6 of the year's most inspirational moms
Their heart-warming, amazing stories have stayed with us.
— -- Here at ABC News we cover many parenting stories. In honor of Mother's Day 2017, we're taking a look back at the moms who've inspired us and our readers.
Whether caring for a terminally ill child, rising to the occasion in extraordinary circumstances or simple giving us something to mull over in our own lives (we're looking at you, mom who threw out all her kids' toys), here's a look back at the moms who made headlines over the last year.
Christina Cummings
"And the next thing I knew, a little bit later, they had brought in a geneticist who handed me a page-and-a-half printout stapled together," she said. "I just remember reading 'Trisomy 13 is not compatible with life' and I couldn’t even read past that. I couldn’t even read whatever else was on there because I didn’t understand how to take that. I had no idea and I didn’t believe that was happening."
Veronica Cummings, Christina Cummings' daughter, is now 10 years old. Read the inspirational story of this Virginia family and watch the incredible video of their photo shoot with Tiny Sparrow, an organization that pairs professional photographers with terminally ill children and their families.
Stephanie Culley
"She said, 'I know you will do this for me, but can you raise nine kids? Can you take my babies, all of them and keep them together?'" Culley recalled. "I said, 'I don't know. I have to pray about this, I have to talk to my husband about this. We discussed it as a family and my kids were the first to say yes. They had gotten really close with [Beth's] kids. My husband was like a deer in headlights, but he knew that this was what we had to do."
When Stephanie Culley's friend Beth Laitkep died of breast cancer, Culley and her husband adopted Laitkep's six children, bringing their total to 9. Read their inspirational story of the decision to grant a friend's dying wish.
Sarah Portillo
“Within two days, I had Santa. And over the next two weeks, he visited 16 more children."
Sarah Portillo is the mom of Lily, who has acute medical needs. She had an idea that for kids who can't visit Santa, maybe Santa could come to them. And the Secret Sleigh Project was born.
Allie Casazza
“I had this huge room in my house, dedicated to toys,” she told ABC News. “Bins overflowing with stuff. A $150 light-up unicorn no one played with. The playroom was the bane of my existence.”
Allie Casazza's story is a familiar one to many: Kids who are bored all the time, despite having everything they could ever want to play with, and a home in total chaos. She was depressed and resentful -- until the day she threw all her kids' toys away and sparked a national conversation about how much is too much when it comes to kids' stuff.
Courtney Baker
“I hope he sees Emmy. I hope he sees my words on paper,” Baker told ABC News. “Emmy is proof that children with special needs are worthy and can change the world. She’s doing it right now.”
Courtney Baker was pressured to abort her pregnancy when it was discovered that her unborn child had Down syndrome. She refused time and again. Then when her daughter was 15 months old, she got the courage to write that doctor a letter telling him how wrong he had been about her daughter. She had baby Emmy mail the letter herself.
Karen Alpert
“My guess is when that mom told my son to knock it off, that might not have been an easy decision to make,” the Chicago mom told ABC News. “Most moms are biting their tongue before they tell another kid to stop it.”
Karen Alpert was one the other side of the playground when her son wouldn't wait his turn on the monkey bars. So another mom told him to stop. Alpert's decision to publicly thank the other mom for disciplining her son when she couldn't sparked a debate about parental boundaries.
