18 Summers

Making Memories Instead of Chasing More

"Be content with such things as ye have." Hebrews 13:5

You only get the privilege of 18 Summers to make sweet memories with your children before they begin cutting their own trail. Being intentional about how we spend our days, as we enjoy our 13th summer together, is really important to me this year. My homemaking career has spanned a lifetime. As the older children grew up, I started to understand the importance of making each day count with them, while they are in your care. 

When I was a young mother, I would long for the days that I would be to clean my home and it would actually stay that way. Not anymore, because I know that if there is nobody there to dirty the home, it means there is no one there to make sweet memories with. I am so thankful for dirty dishes and dirty laundry because it means the people I love were there to dirty them. ♥️ I coveted sweet memories with the children God entrusted to me much more than anything money could ever buy me. 

Some of our Summer 2026 Memories:

The twins were in our church's VBS play. 

I made some pretty sweet, from scratch, cinnamon rolls, for my son, while visiting from Washington. We cooked, baked and smoked food for days! Yum-O! I don't get to see him very often, so I made all things tasty for him. 

I got to meet my third grandchild. 💕

My oldest son came to visit and stayed for several days. I really enjoyed our visit. 💕

& We watched fireworks with our grandson. 

Overall, my 13th summer with the twins has been everything I could have hope for and more! I am really learning to be present 🎁 each day because they truly are a gift. We don't need extravagant. We need presence. 

Lastly I have decided, since blogging is very old school, I am going to mix it up with some new school for you to enjoy. For the young ones you probably already knew that because of the AI generated post header. But for all others, the AI generated video of me doing the salsa should really be the old school/new school flavor maker. Enjoy!

Constant

It was bittersweet closing my Etsy store this year, and since then I've been reflecting back on the beginning of our homeschooling journey. Reflecting not only our homeschool journey, but also the growth of my children, myself and our lives in general. As much as our lives ebb and flow, I can see the constant thread of my God. I see how He has always been there patiently watching over and leading. So faithful and as constant as the earth spins and the sun rises and sets on us each day. 

James 1:17

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

When we first began our homeschool journey I knew that we needed consistency in our daily activity to keep us on track with academics and train the children in forming good living habits. Now as we are about to enter our last year of Middle School, we know exactly what to do and when to do it. It's like clockwork. I don't need to spend the first hour of our day explaining the order of events or asking for the daily living tasks to be done. We just do them and that frees up time to get down to the learning. Consistency in early childhood pays out big dividends and I am reaping those benefits now. 

My recent life events, which includes the birth of my third grandchild, has got me thinking about how important it is for my grandchildren to have grandparents who are consistent with their actions. Children thrive in consistency. Consistency is an attribute of Jesus and I want to be like Him in my service to my family. I do not have fancy things or tons of money to offer them, but I have something much better....love.... constant, unconditional love. I want my children and grandchildren to know that as sure as the sun rises I will be here waiting for them whenever they need me. I am going to be intentional about setting holiday traditions with them. Traditions they can take comfort in because they are consistent. 

During my time of reflecting back, I thought maybe I would start to write/journal our lives again, but this time without the restriction of have to do it to drive traffic for sales. I started searching for the platform to do such a thing and wouldn't you know.... I stumbled upon my old Blogger site. Blogging is so weird. Even the word, "blog," is funny. 😆 It makes me laugh. Going back through my old posts, some of which are so embarrassing I do not have the publish button on, I can see the huge personal grow. That makes me thankful. Thankful for the fact that even though I have gone through many changes in life, Jesus never changes. He is constant. 

The photo is of Payten and I at the Capitol with Homeschool Oklahoma. I know it's kind of random for a blog post about Lord's consistency, but I had to jump back in somewhere. Plus, I was trying to figure out how I was going to be pulling the images through. 

Lastly, I will leave you the song that comes to mind when I think about how constant God's love has been for me. Enjoy!

Robin Hood: A Homeschool Math Adventure

2nd Grade Homeschool Math

Homeschooling my twin boys has been such a honor. Writing the curriculum we use made homeschooling so special. It was a way for me to share my heart with them. 

While I do have this curriculum available inside our Etsy store here: Robin Hood Math

I wore the curriculum as a gift to my children. 

We started this course at the beginning of the year during the 2020 pandemic. Robinhood math has two parts. We completed Part 1 before winter break and finished the school year with part two. 

Here is some of the work we did.

The math curriculum was written with a running story of Robin Hood & his Merry Men and Women. Each learning concept accompanies a short chapter of the story. 

Little John

When Robin Hood meets Little John there isn't enough room on the bridge for the two men. After dueling, they both end up on the water. The boys helped the charters jump out of the water on stones ... counting by fives. 

I drew stones on the pavement and they jumped and counted by fives. 

Main Lesson Bookwork

Friar Tuck

The boys learned to count coins with Friar Tuck. 

Dad helps teach our coin lesson. 

Lady Mirian

We learned to tell time.

Archery

Weather permitting ... they boys have practiced archery during this block. When we finish, they will be able to shoot their target and add their points using their column adding skills.

This conculded Part 1 of Robinhood Math. 

This math curriculum is given in two parts. Part 1 could be done before winter break and Part 2 after. 

I will make another blog post for the second part of this 2nd Grade Math Curriculum. 🏹

Space Science: A Christian Home School Study

It is important to give credit where credit is due. Ask any artist how offensive it is when someone else takes credit for their work. That's why teaching my children about who the author and creator of the universe is important to us. 

"O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth ... When I consider thy heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained." Psalms 8:1 and 3

Home School Curriculum

For this unit we are using The Good and the Beautiful curriculum. The best part about it .... we got ours F.R.E.E. for download. It isn't for free anymore, but the PDF is still super C.H.E.A.P ... which is the next best thing to free. Get it here: Space Science

☆ The Good & the Beautiful is a Non-denominational Christian curriculum that we have come to love very much!

• The book that we are reading alongside the unit is, "Space: God's Majestic Handiwork" by Susan Windsor 

This book is perfect! It prepares children to hear about "The Big Bang Theory" and explains that we do do not believe everything just happened by accident. I highly recommend this book.

Our Home School Science Journals

The first thing we did was put together our Science Journals. They are a three ring binder with notebook paper and blank paper inside. Then, the boys painted a nice cover. They are always happy when we get the paints out. 

Unit One we learned about our Solar System. I had cards with each planet on them and the boys took turns ordering them. Each, child drew a picture of the Solar System inside their Science Journal accompanied by a definition. We also started our read aloud book. Several years ago, I started reading to the children during lunch. Each day, we read a few pages from it. 

Unit Two: We learned about our Galaxy, The Milky Way. The boys painted it on watercolor paper with acrylics. The background was layed one day and the top layer the next. We tapped them inside their Science Journals accompanied with the definition of a galaxy. 

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1 

This school year we are memorizing Bible verses and the one on our board during our Space Unit was perfect! 

We are using the "Jesus Storybook Bible" by Sally Llyod-Jones for our stories. To help us track our progress of scripture memorization, I made the boys this cute form. They love getting stickers! ♡ If you would like this form for your child, you can download it here:

Bible Verse Memorization Sheet

I will continue to update on our Science Unit as we go along. 

Thinking Ahead for our Next Science ... and getting it FREE.

☆ The Good & the Beautiful is updating their curriculum this year. For now, they have their Marine Biology unit FREE for download. Here

Growing & Canning Pumpkins on the Homestead

"A thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest."  William Blake ~

Growing your own pumpkin patch is fun and exciting with delicious returns that provide a ton of activities for the children.

Planting Pumpkins at Garden School: A Summer time activity

When the days are long and hot midsummer, the last thing you may be thinking about is the cool days of fall, but that is precisely when thoughts of pumpkins should begin. For a pumpkin patch to be well established by the time Mr. Jack-O-Lantern comes on the scene, the seeds must go into the ground around the 4th of July. While everyone else was running around blowing up things, we were putting our seeds into the ground. We planted our pumpkins inside one of our raised beds about an inch sow depth. 

My 2nd graders love helping in the garden. The pumpkins were a great crop for them to plant because the seeds are large enough for their little hands to control. 

Garden School Fall Harvest

Fast forward to fall ...

I now fully understand why EVERYTHING is pumpkin in the fall. We have pumpkins growing out our ears now. Our plans for them: puree several, carve two, and sell the rest out of the back of our car in town. 

Talk about the power of one seed!

I'm really excited about the homemade pumpkin puree. I have big cooking plans for them ... pumpkin rolls, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin smoothies. Whoooo who!

How to Make & Can Pumpkin Puree

Here is our Pumpkin puree processes.

Step One:

Cut the top and get all the guts out. 

Don't forget to save some of the seeds ... you will want to keep it going.

Step Two:

Cut into pieces and measure out 8 cups of pumpkin. (This batch is going to make about three pints of pumkin puree. A average sized pumpkin will be enough pumpkin to do this entire process twice, giving you a total of six pints per pumpkin.) Put the cut pieces into a large pot and add 4 cups of water. 

Step Four:

Over a medium heat, boil until pieces are tender. (Start boiling the water for the water bath canner with the jars inside.) Then, stain off most of the water. 

* Everything about water bath canning means HEAT. This is probably the only part the littles may need another activity to do. 

Step Five:

In a blender or food processor puree the mixture until smooth.

Step Six:

Add sugar to taste. I think I used about a cup. 

Step Seven:

Bring mixture to a boil. 

Step Eight:

Canning the puree: remove your hot jars from the canner and fill with the mixture. Leave an inch of headspace at the top. With a knife, stick it down into the jars and run along the sides of the jar to release air bubbles. Wipe the rims with a rag and put the bands and lids on hand tight. 

Process the jars inside the water bath canner for 20 mins. 

I reserved enough puree to fill our cupcake pan. We covered the pan and stuck it in the freezer for latter use. We will use the frozen puree in our pumpkin smoothies. Yum! 

Lastly, one of our favorite books!

The children reach for this book year round! Pumpkins aren't just for Halloween. 

** For information about Homeschooling or Homesteading products Ancient Path offers, we would love it very much if you took a look around our Etsy Shop. Our family is so grateful for all of you who have supported us over the years. Thank you!

Lemon Balm Cone Flower Immunity Booster

"This herb should be kept in every gentlewoman's house…it causeth the mind and heart to become merry and driveth away troublesome cares."  17th-century herbalist Culpeper ~

Our Lemon Balm Cone Flower Herbal Immunity Booster

A good herbalist will find many uses for one plant. Not that I like to consider myself a herbalist .. I despise labels! At any rate, lemon balm and cone flower both have immunity boosting properties. I have had this immunity boosting medicine in the works for some time now. It is lemon balm and cone flower and child safe. I plan on starting the twins on this in the fall in preparation of the colder months.

 

Our Lemon Balm is homegrown on our homestead. These are two year plants. Lemon Balm is easy to grow and does well in most soil. Our Lemon Balm was one of the first herbs planted in our garden.

Cone flower is still in the works here. The ones we used to make our immunity booster were sent to us from some dear friends. Native Americans have been using cone flowers for a very long time and they grow wild in some places.

To make: fill a mason jar full of lemon balm and cone flowers. Pour vegetable glycerin into the jar, filling it about three quarters full. For medicine I plan on giving to the children, I use vegetable glycerin as a binding agent for the tinctures. Don't want to get the littles drunk. lol. The glycerin is actually sweet tasting. So, the littles love it. They actually ask me to take their herbs daily!

Put your jar in a dark place and let it sit for at least six weeks. About every other day, give your jar a good shake!

When it is finished, strain the herbs threw a muslin bag to separate the herbs from the liquid. Then, funnel the medicine into glass amber jars.

Our family take a dropper of this immunity booster each morning.

Happenings Around the Homestead

Work hard, play hard. We've got to get the chores done before we play. 

Saturday afternoon I spent all day in the kitchen again, peeling and canning 10 pounds of apples. There is a serious Science to canning. I mean, you could open up a can of food 10 years latter and stay alive with it. Well, you are either going to stay alive or die from food poisoning. 😂 Canning has to be done %100 correct or the food will get bacteria on it. Giving someone food poisoning is counter intuitive to keeping them alive. So, you really have to pay attention! I am following the Ball Canning Guides 

A Homestead Bonfire

Just for fun ... check out  

Bonfire 101

**For information about Homeschooling or Homesteading products Ancient Path offers, we would love it very much if you took a look around our Etsy Shop. Our family is so grateful for all of you who have supported us over the years. Thank you!

Garden Schooling on the Homestead 2020

Online is a tough place to be right now. So many hurting people. This momma here really needs to guard her heart from all the noise. There is much important work to do. 🕊

Above all else, guard your heart, ❤
    for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

I do not have any plans to be on social media for the summer, but I still needed a place to share our sweet memories and this seems like the right place to do it. 

Garden Schooling on the Homestead

Our garden is growing and so are we. We have been keeping a small garden for two years now, only two raised beds. It has been a work in progress for many years. The garden patch was heavily wooded when we started and had to develop the whole thing. 

This Spring we finally closed it up. Since the garden was closed we could finally grow as much as we wanted to without worrying about losing anything to the animals. 🌱

Since our winter was so mild, we have had a terrible time with grasshoppers this year. Some plants are completely destroyed, but we keep going ... and keep learning. Overall, I would have to say we are doing great for our first year. 🕊

Food Preserving on the Homestead

What else are we doing this summer? ....food preserving. I am planning a pantry challenge this winter, where we live only out of our pantry for two months. I have done a lot of things in life and feel like I am intelligent, but let me tell you that food prepping makes my head hurt. 🤣 There are so many things to considered, and canning is a complete Science in itself. 

The pickled eggs probably won't make it to the winter ... unless I hide them. 🤔 Here is the YouTube University we went to when we learned how to make them. Pickled Eggs

Also, I am buying meat in bulk, on sale, cooking and vacuum sealing dinner portions. Today, I cooked and sealed a weeks worth of meat. We eat a lot of soups in the winter time. All these portions will go inside soups. Since the are precooked, even if our power ever goes out ... we will be eating good. 😁

So, I'm still here friends. Just in a different way for a time. 🦋 I still get notifications when you message me on Ancient Path's business page and you can always shoot me an Email 

Final thoughts: My deepest wish is to make it out of the Summer with clean hands and a pure heart. ❤

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Mathew 5:8 🕊

For information about Homeschooling or Homesteading products Ancient Path offers, we would love it very much if you took a look around our Etsy Shop. Our family is so grateful for all of you who have supported us over the years. Thank you!