Happy Memorial Day to ALL SOLDIERS, PAST or PRESENT!
30 May 2011 1 Comment
in Memorial Day, Military, Military Man, United States of America, Veterans
I want to wish a HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY to ALL those who HAVE SERVED, ARE SERVING, and WILL SERVE in any branch 
of the United States Armed Forces! I love, appreciate, and honor you for your sacrifice and your service.
I am MEGA proud of my son for his sacrifices!! He puts his life on hold and on the line for family, strangers, the country! Now that is something to be proud of!
I kn0w a few people personally who serve in the Military (ACTIVE duty) and I want DAVID, WINSTON, CINTAJIA, and STEPHANIE to know that I do NOT take what you do for granted! I thank you for keeping our borders, countries, and nation safe! I LOVE YOU!!
I also know those who are no longer active like RACHEL, but who still served selflessly.
I also have many in my family who served and are no longer here but their sacrifice still counts tremendously! Thank you dad, Samuel Thomas Spencer, and all my uncles, cousins, grandfather, and countless others who served this country!
I LOVE YOU ALL! HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
IN GOD WE TRUST!!
REGINA
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http://reginathinks.wordpress.com/
http://reginasoldschoolfridayspot.blogspot.com/
Wow! Where Did November Go?
03 Dec 2010 2 Comments
in Birthdays, Family Updates, Holidays, Kaplan College, Love, Military, The Potter's House
Whew! WOW! November is over! What a CRAZY month THAT was! I have not had the time to do regular updates so here I am on 
December 3rd doing a November Wrap Up blog post! November is an interesting month for my family because it is full of Birthdays (which also makes it a very cash consuming month). It has been a FULL month but I am THANKFUL for it all!
OK, so Let me try to do a QUICK & SHORT monthly update for you!
November 2nd was VOTING DAY! Yes, I know, the outcome that I wanted, I did not get BUT, I already knew how it was going to turn out so I was not blindsided! I did manage to blog about Voting Day here.
November 3rd was my middle daughter’s birthday! Yes, Jess Mess the REBEL turned 22 on this day! If someone had told me 22 years ago that I would have a CRAZY DAUGHTER …yea, I would have believed them! But I LOVE her anyway, crazy or not!
November 11th was my only Grandson’s 1st BIRTHDAY!!!! Yep, my Stinkers turned 1! He also started walking like 4 days before his birthday! The baby has also graduated to a big boy front facing car seat. He thinks the car seat is some kind of throne or something! Now he is a terror on 2 legs!! ~LORD, Help us…~
November 11th is also Veteran’s Day and I ALWAYS think of my Dad on Veterans day (and other days too!). I love and miss my Dad. I appreciate all that service men & women do and DID for this country. I am honored to be the proud mother of a serviceman, and the daughter of a serviceman. Love you Dad, Love you David! Happy Veterans Day Daddy!
November 13th is MY BIRTHDAY but, it is also my youngest son’s birthday as well! Happy Birthday Me, some women do not like to tell their true age BUT hey I am thankful for all 44 of my years! Yes, I turned 44! And Happy Birthday Sammy! My youngest son turned 21!
November 18th was GRADUATION DAY! My middle daughter graduated from Kaplan College’s Medical Assisting program! I am so proud of her. She came here from New York last year, started working, had a baby and got into school! She has accomplished a lot since she has been in Texas!
ALSO on the same night … my Niece graduated from Kaplan College’s Medical Billing and Coding program.
And of course last but certainly NOT least…
November 25 was Thanksgiving Day! This marked the first time some of my family members got to see, I mean REALLY see the less fortunate up close and personal. My mother, my daughter, and my niece went to help serve the homeless along with other volunteers from The Potter’s House. Wow! What an awesome way to give back and show/share the love of God, then to feed those less fortunate than us. I am truly humbled by the selflessness of some people!
So there you have it. My month of NOVEMBER in a nutshell! WHEW!!!!
Be Blessed!
Live, Love & Laugh!
Please visit my other spots:
http://reginathinks.wordpress.com/
http://reginasoldschoolfridayspot.blogspot.com/
Follow-Up To Single Parenting vs US Army Deployment
15 Feb 2010 Leave a Comment
in Black In America, Family, Life, Military, News, Youth Tags: Afghanistan, African American, Black In America, Freedom, Life, Military, National Guard, News, W.T.H., Women
I blogged about 21-year-old Alexis Hutchinson HERE back on November 18, 2009. If you missed the story it was about a young woman named Alexis Hutchinson who is a single mother of one little boy named Kamani. Alexis is an Army Specialist who was stationed in Savannah Georgia and was supposed to be deployed to Afghanistan in November but instead Spc. Hutchinson did not show up. She subsequently was facing charges of AWOL, desertion and other charges due to her not deploying. These charges could possibly end in court-martial, fines and jail time. She said she refused to go because she had no one to care for her infant son. Her mother was originally supposed to care for the boy for the year that Spc Hutchinson would be gone but at the last-minute the grandmother said she was not able to keep the baby. So on the morning of her deployment Spc. Hutchinson did not show up.
I was pleased to read that finally a resolution to the case was amicably reached. Alexis Hutchinson received an “Other Than Honorable” discharge from the US Army. I know this is a relief and a much better resolution than prison time. Read about the story HERE. I wish Alexis and her son Kamani all the best.
Single Parenting ~vs~ US Army Deployment…
18 Nov 2009 2 Comments
in Black In America, Family, Life, Military, News, Politics Tags: African American, Black In America, CNN, Freedom, Life, Military, News, Politics, W.T.H., Women
I heard this on the radio while listening to the Tom Joyner Morning show yesterday and there are still no words to express what I feel about this situation.
Alexis Hutchinson age 21 is an army cook stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. Spc. Hutchinson is also a single parent to a 10 – month old baby boy named Kamani. Spc. Alexis Hutchinson was scheduled for deployment but had no one to care for her child. Hutchinson’s mother already cares for a special needs child, an ailing mother and an ailing sister and the addition of Kamani was too much. According to CNN.com, “The Army said the young mother had plenty of time to sort out family issues and has been confined to her post at Fort Stewart, Georgia, while an investigation unfolds”.
According to abcnews.com, “Her civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, said Monday that one of Hutchinson’s superiors told her she would have to deploy anyway and place the child in foster care”. Hutchinson could face multiple charges including AWOL and desertion. The situation is under investigation and in the meantime Hutchinson is confined to the boundaries of Hunter Airfield.
Read the story and form your own opinion. I can not sit in judgment, but I must say I am concerned and questioning the grandmother’s position on this. I understand that she is caring for a special needs child and caring for 2 ailing relatives AND she is doing childcare in her home. However as soon as she heard that Kamani had been taken from his mom, grandma was on a plane from California to Georgia to care for him… If you can’t count on your family then …
I also definitely have issues with the US Military system. They are so quick to send our men and women over to fight a war without any care or concern about the families that are left behind. ~SMDH~ Either she will still have to be deployed and maybe leave her child in government care or she will be court marshalled and perhaps dishonorably discharged from the army meaning no benefits for her and her child. Can she file hardship papers and get an Honorable discharge from the military? I do not know.
The flip side of this story is the fact that when writing her family care plan she should not have designated her mother as guardian of her child if her mother was not capable of fulfilling that duty. The family care plan is put into place so that if anything happens to the soldier all of the appropriate systems are set into place. When she signed up for the military she was told that deployment at war-time would be a possibility.
There are two sides to every story. The whole thing is a sad situation all around.
Peace & Love…
And The People Say...