Retired United States Army First Class Sergeant Luciano Yulfo was being honored recently at a New York Knicks game in Madison Square Garden when something happened that he was never expecting.
When Yulfo was brought down to the court, he had no idea the team’s Hoops For Troops had a big surprise for him!
During his 36 years in the military, Yulfo served in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He medically retired from active duty in 2014 after he was injured while deployed in Afghanistan. After being injured, Yulfo was stationed at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for 2 years. He finally retired from the military in April of 2016, 36 years after he enlisted.
As soon as Yulfo got back to the U.S., he applied for a service dog to help him deal with the injuries he suffered overseas, but he found himself placed on a waiting list for 18 months. When the Knicks heard about this, they knew they had to do something to help him.
Between quarters, the team brought Yulfo onto the court and gave him a personalized Knicks jersey. They then left him speechless by giving him a new service dog!
An organization called Paws of War trains and places rescue dogs with U.S. military veterans, and they decided to give a dog named Murphy to Yulfo! Each dog is trained specifically for the needs of the individual veteran they are serving, so Murphy is already completely prepared to help Yulfo!
Yulfo was overwhelmed by this gesture and he immediately dropped to his knees to greet the dog. It is clear that these two will be best friends for many years to come!
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Couple has 3 sets of twins in 5 years after being told they can’t have kids, they all share the same birthday
Carrie and Craig Kosinski responded positively when a long-lost family friend requested them to watch her infant twins.
Carrie and Craig offered to temporarily assume custody of the adorable girls.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and eventually the girls were a permanent part of the family.
For Carrie and Craig, having children had always been a dream, but they had no idea how their journey would turn out.
The births of Adalynn and Kenna occurred on February 28, 2014. The twins were born via emergency C-section, and at the age of three months, the Kosinkis were granted legal custody of the infant girls.
After a few years of parenting their adoptive twins, Carrie and Craig got a call from their original mother, who revealed that she was dealing with yet another tragic circumstance.
She was battling to make everything work while dealing with serious challenges in her life. She asked the couple if they would be open to adopting her two younger kids, Cece and J.J., twins who are two years old.
The younger twins were biologically related to Kenna and Adalynn.
From Union Grove, Wisconsin, Carrie and Craig had to consider their options carefully.
The couple had made numerous unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant before beginning the adoption process with Kenna and Adalynn.
They sought medical attention because they had no idea what was wrong for a while, and the doctor broke some devastating news.
The medical professional informed Carrie that due to her severe endometriosis, she was unable to conceive naturally. Therefore, having biological children was essentially out of the question; this is why they initially turned to adoption.
“It was a difficult decision. We were trying to get pregnant ourselves. But they were siblings so that was definitely was part of our consideration — we wanted to keep the siblings together,” Carrie told The Journal Times.
Carrie and Craig, however, put aside their private worries and informed the mother that they would be delighted to adopt the younger twins.
But not long after welcome Cece and J.J. into the family, Carrie started to feel off and knew she needed to see a doctor.
An ultrasound in September 2015 confirmed Carrie’s own pregnancy. Actually, there were two fetuses visible on the screen! In the past five years, she and Craig have welcomed three sets of twins.
”We were in shock, but super happy,” Carrie Kosinski explained.
Craig and Carrie understood their pregnancy was a gift from a higher power, despite their first overwhelm. All six of the children would be raised in a secure, loving home, the parents resolved.
But destiny would soon bring the family back, and their medical professionals could hardly believe what had transpired.
Unbelievably, the other two sets of twins’ birth dates, February 28 and March 1, were shared by biological twins Karraline and Clarissa.
”We were very shocked. We were like ‘oh my God we are going to have three sets of twins. What are we going to do with ourselves?’”, Carrie recalled.
The fact that all of Carrie and Craig’s kids have the same birthday is proof positive that this was meant to be, according to the delighted parents.
The Journal Times quotes Carrie as saying, “God certainly has a sense of humor.”
In week 25 of her pregnancy, Carrie used in vitro fertilization to give birth to Karraline and Clarissa. Sadly, their biological twins had to stay in neonatal intensive care for several months. Karraline and Clarissa, however, were in good health and shape when they were finally permitted to return home.
Three pairs of twins living under one roof is obviously expensive, but several members of the neighborhood have offered financial assistance.
Kind strangers from across the nation provided the family with financial assistance to cover their rising bills and expensive charges through fundraising websites like GoFundMe and AdoptTogether.
”I have to be very organized and keep to a schedule, or things get out of hand,” Carrie says.
Craig and Carrie believe that someone from above had a particular plan for their family because all six of their children were born on the same day: Cece and J.J. on February 28, 2013, Adalynn and Kenna on February 28, 2014, and Karraline and Clarissa on February 28, 2016.
”We believe that because God adopted us into His family that we were meant to adopt these children into our family,” Carrie said. ”It’s such a huge blessing to us. We love all our children the same. We wouldn’t want our lives to be any different.”
Today, this family is enjoying life, and to see all these beautiful kids grow up must be such a blessing for Carrie and Craig.
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