Jeff and Denise Neigel along with their two daughters Karlie and
Lyndsy, invited Brad, Beth, Savanna and Ali to join them for a
skiing trip to the NC mountains. Neither Savanna nor Ali
had ever skied before, but they still had a wonderful time in
the snow.
The slopes at Sugar Mountain in Banner Elk, NC
Now which one is Savanna and which one is Ali?
Even more important, who is that sitting on her "butt" after a
fall?
Ali, Savanna, and their parents attend Covenant Bible Church in
Lincolnton, NC - as do their maternal grandparents. Beit
Yeshua (a Messianic Jewish-Roots group at Covenant) hosts a
Pesach/Passover Seder at the church annually. Brad, Beth,
Savanna and Ali are always there. Ali's grandfather,
Curtis Loftin, co-leads Beit Yeshua.
Curtis works with last-minute preparations at the
low-seating tables
Praise & Worship, along with Israeli Folk Dance, is always
part of the Passover experience
Ali loves to participate in the Israeli Folk Dance (in the
orange & white shirt)
The dancers lift up praise to the LORD -
Beth & Brad are at the top right side of this photo
Curtis Loftin & Doug Williams co-lead Beit Yeshua and the
annual Pesach Seder
The Loftin and Seese Families went to the N.C. Zoo in
Asheboro, NC, on 02 May 2015.
It had been years since any of us had been there - and it was
the first trip for Kayli.
Savanna, Kayli & Ali get ready to head
into the African Safari
followed by the North American Safari later in the day
Learning where the animals come from in
Africa
And off they go - We were fortunate
enough to have our own personal "tour guide", Brad
Stopping to get a photo of the group
(On Top of the Rock) Savanna and Alexandria
(In Front of the Rock) Brad, Beth, Leslie holding Kayli, Carolyn
and Philip
(Curtis: Photographer)
The Lions take a nap in the morning sun - Ali checks them
out
Kayli checks out one of the many animal sculptures around
the zoo
Everyone always like the elephants
Ali gets a ride from Dad
The Seese Family - Savanna, Brad & Ali, Beth
(Left to Right) Brad & Ali, Uncle Philip
(Loftin) & Kayli; (Right) Carolyn discusses where the group
wants to go next
(Left) Even Savanna got a lift from Dad;
(Right) Stopping to look at the giraffes
Giraffes & Zebras
The Babboons ... and Chimpanzees
To See a Short Video of a Chimpanzee Swinging from a Rope -
CLICK HERE - or Below
Philip and Brad had as much fun with the
sculpted animals as Kayli did
No - No one fell in - Everyone just
stopped to look at all the turtles in the lake
One last photo of the family
The animals were fun, but the best part of the
day was being with family
Ali's Great-Grandmother
Willie Goble Loftin (age 89)
was recognized as being the oldest
family member present
(Left) Willie & Kayli Loftin; (Right) Kayli with her mother,
Leslie
Because Kayli enjoyed the play set at Catawba so much, her
parents decided to invest in one for home.
The Loftin & Seese families were invited over during Memorial
Day weekend to help with the construction.
The playset was constructed near Kayli's playhouse and the
family swing
Nonni helps everyone get materials laid out
Ali & Savanna played with Kayli while the adults worked
on the construction
(Left) Uncle Philip lets his daughter Kayli try out the newly-constructed
slide
(Right) Beth hands supplies to the men
Taking a break as the construction continues
Philip and Leslie provided lunch and dinner during the two-day
project
Savanna, Brad and Alexandria sit at the portable picnic
table that Brad brought with him
Ali checks out the rock-climbing wall
Poppi/Curtis took most of the photos of the playset
construction
To See the Video Where Kayli Thanks the Family for
Constructing her Play set CLICK HERE
Ali & Savanna joined the other youth from Covenant Bible Church
for a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC, in July of 2015. The
hardest part of the trip for the girls was giving up their cell
phones for several days. Aaron Grooms is the Youth Pastor
at Covenant.
The girls are in the middle-right part of this photo
toward the top - can you find them?
Poppi (Curtis Loftin) decided that he hadn't taken many photos
of Alexandria & Savanna lately and decided to take some on
Sunday, 26 Jul 2015, when the Seese Family came over to his
house after church.
Alexandria & Savanna
Alexandria & Savanna with Beth
Alexandria & Savanna with their maternal grandfather,
Curtis Loftin
Alexandria / Alex / Ali
(Depending on who you're talking to)
The Seese and Loftin families attend Covenant Bible Church in
Lincolnton, NC, and have since 1999.
In October 2015, Church photos were made for a new church
directory - and we had to buy some of the best ones.
The Seese Family - Brad, Beth, Savanna and Alexandria
Alex and Savanna with their Mom
Alex and Vanna with their Dad
S - I - S - T - E - R - S
Sometimes Alexandria - Sometimes Alex - Sometimes Ali -
Always LOVED
The Seese Family always goes to Alexandria and Savanna's
paternal Grandparents' house (Curtis & Carolyn Loftin) for
Thanksgiving. Thursday, 26 Nov 2015 was no different.
Brad, Beth, Savanna & Alexandria (as well as Beth's brother
Philip and his family - Philip, Leslie and Kayli) arrived at the
Loftin's home at 12:00 - ready for a big lunch - which consisted
of country-style steak, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans,
squash casserole, corn casserole, potato salad, deviled eggs,
sweet potatoes, biscuits, pumpkin roll and pecan pie.
After lunch, everybody heads over to Philip, Leslie & Kayli's
house for some family photos - We do that every year on
Thanksgiving, too
The Seese family usually spends every Sunday afternoon at
Alexandria's paternal grandparent's house after church.
That means that the Seese family have helped light the Hanukkah
menorah every year ever since Alexandria was born -
a tradition that goes back ever since her mother, Beth, was
still living at home.
Alexandria lit the Hanukkah menorah on this the first night
of Hanukkah at Poppi & Nonni's house
John 10:22 - 23
And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah),
and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple ...
The Seese family joined Philip, Leslie & Kayli Loftin for
Christmas lunch at Curtis & Carolyn Loftin's house. As
always, lunch was great, but the highlight for Savanna,
Alexandria & Kayli was probably opening their Christmas
presents.
One of the gifts the Seese family got for Kayli was a bank
jar that counted the coins as they were inserted
After presents were opened at Poppi & Nonni's house, everyone
packed up and went to Uncle Philip's house
so that Savanna & Alexandria could get their present from
Philip, Leslie & Kayli
Stopping briefly so Poppi can snap a photo
Some people just give gifts but in the Loftin family you have
to work for them
Savanna had to follow the green string and Alex had to follow
the red one wrapping the string into a ball
Aunt Leslie had spend a lot of time the day before just getting
this "String Maze" ready for the girls
then Philip, Leslie and Kayli had to live with it like that
until the next day when Savanna & Alex would be coming to their
house
Red and green string everywhere you looked
Kayli tries to offer Alexandria a little help
String all around the legs of the coffee table - red and
green
The first clue ...
To watch the short video of Alexandria, CLICK BELOW
You knew at some point the path of the two girls was bound to
cross
Alex: "Back to this coffee table again?"
You can tell that Nonni and Uncle Philip were enjoying
themselves
Now, into the kitchen ...
... and another clue
To watch the short video of Alexandria, CLICK BELOW
... and into the laundry room ... as that ball or red
yarn gets bigger and bigger
Christmas is always fun when family is involved. With the
Loftin & Seese families, it's also a little work.
We didn't always take pictures, but there were a few years when
we did.
2013: "The Amazing Christmas Race"
In 2013 Nonni hid money all around the inside and outside of
their house then created an elaborate game for the girls
In order to get the money, they had to work together, solve
clues, sing and much much more
CLUE # 1:
Go to Nonni's room. Find something you drink with.
Bring Nonni the money you find there. Now go to the den
and sing (together) the first 6 verses of "The Twelve Days of
Christmas". If you don't remember them, it might be a good
idea to go to the back of the house and rehearse together, since
you have to sing the verses correctly, and with "personality"
... be creative! It's a performance! Once you have
SUCCESSFULLY performed the song, Poppi will hand you your next
clue. Remember, NICE is the main word for your hunt.
CLUE # 3: Remember playing the
game, "Hot or Cold"? Well ... you're COLD.
Find the cold cash, but bring it back, warm and dry, to Nonni.
Next,
lead the whole family in singing the 1st verse and chorus of "We
Three Kings."
If everybody (except Kayli) sings all the way through,
your Mom will give you your next clue.
If not, you'll have to ask everybody to start over.
CLUE # 6: There once was
a tiny chipmunk. He lived inside the Loftin home, but no
one ever knew he was there, because he was so shy. He
loved to play in the kitchen, though. He found over a
hundred windows that he could peek through to watch what was
going on whenever someone was in the kitchen cooking. Your
task is to count his windows. The correct number will earn
you the final clue. If you're wrong the first time, the
other sibling will have to go to Nonni with your answer.
Rotate back and forth until you are correct.
The cash was in an ice block in the freezer
The girls counted the
slats in the louvered pantry door thinking those might be the
windows
Both girls were very accommodating during the Amazing Christmas Race
treasure hunt
Singing "Jingle Bells" on Poppi & Nonni's front
porch at the top
of their voice
The Amazing Christmas Race - "Jingle Bells" -
CLICK HERE
2014: BALLOONS
In 2014 Savanna & Alex each got a big box full of balloons
from Uncle Philip & Aunt Leslie with money inside of them
But of course you had to pop each balloon to get the money
2015: The String Maze
At Uncle Philip and Aunt Leslie's house, Savanna and Alexandria
had to roll up string in order to find their Christmas present.
Savanna had to follow the green string and Alex had to follow
the red one
Alexandria &
Savanna
Jan 2003 - Dec 2003 - Jun 2004 - Aug 2004 - Dec 2005 - Feb
2006
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.