JOPLIN, Mo. — By May 17, three cribs, three car seats, three strollers and a mountain of diapers in a tiny home on Jackson Avenue were ready for the arrival of triplets Addison, Lauren and Reagan Harper.

First-time parents Jayme, 34, and Chris, 33, had painted the room khaki, intending to develop it as a nursery with a jungle scene as time and money allowed.

“Their closet was packed with little clothes,” Chris recalled. “We were ready.”

That day, a Tuesday, the triplets made their appearance into the world at Freeman Hospital at 31 weeks — eight weeks before their due date.

Addison, the feisty one at 1.13 pounds, came first, followed by Lauren, the more laid-back of the three, weighing in at 2.2 pounds.

Reagan is the youngest, and therefore much more spoiled, her parents say, but she also was the biggest at 3.11 pounds.

Their early birth has brought countless challenges to the couple, but it’s something Jayme and Chris credit with the reason the entire family is alive.

On May 22, that nursery awaiting them on Jackson Avenue was destroyed, along with the rest of their house, when an EF-5 tornado swept across Joplin just blocks from Freeman.

“It’s gone,” Chris said. “It’s all gone. Some of the diapers were still there, but we were told not to use them because there might be little bits of insulation in them.”

Following the triplets’ birth, Jayme suffered from preeclampsia. So while the three girls were attended to in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Jayme remained a patient at the hospital, too, and Chris visited them every day.

‘JUST A NORMAL DAY’

“May 22, it was just a normal day,” recalled Chris. Late that afternoon, he decided to leave the hospital to make a quick trip home to let out their three dogs, then pick up a bite to eat somewhere.

On his way back to Freeman, the tornado sirens sounded.

“I got to Freeman and got inside, and Jayme and I took shelter in the bathroom, which is a safe room,” he said. “We had no clue what was going on out there — all we heard was a whistle in the vent.”

An hour later they emerged to find that Freeman was fine, their babies were fine, but much of Joplin was not.

“I was so nervous, I left immediately to try to get back to our house, got a ride down 26th Street but couldn’t get through, so I just jumped out and took off running,” said Chris. “There were gas leaks everywhere, downed lines, I knew it was going to be bad.”

It was.

“I could see St. John’s from there,” he said of his yard upon his arrival. “I could only ever see it before in the winter when the leaves were off of the trees.”

The roof was gone, walls had collapsed, their car in the driveway was a mangled mess and one of the dogs was missing.

Gone with it were their dreams for beginning life with their girls in that house.

“It was a tight, cramped house, but we were going to get along. It was our first married home, and it might have been tiny but there was a lot of love there,” said Jayme.

Their two Chihuahuas, which Chris had left inside in their small cages, were alive. The other dog, a mix, was missing for four days.

“I just started carrying stuff from our house — what I could find that was salvageable — for several blocks, and the next day went back and tried to find more,” Chris said.

With no home to stay in, Chris was given a room at nearby Ronald McDonald House, where upon Jayme’s release a few days later she would join him. Their stay ended Thursday on a happy note, and they began sharing their story with the Globe there Friday.

“We have a new home now,” Jayme said. “We stayed in it last night. It was bittersweet.”

Joining them was Reagan, dismissed Monday — dressed all in pink and twice her original size at 6.9 pounds.

With five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a basement — one of Jayme’s requirements since the storm — it’s significantly bigger than their Jackson Avenue home and they’re thrilled to have found it.

The couple said it’s been an emotional seven weeks since the triplets’ birth — much more than they had anticipated as new parents.

“But we’re surviving,” said Jayme as she wiped away sudden tears.

Chris, who works for O&F Machine Products in Joplin, said it was challenging for him, at first, to put in full days at work.

“I couldn’t keep my mind on it,” he said.

Later Friday morning, as the couple visited Addison and Lauren at Freeman NICU, Chris said he will be dedicating most of his time to transporting what the family has in storage to their new home, and visiting relief centers throughout the city to see if there are any donated items available.

Jayme has taken leave of her job at the Miami Walgreens, a place she said is “filled with wonderful co-workers” who helped them in the days after the storm.

“I’ve been spending 90 percent of my time in the hospital with the girls,” she said as she stroked Lauren’s hair.

But now that Reagan has been released and is not allowed in the NICU rooms, the couple juggles who cares for her while one or the other of them visits Addison and Lauren.

“That’s been the hardest part, because I can’t be with all of them at once,” Jayme said. “And it’s so hard to say goodbye to them at the end of the day.”

Hospital officials estimate Addison’s and Lauren’s release date to be late in August, as they must first learn to suck, swallow and breathe on their own and gain weight.

Throughout it all, the couple said they have tried to remain optimistic.

“Lauren has only one functioning kidney, because the other has a cyst on it,” said Jayme. “But that’s minor compared to what it could have been.”

‘THANKFUL’

Friday afternoon as she helped Reagan get settled into her new pack-and-play crib in the living room of their new home on Marigold Street, Jayme said she didn’t feel any more special than any of the others who have suffered from the May 22 tornado.

“We’re thankful. Very, very thankful,” she said. “This will be our forever home now, and someday we’ll be putting the girls downstairs for slumber parties.”

Among what they’ve received are two light blue rubber bracelets that read, “God is with us, we will rebuild. In memory of Joplin tornado victims.”

“We never take these off,” Jayme said.

They also own a bright yellow poster some 6 feet long, sent from a class in New Hampshire with words of hope written by the students: “Never give up.” “Good things will come.”

They are considering hanging it up in their new home, as it inspires them. “Faith has definitely helped us,” said Jayme. “The hardest part is taking from others. We live in an area where we’re used to giving. But all of this will give us a lesson to teach our daughters when they’re older.”