strawberry jam

We went strawberry picking yeterday morning and got five flats of strawberries in an hour. The last flat we all picked together and filled in ten minutes, because we were racing to see how quickly we could do it. We forgot the camera, so no pics of that, but we do have pics of the jam making.

After I cleaned them at the sink, Mom hulled them.



After Mom hulled them, Max and Jayden took turns smashing them.







Then the older three boys mixed the pectin (we used the no cook kind) and sugar and berries together and then filled the containers.



We made 44 cups of jam in around two hours with the boy's help. In all, from field to freezer, it was about four hours. Not to shabby!!! The boys are a tremendous help.




We then went to my friend's house and spent 5 hrs setting up, cleaning up items and pricing items for the rummage sale. The three older boys helped with that for about three hours and again were an amazing amount of help.

Then Brent came and got the boys, so that my friend and I could go in to Mom's Night Out, for my home schooling group. We had a lot of fun. We hang out at Barne's and Noble and just enjoy talking about anything and everything.

I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for my Grandmother. She is my Father's Mother and she had open heart surgery on Wed. She was doing well right after, but she went to sleep that night and hasn't woken up since. If she doesn't wake up today, they're going to do an MRI and check for a stroke. I haven't officially blogged about my Father passing away, it's been too painful, but for those who don't know, my Father passed away from a stroke in April. I'm trying to stay positive and concentrate on the positive, but I'll have to admit, I'm struggling. So if you pray, say a little prayer for my family and myself. My Grandmother is a strong, incrediable woman who beat cancer a few years back, so she can beat this too.