All little girls (and
big girls, too) love weddings, so Ali's paternal grandmother,
JoAnn Denniston Seese (Nicknamed JoNanna), pulled out her
wedding dress and let Ali try it on. Ali was 11 so she had
a few years to wait.
Alexandria and her family participate in an annual Pesach Seder
at Covenant Bible Church in Lincolnton, NC, in the Spring of
each year.
Ali's paternal grandfather, Curtis Loftin, co-leads the
Messianic group, Beit Yeshua,
that hosts the annual Messianic Passover meeting
Brad, Beth, Ali and Savanna sitting behind Curtis
There is usually an Israeli Folk Dance performance piece
at the beginning of the evening
The Seese family seated to the left of the dancers
With 200+ in attendance, there are regular and low seats
Ali joins many from the congregation as Curtis leads the
group in Israeli Folk Dance during a time of praise and worship
as the evening progresses
Curtis, along with Doug Williams, lead the Seder
As the 10 plagues that came upon the Egyptians are
recited, we're reminded that a great price was paid for the
deliverance of the Israelites. As Believers, we, too, have
been purchased with a great price - the blood of Messiah
Yeshua/Jesus.
The Loftin Family Reunion always takes place
on the third Sunday in May - for the descendants of William
Alexander Loftin and Laura Rossie Cranford Loftin. Ali's
descendancy comes from William Alexander Loftin to Alonzo Lester
Loftin to Sam William Loftin to Curtis Dean Loftin to Elizabeth
"Beth" Ann Loftin Seese to Ali Seese.
Various members of the family are recognized before the
meal
The Seese family joined Beth's parents, Curtis & Carolyn Loftin,
for a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. Brad's mother, JoAnn
Seese, was also invited to join the group for the summer
vacation.
The Loftins & Seeses always try to book lodging at Xanadu
when they are at the beach
The entire family enjoyed the balcony overlooking the
beach
A view of the beach from the balcony
On the first day of the week-long beach trip, Brad and
Beth settle on the beach
while Savanna and Alexandria play a little volleyball
On the second day of the trip, Alexandria was the first
one dressed
and ready to head down to the beach - followed by Savanna
Beth, Brad, Savanna and Alexandria head down to the beach
Ali and Savanna spend the first part of the morning
playing volleyball
To See the Video of Ali & Savanna playing Volleyball -
CLICK HERE
- or Below
Savanna gives Ali a few pointers
Ali shows what she can do
Ali and Savanna take a little break
Brad and Savanna relax on the beach ...
... while Beth and Ali head into the ocean
To See Ali and Beth Wading through the waves -
CLICK HERE
- or Below
Playing in the water is always fun
Later in the week, Brad decided to surprise Beth by taking
her and the girls parasailing
Later in the week, Ali pulled out her skim board and
attempted to master it
To See the Video of Ali trying to ride the Boogie Board -
CLICK HERE
- or Below
To See the 2nd Video of Ali trying to ride the Boogie Board -
CLICK HERE
- or Below
Headed back to Mom and Savanna
While Beth chats with a lady on the beach, Ali enjoys her
dog
As Alexandria headed into 7th Grade at River Bend Middle School,
she decided to drop dance (which she had been doing since she
was three years old) and take up cross-country track.
Some last-minute instructions as River Bend's track team
gets ready for a Track Meet
on 30 September 2014
The River Bend girls get ready for their meet
And off they go !
There she goes ...
To See the Short Video of Ali Running in Cross-Country Track
- CLICK HERE - or
Below
The Seese family helps Poppi & Nonni (Curtis & Carolyn) get the
fabric up in order to convert their Pergola into a sukkah for
the Biblical Feast of Sukkot/Tabernacles.
Nonni poses with Brad, Beth, Savanna and Ali while Poppi
snaps a photo
After a few decoration have been added to the inside
On 18 Oct 2014, as the recommendation of Ali's Uncle Philip, the
Seese family (along with Poppi & Nonni Loftin) went to
Huntersville, NC, to participate in The Amazing Maize Maze.
This is where it all happens
The maze is located in this large cornfield in Huntersville
Only one way in and one way out
Entrance to the Maze
Carolyn, Beth, Brad, Ali, Savanna and Curtis
Ali and Savanna pose for a photo as the family waits to
begin the maze
As we started our trek into the maze, we soon separated
into two groups
Ali & Savanna went off on their own leaving the adults to fend
for themselves
Brad carried the flag for the adults
Signs like this gave pieces of baseball trivia as we
trekked through the maze
Kernel of Knowledge #1 Down 1. Willie Maize is our Maze character and you are standing
in his hat. In his career, the real Willie Mays had 3,283
hits, 568 homeruns, won Rookie of The Year in 1951, and played
in 4 World Series
Kernel of Knowledge # 3 Across 3. The term "hotdog" was coined in 1931 at the New York
Parks Grounds where the vendors were yelling "Get your dachshund
sausages while they're red hot!" A sports cartoonist heard
the vendors & drew a cartoon of a barking dachshund nestled
warmly in rolls. Not sure how to spell "dachshund" he
simply wrote "hot dog!" The cartoon was a sensation and
the term "hot dog" was born.
There were mailboxes throughout the maze that held tape
and pieces of a map
Your goal, collect all the pieces of the map and find your way
out of the maze
Brad, Beth and Carolyn confer as to where they think the
next mailbox is located
Which way do we go from here?
Both groups finally connected at the end and exited
together
The Exit from the Maze
Ali and Savanna show their completed maze map
The Completed 2014 Maze
Ali & Savanna completed the adult maze but there is one
for the kids, too
The Loftin & the Seese families always spend Christmas day with
Curtis & Carolyn.
After lunch, everyone moves to the living room and starts opening
Christmas presents.
Family members arrive as Carolyn and Curtis make last
minute preparations
On the bar there was potato salad, deviled eggs,
biscuits, coconut cake and banana pudding
Beth fills the glasses with ice for everyone
Curtis snaps a few more photos
(Left) Ali, Philip & Carolyn; (Right) Savanna & Ali
Uncle Philip and Aunt Leslie go through the lunch line
which included country-style steak, chicken & dumplings, mashed
potatoes & gravy,
green beans, squash casserole and Carolyn's famous broccoli pie
The Seese Family - Ali, Beth, Savanna and Brad
Little Kayli insisted on sitting beside of her cousin Ali
One of her most favorite people in the whole world
The kids and grandkids chat while Nonni & Poppi wash
dishes and put up the food
Kayli was the first to open her Christmas presents
Poppi & Nonni gave Ali and Savanna money for Christmas,
but Philip, Leslie & Kayli had two really big boxes for the
girls - but the boxes weren't too heavy
What could it be?
Two big boxes full of BALLOONS !
They soon found out that the balloons had money in them
but they had to pop the balloons in order to get the money out
Ali, I love you so very much. Every photo that I've added
to this page made me smile - and reminded me just how special
you are. You're kind, sweet and gentle. May you
always follow after the ways of the LORD and may you grow up to
serve Yeshua/Jesus with zeal and passion. Only "true"
happiness comes from Him. Love you, Poppi.