A few months I ago I was contacted by a television producer named Peter who recently launched a parenting website called BabyMeTV.com. He is a former producer for the Discovery Channel's popular show "Birth Day." Peter is using his creative talent now to reach new parents through BabyMeTV, which features high-quality videos and guest columns on topics related to raising young children.Initially, Peter approached me about writing a column for his website and I agreed to that. But after we talked for quite a while on the phone, he was forming all kids of ideas in his head. I told him about my life and what it's like to raise 6 children without my husband here. I even told about my secret plan to bring Jason home for Christmas and wrap him up in a gift box for the kids to be surprised. Peter then asked if I would allow him to come and film our family for a feature on BabyMeTV.
The next thing that I knew, I had a video camera following me around the house as I washed dishes, made lunch, and changed diapers. When Jason came home for Christmas, Peter and a production assistant were there with cameras rolling. There were interview questions to answer, but mostly I just went about my life as usual...except with a camera in my kitchen.
I haven't seen the final product yet since Peter had hours of film to edit. He visited us twice and is preparing a series of webisodes for BabyMeTV that will tell my story. At some point in the near future I should be able to post a short trailer for our BabyMeTV webisodes. In the coming weeks we should see the first part in the series up for viewing as well. And there are even plans in the works for some future filming for the final part of the webisode series when Jason returns home from Iraq. Hopefully sharing my story will be an encouragement to other parents who are experiencing similar struggles.
In the end, I see this as a permanent reminder of what life is like for me right now, right in the thick of it. When I'm 60 years old and my children are grown, it might be hard for me to remember what it felt like to be living this crazy life. I'm so blessed, yet everything is also an incredible challenge too. I think it's awesome that I'll be able to have professional film footage of my children to remind me of these days!
