Let me start off by saying this is probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make! All of the mother’s who were nominated were so deserving of a prize that picking a winner was almost impossible. I received 24 entries and I wanted atleast to mention them all in this post. Each one of these ladies was nominated by someone who may not actually call them Mom, but has a deep love and respect for them. The nominee’s were: Nancy Brown, Janet Hoggarth, Christa Ducharme, Justine Greenland Duke, Colleen Smyth, Nicole Prentice, Bonnie Keller, Christine Chad, Pat Steenstra, Crystal Brennan-Yeo, Darlene, Bette Moxham, Isabelle Edwards, Gerda Burgsma, Edith Yeo, Virginia Steckle, Ruth Zeilman-Zehr, Melanie Burgers, Chris Courtney, Dianne Waun, Jennifer Ramer, Amanda Hudie, Lee Thomas, Anne Bedard, Shannon Brennan and Becky Veen. It was such a tough decision that I called in a recruit – my wonderful Mother-In-Law, Mary Faye to try and give me a hand in the decision making. Mary Faye helped me narrow it down to five finalists – Virginia Steckle, Dianne Waun, Christine Chad, Nancy Brown and Melanie Burgers and after reading throught them all again and again, this was the final entry that I (with the help of my husband) picked:
When I first saw the opportunity to enter this contest, I jumped at it. Not just for the shot of a prize, but to put it out there and make it known that my mother is the most beautiful person I know. She is a business owner, artist, designer, and mother to three grown girls. Her youngest daughter, Chelsea is mentally and physically disabled, needing 24 hour supervision – she can not speak or use sign language, feed herself, change or bathe herself or use the restroom herself. Basically she has the mental capacity of an 8 month old baby, though she is 19 years old. Melanie has been changing diapers and making bottles 5-6 times a day, everyday for the past 2 decades, and those are the easy things! She has also raised two older girls (and I have to admit sometimes I am sure I am more of a struggle to deal with than Chelsea), supported them through schooling, and operates her own business! She started her business as a hobby in order to stay home to raise the three of us while my father worked, but over the past 15 years it has developed into a very successful and very busy company. Between taking care of Chelsea and running her business she rarely has a minute to herself to relax, or treat herself because she puts her family’s needs (and wants) and those of her friends and clients before her own. Sometimes family members (no names will be mentioned!) make note of how “tired and exhausted” she looks, and I’ve watched this deflate my mother’s spirit. It breaks my heart. I think they just don’t realize how much she does… She is gorgeous. Inside and Out. Because both my parents work very hard, we’ve only ever had 2 family pictures taken. The most recent taken 5 years ago and before that was oooh 1993! And while we love to look back at these Sears-style pictures and laugh about the almost-buzzcuts hairstyles on all three girls, my mom’s then-cool afro , our dad’s feathered mullet, and Chelsea’s hilarious, oblivious faces, we would all enjoy looking at more current photos of our family. I would love for my mother to be recognized for the beautiful soul and courageous women that she is. Mostly I want my mother to know how grateful I am to have her as a mother, and for all the things she has done for us. I want her to know that because she lives everything she believes in, I am able to do the same
Melanie Burgers – I can’t wait to meet your whole family and capture the love that you all share! You have won a free family portrait session as well as a Portrait Purse with your families photo on it. Thanks so much to your daughter Sayde for sharing your story! You are an incredible woman I hope you have a fabulous Mother’s Day!
And now since no blog post would be complete without a photo on it I had to share a shot of my own five kids that I took this winter. Bailey, Rachael, Caroline, Warren and Victor… the five of you mean more to me than I could have ever imagined and it is an honour to have you each call me “mom”. Love you heaps!
