Merry Christmas

from College Station, Texas where we are celebrating with family and friends.

We have had a wonderful year, partly because of many of you. Five months of the past year we traveled throughout the country visiting our national treasures, reconnecting with friends from our earlier years, getting in touch with cousins and making memories with family and new friends.

One of our favorite highlights was watching our oldest granddaughter, Alison, walk across the stage to receive her high school diploma. (Can we mention “with honors?”)

She is thriving as a college freshman at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and finds it to be much more rewarding than high school. Her little sister, Camille, is enjoying her junior year in high school and continues to dance with the Northwest Florida Ballet Company. Holly is contemplating on what to do with “the rest of her life” as her nest empties.

The other favorite highlight of the year was celebrating the 90th birthday of Captain’s mom with a trip to the Dakotas and Montana. Loved the chance to visit with cousin Chuck, his wife Terri and daughter Lindsey. We are so fortunate that she continues to be in good health, of sound mind and have that wonderful sense of humor.

We have already shared our travel adventures with you so we will spare you the repetition. As much as we are enjoying our travel adventures, we love coming home to our hometown friends and neighbors (who happen to be the best of the best.)

We are pleased to share with you that three J. Darin Loftis Memorial Scholarships were awarded to Calloway County High School Seniors in the spring. That brings a total of nine scholarship awards in memory of ABN’s son since 2014

We begin the New Year with hopes and plans for more travel and making more memories by connecting with friends and family. Our winter plan is for Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Our wish for you is that you will experience the Christmas spirit of hope, love, peace and joy. As we travel throughout the country we give thanks to God for our health, our opportunities and most of all for you who have enriched our lives profoundly.

One more thing;

You better watch out,

You better not cry,

You better be good

And we’ll tell you why.

The Wanderer may pull into your drive at any time

(you wouldn’t want us to catch you in an ugly mood, would you?)

Note to email subscribers, hitting reply to the email notification of a new post will send your reply out somewhere in cyber space and we will never know of your comments.  If you wish to comment, please do so in the comment section on the blog site or send a note using the email address you have in your contact list.