I'm finally settled in my hotel room in Oklahoma and have had a chance to read all the entries that came in over the past few days for this contest. To say I am floored by all the amazing mothers out there -- and thank you to all of you who submitted on their behalf -- is an understatement. I geniunely mean that. This is SUCH a hard decision for me.

Moms who are raising several (5-7!) well behaved, respectful children because of all you do and teach to them every single day, is beyond admirable. All of you Mom's who give of yourselves, your time and energy without expectation every single day or thank you's in return -- you too are amazing. And then there was a Mom who had to endure something so traumatic that I cannot even fathom what she has gone through. Her story touched me very deeply.

I had a VERY hard time picking from all the entries. I narrowed it down to 3 finalists whose stories are below. I am omitting who nominated these Mom's because I want you to judge the stories based on their merits alone and not who entered them, as I did. I cannot say enough how hard this was because there were so many touching entires, but I have spent the past 24 hours really listening to my heart and what I believe God has guided me to in selecting from these entries. So here we go on the finalists...

Some names have been changed to protect the children mentioned in particular stories shared:

1. "New" Mom Nancy

I am nominating our Nanny's sister, Nancy. She is a 27 year-old "new" Mom of 7-year-old Melissa and a foster mother to Tom who is 11. Nancy met Melissa when she was doing respite care for Melissa's brother Tom, in their foster home. Tom is mentally handicapped through a very rare disease. If he eats proteins it attacks his body and damages his brain. Melissa also has the same disease. However, they were able to catch it before it completely mentally and physically handicapped her. Tom was not as lucky. Their birthparent's put them in foster care as they were not able to care for them. Melissa's foster parents would lock (yes you read that right) her in her room every night at 5 or 5:30. Melissa did not speak a lot and she was really shut down. There was no interaction in the home. No one read to her. No toys. She lived for 5 years without ever having a birthday party. Nancy started to intereact with Melissa and take her to church and read to her, and Melissa started to open up about her "angry" house.

Nancy knew that she had to get Melissa out of this horrible place. Nancy is single and only in her mid-twenties, so you know that it was really hard to adopt Melissa, even though the foster father was currently being investigated after another foster girl had accused him of sexual abuse and rape. Between the social worker, another family, their church community and Nancy, they were finally able to bring Melissa home. It was a long process.

Since this time, Nancy has also has welcomed Melissa's brother Tom into their home as a foster child. Because of the disease, they have to measure out all of the food for the kids. Every piece of food is watched, monitored and measured as even a piece of cake can cause harm to them physically and mentally. Since Melissa came to live with Nancy, she has blossomed. She used to not speak when she was brought over to play with my children and had no friends her age. Now, she has gone to Disneyland and is learning to read. She has a room with dolls and bows in her hair. She smiles, skips and gives hugs. She is a now a happy, sometimes sassy little girl!

Melissa is in the special needs class at her school but with hard work from her new Mom- she has been removed and will soon be in a new classroom next year. Nancy insisted that they retest her, as she knew she was learning and her hard work would soon pay off. By moving Melissa out of the special needs class, Nancy will lose some of the government assistance she receives and was told to think carefully before moving her. But as any mother knows, you want your child to succeed and money is often not an issue.

I nominated Nancy because she did what is right. She has changed her life to make two children's lives better. A mother's love is sometimes found in the most unexpected places. I am proud and blessed to know her and her family. However motherhood comes to you, it's a miracle.

Wow. I was just floored by how this woman changed her life to take in two special needs children who were not from her blood, but sacrificed so much to care for them and make them her own. Floored doesn't even describe my respect because how many of us would do the same thing?

2. The second story also greatly tugged on my heartstrings because I know this Mom has probably endured so much over the past year. Here is the nominee's story:

My good friend Tina, who I came to know and love as a fellow interior designer at my company, and who is my upcoming matron of honor at my wedding, has had quite the past few months. Her first born son, Sonny, was born with a heart murmur. At his first cardiology appointment at about a week old, he was diagnosed with VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect). At almost 10 months he was also diagnosed with DCRV (Double-Chambered Right Ventricle) and was advised to be admitted into Children's Phoenix Hospital March 5th immediately! Luckily, he had open heart surgery on March 11th to correct both defects. After Sonny's heart surgery he unfortunately developed medical NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) and had stomach surgery [second surgery] on March 22th. Finally he was released from Phoenix Children's Hospital on April 14th. Although out of the hospital he is on a 24hr feeding tube and goes to physical therapy and speech therapy weekly. He continues to recover at home and is doing well in the love and care of his mom, dad, and grandmother. To add insult to injury, with the economy as bad as it is we had lay-offs and Tina was one of our valued employees that lost her job.

Tina's talked several times throughout the year about setting up and appointment somewhere to get photos taken of Sonny, but just really has not had time lately to focus on that. With all that she and her husband have had to deal with, I know that a portrait session would mean the world to them. She's talked about having a "healthy baby party this fall." Your photographs are something they would cherish for years to come!

Given all Tina and her husband have been through with their son and the worry that has likely occupied their minds this past year, I felt they too are very deserving.

The 3rd entry:

3. Lorie is one of my dearest friends. She is also a great mother of three handsome boys, Jared, Eric and Grayson. Lorie has a full house of boys and is always running around taking them to swim meets, karate classes, carpooling to playdates, etc. Her household is always full of joy, laughter and fun. I had the privilege to meet Lorie after my son was born and I was looking for someone to be able to get scrapbook products to make an album for him. Since then, we have become great friends. I go to her house about once a month to scrapbook, eat dessert and share great stories and I enjoy our friendship through sharing our special moments with our families. In addition to being a full time mom and having her scrapbooking business, Lorie is a great family historian. She always takes time to create beautiful albums for each of her sons and each book is personalized with their own stories and pictures.

Recently, Lorie's husband was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. Each and every day, I pray for her and I ask God to help this beautiful family through this difficult time. Even with this frightening news, Lorie continues to have a positive attitude and a smile. She looks at life with optimism and continues to cherish every minute as a wife and mother.

Jen, over the years, I have shared all the beautiful pictures that you have taken of our family with Lorie. Every time, Lorie looks at them with excitement and joy, and even a teary eye. I think this will be the most beautiful gift that she could receive, to have the opportunity to spend an afternoon with her family and have some wonderful pictures as a keepsake of the amazing love that unites them and gives them strength each and every day. In Lorie's words, "Life is short, I know we have all heard these words but just take a moment and celebrate those people in your life that you really cherish."

Lorie's story also really touched me as I have no doubt she feels how deeply precious and fragile life is and that she might truly appreciate photos of her family given the circumstances they face.

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So, my selection for the winner is actually all three of these women. It's hard for me to say that one deserves it more than any other, and I feel that EVERYONE whose stories I read deserves it, but I simply cannot give free photo shoots and my time to every single entry. I feel very blessed with my life and that my business stays strong in this economy and because of this (and in general), I feel in my heart that I want to donate portrait sessions to these three.

My hat is off to all Mom's out there. I can say without hesitation that its the single hardest job there is. As a mom who balances the demands of work and raising children, the challenges are great some days, but there is no greater love in the universe than your children and I would not trade where I am or what I do for anything. And the challenges that I may face on any given day do not compare to what these woman have been faced with so I simply want to do what I can to help others who may be traveling along a much more difficult road. If I can give this gift to a few, than that means everything to me.

Happy Mother's Day.

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