Look Around. All over KC, you'll find super moms. Moms who work hard day in and day out taking care of their families. Look in the mirror and you'll see a super mom looking back at you. All moms are Super Moms and in honor of Mother's Day, meet 6 local moms who, for many reasons, are super, just like you!
Billi Colvon
Like all moms, Billi Colvon of Belton wears many hats. She also does it all as a single parent.
Billi works the overnight shift as an inventory management specialist at Wal-Mart. Five nights a week, she goes to work at 10:00, then heads home at 7:00 to get her two daughters ready for school. At least two mornings a week, Billi stays at the school to volunteer where needed. She helps out in the library, makes photocopies for teachers and heads up a school behavior reward program called “I Caught Ya.”
Around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, Billi goes to sleep and at 9:00, she gets up to go back to her job. Her mom stays with the girls and picks them up from school while Billi is earning a living.
“She is a blessing to us,” Billi says.
This Super Mom is also on the PTA board, two church boards, teaches children’s church and helps out with the Girl Scouts and vacation Bible school.
She admits that there are many challenges to being a single mom.
“Being a single parent, sometimes we have to choose what we are going to do when there is a schedule conflict. Church always comes first, though,” she says. “Money is tight, so I do not have money for dance or soccer, which the girls are always asking to do. Discipline can be a challenge. Having no real male role model in their lives concerns me, too.”
Billi feels the same way about time management as every mom: “If I just didn’t need to sleep!”
Amy Pikus
Two years ago, Amy Pikus and her husband, Bill, decided to take a chance on bottling and selling Bill’s popular BBQ sauce. The result is three award-winning sauces sold at retailers across the nation and online.
Amy does much of the behind-the-scenes work, such as updating their website (www.GrillSideBBQ.com) and Facebook page, sending out orders and responding to emails.
Pretty impressive stuff, but throw in the fact that Amy is the mom of twin 4-year-olds and is due with baby #3 this month, and you can see why she is a Super Mom.
So how does she juggle everything?
“We try to schedule any appointments, play dates or activities such as dance or soccer in the mornings. My children still nap after lunch most days and in the afternoons or evenings on a nice day you will likely find us outside. I work for our business when the kids are sleeping and on the evenings and weekends when my husband is home.”
Amy stresses that any mom has to have balance in her life, and that a little “me time” is important. She enjoys shopping, date nights with her hubby and dinner with girlfriends as ways to unwind.
Seeing her children happy, hearing their laughter, receiving hugs and hearing “I love you” are some of Amy’s favorite moments as a mom, while “controlling the worry that comes with having children” is one of the most challenging aspects.
Amy encourages all moms to celebrate motherhood. Oh, and to give Grill Side Barbeque Sauce a try.
Breck Rutherford
For a stay-at-home mom, Breck Rutherford doesn’t spend much time staying at home.
A typical day for the mom of three starts with getting the kids to school and ends with quiet, one-on-one bedtime conversations. In between are appointments, errands, laundry, volunteering, meal planning, school pickup, sports practices and homework.
Breck takes it all in stride, though, and is thankful that her husband, Shane, has a somewhat flexible schedule with his concrete company, Rutherford Construction.
“It's the only reason we're able to be so involved in the kids' activities. When we're all together, we don't take it for granted,” she says. “We try very hard to sit and have dinner together with a ‘best’ and ‘worst’ part of our days to share to help keep us connected.”
The former teacher enjoys volunteering at her kids’ schools and does what she can for fellow teachers.
“Hopefully, it can lighten their load a bit and help them get to their own family a little sooner. If I have the time to give, it's really my responsibility to do so,” she says.
Breck says that she’s a better mom when she takes time to exercise, but conversation with another mom and a little chocolate don’t hurt either.
The Rutherfords strive to teach their kids to “be good to yourself and to others, work hard in whatever you do, turn your failures into positives and never stop learning.”
This Super Mom wants to give a shout-out to other moms: “Happy Mother's Day to all of you! You're doing a great job in the toughest field there is!”
Donna Davis
At 23, Donna Davis became a teacher because she wanted to give back to the community. That initial goal is what continues to drive the UMKC professor today.
“Every child deserves a chance to learn in a classroom with someone who wants them to be a superstar,” she says.
Donna and her husband, Charles, have three daughters, the youngest attends Barstow.
“I am one of those moms who is always sort of hanging around,” she says. Ranging from dance class to Tae Kwon Do tournaments and everything in between, Donna has been involved in every aspect of her children’s lives.
Recently Donna made it her mission to help area students attend Storling Dance Theater’s production of Underground at the Kauffman Center.
Donna explains: “Here is a production that tells an important story in American history—a story about the Underground Railroad and the heroes who endured harrowing experiences—and it’s done brilliantly and beautifully. I just thought it was something that students across the Kansas City metropolitan area should see.”
Her goal was for students to take what they saw on stage and make meaningful changes in their own lives.
Donna’s wish for her own children?
“I hope they know they are a part of a world community that needs them to be exemplary in whatever they choose to do. In many ways, they live very privileged lives and they should identify specific areas where they can give back.”
“Finally, I want them to know that hard work really does pay off, and that they should live fearless, incredible lives!”
Christa Dubill
Turn on NBC Action News on a weekday evening, and you’ll see Christa Dubill anchoring the broadcast. What you don’t see is her busy life behind the scenes.
Christa and her husband, David, have two boys, ages 2 and 6. Her day begins around 6:45 a.m. so she can make breakfast, pack lunch and take Andrew to school. Then she and Ryan run errands, do laundry or go to swim lessons or gymnastics. Next is lunch and Ryan’s nap. Afterwards, Christa heads to the station to prep for and anchor the 5:00 news. Then she often goes home to make dinner, put Ryan to bed and read a book to Andrew. She’s back at the station for the 10:00 news.
Christa is also involved with several local non-profits.
She says the biggest thing she’s learned as a mom is to be realistic. “Sometimes I think it's easy to feel like we have to do more and more and more to be great moms. I try not to feel bad if we eat take-out a few nights in a row. And I've learned to be okay with mounds of laundry and sticky floors.”
The most challenging part of motherhood?
“Knowing that every move you make, every word you speak, every response you have, is somehow shaping the person they are becoming. That's a lot of pressure.”
Sleepy smiles and witnessing her sons’ joy when they accomplish something big are some of Christa’s favorite moments.
She has a word of caution for visitors: “If you come over, please excuse the floor.”
Lis Kendrick
Early in her life, Lis Kendrick knew that she would love to adopt a child someday. What she didn’t know was that this was the plan all along.
Lis and her husband struggled with infertility for years and went through numerous unsuccessful fertility treatments.
“One day, we asked each other why we were so focused on having a biological child, when there were children who needed a family,” Lis says.
They chose a local adoption agency and completed all the paperwork. Just over a year later, they received a call that their profile had been chosen. They visited with the birth mother over the phone, and a week later they had a baby boy in their arms to love.
A year later they decided their son needed a sibling and they renewed their paperwork with the agency. A call came to say their profile was again chosen, but sadly, the birth mother changed her mind. Within a few months another birth mother chose them.
“We were excited to have another little man join our family,” Lis says.
Today the boys are 8 and 10. The Kendricks love to bike, swim, vacation, play games and hang out as a family.
“I am rewarded the most by being their mom and by their smiles on their faces,” says Lis, who works part-time as a nurse at a local hospital. “I enjoy every milestone that they have gone through.”
“We feel so blessed to be given the chance to have them in our lives and to be their parents.”
Tisha Foley lives in Belton with her husband and two children. She is in awe of the Super Moms in this article and everywhere!