Making heaven with the cousins...Strawberry Freezer Jam

 

You know it is getting closer to back-to-school when signs of this upcoming event start to pop up everywhere!

Julie and I were going to take the kids to the local Six Flags (Elitchs), but the weather was gloomy, so we quickly changed plans, donned aprons, and made freezer jam with all the girls!

Side note: My camera battery has been giving me trouble, so we had to start this little project via the I-Phone!

First the girls washed and trimmed the tops off the strawberries!

Julie got started on the first batch and tracked down her favorite recipe!

I'm going to quickly throw that in here, so we have it always!

Next, we loaded the strawberries up in the Ninja, and pulsed them just enough to have tiny bits of fruit, not pureed fruit.

Perfect blend!

Then we measured exactly 4 cups of strawberries, 3 cups of sugar, and one handy PINK box of SURE JELL.

Put those in a pot on the stove, stirred occasionally until a rolling boil, and then continuously stirred for ONE minute exactly with a constant boil.

Then we poured them directly into these nifty Ziploc containers!

Then...REPEAT...over and over until you get a counter full of jam, and very happy girls!

Kenna and Ellie made a batch from start to finish!

LOVE seeing them together!

After the hoopla of all the big girls helping out and doing batch after batch, Tymber decided to help out with the last batch of the day.

***Disclaimer! I would NEVER normally allow pictures of me like this.  Frizzy hair, double chin and all, but I NEVER want to forget what this day felt like cooking that batch of jam with Tymber!

She was TOTALLY into it!

She may only have just turned two weeks ago, but you would never know it.

She measured the sugar, poured it in, and stirred away.

I love that messy face...and I LOVE being a mom!

Leveling off the measuring cup...so CUTE!

An VOILA...the fruit of our labors...literally!

And just like the Little Red Hen, Easton showed up as the homemade bread was baking and photo bombed our Instagram moment!

Such a great day!

Hicks family say farewell...for two years~TODAY!!

Jordan Kenneth Hicks
Minnesota Minneapolis Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
August 7, 2013

TODAY IS THE DAY that this cutie says goodbye for two years to her oldest brother!

God speed Elder Hicks!

We love you!

Tell them the truth, and let the Spirit do the rest!

Love the Cecil family!

We miss you Gabby...but dream of someday!

Instagram picture of the month...My beautiful children celebrating the memory of their little sister, Gabrielle.

Even as I posted this picture that sweet day, I would have no idea how the whole day would play out.

We went with daisies in hand, wrapped in ribbon by Ellie, to be together where her tiny body lay.

But when we arrived, just pure sweetness greeted us.

Not sadness.

Just the quiet of a peaceful day.

The girls and Easton wandered around sharing stories they read off the other gravestones nearby. 

Stories of short lives of real little ones with family that missed them.

There were babies that were here for months, a few that shared a year with their families, but most just one day.

The perfectly engraved stones bore a name and one date.

The day their little one came here to earth...the same day their spirit went home.

Not to a home full of the smell of newly laundered baby clothes and patterned blankets.

Not to the home with the bassinet sitting empty by the bed of loving parents.

But their home above.

That is where our sweet Gabrielle is...usually.

But not today.

July 26th, this year, was filled with a day of sharing time with her here with us in spirit.

There were signs of her everywhere.

We felt her everywhere.

We missed her.

We love you Gabby!

 These two pictures were taken within seconds of each other.

Did not change the setting on the camera.

Did not turn on the flash.

Just heaven, right here with us, sharing the picture with us.

 My favorite picture of the day!

Look at her gentle hand on the hand of that big sister.

Pure joy!

 As we loaded up in the car, Annie wandered back over to Gabby's bench.

She was fixated on the silver burial box, and would not leave the flowers on the bench.

She wanted them as close to her sister as possible, so she took them and laid them below.

It was beautiful.

And real.

I am grateful for this beautiful family that I have.

The ones who challenge me every day, and the ones I miss everyday.

The ones I get the opportunity to nurture every day, and the ones I will nurture someday.

Most of all, I am grateful for the opportunity to be together forever!