Kirk Kellerhals from Virginia Beach spent 50 years of his life believing his biological parents were killed in the Vietnam War and that’s how he ended up in an orphanage and later adopted by an American family. What this man didn’t know was that the truth was way different than that.
Kirk’s biological mother was only 17 when she gave birth. She was a young Vietnamese woman who fell for an American soldier, but her father was against her carrying a serviceman’s child so he gave his newborn grandson at an orphanage.
Source: CBN News/YouTube
Over the years, Kirk often thought of his origin and wanted to learn more about his heritage, so he decided to submit his information to an online DNA database.
Source: CBN News/YouTube
Not long after that, he received an e-mail saying “call me.” He thought the mail was vague but decided to see who sent it not knowing it was the woman who gave birth to him on the other side of the line. She said, “I think you’re my son.”
Source: CBN News/YouTube
Kirk couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He recalled the DNA database sending him a message saying there was a match with the info he submitted but he didn’t take it seriously.
His mother, Thuy-Nga Thi, was living in America with her husband, and soon after the phone call, these mother and son finally met. It was a moment so emotional and touching that no one who witnessed it was able to stop tears from rolling down their faces.
It took five decades for one family to be reunited. A family that shouldn’t have been separated in the first place. Although both Kirk and Thuy-Nga Thi missed out on so much throughout the years, they could now be where they always belonged; by each other’s side.
Take a look at the video below for the whole story. Make sure you grab some tissues before hitting play.
Music is the universal language. It has the power to lift you up even during the darkest of times and serves as consolation whenever we feel down. Our favorite songs are there with us when we celebrate life and the good things that happen along the way.
So, do you need to be talented in order to belt out the lyrics of that music piece that fills your heart with pleasure? Definitely not.
If you haven’t heard of the Choir! Choir! Choir! you are missing a lot. This duo was founded in 2011 by Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman, by chance. It all started as a one-off event for a birthday party and turned into something marvelous.
In fact, this group isn’t a traditional one by any means. This duo’s performances revolve around a single song. People from all ages are welcomed to participate in the singing of the song after Goldman and Adilman teach the song’s arrangement to everyone who wants to be part of something so unique.
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The duo gathered the attention of the public after a marvelous performance of Cohen’s iconic song Hallelujah. Over 1500 people joined in to sing the tune together at the Luminato Festival in Toronto, Canada back in June, 2016.
Rufus Wainwright was a special guest who led the way.
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The performance has been seen over 11 million times and people love it. One person wrote, “I’m here in my house during quarantine and I’m watching my favorite things. I’ve probably watched this video a thousand times and this time I cried harder than ever. Strangers coming together and making something beautiful.”
We hope the pandemic will be over soon and this incredible duo will continue with their live performances again.
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Take a look at the video below to see what 1500 voices singing Hallelujah all at once sounds like. You’ll be amazed.
What was supposed to be a single appearance in an episode, turned into a role that we all love so very much. Family Matters would have never been the same if the producers only hired the suspenders-wearing pre-teen Steve Urkel as a guest star as they initially planned. The viewers went crazy over the Winslow family’s nerd neighbor and the show somehow morphed into The Steve Urkel Show.
Steve was played by young Jaleel White whose talent for acting was discovered when he was just 3 years old by his preschool teacher. One of his first ever commercials was the one for Jell-O pudding.
Jaleel White / Instagram
White became part of Family Matters when he was just 12, and his undeniable talent made millions laugh. His character was easy to fall for and he became a huge star almost overnight.
Steve Urkel changed White’s life forever. After the show was over, however, he had a hard time landing a role as everyone only saw him as Steve Urkel. Back in the day, the actor spoke of this role which marked his acting career and said, “If you ever see me do that character again, take me out and put a bullet in my head and put me out of my misery,” according to The New York Times.
Jaleel White / Instagram
In 2011, White told Vanity Fair that his words were taken out of context during the interview and said, “It’s one of those things that it’s very unfortunate how quotes are taken out of context. I remember that interview very vividly. I loved playing those characters […] But the fact is that I was maturing. […] To be honest, I was retarding my own growth as a man to maintain the authenticity to what I thought that character should be.”
Wikipedia Commons
The impact Steve Urkel had on the wide public was immense. The name became a brand itself and people could buy posters, clothes, trading cards, and even a talking doll of the nerd who wore multi-colored cardigan sweaters and stole the heart of every American out there.
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So, where is Jaleel White today?
Steve Urkel turned into a very handsome man. He graduated from UCLA where he studied film and television and was part of the show Dancing With the Stars. Recently, White launched his podcast Ever After where he speaks with other fellow child stars to see what they are up to nowadays.
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White has a daughter, Samaya, with ex-girlfriend Bridget Hardy. They share the custody but are not on good terms as their split was a nasty one. They both accused each other of domestic violence.
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Family Matters is definitely one of the best sitcoms there are. However, asked whether he would ever agree to do the role of Steve Urkel again, White says, ”I don’t think we need it. I think “Family Matters” belongs in the era of life before cellphones.” He, however, says that a reunion with the cast can take place.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, White’s net worth is $10 million.
Most of us are used to seeing police officers patrolling around the town streets to make sure everyone stays safe and pulling speeding drivers over. One Portland Police Officer has his very own secret weapon in his back pocket, which is a degree in performing musical pieces! Now famous in the local community for his angelic voice, this officer has become an overnight sensation online! It was 20 December 2017 when officer Jeremy Turner had decided to belt out a tune of his own according to the tune of a well-known Christmas classic.
After Officer Jeremy Turner’s partner cracked a joke about singing while out on foot patrol in the Old Port, Turner stood right in the middle of Tommy’s Park and sang his own version of ‘O Holy Night.’ Passersby stopped in their tracks, looked at him and pulled out their phones – nevertheless, Turner continued to sing.
At the end of his performance, the crowd gave him a huge applause!
Although his partner was joking, Officer Turner was proud of his secret weapon. “I’ve been singing since I was 6-years-old and I went to the University of Southern Maine – and have a degree in music performance,” he said. Turner graduated and became a dispatcher – afterwards, a police officer. To some of his colleagues, Turner’s singing skills didn’t come as a surprise. Turner was already well-known in his workplace for his singing abilities, as he also sang the National Anthem during his graduation from the local police academy.
The video footage went viral overnight almost instantly, gathering as much as 10,000 worth of views from across the country. Turner’s boss, Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck, welcomes the attention by saying: “It humanizes law enforcement officers at a completely different level. That’s who Jeremy Turner is. That’s the real deal. He’s always smiling, he’s always laughing.”
Simon Cowell is definitely the most famous name in the music industry. And as we all know just how successful he is in his profession, his love life had some turbulence over the years.
Today, he’s together with the mother of his child, Lauren Silverman. Their story started as an affair while she was still married to husband Andrew Silverman.
Before he settled down, however, Cowell had other relationships with very beautiful women, which isn’t surprising, really.
Youtube
When he was 16, Cowell dated Paula Hamilton for a couple of years. She later became a model and spoke of just how important he was for her. “I couldn’t read or write until I was 11. So I was called stupid and bullied by teachers,” Hamilton said according to Yahoo. “Simon was really important to me because he stopped them picking on me.”
His next relationship was with model Louise Payne. The two were very much in love and Cowell asked her to marry him, but they broke off their engagement in 1998. Apparently, the reason was that she wanted to have children and he didn’t. In 2002, Cowell started dating Terri Seymour. Their relationship ended after six years, but the two remained very close friends until this day. “We will be the best of mates, but I think in relationships, you have to be totally honest. I have always been and I know Terri knows that,” Cowell said after the breakup.
Teri is now a very good friend of Lauren as well. They hang out together very often and their kids are playing together. Cowell even organized Teri’s daughter, Coco, her fifth birthday party.
Terri Seymore Wikipedia Commons
Cowell met Lauren during a vacation in Barbados in 2004. She was married to his very close friend, New York real estate mogul, Andrew Silverman. They started an affair in 2009 and in 2013, Lauren got pregnant. Everyone was in complete shock to learn that the father of the baby was Simon Cowell.
What followed was a nasty divorce battle between Lauren and Andrew, who felt betrayed by his long time friend Cowell. Until January 2015, Cowell wasn’t allowed to get near the now ex-couple’s son Adam. Andrew requested that in case Cowell saw Adam more than three times, Lauren would lose the rights to contact with her son until it was decided what will happen next.
Simon Cowell and Andrew Silverman Youtube/Patrick Wanis
Andrew finally decided to speak openly of what was going behind his back all those years and told New York Observer, “I learned a lot about myself as an individual, the importance of family. My focus has been on my son, Adam, throughout the whole ordeal. I think for both of us, making sure our son has a normal environment is the primary focus.”
Cowell also spoke of the affair he had with Lauren, saying, “It is not something I am proud of or wanted to happen in terms of hurting anyone. It just happened,” according to Mirror.
Eric was born on Valentine’s Day in 2013 and was named after Cowell’s father. It seemed like the judge whom we all know as the harsh critic on the show needed a child to soften his heart. “People have asked me if I have changed since I have had Eric and of course you do, you can’t help it,” he told Daily Mail.
Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman are very happy together. “I think Simon has changed me,” she told Hello Magazine in 2015. “He makes me laugh all the time. I can’t get angry with him because when I’m trying to be cross he just makes me laugh. I feel I learn so much from him, which is incredibly inspiring. He’s very talented.”
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When asked whether they are planning on getting married, Cowell says he never really plans in advance because it’s always for the best to let things happen they way they do.
In-laws! When you get married, they enter your life whether you like that or not. Most people get along with their spouse’s family, but let’s get honest, when it comes to mothers-in-law, things can get messy at times. I don’t know why it is like that, but I am sure you’ve all been there, done that, at certain point in your life.
One mom was happy to get her her baby daughter to her husband’s family. As they were all gathered around the cute bundle of joy, the mom realized she had to leave the house and pick up a prescription. But, she was leaving her baby in the safe hands of her husband and his mother, so what could go wrong?
Well, it looked like the grandma was waiting for an opportunity to spend some time alone with her granddaughter for some time now. Why? Because she didn’t like the girl’s hair. So, she decided to change it without the mother’s permission.
When the baby’s mother got back home she was in complete shock. Her baby daughter’s hair was complete shaved off.
The explanation behind the act of the grandmother was that all babies should go bald.
Needless to say, the daughter-in-law was angry and mad. She turned to her husband and asked him how he could allow for something like that to happen. She was out for just a couple of minutes and she came to this, so what could have possibly taken place if she had left her little one with the mother-in-law for a day or longer?
The baby’s father could see how angry his wife was. But he then confessed how he was the one who agreed for his mother to shave his daughter’s head. What’s most, he even helped in the process.
The grandma tried to defend herself by saying how she had to do what she did in secret because she asked her daughter-in-law to shave the baby’s head before but she kept saying no. Well, she’s the baby’s mother, and if she doesn’t want for her daughter’s head to be shaved why would you even ask twice, let alone do it behind closed doors?
Eventually, the three had a long conversation and the mother-in-law said how she would never do anything against her daughter-in-law’s will when it comes to raising her granddaughter. As for the husband, he did agree to be less of a mamma’s boy.
People’s opinions regarding this story were divided. Some believed the mother was completely right for getting mad, but others believe how grandmas should have a say as well. So what are your thoughts on this?
All the decorations around us, the sparkling Christmas trees, people rushing to buy gifts for their loved ones, and the euphoria felt in every neighborhood announce the arrival of the so much-anticipated holidays.
However, the festivity is not the same without the beautiful nativity scenes that depict the birth of our Savior. They are pretty much everywhere, in every church and every house, but this year, a nativity scene like no other was set at the Wags To Riches, a grooming company in England.
And as you might be guessing, what makes this particular scene so unique is that the main characters are freshly groomed pups. To be honest, we think this is beyond adorable.
And now if you wonder how these lovely doggies managed to stay still during the photoshoot, here’s the answer. “It’s amazing what dogs will do for a biscuit,” the owner of Wags to Riches said. “They were all happy to sit for the photo.”
The dogs are all well-behaved and belong to the shop’s clients, except for the one in the manger, which is a figurine doll.
Once these photos went viral, Wags to Riches decided to do more photoshoots for different occasions, including New Year, Valentine’s, and the Royal Wedding.
We are so excited about the royal wedding here at Wags To Riches, we decided to recreate our own wedding at doggy daycare.. 🥂🎂🌞😊🐶🐶xx pic.twitter.com/PYR6lEXAuZ
— Wags to Riches Pet Services (@to_wags) May 16, 2018
Although we love all these photos so very much, we can all agree that none really beats the nativity scene. And yes, the audition for this year’s holidays is ongoing, and it looks just like on the photo below.
Hugh Bonneville, who is probably best known for portraying the role of Lord Grantham Robert Crawley in the British historical drama series Downton Abbey, stunned his fans with his new looks after loosing weight.
Wikipedia Commons / Marie-Lan Nguyen
Well, I guess the actor himself won’t be satisfied reading an introduction like this for himself because he always spoke of his work and his movies before this hit series and says that when fans and media identify him with the role of Robert Crawley it feels to him like he never stared in a movie before he took that role. But he still confesses that it was the series that changed a lot both in his personal and professional life.
”I’ve always tried to say: “Oh it has not, it has not,” but of course it has – totally. I managed to keep working for 25 to 30 years before but in terms of the opportunities that it has afforded all of us, it has been remarkable. And the friends we’ve made around the world have been extraordinary, as well as to know that in every territory that the show has been shown it has been successful and loved,” Hugh told Berkshire Life.
Facebook / Hugh Bonneville
Of course, he was famous in Britain before, but it was after Downton Abbey that he gained a worldwide fame.
Hugh has a degree in theology from Cambridge University but his career took a different path when he realized how much he wanted to be on stage and in front of the camera. Becoming an actor turned to be his calling and he built an impressive career in the film industry over the years.
Speaking of his decision to join the National Youth Theater, Hugh told Buzz Magazine, ”It changed my life. I never thought I was going to be an actor when I was in my teens, but it gave me an opportunity to explore the thing that I loved doing as a hobby, and gradually it became something I wanted to try as a career.”
Hugh Bonneville / Instagram
Back in 1999, he was offered the role of Bernie in Notting Hill and that’s when he stole the hearts of his fellow British people.
Hugh Bonneville / Instagram
What caught the eye of his fans recently is Hugh’s “new” body. He appeared at the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of VJ Day where he read King George VI’s speech in August looking completely different. In fact, he lost a lot of weight thanks to a low carb diet. Hugh spoke openly about his weight and said how he hired a personal trainer who helps him in the process of changing his lifestyle to a healthier one.
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Many people commented how he looks gorgeous and we can’t agree more.
