeup and faith—is fulfilling. And to think that these relationships will just continue to grow over the next several years is such a blessing.

Sloan and her friend, Aminah, pose for a celebratory photo on the last day of school (photo courtesy of Shauna Durrant).

Our family has a lot of optimism for the 2023-24 school year. Sloan’s first grade teacher will be Ms. Emily Lunsford, the same talented educator who taught her in Pre K-4. Also, we couldn’t be more pumped about the incoming principal. Stephen Hart will take the reins of St. Mary and will bring his years of experience teaching in public schools and his devout Catholic faith with him. We are excited to see what our good friend will do.

Sloan poses for a photo with Ms. Emily Lunsford in June 2022 after her preschool graduation. Ms. Lunsford will be Sloan’s first grade teacher during the 2023-24 school year.

Oh, one final thing. St. Mary will have another Reser enrolled next year. Beau will join the Pre K-3 class. We are looking forward to sending both our children to a central location and becoming even more ingrained in the St. Mary community.

I am looking forward to the 2023-24 school year at St. Mary.

But enough about next school year! Summer is here and it is time to let the good times roll. Personally, I will be just fine not making the drive to/from St. Mary twice per day over the next couple months. Live it up, everyone. Don’t Blink.

Happy 12th Ordination Anniversary, Fr. Jeff

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It is a date that Sidney and I now celebrate just like family birthdays and our wedding anniversary. When May 26 rolls around we immediately recognize it for one reason: The ordination anniversary of our pastor, Fr. Jeff Lewis.

Today, Friday, May 26, 2023, Fr. Jeff Lewis celebrates his 12th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. Earlier this week we got a head start on the celebrating as we recognized his anniversary at our Engaged Encounter meeting.

Today marks the 12th anniversary of when Fr. Jeff was ordained to the priesthood. We are proud to say we have known “Papa J” for almost a quarter of those dozen years.

During the nearly three years we have known Fr. Jeff, he has helped get us involved in different ministries. One of those is St. Mary’s marriage prep Pre-Cana program where we get the opportunity to mentor engaged couples. This photo is of Sid, Fr. Jeff. and I with Sarah and Brendan–a couple we mentored who will get married in July.

The first time we walked through the doors of St. Mary Catholic Church, Fr. Jeff greeted us immediately. After some small talk he asked us where we lived in the Spokane Valley. We told him the area where we had recently settled and even though we were on the wrong side of Pines Road and thus outside the parish lines, Fr. Jeff laughed and said, “It’s okay, you’re welcome here anyway…just don’t tell Fr. Kevin” (Fr. Kevin Oiland is the pastor of St. John Vianney Parish, the Catholic community we technically should have attended based on geography).

Fr. Jeff and Fr. Kevin Oiland started a Young Adult Group for Spokane Valley Catholics. It launched 2.5 years ago and because of the time and energy that Fr. Jeff and Fr. Kevin devoted to it, our group continues to grow and thrive. This effort by the two priests really helped Sidney and I find friends and grow in our faith upon moving to Washington.

Fr. Jeff was exactly what we needed after our cross country move and Sidney’s recent conversion to Catholicism. We joined his Young Adult Group that he started with Fr. Kevin and from there he kept getting us more and more involved in other ministries—both at the parish and diocesan levels. Just a text message away, Fr. Jeff has always been there for us. Whether we have needed him for the sacraments, a house blessing, prayer support, his presence at retreats/events, a Hoopfest sponsorship, or a host of other things, he continues to be that constant rock in our daily drive to grow closer to God.

Fr. Jeff Lewis with us at our house blessing.

We admire Fr. Jeff for his faith, self-deprecating sense of humor, and the insane schedule he maintains. Sidney and I are grateful for how much he cares about St. Mary School and its mission to deliver the best Catholic education possible. Speaking of children, it warms our hearts how he always makes time for Sloan and Beau, effortlessly connecting with them no matter the situation. I am inspired by his ambitious goals for evangelization, his commitment to his parishioners, and his love/defense of the Catholic Church.

Fr. Jeff has a genuine love for children…and the relationship is reciprocal! You should see how excited Sloan and Beau get when they see Fr. Jeff.

In my life, I have never had a priest as invested in me as Fr. Jeff. Because of this, I can only say Thanks Be To God. Let us pray that impactful and holy priests like Fr. Jeff Lewis continue to be invigorated by their vocation. Happy anniversary to our very special pastor. Don’t Blink.