Mother’s Day Giveaway Finalists…

Thank you so much for all the entries for the Mother’s Day portrait session giveaway!  I’ve received so many well-deserved entries for the moms that it truly would be too difficult to give a session away to each and every one of them.  So…for those that haven’t been chosen, if you book a session with Teresa Sweet Photography, you’ll receive a complimentary mounted 11×14 (*you must mention this when booking as well as the entry details).  And remember, gift certificates are always available in any denomination. 🙂

The three finalists have been chosen.  Voting will take place from now until May 6th with the winner being announced on Sunday, May 8th (Mother’s Day)!  Votes will be counted from the blog, Facebook as well as a panel of judges (photographers).  To vote, all you have to do is add a comment letting me know which Mother you think is most deserving for this gift!  You may only vote once.  Thanks!

Mother #1:

Dear Teresa,

Not sure what to say for this contest, I don’t have a mother to win it for.  She passed away 7 yrs ago Easter  from Cancer.  She was my life.  She gave me direction in life and made me become the person I am today.   I wish she were here to celebrate Mothers day with us but in our heart she will be with us.   There are few things I ask or want for but one very important thing is my photos.   They hold the spirit of those who pass and the youth of those who grow old.      

I am a mom of 6.    I have 3 biological children and was blessed with 3 adopted children.   My oldest is 30 and my youngest is TWO!!!  I really wasn’t looking to adopt children but right after my mom passed i got a call about 2 premature twins who’s mom abandoned them after birth in the hospital.  Born addicted to drugs, premature and off to a bad start I decided we would take them in.  I guess it was a terrible thing that their parents left them but we were very fortunate to have them come into our lives and luckily for us we were able to adopt them.  Almost 7 yrs later we brought another baby home from the hospital.  We knew in advance that his mom had drug problems and we would be getting him at birth.   Thrilled that a boy would be joining our family of 5 girls we were elated.    Noah has kept us all very busy since being diagnosed with a genetic disorder along with autism spectrum.     Needless to say we live a very busy life.  I would love to win a photo sitting to have all of my children taken together before my family splits up again this summer.  

My oldest daughter’s husband is an EOD in the military and they are being stationed in Spain with my 2 grandchildren and I won’t see them for 4yrs.   My grandchildren are only a yr apart from my twins and they are VERY close which is going to be extremely difficult for all of us including my daughter since he will be deployed.  My  22 yr old daughter (my original baby) is leaving for California for 2yrs to go to college.   I typically take a “family” photo of them all every year but a professional photograph would be wonderful!  I just figured I’d give this a shot!  Thanks  Laurie

Mother #2

Hi! My name is Kristen Sullivan. A mother of 4 beautiful kids. 1 handsome son (the oldest) and 3 beautiful little girls (6, 3, & 6 months). I nominated myself. Why?.well here is why. Ever since I because a mother it was the BEST thing that ever happened to me in so many ways. I was a young mother when I had kids and dropped everything to be a GREAT mother. Not a mother that goes out partying OR drinks or any of that. I was a mother I wish I had when I was growing up. See when I was a baby myself my mother took off on me. I was only 1 or 2 years old. And I told myself I would NEVER turn my back on my kids and I would ALWAYS be there for my kids.

I have seen pictures of my mom but NEVER met her. Till 2 years ago 2 days before mother’s day. My (will be) mother-in-law found my sister & brother on facebook. She then called me up saying I found your sister & brother on Facebook. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. So what did I do I added both of them. My brother seen my add. He added me then sent me a message. All that message said was “CALL ME” so I did. Well after we talked I finally talked to my mother after all these years (22 years). Till this day it makes me cry because I missed all those days. But like I said 2 days before Mother’s day we started talking. It was the best feeling in the WORLD to know I had my mother back “my real mother not any step mothers it wasn’t the same”.

So a couple of months after that I went to Florida to go see her. What a emotional ride that was. I felt so close just from that first hug we just huge and cries for a good 10 mins. But it was one of the BEST 10 mins of my life. To know I had my mother BACK and that both of us were going anywhere. So with that said I didn’t want my kids growing up with out me. I knew how it felt. I knew how heart broken I was to not have your best friend to be there when you needed her the most. When you fall down and get hurt, the touch of your mother always made it feel so much better, or when your sad and you need someone to talk to she would come talk to you just to make you feel better, or when you just wanted to just sit on the couch & hug your mother while watching a movie. Those are the feeling I DON’T want my kids to EVERY miss. So this is why my kids are my life, my soul, & my everything. They have changed my life for the BETTER. Everyday is always about them. I NEVER get anytime for myself. I make sure my girls have clothes on there back, roof over there head, and food in there mouths. I never have time for myself. I love my life, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I would love to win this contest because I NEVER have time to myself. Never get to do things for myself. This would give me a chance to get time away. To ENJOY myself for once, In a VERY long time. It would mean so much to me to win. A mother always deserves sometime to herself right?  That’s what I need ME TIME. so please give me a change. Thank you so much.

Mother #3

This is a story about one of the most amazing moms that I know, her name is “Kate.” Kate was about 40 years old and had three children, a daughter who was 17, a son was 15 and a young daughter who was 4. Kate was a mom who worked part time so that she could be home to raise her young family. During the winter months Kate starting feeling “funny.” She began to have dizzy spells and even fainted a few times, Kate’s husband brought Kate to the doctors and after many tests, it was determined that Kate had a brain tumor. Kate went through 24 hours of surgery in order to remove approximately one-third of her brain mass. When she was recovering from surgery, Kate was told that she would never be able to learn new things, probably not walk again, and possibly be paralyzed on the left side of her body.

Since this surgery, Kate has successfully raised her three children, received a masters degree and is walking and functioning perfectly. Kate is now the proud grandmother of six grandchildren. Kate is the most amazing woman that I know because she overcame amazing odds and did it for her children. Kate will say that she remembers feeling like she had to get better, she had two teenagers and a little girl at home. Perhaps being a mom is what made her have such a blessed recovery.