By 2014, Savanna had given up dance - even though she and
Alexandria has taken lesson ever since they were toddlers.
Ali continued until the Summer of 2014.
Ali all dressed up for a Dance Recital on 08 Feb 2014 -
with her sister Savanna
The Loftin and Seese families went out to El Paso Mexican
Restaurant in Conover, NC, for Savanna and her Uncle Philip's
birthdays. The food at El Paso is always exceptional.
This was Savanna's 14th Birthday and
Philip's 36th
Savanna 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
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
A view of the beach from the balcony
On the first day of the week-long beach trip, Brad and
Beth settled on the beach
while Savanna and Alexandria played a little volleyball
On the second day of the trip, Savanna & Alexandria
were the first
ones dressed
and ready to head down to the beach
Beth, Brad, Savanna and Alexandria - with just a few
others
Savanna & Ali spend the first part of the morning
playing volleyball again
To See the Video of Savanna & Ali playing Volleyball -
CLICK HERE
- or Below
Savanna gives Ali a few pointers
The girls take a little break
Brad and Savanna relax on the beach ...
... while Beth and Ali head into the ocean
As the afternoon progresses, the family starts to pack up
to head inside.
After completing 7th & 8th Grade at River Bend Middle School,
Savanna was supposed to go into Bunker Hill High School for the
9th to 12 Grades, but she applied to the Challenger at Catawba
Valley Community College and was accepted into the program.
As a result, she is scheduled to attend CVCC for Grades 9 to 12
and when she graduates she will also have a two-year Associates
Degree from CVCC. At that point, she can transfer to a
4-year college (if she wishes) and with only two more years pick
up a four-year degree.
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
The Amazing Maize Maze
On 18 Oct 2014, as the recommendation of Savanna'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
Savanna & Ali 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
In the day-and-time when literally everyone has a cell phone
with a built in camera, "Selfies" have become the rage because
you can take a photo of yourself anytime you want to then
quickly upload it to Facebook with the very same cell phone.
Here are a few of Savanna's "Selfies".
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
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
Kayli was the first to open her Christmas presents
Poppi & Nonni gave Savanna & Ali 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
Savanna, You were the "first" - the first
granddaughter - and I was (and still am) so proud of you.
Spending time with you always bring joy and happiness into my
life. You have no idea just how special you are. May you always follow the LORD and seek His
direction for every choice in your life. May you always
have a close and personal relationship with Yeshua/Jesus - He's
the only true source of joy and happiness. I love you and
always will.
Poppi