Strawberry jam and miracle triplets

In 2010, Russ and I thought we were so expert at making Strawberry jam that we forged ahead without thinking or reading clearly and ended up with a bunch of Strawberry syrup. (click here to read about that disaster) In 2011 we had been out of town right at peak Strawberry season, so we just skipped making jam altogether.  But this year, the strawberries came on early, due to a very hot March, so we jumped right in and made eight batches before the first of May. It’s in the freezer – looking oh so good. I’ve also started my own little Strawberry patch.  Perhaps it will grow and spread until I can pick from my yard to make jam. 

There is one little jar that I save and use every time we make jam.  It has a special meaning to me and is a constant reminder of the miracle of the birth of our triplet grandchildren.  In the year 2000, our triplet grandchildren were born two months early and it was only through prayers, good thoughts, fasts, and priesthood blessings that they survived. While the babies were in the NICU, their mother, Lisa, had to pump her milk, put it in little bottles and store it in the freezer at the hospital. Lisa had so much milk for her babies, that we also filled her freezer and our deep freezer. When the babies finally got their feeding tubes out and were able to drink from those little bottles we all took our turn to feed them there in the NICU. And when they finally came home two months after they were born, we still had two freezers full of those little bottles of milk.

So I kept one of those bottles, and have used it for one jar of jam every year since.  It will always remind me of the miraculous birth of the triplets, Tanner, Connor, and Sydney. The triplets are almost 12 years old now, but I still have the jar and will keep it forever. Love and hugs to our miracle triplet grandchildren. 

Some of our 2012 jars ready for the freezer

Comparing the triplet bottle to canning jar

The baby bottle jar I'll keep forever

My strawberry patch -- a beginning

The triplets and their Mom, Lisa - 2012