This year, instead of just one day, we set aside the entire month of May for Moms. We’re giving all Rewards Member Mothers a free portrait keychain with ANY purchase, so there’s just a few more days if you haven’t gotten yours already!

As we wrap up the month, we’d like to share some of our favorite Mom portraits of 2011 so far. Although most of us grown-ups aren’t fond of being in front of a camera, we still encourage mothers to get in for just a few shots. You may not want to now, but when your kids grow up, those are memories they will treasure forever. Most of us have plenty of our own baby pictures at hand, but not nearly as many pictures with our parents during those early years. But those few pictures are so important because they bring us back to that feeling of seeing the world through new eyes and having this hero to guide and protect us, reminding us of all the sacrifices our parents made to bring us where we are today. So, Moms (and Dads): next time you bring your kids in to the studio, don’t be so afraid of the camera and get in there for a few portraits. Your kids will thank you one day!

“The mother is everything – she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness.” — Kahlil Gibran
“Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.” -Marion G. Garretty
“Without you by my side,
I never could survive
I wouldn’t be the woman
standing here before your eyes
you taught me strength
and you gave me guidance
whenever faith was lost
you were there to find it”

-from “Mother” by Ashanti
“And even when the times
got hard you were there
To let us know
that we’d get through
you showed me how
to be a man
You taught me how
to understand
the things people do”

-from “Thank You Mom” by Good Charlotte
“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” -Cardinal Mermillod
“You showed me how to love
You showed me how to care
And you showed me that you would always be there
I wanna thank you for that time
And I’m proud to say you’re mine”

-from “The Perfect Fan” by the Backstreet Boys
“My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” -Wilma Rudolph, born with polio and winner of 3 Gold Medals in the 1960 Olympics
“A mother understands what a child does not say.” -Jewish Proverb
“My Mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. I attribute all my success in my life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received from her.” -George Washington
“You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool mom.” -Unknown
“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” -Tenneva Jordan
“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.” -Unknown