Thank you to everyone who entered our “Best Mother’s Day Moments” Contest! We received so many beautiful, funny, loving and fulfilling stories. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from this contest, it’s that Moms come in all shapes, sizes, styles and families – and every single one of them is needed. We are excited to announce our winner…but we can’t stop there. Here are the top ten Mother’s Day Moments from Land O’Moms!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Rebecca from Ryderwood, WA

On October 15th, 2006 I gave birth to our precious daughter and officially became a Mommy.  Three days after we arrived home I returned to the hospital and received the devastating news, I had Stage II cancer.  I was told that without treatment I might not survive another year.  Chemotherapy began immediately and so did the hair loss.  But nothing diminished the joy of holding my sweet little girl.  The hardest hurdles arrived each night when the house was quiet and I’d stand over her crib and wonder… would I still be there to bake her first cake? On February 28th 2007, we received the wonderful news:  I was in remission!  That Mother’s Day was an incredibly sweet moment.  Within months I’d exchanged my long hair and ripe silhouette for a bald head and menopause.  But my true identity had nothing to do with hair loss or hot flashes…. I was a Mom.  The dimples on my daughter’s hand aren’t as deep now – she’s almost 5 years old.  Each day I realize what an amazing person she’s growing up to be and each day I’m thankful that I’m here to see it happen. The day I completed my final treatment, the chemo nurse handed me a mug decorated with, “Celebrate Today!”  I love to drink from that cup daily – life is too short not to; every moment of being a Mom is one to be celebrated.

FIRST RUNNER UP: Rachel from Lincoln, IL

This was my first Mother’s Day with four children, having recently added our nephew as child #4.  He’s a sweet preschooler who is autistic and hyperactive. My ideas about being Mom have dramatically changed. I am learning that what you are called doesn’t make you “mother”, it’s what’s in your heart and actions. I know that whether he calls me “Aunt”, or “Mom”, he is my son.  On the Friday before Mother’s Day I was presented with his Mother’s Day crafts and a plant they grew at school.  They filled in questionnaires about their moms, and when asked how old I was, he wrote, “68″.  I’m thirty-six!  I was touched that he is beginning to allow me to become his mother.  I won’t regret one moment of time we have him, which may be forever or only for a year. I will cherish my time as the mother of four.

Honorable Mentions

Kathryn

My favorite Mother’s Day moment changes just a little bit each year.  Almost every year since they were born, dad has helped the kids make something using their own handprints.  Sometimes it is a poster, or a card.  One time it was “flower” hands, each on its own stem, collected in a vase.  I love to pause and hold my hand over the tiny prints and notice each year as they get bigger and bigger.  It makes me stop and realize how fleeting childhood is and how every moment I spend with these 4 amazing children, I am leaving my “handprints” on their hearts and they are leaving theirs on mine.  Someday, for the three boys, the handprints will be larger than my own,  and maybe my daughter’s will fit mine then, but I hope they will continue to send me these precious mementos for as long as possible.

Crystal 

Every Mother’s Day is so special to me because I am always reminded of how incredibly blessed I am to have the four most beautiful children on earth.  But my favorite Mother’s Day memory is from the year 2000, eleven years ago.  It was my first Mother’s Day as a mother.  Just weeks before, and after years of longing and waiting, I had delivered my first sweet baby girl.  Never before that time had there been a Mother’s Day so special to me.  Of course, I always celebrated my own mother and grandmother, and the many other special ladies in my family who had been privileged to carry that title.  But there was something so unbelievably wonderful about finally being the one celebrated on that Mother’s Day in 2000.  In a quiet moment, as I looked down into that sweet little face and cuddled my baby girl in my arms, I remember letting the thankful tears fall down my cheeks and whispering a prayer of immense gratitude to my Creator and Lord.  Every Mother’s Day since then has been absolutely wonderful.  That sweet baby girl is now eleven years old and she has two sisters and a brother to keep her company.  I am a very blessed mama and grateful every day for the precious beings God has entrusted to my care.

Jean

Why Mother’s Day was so special to me.  Well, I am 81 years of age and my son is 38.  We went on his motorcycle to lunch at the local fast-food restaurant and then to the nearby drug store for my prescription. While I was waiting, he bought me a single red rose and a Mother’s Day card.  The card read “Mom, if it was important to me, you made it important to you. That’s being a great Mom.  That’s being a true friend.  Happy Mother’s Day”. That’s what life is all about and that’s what being a son is too.

Mary  

My favorite mother’s day moment happened at church. The preacher’s wife rolled up a dollar along with some candy and put it in a little container for my two and a half year old little girl. My daughter took the dollar out, walked up to the alter, and put the money in the offering plate. There is no prouder moment then seeing your child give freely without expecting anything. Some people might say it’s because she sees that done by others but it was still my proudest moment and a true blessing to my heart

Lori

Mine happened this year. My 9-year-old daughter is adopted. I also have 6-year-old who is my birth daughter. My husband and I have had custody of our adopted daughter since she was 11 months old. She knows she is adopted and she knows who her birth parents are. We have always loved her unconditionally and as fully as we do our biological child. I realized that she truly knows this and FEELS this when she gave me the Mother’s Day card she made at school. It read “For my 1 and only mother from your first born daughter. I love you.” My heart was so full I could hardly speak. What a precious gift from my beautiful child.

Christy

My favorite Mother’s Day moment happened this year. My 3 year old really got into giving gifts to me, he gave me a power ranger, a batman figurine then leftovers from the fridge. It was hilarious and a moment I will always remember for years to come!

Angel

I have really bad allergies and the brief hours that I spent outside with my two youngest children consisted of me sneezing and rubbing my eyes like crazy (lol). Oh and by the way my 5 year old son Jayden picked flowers for Mommy out of one of my neighbor’s small but prized rose gardens. She was furious. After being scolded by her, he politely gave them back to her with a “Here Happy Mother’s Day”. I think that she (my neighbor)was kinda happy happy in a mad sorta way. It was a kind gesture that went horribly wrong for him. He was a little embarrassed to say the least but I was very proud of him. I was proud of him for giving them back and the fact that he thought of me, and that was the reason why he unknowingly stole someone’s roses (lol). My Jayden, what am I going to do with him? I certainly have keeping him away from other people’s roses in my near future plans. Well at least until he’s six, because he says he’ll be more mature then.

Keri

“When I think about the nice things that you do, I will always love you…When I trip and skin my knee, you are always by my side, when I think about the reasons that I do, I will always love you, Mumma…”-Ana, age 9

Have more favorite moments? Share them below!