Parents show the upside of having kids with Down Syndrome by sharing incredibly beautiful photos of their twins

By
Monica Pop
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Being different means being unique, and parents Julie and Dan McConnel know how to accept and cherish uniqueness in a way that steals hearts around the world. When they learned they were going to be a mom and a dad again, they were over the moon. Holding their bundle of joy in their hands was something they were eagerly looking forward to. But God is great, and he gave these two amazing people two reasons to love life; they were about to welcome twin boys.

What’s most, he gave them two sweet little angels with an extra chromosome. This made their sons Milo and Charlie truly exceptional, because fraternal twins with Down syndrome are said to be 1-in-14 million cases.

Having kids with this condition could be challenging, and Julie and Dan were aware of that so they pondered over the thought of giving them up for adoption especially because they already had four children. But now, seeing the sweet boys grow, they are glad they decided to take the journey which now resembles the sweetest and most colorful adventure. Their boys are loved not only by their family, but people from all around the country, as they are true internet sensation.

These parents were perfectly aware of all the stigmas attached to people with Down Syndrome. However, the reality is that these people only share similar facial features, but their character and personality are completely different. And Charlie and Milo’s mom and dad were determined to show that to the world. How they do it? Using social media. And they do it amazingly.

“My hope is to attract families that are receiving a diagnosis of Down syndrome for their child because that can be really scary. I hope that people will find us, and see that this is what life can be like,” Julie told WTSP 10 News.

“It can be fun, it’s full of love, it’s not scary. We have no regrets, and there is so much joy in our lives, and I hope that people will see that.”

The McConnels are doing their best to educate other parents of children with Down’s of all the challenges that may come along the way and how to cope with them in the best way possible.

“It takes them a little longer to meet milestones, but when they meet goals we celebrate like no other parents alive,” she said. “We throw a party and we’re so excited for them when they accomplish those things.”

“It’s big to show everyone else that we are here, and there are all these kids in our community, and we hope that they will see us and remember us and that things will continue to change in our communities with lots of acceptance,” Dan said.

“We’re standing on the shoulders of other parents that have paved the way for all these things to happen and it’s an exciting time to have a child with Down syndrome,” Julie added. “I want to see them grow up and do whatever they want to do.”

We do hope these amazing parents would succeed in their attention to raise awareness about the children with Down’s, so people would finally understand they are no different than any other kid in the way they bring joy to their families.

So forget about the stares, and don’t ever say sorry to a parent when you learn they have a kid with this syndrome, because honestly, there is nothing to be sorry about.

These parents’ story may convince other parents to-be who are considering giving their babies with Down’s for adoption to change their mind.

Arizona woman who collects Christmas trees has 106 displayed inside her home

By
Monica Pop
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When the holidays are just around the corner and our hearts and homes are filled with joy, we can’t help but spread the magic by decorating our yards and houses with lights, a bunch of Christmas decorations and a Christmas tree.

For most of us, one tree is just enough, but there are people like this Arizona woman named Jerri Fleck who go a step further and take things to a whole different level. Believe it or not, she has 106 Christmas trees and decorates each and every one of them.

As you are guessing already, there’s no empty space in her home during the holidays and no matter where you turn, you are likely to see one of her lovely trees.

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If you need a day or two to put the ornaments on your Christmas tree, Fleck spends a couple of weeks decorating. It may seem like a lot of time and effort to some, but she truly enjoys doing that each and every year.

Some of her trees are decorated with vintage cars and stay inside the house all year round, with Fleck adding some Easter elements during that holiday. Some of her ornaments date back to 1906. And as some may say she’s definitely exaggerating, I’d say her place looks lovely and matches the joy and the excitement she feels for the holidays.

Take a look at Fleck’s story in the video below.

Husband finds out he’s having triplets – His reaction melted millions of hearts

By
Monica Pop
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The news of becoming a parent is by far one of the best one can ever get. Just imagine the joy of being called a mom or a dad by someone little who believes you are the best person there is.

A mom of two is sharing with her husband that she’s expecting again. But what is different this time is that she’s carrying triplets, so that will make her and her husband parents of five. She decides to surprise him at work with the ultrasound and is secretly filming his reaction. All the people who have seen the video and commented on it agree that the way this dad reacts to this incredible news is more than enough to earn him the “father of the year” award.

At first, he’s totally confused and doesn’t figure out immediately that they are having three babies, but once he becomes aware of what is going on, he just can’t hide his excitement. His wife is somewhat concerned that their family will become that much bigger, but he assures her that welcoming triplets is the best thing in the world.

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All he wants to know is whether the babies are all healthy and fine.

“His reaction is so comforting to me. And I’m not even the one pregnant, nor am I female,” one person wrote. “Did not hesitate to put her and the kids 1st, did not think of one negative and was more concerned of her shock….. That’s a man!” another person added.

The rest of the comments are somewhat similar. “That right there is a DAD. Not just a father. A dad. All he wanted was to make sure everyone was healthy, and then priority #2 was a bigger house. I’m sobbing like an infant I can’t even handle this.” “If my future husband doesn’t react like this to my pregnancy I’m going to abort the husband.”

Words of praise come from people from all over the world and the video has been seen almost 10 million times. Make sure you check it out below.

Ventriloquist Terry Fator and his puppet Tompkins belt out Elvis’ “Blue Christmas” and they sound incredible

By
Monica Pop
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If you possess a unique talent, I guess America’s Got Talent is the best show to go for. The stage of this show has seen it all. From singers and dancers, to acrobats and comedians, you name it. What is interesting is that AGT has always embraced ventriloquists with arms wide open. In fact, the show remembers three winners with this incredible talent, one of them, or the first ventriloquist to have ever won this show, is Terry Fator.

He said that before he auditioned, he was certain he would never really make a career in the showbiz and all he ever hoped for was to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman, just like one of the contestants from the previous season.

Well, as we all know it, he got a lot more than he expected. In fact, after winning the show, Faton had to turn Letterman down 14 times before he found the time to be his guest. “My schedule got so packed, and it broke my heart every time I had to turn him down,” Fator told The Joplin Globe.

After many years, Fator got back to the stage where it all started and stole the hearts of millions of people once again together with his puppet Maynard Tompkins who is an Elvis Presley impersonator. Fator performed Blue Christmas through Tompkins and showed his incredible singing skills.

This is so worth watching and sharing with your friends. Take a look at it in the video below.

“Secret Santa” gives $100 bill to a desperate man he meets by chance and changes his life forever

By
Monica Pop
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Doing good never gets out of style. And no matter how tiny a kind deed may seem to us, it can change the world to those receiving it. Now, if you don’t believe in kindness and the magic of Christmas, just take a look at this incredible story, and you’ll think otherwise.

Steve Hartman from CBS witnessed a miracle taking place right in front of his eyes when he went “On the Road” to Reading, Pennsylvania together with the “Secret Santa” who is making a difference each and every Christmas. This secret good-doer is a rich businessman who gives $100 to random people, thus spending around $100,000 overall.

When in Pennsylvania, “Secret Santa” handed money to a man named Thomas Coates, a 30-year-old drug addict who was hoping for a miracle, and got one.

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Namely, Coates struggled with his addiction for a long period of time. He was so desperate to get himself some heroin that he even sold his son’s toys. So, one night, his girlfriend asked him to start praying and seek help and comfort in God. The next day, he got the money from this kind businessman. This all made Coates very emotional. He was off work for a year getting in and out of treatment facilities, but this serendipitous encounter with “Secret Santa” made him determined to get himself clean for life.

Honestly, we hope Coates will manage to turn his life upside down, because as everyone else out there, he deserves a second chance and a clean start too.

Take a look at the inspiring story in the video below and share the Christmas magic with your family and friends.

Kurt Russell playing Santa Claus in “The Christmas Chronicles 2” feels so iconic that he wants it to be his last role

By
Monica Pop
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The Christmas Chronicles 2 is here and we love it, love it, love it! It was released this month and it depicts an incredible holiday adventure. Critics say it’s one of those movies we’ve all been looking forward to, with Jennifer Green from Common Sense Media writing, “The Christmas Chronicles 2” is a holiday blend of action, adventure, comedy, and some drama packed into one gift-wrapped package.“

Why we love this sequel even more is because the legendary roles of Santa Claus and Mrs. Clause are reprised by one of our most favorite Hollywood couples, Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn.

In fact, viewers say Russel gets the title of the best ever TV Santa, and we can’t help but agree. People loved him so much in this Christmas movie that the star is even thinking of retiring after it.

The movie’s director, Chris Columbus, told Yahoo Entertainment of Russel’s plans. “He said to me, ‘I want to walk into the sunset, this being the last role I play.’ He wants to continue doing it. Deep down into his soul, he’s committed to this role. That means eight weeks growing the beard with little additional flourishes, working with the script every night before he shoots with me.”

“It’s an intense commitment. And he takes it very seriously,” the Home Alone and Harry Potter director added.

Over the course of their decades long careers, this powerful couple has starred in five movies together. In fact, it was on the set of The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band in 1966 that they met for the very first time. Their relationship didn’t start right off, but the two only started seeing each other years later. Of course, their off-screen chemistry that lasts for over 30 years only helped turn The Christmas Chronicles 2 even better than everyone expected.

Russel was extremely committed to the role, although it wasn’t one which he would typically play. He grew beard and helped write around 200 pages of a backstory for his character, according to Insider.

Speaking of Russel and Hawn’s relationship both on the set and out of it, Columbus told People, “There’s a tremendous amount of respect there and a tremendous amount of love and trust, partially because they’ve been together for so long. They just get along beautifully.”

Russel says how this movie and the role of Santa Claus, the most loved character among children from all over the world, is one of his dearest. He got to be that chubby man with white beard who makes every wish come true and brings a little bit of magic in the lives of millions, and that has to feel special.

Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell attend Goldie’s Love In For Kids at Ron Burkle’s Green Acres Estate on November 3, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

“This movie for me is like a love letter to my dad. He was our Santa Claus. We never knew if he was Santa Claus or if he was just really close to Santa Claus. We didn’t know if he was just our dad being Santa Claus because secretly it was always shrouded in mystery. Wonderful, wonderful mystery. He was just fantastic,” the actor told Global News.

Russel’s commitment to this movie could also be seen from the lines he wrote himself, like the one Hawn utters when one of the characters says he’s never forget her, “Oh, you will from time to time, and that’s how it should be.”

Make sure you watch this incredible movie if you still haven’t.

“We’re in this together” – Nearly 400 students sing and dance at graduation ceremony

By
Monica Pop
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For most people, the college years are the best and most memorable years of their life. They represent the time of our youth and a period in which we make friends for life. The end of that incredible life journey culminates with a graduation ceremony, when we see some of the people we shared a classroom with for the last time in our life.

One may say that these ceremonies are somehow dull, because students’ names are called out and excited family members are there to applaud, but with the coronavirus pandemic that affected the entire world, we understand that we shouldn’t ever take things for granted, not even the graduation ceremonies, which this year’s students won’t be able to attend.

Source: Screenshot via Elixir Viktor/YouTube

The ceremony from the video below took place last year and it is probably the best you have ever seen. Around 400 students danced in perfect harmony to the delight of everyone witnessing their performance.

These students at Holy Trinity College of General Santos City Senior High School in South Cotabato, Philippines will definitely make your day.

Source: Screenshot via Elixir Viktor/YouTube

Apparently, the choreography was done by one of the teachers, Jeatrin Oro, and the students learned it in just two weeks time, pretty impressive I’d say.

The song they danced to is We’re in This Together from High School Musical. They also sang A Million Dreams from the 2018 movie The Greatest Showman.

Source: Screenshot via Elixir Viktor/YouTube

Dressed in green capes, they stole the hearts of millions of people who stumbled upon the video. In fact, it was shared by one of the students, Ric Sherwin Versoza, who said, “We enjoyed it a lot but also at the same time, [it was] sad for it is also our last dance… And the last time we’ll be seeing each other.”

Some of the comments by the viewers were: “Y’all I went to the W R O N G school,” and “That…was the most impressive thing I HAVE EVER SEEN DONE AT GRADUATION.”

Source: Screenshot via Elixir Viktor/YouTube

This is definitely worth watching. Check it out below.

The story behind the cancellation of the iconic TV series “Bonanza”

By
Monica Pop
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When a series is on for a longer period of time, fans feel like the characters they see on TV every day become someone they know personally. So, when such a show is over, we feel sorry and as though we were forced to say that final goodbye without ever wanting to.

Bonanza aired for 13 and a half years and is still considered one of the best TV shows ever made. People not only from the States but from the whole world were eagerly waiting for each episode to air. The Cartwrights, father Ben and his three sons, Little Joe, Adam and Hoss, were our everyday heroes who faced many difficulties as they ran their large Ponderosa ranch while always helping their neighbors.

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The show was extremely popular, so when it was canceled after 14 seasons, both the cast and the millions of fans were left in shock.

The actors who helped shape the show in what it was and what it represented, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, David Canary, Bill Clark and Mitch Vogel among the rest, were all huge stars. While Robers left the show in 1965, calling it a “Junk TV” and later regretting his words, the rest of the characters remained with the show until its very end.

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The sudden death of actor Dan Blocker seemed to be one of the main reasons why producers and directors decided it was enough. The loss of Blocker was a shock for his fellow friends. They found it hard to return to filming knowing their Hoss was no longer there.

“After Dan’s death, I didn’t see how the show could continue,” Lorne Greene told TV Guide following Dan Blocker’s passing. “I said to my wife, ‘That’s it. It’s finished.’ I know Michael Landon felt the same way.”

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Landon had a hard time accepting that Blocker was forever gone.

“The first day we went back to work was just incredible, it was so bad,” he said.

“Everybody was just trying to force good humor, because here we were, back in the same place again. Fortunately, we stayed out of the dining room that day. We’ve had so many laughs in that dining room over the last 13 years, and that’s where Dan and Lorne and I did most of our horsing around.”

Wikipedia Commons

The final season was very emotional because Hoss was no longer there.

When the news that Bonanza was canceled spread around, LA Times reporter Gregg Kilday wrote:

“Last Monday morning, a stranger rode into town. A man out of the East in the hire of the National Broadcasting Co. It was his job to inform the cast and crew of “Bonanza” that their series had been canceled in midyear. After 13 1/2 years of riding the high country of the Ponderosa, the Cartwright family had finally been gunned down.”

“It was a businesslike farewell as the actors and crew went through the familiar motions of piecing together yet another conflict in the troubled history of “Bonanza’s” Virginia City.”

Speaking of the end of the series that marked an era, Lorne Green said, “If we had known this was coming we would have gone out with a bang and not a whimper.”

One thing is certain, Bonanza, the longest running series with 431 episodes, was and still is loved and watched by many.

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