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Monday, January 9, 2012

HOLIDAY NEWSLETTER 2011

*WOW, HOW TIME CAN GET A WAY FROM YOU. AS THE SAYING GOES, "IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH...TELL HIM YOUR PLANS." LOL! I AM EXTREMELY LATE WITH PUBLISHING OUR HOLIDAY NEWS LETTER, BUT BETTER LATE THAN NEVER RIGHT? LOL! MOVING BACK TO THE STATES HAS DEFINITELY BEEN A HUGE CHANGE IN OUR LIFESTYLE. I THINK WE ACTUALLY FORGOT HOW FAST PACED WE AMERICANS CAN BE AND WE SOMETIMES MISS AND CAN STILL APPRECIATE THE RELAXED PACE WE HAD IN EUROPE. WE HAVE BEEN BUSY, BUSY, BUSY BEGINNING A NEW LIFE POST-BASKETBALL. HOWEVER, PLEASE READ A LITTLE OF WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN OUR WORLD BELOW.....





WE PRAY YOUR NEW YEAR HAS STARTED OFF AS A BLESSED ONE AND YOU FOUND GOD'S SWEET LOVE AT THE HEART OF YOUR CHRISTMAS...

THE YEAR 2011 WAS FILLED WITH MANY NEW BEGINNINGS FOR THE MASON FAMILY.

AJ, NOW 15, DECIDED TO BE BAPTIZED IN OCTOBER OF 2011. WE FEEL SO BLESSED THAT HE UNDERSTANDS CHRISTIANITY AND PRAY HE STAYS COMMITTED TO OUR SAVIOUR. AJ LANDED ONE OF THE LEADING ROLES IN HIS HIGH SCHOOL PLAY CHARLOTTE'S WEB. YES.... HE WAS CUTE LITTLE WILBUR. WE WERE SO PROUD OF HIS PERFORMANCE AND DEDICATION TO THE MANY DRAMA REHEARSALS. ACTING IS A NEW HAT HE WEARS, AND AS A TOP SOPHMORE SCHOLAR HE ALSO CONTINUES TO PURSUE HIS ATHLETICS AND MUSIC AS WELL. DURING THE SUMMER HE JOINED THE AAU LEAGUE AND PLAYED IN MANY SUMMER CAMPS. HE'S QUICK ON THE COURT AND HANDLES THE BALL WELL. AJ HAS WRITTEN MANY SONGS AND PERFORMED A CHRISTMAS DUET W/A FRIEND . THEY SANG "BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE." IN THE SPRING OF 2012 HE WILL TRAVEL TO L.A. TO MEET A WELL KNOWN  MUSIC PRODUCER AND TALENT AGENCY.

ALSTON WILL BE 10 ON FEBRUARY 15TH OF 2012. AS A FOURTH GRADER HE CONTINUES TO EXCELL IN HIS 2 FAVORITE SUBJECTS....MATH AND P.E. IN THE SUMMER OF 2011 ALSTON ALSO JOINED THE AAU LEAGUE. HE'S A SMALL PLAYER THAT ALWAYS SURPRISES THE CROWD WITH HIS "BIG MAN" BASKETBALL SKILLS. ALSTON PRACTICES BASKETBALL WHENEVER HE CAN. HE TRULY LOVES THE SPORT AND IS DEDICATED TO THE GAME. HE ALSO PARTICIPATED IN MANY SUMMER BASKETBALL CAMPS AND WON SEVERAL AWARDS. AT SCHOOL ALSTON PARTICIPATES IN JOGGING CLUB AND ALSO CHESS CLUB. HE'S TYPICALLY OUR LAID BACK CHILD, BUT HAS BECOME QUITE SOCIAL AS A 4TH GRADER AND ENJOYS HAVING FRIENDS OVER FOR GAMING PARTIES AND SPORTS.

ANIA TURNED 8 IN OCTOBER OF 2011. WE'RE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT SHE HAS BEEN SEIZURE FREE FOR ALMOST ONE YEAR NOW. IN FEBRUARY HER NEUROLOGIST PLANS ON STOPPING HER MEDS WITH HOPES THAT SHE HAS OUTGROWN EPILEPSY. HER SKIN DISEASE STILL EXISTS BUT THE APPEARANCE IS MINIMAL. WE CONTINUE TO USE TEA TREE OIL ALONG W/HER TOPICAL STERIOD CREAM. SHE IS A HAPPY AND HEALTHY GIRL SCOUT WHO LOVES ARTS AND CRAFTS. ART IS HER FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL, BUT SHE'S ALSO A GREAT SPELLER. ANIA'S NEW LOVE IS "CHAPTER BOOKS." SHE'S VERY PROUD OF HERSELF FOR READING BOOKS THAT ARE LENGTHY. ANIA CONTINUES TO PRACTICE MODELING, FLOWER ARRANGING AND PLANS ON LEARNING TO RIDE HORSES THIS YEAR.

ANIAH WILL BE 5 IN MARCH OF 2012. IN THE FALL OF 2011 SHE BEGAN PRE-SCHOOL. SHE CAN WRITE HER WHOLE NAME AND CAN RECOGNIZE, READ AND SPELL SOME SMALL WORDS. SHE IS A LEADER IN HER CLASSROOM AND IS ALWAYS THE FIRST TO VOLUNTEER. SHE IS A GIVING AND FRIENDLY CHILD WITH A CONSTANT SMILE ON HER FACE. ANIAH IS A VERY HAPPY LITTLE BALLERINA WHO SAYS SHE WANTS TO BE A CHEERLEADER. ANIAH HAS BLOSSOMED INTO QUITE THE CHATTER BOX, (PERHAPS THAT'S FROM HANGING OUT W/HER BIG SISSY ALL THE TIME). ANIAH IS STILL THE ULTIMATE "DADDY'S PRINCESS' WHO LOVES TO SING AND DANCE.

MR. MASON RETIRED IN 2011. THE DECISION SEEMED TO COME EASY FOR HIM, AS HIS DESIRE WAS TO SETTLE THE FAMILY, ASSIST HIS BOYS W/THEIR BASKETBALL ENDEAVORS, AND PURSUE HIS COACHING CAREER. IN THE SUMMER OF 2011 HE STARTED HIS OWN BUSINESS AS A PERSONAL YOUTH WORK-OUT COACH. HE ALSO COACHED THE YOUTH SUMMER CAMPS FOR THE PHOENIX SUNS AND ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY. HE IS CURRENTLY FINISHING UP HIS INTERNSHIP IN ORDER TO OBTAIN HIS DEGREE BY VOLUNTEERING IN GROUP HOMES. ALTHOUGH HE SOMETIMES MISSES PLAYING, HE WILL ALWAYS BE DEDICATED AND INVOLVED IN THE GAME.

MRS. MASON STARTED A NEW WINE BUSINESS, (WINES FOR HUMANITY) IN NOVEMBER 2011. HER COMPANY'S MOTTO IS "A PASSION FOR WINE, AND A HEART FOR OTHERS." WITH THIS BUSINESS A PART OF THE WINE PROCEEDS GO TO HELP A LOCAL CHARITY CALLED "UMOM." HER COMPANY'S GOAL IS TO HELP FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN WHO ARE HOMELESS. SHE ALSO STARTED A NEW CAREER..ENTERING THE CORPORATE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY. BEING THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN THAT SHE CLAIMS TO BE...SHE STILL CONTINUES TO WRITE, ASSIST HER HUBBY W/HIS NEW BUSINESS, IMAGE CONSULT AND MAINTAIN HER HOME.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR BLOG AND TAKING THE TIME TO READ OUR NEWSLETTER. WE ASK THAT YOU KEEP THE MASONS IN YOUR PRAYERS AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW OUR STRENGTH IN THE LORD, OUR MARRIAGE, AND OUR FAMILY. BE BLESSED!
~THE MASONS~
ALTON, ANITA, AJ, ALSTON, ANIA AND ANIAH
"BUT EACH OF US WAS GIVEN GRACE ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF CHRIST'S GIFT."
                                                                   EPHESIANS 4:7

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Yes, she is 4 now...

Aniah turned 4 on March 1st. We've had some friends ask "didn't one of your kids have a birthday this month?" lol! I'm sorry, I have neglected our blog since being back in Europe, hince this very late blog entry. Our other 3 kids remind us their birthdays are coming up like at least a week or 2 in advance, but Aniah didn't realize it until the day of, when we told her. We celebrated her birthday by going out for bowling and pizza that night. The morning of, I made her breakfast in bed, (waffles, eggs, and strawberries) per her request. Aniah has a real love for music and singing so besides a couple of barbies etc., she also got a keyboard, ( Daddy brought that home after practice...thanks a lot hun). Lol!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Alston is 9





Happy 9th birthday Alston!...We love you, we're very proud of you and we pray God blesses you with many more birthdays to come. Happy birthday!:-)
Love,
Mom, Dad, AJ, Ania and Aniah

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

As a hopeless romantic...Valentine's day is one of my favorite holidays and I'm definitely in the spirit. I've heard some say its a made up holiday, its a waste of time, its a waste of money, my spouse is always romantic, you should be romantic everyday, blah, blah, blah. Ok, maybe some of that is true, but to me that's even more of a reason to celebrate...love! No matter the excuse, no matter the reason, we should celebrate love and just take this one day out of the year to do something extra, extra, special in the name of love. Why not right? Holidays are meant to be special and fun so I definitely think that Valentine's day falls into those categories. In these days and times there just isn't enough love going around...."what the world needs now, is love sweet love, its the only thing that there's just too little of!" Remember that song? Lol! But isn't it true? Life is too short, so while we're here together on this earth we should love. Really love! For that reason I just want to wish everyone a very blessed, loving, sweet,  and happy Valentine's day!
...but the greatest of these is love.~1 Corinthians 13:13

Friday, February 4, 2011

We Are Black History!

( Written By AJ Mason )
Mahalia Jackson is our great, great, great, great, great Aunt on my Mom's side.We're glad to know that this wonderful, talented, and beautiful woman is in my family. She was known as "The Queen of Gospel". It's good to know that she was singing for the Lord and that she was a civil rights activist.  The person that reminds us the most of Mahalia is our youngest sister Aniah Mason. She has the same drive and talent for singing just like Mahalia did. All she has to do is pick up her toy microphone, make up a song off the spot, and sing away.She looks so much like my great Grandma (Dollie Ruth Jackson) who was also a gospel singer in our church. Just like Aunt Mahalia my Grandma past away from diabetes complications and cancer, however Aunt Mahalia didn't have cancer. Learning this inspired me to continue to persue my dreams in singing. My Mom always made sure that we celebrate Black History month. So when I heard that Mahalia Jackson was our blood and one of the most greatest singers, why not do a report on her? She starred in one of my parents favorite movies: "Imitation of Life" Here is more information about Mahalia Jackson:

October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an African-American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel".Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world, and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist; entertainer Harry Belafonte called her "the single most powerful black woman in the United States" . She recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records ) during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen "golds"—million-sellers.
Born as Mahalia Jackson and nicknamed "Halie", Jackson grew up in the Black Pearl section of the Carollton neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana  . The three-room dwelling on Pitt Street housed thirteen people and a dog. This included Little Mahala (named after her aunt, Mahala Clark-Paul whom the family called Aunt Duke), her brother Roosevelt Hunter, whom they called Peter, and her mother Charity Clark, who worked as both a maid and a laundress. Several aunts and cousins lived in the house as well. Aunt Mahala was given the nickname "Duke" after proving herself the undisputed “boss” of the family. The extended family (the Clarks) consisted of her mother's siblings - Isabell, Mahala, Boston, Porterfield, Hannah, Alice, Rhoda, Bessie, their children, grandchildren and patriarch Rev. Paul Clark, a former slave. Mahalia's father, John A. Jackson, Sr. was a stevedore (dockworker) and a barber who later became a Baptist minister. He fathered four other children besides Mahalia - Wilmon (older) and then Yvonne, Pearl and Johnny, Jr. (by his marriage shortly after Halie's birth). Her father's sister, Jeanette Jackson-Burnett, and husband, Josie, were vaudeville entertainers.
When she was born Halie suffered from genu varum , or "bowed legs." The doctors wanted to perform surgery by breaking Halie's legs, but one of the resident aunts opposed it. So Halie's mother would rub her legs down with greasy dishwater. The condition never stopped young Halie from performing her dance steps for the white woman her mother and Aunt Bell cleaned house for.
Mahalia was five when her mother, Charity, died, leaving her family to decide who would raise Halie and her brother. Aunt Duke assumed this responsibility, and the children were forced to work from sunup to sundown. Aunt Duke would always inspect the house using the "white glove" method. If the house was not cleaned properly, Halie was beaten. If one of the other relatives was unable to do their chores, or clean at their job, Halie or one of her cousins was expected to perform that particular task. School was hardly an option. Halie loved to sing and church is where she loved to sing the most. Halie’s Aunt Bell told her that one day she would sing in front of royalty, a prediction that would eventually come true. Mahalia Jackson began her singing career at the local Mount Mariah Baptist Church. She was baptized in Mississippi by Mt. Moriah's pastor, the Rev. E. D. Lawrence, then went back to the church to "receive the right hand of fellowship."




I'm proud to say that we are black history thanks to my great, great, great, great, great aunt; Mahalia Jackson. May she rest in peace.