Mother's Day Favorites

Melissa Haller
Sylvania, mom of Bree, 16, Keaton, 6, and Paisley, 1

Melissa Haller has an endearing memory of a past Mother’s Day. “When my now 16-year-old daughter was in fourth grade, she made me a coupon book. We moved and the unredeemed coupons were misplaced. Several years later we moved again and I found the coupon book. I immediately tried to cash in the ‘free foot rub’ and ‘I will clean my room’ coupons but she insisted they had expired. I still have the coupons and I have hope that one of these days I can redeem them! In my defense, there isn’t an expiration date printed on the coupons.”  She has a right to be excited for this year’s holiday, too. “It’s kind of a big deal. I get to pick the restaurant!”

 

 

 

 

Laurie O’Leary
Sylvania, mom of Joey, 5, Jonathan, 3, and Cameron, 2

Laurie O’Leary says she’s easy to please on Mother’s Day. “My kids know that my favorite Mother’s Day gifts are the handmade cards they give me, especially the adorable ones from preschool. I will treasure those forever! Because my kids are still so young, we haven’t had too many opportunities to establish traditions. We all celebrate together when my parents visit. This year, we may be planting our garden and making a trip to the local greenhouse for vegetables and flowers.”

 

 

 

 

 

Gina Pietryga
Sylvania, mom of Dominick, 6, Tony, 4, and Jenna, 2

Gina Pietryga shared the memory of her very first Mother’s Day. “I hosted a brunch for our friends and family. We lived in a tiny apartment at the time so it was very cozy. We celebrated with a total of twelve adults and four new babies. One of my best friends announced that she was expecting.” It was a few years later that she enjoyed a delectable Mother’s Day surprise.“My husband and kids know I love Nutella, so they frosted an entire cake with a whole jar of that chocolatey goodness. It was extremely rich but there’s no such thing as too much chocolate, right?”

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon Chappell
Toledo, mom of Marlee, 5, and Paislee, 2

Shannon Chappell shares some traditions with her family. “Our family’s Mother’s Day tradition is a big homemade breakfast. There are always a lot of whispers because they try to surprise me. I especially love the look of pride on their faces when they serve me the breakfast they made. This Mother’s Day will be the first one that my own mom will be spending in Heaven.  I’m sure we will still get together and have our traditional cookout. We will all get her flowers and take them to the cemetery. We have a paper lantern that we will all write on and release, sending those messages straight to Heaven.”
 

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