I am so excited to announce our three Mother's Day Finalist! You can read a little excerpt about each of them from their nomination. Our grand prize winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Michaels Salon and Spa, a custom bag from Jenna Claire, and a dinner for two at the Melting Pot. Feel free to visit ONE time per day for the nominee of your choice, voting ends on Saturday, May 7 at 11:59pm. Even if you do not know any of the nominees please take a minute and cast your vote for a deserving mom! Our grand prize winner will be announced on May 8.

Sue Bell
She is more than a mother - she is a friend. It is hard to be a friend when you are a mother. Even harder is being a friend when you are a mother-in-law. However, my mother-in-law has accomplished this task. And she does so with grace, caring, and love. She gives great advice about being a woman, living a life of gratitude, and sharing your love with others. She will never make excuses or give up on you.

So why does she deserve this award? But, in all of her giving, she rarely receives. She brushes off offers of others to pay for dinner, take her shopping, or to simply help around the house. She refuses to take one day for herself. She babysits all of her six grandchildren for overnight visits single-handedly. She goes to everyone's soccer, volleyball, swimming, and cheerleading competitions and yells each child or grandchild on to victory. She sends anonymous cards of support when you are going through a rough spot. She prays for you at church every Sunday. She makes your lunch and dinner without asking for a return favor. She lets stress just wash off her back. And, again, she does this with unrelenting love. She is a great mother and unless I publicly tell her and force her to "take a day off", she will go back to her 24 hour daily grind without a complaint in the world.
-Nominated by Tricia Bell

Erin Hammerstrom
This mom is raising four children from age 11 years to 11 months. In 2009 she had to pick up and move away from Africa where the first three were born leaving almost all of her possessions behind. Her husband had trouble making money in this economy so she has had to scrape and scrap everything these children have and get them ready for the cold Ohio winter. Meanwhile she carried and gave birth to the baby, which she courageously did by VBAC so she could carry and care for the others and not have to recover from surgery. She is going through the hardship of trying to get the 11 year old adopted. She schools him while he isn't in school yet. She even had to let him go back to Africa for seven 1/2 months last year and may be facing that again soon. She pours out her life to her family every day. She teaches them, sings with them, disciplines them, trains them in the way they should go.

This very special mother has had to move into a new place to live (that needed a lot of work! And still does!). She manages to cook wonderful meals almost every night in a TINY kitchen, using new ingredients sometimes pulled randomly out of the ground. This woman is really something! She gets her hair done, rarely, on a budget, and does everything on a budget. If you met her on the street you'd think, “wow” “classy” “unbelievably polite” “strong” and this is what she manages under the circumstances. Honestly it will be tough for me to take over watching all the kids for her outings if she wins, but she is 100% worth it. I thank God, the Lord, for her each and every day.
-Nominated by Todd Hammerstrom

Lora Brunner
At the age of 49 in November 2010 she was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Brain Cancer, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Since then she has had two brain surgeries and undergone both radiation and chemotherapy. I and everyone around her are amazed every single day how positive she is. Even when my sister, my dad, and I are crying she always is the one to make us feel better, and tell us that everything is going to be ok. She has never been one to do anything for herself, and always making sure that she does whatever she can for everyone else, before what she needs. I am thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful mom, and when a family goes through something like this you truly learn to cherish the person that means most in your life. I cannot think of anyone more deserving.
-Nominated by Shannon Kumar