In many cases, it doesn't have to be blood that defines what a mother is to children.
From the woman who adopted six of her late friend’s kids to the mom who rocked a dinosaur costume to walk her son to school, here are moms who are inspiring us this Mother’s Day.
InsideEdition.com is taking a look back at the selfless acts carried out by moms over the last year.
Read: Grieving Mom Donates More Than 4,000 Ounces of Breast Milk to Honor Child's Memory
A Utah mom, 28-year-old Nicura Thompson, donated more than 4,000 ounces of breast milk after her 6-week-old son passed away due to a heart defect.
She found out about the boy's condition when she was five months pregnant, but decided to carry him to term. He passed away a few weeks after being sent home from the hospital and at that point, Thompson began donating her breast milk to honor her late newborn.
Honoring a loved one’s legacy is exactly what Stephanie Culley of Virginia did following the death of her best friend, Beth Laitkep. After Laitkep lost her battle with breast cancer, Culley, who already had three children of her own, granted her friend's dying wish, adopting her six kids.
While a mother is simply defined as “a female parent,” it doesn't have to be blood that determines what a woman is to a child.
One Canadian mom got the surprise of her life when she unwrapped adoption papers as a gift from her husband’s two children. They asked her to be their mother. Not only did Keri McNaught accept the offer, her husband called her “the best wife in the world.”
When Sherry Blackledge adopted her daughter Brooke as a baby 20 years ago, she penned a heartfelt letter to open on her wedding day. When the ceremony finally arrived, Brooke was gifted the letter and burst into tears.
"Being adopted, I just wanted her to know how much we love her," Sherry said in a video. "And I just thought it would be extremely precious when she opened it up and read it on her wedding day."
There was also a Texas grandmother who gave the most precious gift to her daughter, who was preparing to become a first-time mom — the baby herself! In January, 53-year-old Tracey Thompson gave birth to her own granddaughter after agreeing to carry the child for her daughter, who had unsuccessfully tried for years to get pregnant, officials at the Medical Center of Plano said.
Some mothers went the extra mile to make sure their children felt like they belonged at school or felt comfortable in their surroundings.
Read: Single Mom Disguises Herself as Dad for Father-Son School Event
One single mom didn’t want her 12-year-old son to feel left out of his school’s “Donuts with Dad” event, so she rocked a fake moustache, baseball hat and plaid shirt and filled in as her child’s father. She claims it was all her kid’s idea, but her son proudly showed off his “dad” to his friends.
Then there was one Florida mom who wanted to teach her young children a valuable lesson – do not worry what other people think. Leslie Eggenberger bought an inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex costume online and wore it to pick up and drop off her two young sons at school. She also wears the T. rex suit around the house and in the neighborhood.
Costumes and kids seem to go hand-in-hand and one mother wanted her child’s imagination and happiness to soar. To do so, she creates costumes for her daughter and infant when they go on regular trips to Disneyland so they can feel like the princesses and heroes they see in the movies. The stay-at-home California mom said she was inspired by her own mother, who made costumes for her when she was a kid.
A Washington mother wanted to show her son it is never too late to achieve your dreams. Enjoli Harris-Carter, 37, said she was only six credits away from graduating high school when she got pregnant with her first son, and lost focus of her studies. She finished off those final credits after years of putting it off. In June 2016, she and her son made history when the pair walked across the stage together in caps and gowns to get their diplomas and graduate high school.
Being a mother is an active duty position that never ends, even when you are serving in America’s armed forces.
One U.S. Air Force staff sergeant from South Carolina was deployed for seven months, and when she finally returned home in April, she wanted to surprise her 6-year-old son. On the day her son was set to throw the first pitch at a local ball game, she surprised him on the field, and the two joined in an emotional hug.
