During our lifetime we witness injustice being done and generosity is slowly becoming something we hear less of.
However, people who do kind deeds are still among us and because of their hearts of gold our faith in humanity is restored.
While they were growing up, twin brothers Henry and Harrison would go into the woods with their father Shane McDaniel where they would help him harvest firewood. This activity never bothered this hardworking family. On the contrary, they see it as a great way to bond and help the community at the same time.
There was a heavy storm in the place of Lake Stevens, Washington which caused lots of trees to fall down.
“I had a lot of wood I had to cut because of storm damage and trees that were taken down. It just kept piling up and piling up. Once it got to be such an amount of wood we decided we could do something better with it,” Shane said.
This father and his sons came up with the most incredible idea possible. Namely, they decided to combine their hard work and their generosity by offering firewood to those in need of some.
Speaking to PEOPLE Magazine, they said: “The Pacific Northwest is a pretty rugged area, it’s cold and wet. Once I started, I saw the need and my eyes were opened up. So many people were stopping and asking to buy it and we just started giving it away.”
In the period of seven months, starting from March through October 2018, Shane, Henry and Harrison managed to chop firewood enough to fill 80 trucks.
After offering the firewood to those who needed it the most, they still had a lot left so they took to Facebook to spread the word and ask from people to sign up if they were looking forward to a hot and cozy home during the winter time.
People who stumbled upon the post were surprised by the act of kindness which soon went a long way. Many wanted to be part of what the McDaniels were doing so they volunteered to help distribute the firewood.
“It’s a pretty wonderful thing to see. You can just see this feeling of pride and sharing that I don’t think they had before,” Shane said.
“When you do good things for people, they don’t forget. I love helping people.”
If only more people were as noble as this family, this world would be a much better place.
Please share this story with your family and friends. It may inspire someone to do a kind deed.
If you’ve ever been a babysitter or even taken responsibility for someone else’s children then you will know the burden or responsibility that rests with you when you look after the children that are not your own.
There are many babysitters that take this responsibility and the job very seriously and most certainly go above and beyond what their parents ask for, without a doubt!
Kiersten Miles had been caring for George and Farra Rosko’s three children for some weeks, however when one of the children’s lives was in jeopardy, kiersten had to make a scary life changing decision.
The Roskos will be forever thankful for the decision she made!
Facebook
A 22 year old student from New Jersey, Kiersten Miles, needed to work to support her studies, she contacted the Rosko family through a friend and started working for them straight away.
Kiersten quickly formed a powerful bond with the couple’s three children, most of all their youngest daughter, called Talia.
Some sad news came and the doctor said that Talia needed a new liver, she had a very rare and life threatening liver disease, Kiersten was right there without even a second thought to offer if part of her liver could help.
George and Farra and Rosko were unsure at first and explained to Kiersten how much a of serious thing it was that she was offering. Donating a part of your liver is not at all like giving blood, invasive surgery is involved for one and then there are many risks too.
Kiersten stuck by her decision and applied straight away to be a donor for Talia, when she got the test results, Kiersten was a perfect match for Talia!
Talia’s parents were ecstatic and more that thankful to Kiersten for her selfless act, however, they made sure that they didn’t push Kiersten at all to make the decision, they didn’t want her to regret it later.
Kiersten certainly had no regrets at all, and on the 11th January 2017, she and Talia took the journey to hospital to undertake the 14 hour surgery together.
Over the last few years, Law enforcement officers had had hard times, and things are only getting harder. Many Officers have been singled out and attacked as well as some people assuming that all cops are bad cops, or corrupt in some way.
Well, one restaurant decided they would make a difference, a place over at Gallipolis, Ohio decided to show the men and women in uniform that they are valued and appreciated. The sign in the window is really causing a stir!!
To absolutely prove to all the men and women in uniform that they have the city’s wholehearted appreciation for their work everyday, each time they put their own well being on the line to keep us all safe.
A delicious hot meal is no better way to fuel up before, during, or after a hard day and maybe even keep the streets even safer, how wonderful!
Ever since the sign has been pinned in the KFC window, things have gone crazy, it’s gone completely viral getting well over 5,000 shares and 10,000 likes on Facebook.
The store’s employees have even been joining in and commenting on the Facebook post, they absolutely do server all the uniformed police officers, completely FREE all day, every day!
You might expect the most people will be supportive and super happy about it, especially the men and women of the police force, but, there are also plenty of people that are not happy at all!
Some people really didn’t like what the store owners had done and said that they believed that all first response services should be included, not just the police, even the administer of the Ohio Going Blue, an officer of the law, too said he couldn’t agree more.
He said:
“This is a positive post, but some of you can’t see the bigger picture. As an officer, I do not go into any establishment expecting [or] wanting anything to be free or…. even a discount, whether I’m in uniform or not, and I can tell you other officers feel the same way. We don’t like ‘special treatment.’ The fact is that KFC is acknowledging law enforcement, which is why this was posted. To those who stated that other first responders should also be acknowledged. My answer? ABSOLUTELY.”
The fine officers of the law lay their well being on the line for us every day, and do their very best to keep us safe but have nothing in return, so to give them a free meal and keep them fueled up for their long day is reasonable….
Why do you think of the KFC sign in the window? Do you support it?
Cupid, an incredibly loving and loyal dog from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was left behind. His family moved places and didn’t take him with them. The poor dog couldn’t understand what happened and why his humans wouldn’t open the door to the house for him, not knowing the place he considered home was now completely empty.
Cupid was left without any food or water, and whenever he would go around trying to find something to eat he would always get back to his house’s front porch.
Source: Facebook/ Speranza Animal Rescue
Thankfully, Cupid’s state of confusion and desperation came to an end after Janine Guido, the founder of Speranza Animal Rescue, learned of his sad fate.
However, getting near Cupid wasn’t an easy task. She approached him a couple of times, but he always ran away towards the porch and tried getting inside, looking for his humans to save him from Janine. But what Cupid didn’t know at that point was that Janine was in fact his savior.
Source: Facebook/ Speranza Animal Rescue
Janine never quit trying earning Cupid’s trust, and once they became friends, she could finally help him.
She was left heartbroken. How could some pet owners be so cruel as to abandon their dog who loved them unconditionally?
Janine shared her disappointment through a Facebook post she shared.
“This is what your dog does, When you move out and leave him behind….”
“I got a call this afternoon regarding your dog. That has been roaming around Harrisburg since you moved out. And more often than not he was seen lying on your porch.
“When i got there your dog was eating out of a dumpster. And when i tried to approach your dog he took off to his ‘safe place.’
“When I approached your doorstep , your dog frantically jumped up and scratched at the door – begging for you to let him in.
“Your dog then bolted once again, and ran down alleys. Away from me – the stranger trying to help him.
“The next time I approached your dog on the porch he sat there. He wasn’t interested in my food. He wasnt interested in me. He wanted back inside your house. He once again clawed at your door, but no one was there to let him in.
“I spoke to your dog and he would bark at me and yet again took off down the street.
“The next time he came back to your porch i spoke to him and told him I’m here to help. Help to get him off the streets.
“At that moment it was like your dog understood. He didnt bolt. He walked up to me and sat down. Allowing me to leash him.
“I cried as i put your dog into my car. And even though I probably sounded crazy I explained to your dog what was going on the whole ride home.
“‘I’m so sorry you were let down. But i hope you realize we are here to help. And you will never be left alone again.
“Welcome to the Family, Cupid.’”
The staff at Speranza Animal Rescue fell in love with Cupid the moment they laid their eyes on him.
Sweet Cupid treats them with licks and kisses as a thank you for keeping him safe and loved.
“He has been nothing but the sweetest gentleman since coming to the rescue,” Janine said speaking to The Dodo “You can tell he’s still really confused. But he is happy to meet everyone with a wagging tail.”
Cupid’s story touched the hearts of many. As for now, more than 50 families are interested in adopting him but he’s not ready to leave the shelter yet. He should get neutered and get over the trauma of being left behind.
The staff believes he can get along with little kids and other pets, including cats, as he was sharing some food with a stray cat at the time of his rescue.
Have in mind that even though Cupid is not ready to be adopted yet, there are plenty of other animals at the shelter who are.
“We know he’s super cute and he has a sad story, but so do many others,” Guido stated. “We have so many amazing dogs that are available for adoption, please consider one of them.”
If you wish to see what Cupid’s days look like at the animal rescue go to the video below.
When baby Theodore “Teddy” Nelson was born, doctors told his parents that their little bundle of joy had a congenital heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Since this condition affects normal blood flow through the heart, sweet Teddy was forced to undergo an open-heart surgery just 15 minutes after he was welcomed into the world.
It was devastating news for his mom and dad, but they never lost hope and prayed for the surgery to go as planned. Shortly after, Teddy underwent another surgery.
“Around the second open heart surgery he suffered a stroke,” mom Alexandria Nelson told “Good Morning America.”
Source: Facebook
Neither she nor her husband were certain about the future of their beautiful son. They knew the little one could experience more health issues and didn’t know whether or not he would be able to smile. However, after 185 days, he treated his parents with the cutest smile and melted their hearts.
“We weren’t sure the connections were there in the brain to allow a smile to show on his face. It really gave a huge glimmer of hope for the future that he’s able to overcome these obstacles,” the proud mom said. “That’s what the smile meant to us.”
The best thing of all was that they were able to capture Teddy’s enchanting smile on video which they later shared on social media. Teddy’s first major milestone, his ability to smile, has been seen by thousands of people from all over the world.
“His sister was in the room; [Teddy] loves to hear her voice and my husband, he has the special touch,” Alexandria explained.
Of course, more surgeries would follow in the future, but for now, Teddy is doing great and spreads happiness and joy.
“They call him feisty and we love it,” the mom said. “Half the time we don’t give him enough credit … he [has] so much determination and fight.
“I always say, ‘Theodore’s half a heart produces twice the love.’”
We truly hope baby Teddy would reach more milestones and would be able to lead a normal life.
The devastating tornado which hit Iowa on Saturday claimed the lives of seven people, four of which were part of a same family.
Among those who lost their lives were Michael Bolger, 37, his two young children, 5-year-old Kinlee Bolger and 2-year-old Owen Bolger, and his mother-in-law, 63-year-old Melissa Bazley whom the Bolger family was visiting at the time the tragedy struck.
Michael’s wife, Kuri Bolger, and their eldest child, 8-year-old Brysen, survived. The boy has already been discharged from hospital while Kuri is still being treated for her severe injuries.
Twitter/The Weather Channel
According to reports, late Bazley didn’t have a basement in her home which was located near rural Winterset, just outside the capital Des Moines so some of the family members didn’t stand a chance when the tornado hit.
One of Bolger family’s long time friend, Kayla, set up a GoFundMe page to help Brysen and his mom with the medical expenses. A huge number of people who got deeply touched by this tragedy donated money and so far around $540,000 has been raised.
Michael’s mother, Lynn Larson, told NPR News that the entire family is devastated. Her heart is filled with grief and she can’t believe that her son and two of her grandchildren are forever gone. “I just can’t describe how wonderful Mike was. Everybody loved him,” she said. “It just rips your heart out. My grandchildren were wonderful. They were just the light of my life,” the heartbroken mother said.
Source: GoFundMe
Two of Bazley’s neighbors, Rodney Clark, 64, and Cecilia Lloyd, 72 also lost their lives. The seventh person who died when the tornado struck was from Lucas County, located around 54 miles southeast of the capital Des Moines. A number of people have been injured as well.
We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our hearts go out to the grieving families who lost their loved ones.
One devastated mother who lost her son in a tragic manner is warning everyone of the dangers of opoid abuse.
In a touching Facebook post, Sherri Kent explained that her 22-year-old son Michael overdosed on prescription painkillers. He took a fatal dose of the drug fentanyl, which is around 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
“I just want everyone to know that my son Michael overdosed on fentanyl,” this heartbroken mother wrote. “My son was not an addict he made a mistake that cost him his life.”
Facebook
Along with the warning, Sherri shared a photo of Michael in his hospital bed, intubated and probably unconscious, while she is holding him in her arms.
Facebook
Michael Kent passed away on March 21.
According to his mom, Michael and his sister were running errands when they stumbled upon an unknown man who offered them drugs, as per CBC. This happened a day before the tragedy struck. Michael sister told him not to take the pills, but he met with the man the following day. He bought the drugs and took them inside the store’s bathroom, where he overdosed.
“By the time the ambulance got there he was in cardiac arrest,” Sherri told CBC.
Michael was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
“Believe me, it was the worst days of my life,” Sherri said.
According to the Huffington Post, “deaths due to opioid overdoses have risen sharply in the past few years, partly due to a particularly potent drug called fentanyl. Fentanyl is between 50 and 100 times more powerful than another opioid, morphine, and its use seems to be on the rise in the U.S.”
Fentanyl overdoses in Canada, particularly in the area where Michael resided, are also on the rise, CBC reports.
“I just want to make everyone aware of the epidemic that’s goin (sic) on right now that’s killing 5-7 people a day in every city in Canada,” Sherri wrote. “It’s out of control and there is no way to protect our children from this other than to warn them of the dangers of drug use today.”
Facebook
“They made me a spot on the bed where I could lay with my son and talk to him,” the mother said. “This is where I told him I was still proud of him.”
Sherri’s touching and heartbreaking post went viral. People offered their condolences and prayers, and she is glad it reached to thousands of people because it means she helped raise awareness.
We are very sorry for this mother’s loss and we thank her for sharing her son’s story because it can prevent at least a few overdoses of this dangerous drug.
Elderly people are a valuable members of every society. Their contributions in providing wisdom and advice to younger generations should always be acknowledged. We need to treat these people with respect and appreciate their presence in our lives.
Mr. Alfred Rogers fought in the World War II and has had quite a life. In February 2022, he reached an important milestone when he turned 100 years old. His family organized a lovely birthday party for him and he was astounded by the beautiful gesture.
“There are not many times in my life I have been speechless, but this may be as close as I’ll ever get,” Rogers said, as per 11 Alive News. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. This is something I’ll never forget.”
Source: YouTube
Speaking of everything he achieved during the course of his long and fulfilling life, Mr. Rogers said one of the best things he has ever experienced is getting to hold his great-granddaughter in his arms. “I got to hold my first great-grand baby,” the proud great-grandfather revealed. “She’s a 3-month-old little girl.”
Mr. Rogers’ daughter, Betsy Rogers, says she can’t believe her father turned 100 years old.
“It doesn’t feel like 100 years because he does so well. He still lives independently, he still drives,” she said. “He’s tough, he’s loving and highly intelligent.”
Source: YouTube
As for Mr. Rogers, he says he can’t wait to travel with his camper to a new destination, which is something he loves doing.
If you want to learn more of this lovely man check out the video below.
Having a sibling means having a friend for life. Brothers and sisters are those special individuals we can always rely on when things get hard and the first people to share our happiness with.
Bridger Walker and his four-year-old sister were at a friend’s backyard having fun when a German Shepherd tried to attack the girl. Without thinking twice, then 6-year-old Bridger jumped in front of her and acted as a shield. The girl wasn’t hurt in any way, but Bridger got severely bitten on the face. He was left with multiple scars and needed 90 stitches for the open wound to be repaired.
Source: Facebook
Today, a year and a half after the vicious attack, Bridger says he’s proud of his scar because it shows that he did what every brother needs to do and that is to protect his younger siblings. “If someone had to die, I thought it should be me,” the brave boy was reported saying at the time.
Speaking of his son’s selfless act and the scar he has on his face, Bridger’s father, Robert Walker, told People:
“My wife and I asked him, ‘Do you want it to go away?’ And he said, ‘I don’t want it to go all the way away.’
“Bridger views his scar as something to be proud of, but he also doesn’t see it as being representative of his brave act. He just perceives it as, ‘I was a brother and that’s what brothers do.’ It’s a reminder that his sister didn’t get hurt, and that she is okay.”
The story of Bridger’s bravery came to light after his aunt Nikki shared it online. “My nephew is a hero who saved his little sister from an attacking dog,” she wrote.
“He, himself, took on the attack so that the dog wouldn’t get his sister. He later said, ‘If someone was going to die, I thought it should be me.’ He got home from the hospital last night. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m reaching out to the Avengers and other heroes so that they can learn about this latest addition to their ranks.”
To her and Bridger’s surprise, Robert Downey Jr. who played Iron Man and Chris Evans who portrays the role of Captain America both responded with videos in which they praised Bridger’s act.
The boy, however, although happy with the superheroes’ videos, said what he did wasn’t heroic, he just acted the way every older brother should act during such a terrifying situation.
“It almost bothers him sometimes when he’s called a hero, because he [thinks], ‘Maybe I could have done more to shield her,’” the boy’s dad said.
“Chris Evans, his video was amazing and he sent the shield. Bridger couldn’t have been more delighted,” the dad added. “When he talked to Tom Holland, he was probably the most starstruck because that was a live call so that one certainly left an impression… His emotional recovery was really a worldwide effort and that was so special to us.”
Although Bridger’s face now looks better after all the surgeries, he needs to undergo more in the future.
“We still have a little bit more work to do on the superficial, redness part of it, but structurally everything looks so much better,” said Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali who offered to fly Bridger to his office in New York and provide treatment for free. “I always told Robert, ‘When Bridger’s in junior high or high school, I want this to be a story he tells, not a memory he has to relive every day.’ And I think we will have that situation,” the kind doctor added.
Other celebs who reached to Bridger, among the rest, are Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway.
For more on this heroic boy’s story go to the video below. What an awesome young man.
Angela ”Big Ang” Raiola became a huge star when she first appeared on the reality show Mob Wives which captivated the attention of a huge audience.
All of the women who were part of the show were somehow related to the families which controlled the mafia in New York City. Big Ang was the niece of the late Salvatore ”Sally Dogs” Lombardi, one of the “capos” of the notorious Genovese crime family. Besides being famous for her larger-than-life personality and brash demeanor, Big Ang was also known for her plastic surgeries and her distinctive looks; her huge boobs and lips among the rest.
Chance Yeh/Getty Images
In 2001, Big Ang was arrested in Brooklyn when she tried to sell drugs to undercover cops. She was 41 at the time and was actively involved in the work of the mafia. Her role was distributing drugs on ”street-level.”
As the leader who Big Ang worked for was sentenced to 13 years in prison, she was sentenced to three years’ probation in 2003.
”People ask me why I did it. I was a single mom, supporting my family, paying $3,000 in rent. I did it for the money. I wouldn’t do it again and haven’t since. I learned my lesson,” Big Ang explained back in the day.
She had a hard time spending four months in house arrest because she was a kind of person who wanted to be in the center of attention and loved partying. Because she couldn’t go out, she decided to bring the party to her and organized sleepovers and parties.
”My girlfriends and family came by every day. That also made me feel less claustrophobic. But for someone like me who needs to be where the action is and loves to go out, being confined to one place was torture,” she explained.
She even released a book in which she gave her readers tips on how to kill boredom among the rest.
Mob Wives was praised by critics and reached huge popularity. Ken Tucker, a TV critic on Entertainment Weekly, wrote: ”As someone who’s watched at least a few episodes of every version of the Real Housewives franchise and feels a bit nauseous about it, I didn’t come to Mob Wives with high hopes. But this floridly funny, vicariously vicious reality series exerts a vulgar charm.”
Big Ang stole the hearts of millions of people and was offered spin-offs during which she revealed a lot about her life.
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
She always spoke openly of the many plastic surgeries she had had during her life. She first went under the knife after giving birth to her first child. “After I had the baby my boobs were dead. They just were prunes down to my waist. After my first surgery, I had them redone in 1995. They took the sponges out and put in saline implants. I had a double 36 double D when I was only 14-years-old, so I have always had a big chest,” she told Radar Online.
Big Ang was diagnosed with cancer when doctors discovered a lemon-size tumor in her throat after she complained of neck pain in 2015. She had undergone a surgery but was later diagnosed with stage four breast and lung cancer. ”First I thought I was cancer free. I was going to have a big party. Then a month later I was stage 4,” Angela explained towards the end of her life.
The last time she appeared on TV was for the reunion of Mob Wives when she spent two hours on set but was forced to drag herself there.
When it came to her private life, Big Ang was married to Neil Murphy but their relationship wasn’t a picture-perfect one. She had two daughters and six grandchildren.
Shortly before her passing, Big Ang appeared on Dr. Oz and opened up about her life. ”I felt like he never stepped up to the plate, so I was done with it,” she said of her husband. “Now, it’s too late. I would rather be by myself. I would rather be alone.”
Mike Pont/FilmMagic
Dr. Oz himself tried to share Big Ang’s story.
“By the time she came on the show, she really had wanted to get things off her chest, to say things she knew she needed to say before the end, because she had weeks to months, not months to years left,” he said.
”The most important emotion I heard from Big Ang outside the show was fear — she was scared. I think she knew the end was grasping at her, that she was looking over the abyss of death, a darkness down there that we all fear, and she knew that it was close.”
He claimed that what affected Big Ang’s health was her habit of smoking 40 cigarettes a day. “She started young, like so many, but like so many, by the time she realized she didn’t want to smoke anymore, it was too late to stop — at least she felt that way. And she joked on the show about how she got the diagnosis of throat cancer, and as she walked out of the hospital, she took the pack of cigarettes and tossed them in the trash. And she quit cold turkey, but it was a little late,” Dr. Oz explained.
Big Ang, who lived an opulent lifestyle, died peacefully in February 2016 surrounded by her friends and family.
The best things in life usually come in the most unexpected manner.
A couple from Italy, Martina Russo and Fil, were on the road and driving through Spain’s countryside when they saw a tiny dog running after their vehicle. They found it fun at first because they thought the sweet canine was playing but they soon realized that the reason behind the running was in fact a heartbreaking one.
As the dog was trying to get to the couple, they decided to pull over. They took the dog in their arms and believed it was lost, but as no one was around and there weren’t any houses nearby, they assumed it was either lost or someone abandoned it.
“We… took her to the nearest village to ask if someone had lost her, but no one had ever seen her before,” Martina wrote on Instagram. “We are in the middle of nowhere, no houses or other human life in a long range.
“On the way back we put her back where we found her, thinking she might know to walk back, but she followed us again until we got to the van.”
Martina posted photos of the dog on social media asking if someone was looking for her. A few weeks passed by and no one came forward so they decided to adopt her.
“We took her to the vet the next day, and turns out she was not chipped, not spayed, female, about one-year-old, fur very overgrown and full of gunk around the eyes,” Martina told SWNS.
They named her Moxie and gave her a loving home.
“She’s very sweet and funny, very playful, loves our cats — to be fair, she loves everything and everyone!” Martina said. “We love taking her on adventures, and she makes us laugh every day.
It looks like Moxie was great at choosing which car to chase down. Is it possible that she new those people could become her owners? Well, who knows. The most important thing is that she now has a home.
No matter how old your children are, you never stop worrying for their safety and well-being. This is especially true when they are still young and don’t really know how to take care of themselves.
However, there comes a time, such as when they start school, when they are left in the hands of their teachers and the bus drivers who make sure they get safely to and from school.
And if you are lucky enough, your kid’s school bus driver would be someone as courageous and as loving as this lady named Renita Smith. She loves her job and the kids so much that she refers to them as her babies. Actually there’s nothing this single mother of two wouldn’t do for her passengers’ safety, even if that means getting into a burning bus.
That day was like any other and Renita had no idea it will turn into an ordeal she will never forget. As she was dropping off the students home after classes, she suddenly noticed how the brake light on the bus came on. It did raise concern but she believed she could make it to the fourth stop before she pulled over and made a further examination. But it turned out the problem was way more serious than she assumed as they all smelled smoke.
Renita said: “By the time I picked up the mic to call transportation, my bus was on fire.”
Thanks to her quick thinking and her readiness to act in such situations, Renita managed to get the kids off the bus. Some of the neighbors who witnessed the accident helped get the children to safety. Renita, however, wanted to make sure no one was left behind and then did something truly amazing. She got back into the bus that was all in flames just to make sure no kid was still inside.
Smith says, “Then I ran back into the bus because I needed to make sure that all of my babies were accounted for.”
This lady was ready to put her life on the line as long as her babies were safe and sound. The story of her bravery spread among people from all over the country. Everyone praised Renita for her action, but the one person who was truly fascinated by this woman’s fearlessness was Ellen DeGeneres. The comedian and a host show learned how Renita didn’t have an easy life as she struggled to make ends meet so she invited her over at the show and this single mom got the surprise of her life.
Take a look at what Ellen had up her sleeve for Renita in the video below.
Please share to inspire others to show their appreciation for those who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.
Naomi Judd, one of the best and most prominent country music singers looks as beautiful as always as the age of 76. Although she has stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, Naomi’s career influenced the world of country music a great deal and she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2021 as a member of The Judds alongside her daughter Wynonna.
Naomi gave birth to her daughter Wynonna a week before she was supposed to graduate from high school. Being a mother at 18 wasn’t easy, let alone a single mom. Her boyfriend left Naomi because he wasn’t ready to be a father so she was forced to raise her daughter all by herself. Some time after welcoming Wynonna into her life, Naomi met Michael Ciminiella whom she married in 1964. Four years after tying the knot, Naomi gave birth to her second daughter, renown actress Ashley Judd. Unfortunately, Naomi’s union with Ciminiella didn’t last long and she was once again left to take care of her children alone.
Ebet Roberts/Redferns
Raising two girls wasn’t easy. The family struggled to make ends meet and lived in a cottage in Kentucky where they didn’t have telephone or television. As the place often lacked electricity as well, Wynonna spent most of her time learning how to play the guitar. Over time, she became very good at it and became obsessed with music.
As life in rural Kentucky was a difficult one, Naomi and her girls moved to California where she enrolled a nursing school. She did all in her power to provide a decent life for her daughters and worked as a waitress while attending school.
“There were times when I didn’t know how we were gonna eat, or how I was even gonna pay the small rent that I paid… It still amazes me how I did it,” Naomi said of that tough period of her life.
Once she received her diploma, Naomi and her daughters found a place to stay in Nashville where she found a job as a head nurse in an ICU.
Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency
One day while on the job, Naomi met someone who helped change her life forever.
A patient at the hospital happened to be a man whose father was a record producer who arranged for Naomi and Wynonna to get to a live audition at the music label RCA in Nashville in 1983 and that was the start of something huge.
Speaking of that audition and singing in front of the producers, Wynonna revealed later on:
“It felt very much like going to the principal’s office,” Wynonna Judd recalled. “I was used to singing; I wasn’t used to being in a boardroom full of men. Joe remembers me taking my guitar out of its case just like it was a gun in a holster.
“I could sing in front of 10,000 people, as long as I had my guitar. I was like ‘Xena’ with a guitar. It was my protection, it was my weapon. It was my best friend, it was my purpose for anything and anybody.”
Naomi and Wynonna signed their first record and released their first album Wynonna & Naomi, as The Judds. The world became fascinated with the mother-daughter duo. They released number one hits and sold records for more than $20 million.
Wynonna was tough as a teenager and her relationship with her mother wasn’t always a smooth one. They weren’t great at communicating with one another through words, but music was a different thing. It helped them bond on a different level.
“It happened because of country music, because of the fans. There was never any great epiphany for us to say, ‘Okay, I get it, I understand your reality—you weren’t trying to destroy my life,’” Naomi Judd recalled in an interview with Ability Magazine. “It was just a gradual evolution, and when you share a dressing room, a stage, a hotel room, and you sleep six feet away from each other on the Silver Eagle Bus, you will either work it out, or you’ll kill each other.”
“A very interesting thing began to change when we’d be on stage. I would look out at the sea of smiling faces and sense that they were scrutinizing Wy and me, and that put us on our best behavior,” she added. “There was a real symbiotic relationship taking place at that time. Fans would come to us for advice.”
Ed Rode/Getty Images
At the age of 44, Naomi was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and doctors said she had 3 years to live at most so she and Wynonna had what they believed would be their last tour together. However, Naomi became a medically documented miracle. She was cured and decided to share her incredible life story with people from all over the country by becoming a motivational speaker.
Today, she’s living a quiet life with her husband of 32 years, Larry Strickland.
Chase and Sadie’s love story is one of the most touching and most beautiful ones we’ve ever stumbled upon. Although they were still just teenagers, they loved each other unconditionally and dreamed of staying together forever.
They both believed life was ahead of them, but then, Chase learned he had cancer. Their world collapsed. Their hearts were filled with sorrow. But they decided to pray and hope for the best and use their time together as best as they could.
As his illness progressed, he proposed to Sadie and the two tied the knot during an intimate ceremony in the presence of their parents. This wonderful couple exchanged their vows at Sadie’s yard which was decorated with balloons and flowers. Because of the pandemic, they couldn’t invite many people, but Chase’s father made sure all those people who supported Chase and Sadie be there with them virtually. He shared an emotional video of the newlyweds on YouTube.
They planned the wedding in four days and everything went perfect.
Chase’s mom was over the moon that her son’s wish of marrying the woman of his dreams came true. She compared the young couple’s love story with those from Nicholas Spark’s novels or a Hallmark movie.
In an attempt to help Chase with his cancer, a GoFundMe page was started. Sadly, almost a year after the wedding, he had undergone scans which showed that the tumors spread. In April of 2021, Chase passed away.
The money raised was used for the medical and funeral expenses and the rest was donated to causes which Chase held near and dear to his heart. Rest in peace, young man, you are dearly missed.
Joani and Trevion Clemons, a couple from Atlanta, Georgia, made headlines after their incredible life story went viral some years ago.
These two first met and fell in love with each other when they were still just teenagers but they both knew they were meant for one another. After tying the knot, they welcomed four beautiful daughters together.
Source: YouTube
Although their family of six seemed complete, the Clemons wanted more children. However, once Joani was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, doctors told her she wouldn’t be able to conceive again.
Nine years after welcoming their youngest child, Joani felt a lump in her breast and visited a doctor. However, she never expected the visit to take such an unexpected turn.
“I went in because breast cancer runs in our family and I had a lump in my breast,” Joani told WSBTV. “That’s when [the doctor] told me that was a milk gland.”
The doctor who once told her she couldn’t get pregnant was the same one who gave her the happy news.
The real surprise came after Joani’s ultrasound. She wasn’t carrying one baby, but three. The pregnancy came with certain complications, but at the end everything went well and Joani gave birth to three healthy baby boys who were born three weeks prematurely. They weighted around 3 pounds each and needed to stay at the hospital for 10 long weeks before they went home.
The family of six turned into a family of nine. Devon, Bryce and Miles are now all grown up but it’s always nice to go back to their story and see how they are doing nowadays.
A great number of couples who are struggling to conceive turn to medicine in order to be able to become parents. Such was the case with Guillermina Garcia and her husband Fernando who welcomed a baby daughter but wanted to have more children. They didn’t want their girl to grow up as a single child and desperately wished to give her a sibling, but things didn’t go as smooth as they predicted.
After trying for some time without success, they decided to undergo an IVF treatment. Of course, they were aware this treatment could lead to falling pregnant with twins but they were willing to welcome as many babies as God would gift them with.
When the pregnancy test came positive, Guillermina was over the moon. Some weeks later, she was told she was indeed carrying more than one baby but not in their wildest dreams could this couple imagine they would welcome quintuplets.
Hearing five separate heartbeats was the most thrilling sound this couple has ever heard.
As multiple pregnancy are way more complex than single pregnancies, Guillermina was under the supervision of Doctor Elizabeth O’Brien until the five bundles of joy were finally welcomed into the world at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. The little ones were delivered through C-section at 31 and a half weeks.
Before the procedure, Guillermina’s belly was all covered in bruises which isn’t unusual when carrying that many babies.
Luckily, all five of the siblings were born perfectly healthy and weighted between 2 and 3 pounds each. “It all went very smoothly, better than one would anticipate,” Dr. O’Brien said during a press conference. ”They are all doing remarkably well.”
Fernando, Esmeralda, Fatima, Marissa and Jordan spent six weeks at the hospital before they were ready to go home to their parents and their one-year-old sister Julietta.
“We feel like we’re dreaming,” dad Fernando said in an interview. “It’s incredible that we have five.”
One of Guillermina’s doctors, Tracy Manuck, praised the brave mother and said that despite everything, she never complained about anything.
The five siblings are now nine years old. May Gob bless them and their family.
Before we are quick to point a finger at new mothers who are forced to give up their babies, we should first think of all the reasons that can lead to such a heartbreaking decision. Many times, parents who struggle financially and are unable to take care of a child decide to either put the little bundle of joy up for adoption or simply leave it behind. Since the chances of a newborn baby to survive if not placed in safe hands are slim, a woman named Monica Kelsey, who was abandoned as a baby and then adopted and raised by a family from Ohio, created safe heaven baby boxes.
These boxes are installed on the side of a building, usually fire stations or hospitals. When someone places a baby inside, a silent alarm is activated and firefighters or doctors get to the baby in a matter of minutes, or even seconds. The baby is then rushed to a hospital.
Source: Safe Heaven Baby Boxes
The parents are not charged with abandonment of a child.
Knowing that these boxes can save the lives of a number of children, a teenage boy named Hunter Wart of Seymour, Indiana, made it his mission to collect enough money for one of those boxes to be installed in his hometown. The cost of a single box is $10,000. He did it as part of his senior school project at Columbus North High School.
Of course, saving that much money isn’t an easy task. Hunter spent a lot of time mowing peoples’ lawns and scrapping metal.
“It was a lot of hard work. A lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Hunter’s mom Julia said.
Source: John Wart, Jr.
Shortly after the box was installed, a mother placed her one-hour-old daughter inside. The baby was then taken out of the box and provided with extensive care. “We are ecstatic that the system was used. It worked perfect, exactly how it was designed to work,” fire chief Brad Lucas said. So far, 15 babies have been saved using Hunter’s box.
Tia is a single mother who was lucky enough to meet someone who loved her daughter unconditionally. When she started dating Frank Tyson, her soon-to-be-husband, it was obvious he was more than happy to accept Tia’s daughter Aryanna as his own. In fact, Frank is the perfect example that a step-parent can sometimes love a child more than the biological parents.
Frank and Tia decided to tie the knot after dating for 2,555 days which is the exact amount of time Aryanna waited to ask Frank to adopt her. It was during the wedding ceremony that this sweet girl walked towards Frank and handed him an envelope. Inside was a piece of paper with the most important question written on it. Aryanna asked Frank to officially adopt her. She felt he was her father and wanted to have his surname.
Frank couldn’t contain tears of joy rolling down his face.
Tia, Frank and their daughter Aryanna became a lovely family of three.
Source: Today
In a video of the emotional moment, Frank explains how he felt at the wedding and we are all deeply touched by his words.
Maureen McCormick rose to fame with her role of Marcia Brady in the ABC television sitcom The Brady Bunch, which ran from 1969 to 1974. Later, she appeared in several spin-offs, including The Brady Kids, The Brady Bunch Hour, The Brady Brides and A Very Brady Christmas.
Maureen started her career when she was just six years old after she won the Baby Miss San Fernando Valley contest. What followed were a number of commercials. For a long time, Maureen was considered a teen idol with millions of fans.
Photo by Newsmakers
At the time The Brady Bunch ended, Maureen’s career didn’t go as planned and she started using substances. On top of that, she struggled mentally as well.
“I’ve been through a lot of hard times, but I take all those experiences and learn and grow from them,” she told People in 2016.
Getty Images
During the darkest period of her life, when she felt like there was no way out and struggled to keep herself away from drugs, she met the man of her life at a concert.
“I turned around and saw this guy behind me,” McCormick wrote in her autobiography, Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice.
“I’d never seen him before. He had dark hair, a great build, and chiseled features. I looked straight into his eyes and thought, ‘This is the man I’m going to marry.’”
The man was Michael Cummings. Once she learnt his name and who he was, Maureen started attending the same Bible studies as him. She would also sit next to him at church.
Once they went on a date, they both knew they were meant for each other and it was the start of a relationship and later a marriage which still lasts.
”She was very honest with me from day one. She has always been honest with me, an open book. And I was never worried about her reverting to her old behavior as I figured, whatever comes up, we will just deal with it,” Cummings told Daily Mail in 2015. He was her biggest support whenever she felt fragile and was tempted to turn to alcohol and drugs. “Michael said that he’d made a life-long commitment and decided he was going to work at it until it’s unworkable,” she wrote in her 2008 autobiography. “He thought child stardom had arrested my development, and in many ways he was right.”
The couple welcomed daughter Natalie and will be celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary in March of this year.
“I know there’s one reason that Michael and I managed to stay together through all the heavy-duty ups and downs: our faith,” she wrote. “The two of us had faith that our love, despite all of our problems, was real, strong, durable, and worth sticking around for. Our faith made us believe our love was real.”
Besides being a huge film star back in the day, Maureen has also released a music album which received negative reviews from music critics. She has also been part of few reality shows, including Celebrity Fit Club and I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
True love always finds a way. No matter the circumstances, when two people are in love, they would do all in their power to stay together even if it takes years for them to reunite.
When Penny Umbers and Mark Bethel met, they both knew they were meant for one another. She was living and England and he was from Nassau, Bahamas, but was studying in Nottingham. She was 16 and he was 17 at the time. The two stayed together through secondary school and college. They studied at different universities which were located nearby so that they could continue seeing each other.
Their love was pure and strong, that is why Penny was left utterly heartbroken when he decided to return to his homeland and leave her behind.
Source: BPM Media
Years passed by, but Penny never forgot her first and true love. She married twice and divorced both times. Mark also married someone else, but that union also ended with divorce.
39 years later, he reached to her through social media and that’s when she learned the heartbreaking reason behind his decision to leave her when they were young.
Source: BPM Media
Mark explained how Penny’s father was against their relationship because his daughter is white and Mark is black. While at secondary school, Penny’s dad approached Mark and said to him: “You’ve had your fun, now move on, boy.”
When he realized that Mark wasn’t planning on splitting with Penny, her father went to Mark’s college and threatened to pull ties to have his scholarship taken away.
“I didn’t have a lot of force. I was in a new nation, 3,000 kilometres from home. My scholarship was my only source of income.” Mark explained. Unfortunately, Mark was still very young and felt like he didn’t have a choice.
Source: BPM Media
However, just as the two agreed to reunite, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them to see each other again. They had to wait a year and a half before Penny was able to travel to Nassau. When they saw each other, they picked up where they left off almost four decades ago. What’s most, they are now planning their wedding.
Penny was heartbroken to learn that it was her father who ruined her relationship, but since he’s suffering from Alzheimer’s, she can’t confront him.
Penny and Mark published a book about their life titled “39 Years in the Wilderness.”
“We have had 39 lost years yet we are anticipating a truly incredible future,” Mark said.
Source: BPM Media
We are glad these two finally found their happiness.
Henry is a cute Boston Terrier whose humans love him to the moon and back. Having him around is a true blessing, especially after a heroic deed he did recently.
One night, Henry started acting strange. He never barked at night, but this particular evening he seemed quite distressed and wouldn’t let his owners sleep. He also kept getting inside and out the nursery where the baby was sleeping and was trying to keep her awake. The baby’s mom, Kelly Andrew, got a bit mad and decided to get up and see why the dog was upset. She didn’t want him waking up the baby because she was sick and needed a good night sleep.
Twitter/@KayAyDrew
When she approached her baby, Kelly realized the little one wasn’t breathing. She called the ambulance and the girl was rushed to the hospital. It was then that Kelly learned the dog could sense there was a problem and was only trying to alert the family.
“I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t woken her,” Kelly wrote on Twitter. “We don’t deserve dogs.”
The baby spent the night at the hospital and is now doing much better.
Kelly also thanked the staff at the ER for their quick reaction and for saving her daughter. Had it not been for them and Henry the night could easily end up with a tragedy.
Twitter/@KayAyDrew
Once the story of Henry went viral, other dog owners shared similar experiences which only confirmed once again that dogs are the best pets and friends we could ever ask for.
“We couldn’t figure out for the longest time why my service dog kept going in to my parents room several times a night sniffing my dad’s face and nudging him repeatedly,” one woman shared. “They always pushed her away and she would still circle back. She stopped as soon as he got his pacemaker.”
“I’m chronically ill. There’s been many a time I’ve gone to the hospital because one of my dogs has started sniffing and paying attention to a body part and alerting something’s wrong,” another person wrote. “Dogs are heroes!”
As people get older, the circle of their friends is getting smaller and smaller, and sadly, many of them don’t have any kind of social interaction but spend their days in solitude.
An elderly lady from England named Dorothy ‘Mercy’ Ballard is looking forward to any chance of being around people. That is why she enjoys the company of the garbage collector Ben who picks her trash once a week.
Although they chat for like 10 minutes only, the two became very close friends over the years. In one occasion, Ben told Mercy how he would bring her a cake on her 100th birthday. And a great man he is, Ben kept the promise.
The video of the amazing act vent viral in a matter of days and people are left speechless. They all agree that what Ben did is truly special.
He can be seen walking towards Mercy’s home caring a birthday cake. But he’s not alone. His colleagues are there to wish Mercy a happy birthday too.
Once she opens the door and sees the cake, Mercy is overjoyed. She just got the best surprise ever and she even got to blow candles.
Ben is happy to have someone like Mercy in his life. He says how he has picked her trash in years and she always waits for him at the door with a huge smile on her face. Mercy loves sharing stories about her life with Ben, and he’s more than happy to tell her about the new technologies and gadgets that didn’t exist back then.
I’ve been a binman for about 11 years and love listening to her stories about her life – having been born in 1919 she can hardly believe what technology can do now and she can’t get her head round my phone.
When I was taking the selfie of us with my two colleagues she was saying ‘Where do I look?
These two are an example that when it comes to true friendship, years are just a number.
People loved the story of Mercy and Ben so much that the two became sort of celebrities in the area. Some TV news and outlets even asked them for an interview.
Mercy says she’s very happy that there are still people like Ben out there who respect elderly people that much. As for him, he says he’s happy to be her best friend and wishes for her to reach her 105th birthday so that he can surprise her again.
Lovely Mercy, however, believes that living for a century is more than enough. She has seen so much during her lifetime and we can learn a lot from this charming and wise elderly lady.
Take a look at their interview in the video below and make sure you share it with your friends.
Jaime, who was Brittany Backenhaster’s mother said that her child was so “full of life” and enjoyed singing in church. One day, on the morning, Jamie found her daughter on the floor of her bedroom…
She was lay on the floor having some sort of fit, shaking and gurgling, she was actually having a grand mal seizure, Jamie was familiar with this type of seizure herself.
Jamie had control of her condition with medicine, but conventional means were failing Brittany completely, they began to lose sight of their hope that Brittany could live a normal, whatever that is, life.
Jamie took it very personally and blamed herself for all that was happening, she just kept thinking about how it was her condition she gave to her daughter, she even said it to the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Brittany had such severe fits that she had to wear a protective helmet, so when she had one of the seizures she had some amount of protection from injury, her medicine to try to help her was expensive too!
The strain of having a child that was sick was hard and took its toll both emotionally and financially, one stage Brittany had been in the hospital for three weeks.
Her brain scans showed that her whole brain was seizing, there was nothing they could do for her, doctors told the family to take her home and let her be relaxed and feel surrounded by things she knew at home in her final moments…
Jamie prayed all night long for her daughter, then in the morning, Brittany began to respond for the first time in a year!
The very first words she said were:
“Jesus! Jesus!”
She looked up at her mother and said that she had an encounter with Jesus, she described her experience vividly, not at all like a five-year-old normally would…
Doctors were completely surprised by what had happened, they said that she had a clean bill of health just the day after!
See the story below yourself in the video, and please SHARE with friends and family this truly astounding story…
Many times in life, we experience certain difficulties and get disappointed by those around us, and then out of the blue, something or someone comes along our way and restores our faith in humanity.
Erin Hester shared an amazing story with Love What Matters and we are all stunned by the touching and unselfish act of the soldier this woman stumbled upon on a rainy day.
She was sitting at a stoplight when she saw a funeral procession on the opposite line. And while many people who were driving didn’t even notice the procession, one person pulled over, got out of his vehicle, and paid the deceased person respect.
“I was so completely touched by this today. A funeral procession was passing by and this soldier got out of his jeep to stand at attention in the pouring rain,” Hester wrote.
“I always get frustrated when I see cars that don’t pull to the side and stop for a procession, but this gentlemen went above and beyond. I feel pretty confident that there isn’t a military rule that soldiers have to do this.
This made my heart happy to see the amount of respect that this gentleman showed a family that he doesn’t even know.”
The poring rain didn’t stop this military man from doing the right thing. He showed us that these little things are what makes us all humans. In the world that slowly becomes a place of cold-hearted and emotionless creatures whose only job is to follow strict schedules and make money, seeing someone showing compassion warms our hearts and reminds us that humanity isn’t dead.
Source: Facebook/ Love What Matters
Once Hester’s photo went viral, thousands of people praised the soldier’s act. He was later located by WHAS11 and identified as Col Jack L. Usrey, the Senior Army Advisor of the Tennessee Army National Guard.
However, when he learned how his act was praised by many, he said: “I also owe it to my parents, Jim and Judy Usrey, from Martin, TN. They taught me to do this from when I have memory.
“I’m humbled and surprised at the reaction to such a simple gesture. My first thoughts were about how the bad weather can’t be helping how the family feels and I was hoping my small action would let them know we care.”
Thank you soldier for your kind deed, and thank you Hester for sharing this story with us!
Please share to inspire others to show their appreciation for those who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.
