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The Filming of Our Pilot Episode ‘House+Home’ for CatholicTV / A Behind the Scenes Look

October 3, 2008 By Laura 3 Comments

October 2008 – This past Wednesday was the filming day of our family at our home for the pilot episode of ‘House+Home‘, for CatholicTV. We did it! And what a day it was! In this post we are sharing all of the chaos and behind the scenes happenings of filming day at our house.

To fill you in on the premise of the show, the series of House+Home takes viewers to Catholic family homes. In each episode Fr. Reed visits the family, and learns how they use faith, hope and love to turn their house into a home, and how they as a family, live out their Catholic faith in their daily lives.

Nerves (Big-Time) & Our Incentive

The night before, it started to hit us, what we were about to do. As Michael and I plopped into bed about midnight, the night before, Michael whispered into the dark, “We’re crazy.”….and we both busted out laughing hysterically.

In the first place, we were a bit self conscious about the state of our home, and having it all filmed for tv, as we were still in the process of working very hard on the house and yard after a major renovation. Our home and yard projects were far from done, with much still left undone, and not particularly looking very nice! Not to mention, we were also just personally nervous and somewhat uncomfortable at the idea of being in front of TV cameras. However, we believed in the premise of the show, and hoped our going first would encourage many other families to follow in our footsteps and also share this beautiful faith, and how they too uniquely live it out daily in their own lives. We certainly had personal stories and testaments of our faith to share, and knowing too that it is the love, of Christ and family, that makes a house a home, (and not the projects completed or not) we felt called by God to respond with a ‘yes‘, after Fr. Reed asked our family to be filmed for this pilot episode.

It was also one of those experiences that don’t come along every day (certainly never in our days). What a wonderful and educational experience for the kids, to not only see television production, but be a part of it, and to realize all of the hard work that goes into making a tv show.

Fr. Robert Reed (president of CatholicTV, and host of the show) had filled us in very well in the prior weeks, of exactly what to expect throughout this filming day. There were no surprises. (Well, maybe a few little ones. lol) Somehow, though, when the crew started arriving, setting up all of the equipment, and having little crew huddles talking about their plan and work to be done, we felt the nerves start to set in! But it wasn’t long before we were filming segments, and there was no time to even think about nerves, because we were so focused on what we were saying and doing.

Sharing/Showing What We Can

Of course I took any behind-the-scenes photos I could get in. There aren’t many though, because I was on camera myself most of the time! But here are some behind the scene snapshots I managed to take, to share, and record this day for the kids. I won’t bother telling you about the entire day, because honestly, there’s a lot and I’m not sure I could remember it all. It was many hours of footage. But here’s a preview, and I guess you’ll just have to watch the episode to get the rest!

“Ready, aaaand . . . .ROLL!!!”

The filming started with our guest, and host (and creator, I believe) of the show, Fr. Reed arriving:

We welcomed him to our home, chatted a bit in the sun room, and then we gave him a tour of the house and our studio/work areas.

Interviews

After wards, we all had interviews with Fr. Reed. {A}’s (our oldest daughter) was first, outdoors in our work-in-progress-yard, ‘up in the mountains’, near the huge pile of tree brush and stumps, which is only still there because it is where some of A’s chipmunks live. (She has hand-tamed a large number of chipmunks. See for yourself HERE.) We were all hoping they would come out for {A}, as they always do, but with the crew all around, it wasn’t happening. They were too shy and scared. Earlier though, one of the crew guys did happen to see out the slider door, one of the chipmunks come up on the deck and around our door, waiting for {A} to come out and feed him, though. Anyway, we couldn’t hear {A}’s interview down in the yard, but I did get this shot of them up there filming it. Her interview will be a bit of a surprise for us all.

After that was what they called ‘the triplet interview’, which I had no idea they planned on doing. (Surprise #1) { J, O and S}, did really well. We couldn’t actually hear all of that either, but it looked like it was going really well. We’re anxious to hear what they said. (And can only imagine!) Bet it’s going to be cute!

Us parents had a couple’s interview, as well, also by Fr. Reed, of course. Ours was in the house, and the hardest part for us. We had the big light on us, and it was like a real tv studio interview, with crew guys and equipment all around. But Fr. Reed asked great questions about our faith, how it encourages and sustains us in our lives for us personally, and more. We think it went pretty well. Of course, we started thinking about what we forgot to say, or wish we didn’t say, lol…but no one knows those things. For just regular people here, I think we did pretty well. Ok, I did choke up once, because some questions were linked to emotionally deep stuff for us, but, I got it together. ; ) No photos of us being interviewed, of course, but they filmed it all. It will be edited down, of course.

Cameramen were just all over the place, all of the time. It’s true that you do start getting a little used to it, pretty quickly. Here’s just one of the guys in our unfinished stairwell to the upstairs.

Sharing a Meal Together

We invited Fr. Reed to stay for dinner, as is part of the show (although we were happy to anyway), and made our family recipe/tradition of pizza together in the kitchen. He helped make the dough. : ) When the pizzas came out of the oven, we gathered around the table, and had grace and dinner together, but of course we fed the crew, too! Here (below) they are, minus the photographer (for the CatholicTV Magazine), who left a little early before filming was done. (We wrapped up some pizza to go for him.) Can I just say the whole crew is the NICEST bunch of guys, and were so great to work with! Just great guys. The guy on the left was the producer. It was kind of funny to see the them squirm a little, though, when they found themselves in front of MY camera. I guess THEY prefer to be behind the camera, too! Imagine that! But they kindly obliged. (Thanks guys!!)

Blog Fan in the House!

After dinner, Fr. Reed took the kids to the computer, because apparently he’s a new fan of our blog! (Surprise #2). They talked with him about their photos on it, and some of their adventures and activities, and then they went to CatholicTV.com. The kids are very familiar with CatholicTV, and all of the shows Fr. Reed is on. So they got a kick out of watching it on the computer, with him on it, and yet him also sitting in the computer chair next to them, watching it with them. lol

Our Visit and Filming Ends

We filmed the good-by and end of our visit, with us waving, and Fr. Reed driving off.
But then Fr. Reed came back, off-camera. lol

After filming was done, and the crew was packed up and gone, Fr. Reed gave {A} a little Latin lesson, which he has done virtually every Sunday after Mass at church, for quite awhile. It is he, who inspired {A} to take Latin as a subject this school year (at home), which she is doing very well in. She loves it. So here they are, as he gives her another one of his little lessons.

Exhausted, Wired & Grateful

When Fr. Reed left for real, we were wiped out!! We were relieved we got through it, and it seemed to go so well. (I guess we’ll all see soon enough!)
We really enjoyed the whole process, though. It was just an amazing day we will always remember. Surreal, really. As long and tiring of a day that it was, we are so glad we did it. The kids did so well, all day, and we’re really proud of them. It was a big day for them. We certainly have a new and even greater respect for television production, and all Fr. Reed does at CatholicTV, every day!

Somehow though, the whole day’s experience really gave us a heightened sense of the real family that we are, and how very blessed we are. It also seemed to call for a family photo, via the timer in my camera. : ) After the photo, as tired as were were, we were also wired and had some funny energy to get out. So we all changed into jeans and sneakers, and went to the park (actually, we went to 2!) to run, climb, and even play hopscotch.

The next morning, after devotion, and before a regular schooling day, we asked the kids “What was your very favorite part of the taping day?”. They all just smiled big as they thought and thought, and it was so quiet for a moment. And then {A} said “I don’t know…I mean, the whole day was just totally fun!!”….to which {J, O and S} replied…”Yeah! The whole day was TOTALLY FUN!!“. Indeed it was.

We’ll keep you posted when we know an air date for the show, and when the series begins. Today was another special day, of which we’ll blog about next. Meanwhile, thanks so much, for checking in, and sharing in our experience with us.

The Richard Family
(2008)

Whale Carcass Washes Ashore – A Spontaneous Field Trip

September 23, 2008 By Laura 1 Comment

This morning, after having had an extended weekend away, we were planning a regular school day today, with getting some our book lessons done. That is, until we woke up to helicopters, circling around and around, near our house. So my husband turned on the tv to find out what might be going on, and low and behold, there was a whale carcass washed ashore on our beach nearby. Time for a spontaneous field trip! THIS is the beauty of homeschooling!

So the kids ate breakfast, washed up and got dressed as fast as they could, and we all headed out in search of the whale. After a driving down a few side-roads that had public access ways, and checking the shore there, we finally found the spot. Except the only way down was very steep, very sandy and rocky cliff. But if you know us…..we went for it. We all made it down safely, as I wondered out loud, repeatedly, how we’d ever make it back up! But we’d figure that out later I guess. We had a dead whale to study. : )

Though it didn’t seem to be a full grown adult, it was rather impressive, nonetheless. (And seemed huge to our little kids.) It was so interesting to see all of it’s parts, up close and in person. as a whole, it was not pretty by any means!! Not anymore, anyway. Part of it was really decomposing, as it seemed to have been dead awhile, and just finally got washed ashore.

This side (photo below), was the worst. It was barely recognizable as a whale at all. And in standing on the other side, where the breeze came on off-water, the smell was intolerable. UGH! But it was this side that you could see the bones of the jaw, on the far right, as well as the eye socket. So it was fascinating, visually.

The kids enjoyed walking around it, checking it out, asking questions and stepping on it’s tail. LOL. Naturally, I was taking photos, and thinking about blogging with such yucky, yet interesting photos, about our unexpected experience. Below at this angle you can see the upper jaw bones even better, on the far left this time.

As we were looking at it, yet another couple of helicopters were flying around over head. Other people began to arrive too, and some guessed we were homeschoolers.

Once we had our fill of fascination and disgust, we decided to figure out which one of the many sets of beach access stairs, that climbed the cliff-side, were public. As we made our way down the beach, we came across a scattered intestines of the whale, here and there, that had washed up separately. (Yuck.) Once up the cliff and on our way up the road, back to our van, we saw the environmental police showing up. Marine biologists had already been there, in the earlier morning hours.

When we got home, we did some research and determined that it was a humpback whale. Later TV news reports throughout the day confirmed that. It’s not yet determined if this whale died of natural causes, or by accident due to being bumped by a ship, or caught up in fishing nets. It seems they plan to retrieve the the skeleton of the whale for museum display, and either bury the flesh, or drag it back out to sea.

It was yet another homeschooling adventure our kids were able to witness! They talked about it the rest of the day, and the little ones colored pictures of whales and other sea creatures, and recreated the scene with imaginary play. After we got all of our book lessons done of course.

Tea Time for Our Lady of Sorrows Feast Day

September 15, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

Today is Our Lady of Sorrows Feast Day, so I’m be sharing a little special something I did with the kids, to learn a bit about it, and acknowledge it. Over the weekend, we decided to look around in The Christmas Tree Shops. If you don’t have one of those near you, I feel bad for you. It’s such a great, affordable place, and I always come out with more than I planned on getting. So I try not to go in often. : ) But this time we all went in – and being the season to sell autumn decorations and goods, I had to control myself with every turn. However…..we did let the kids each choose a mini loaf ceramic pan, with the intention of letting them bake some mini loaves on Sunday.

Sunday got away in terms of baking. So then it got pushed to Monday…which is today. This morning, somehow we went way off track of our usual school morning routine. We got into helping the kids put finishing touches on some paper crafts they had started yesterday ( I’ll be blogging about that soon), and then we had to clean up the mess made in a flurry of creativity. By the time we were done, we realized we really needed to get the kids to their schoolwork, so we decided to move family devotion to the afternoon (usually done first in the day). Since we were going to do that, and it was the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, we decided to whip up some Quick Bread first and let the mini loaves bake while we did our school work, and plan on having an afternoon ‘tea’ together, and discuss the Feast Day, after school and lunch.

Boy did the house smell good while school work was getting done. Banana bread – one of our favorites. Soon the timer went off, and it was time for them to come out of the oven and cool for a bit.

The kids we so excited to have their own loaf (not to be eaten ALL at once) that they ate lunch a bit faster.

So we gathered in the sun room for Devotion, and discussion of the Feast Day while having a ‘tea’. We have had a ‘tea’ time a time or 2 before, but it was hot cocoa or something for them in the past. We just called it tea, for the sake of a tea time. But this time they tried some real tea. It was apple cinnamon decaf, and the little ones were pretty excited to try it – even though {A} tried to let them know they may not care for it, since she had tried it before. But she too was willing to try it again. Turns out, she still didn’t like it, 2 others didn’t think they did either. and the last thought it was ‘ok he guessed’. They sipped here and there as we chatted about the Blessed Mother, but not quite like they do hot cocoa. Their own little banana bread loaves, however, they were really enjoying.

For our discussion, first, we asked the kids how many times they could think of off the top of their head, when Mary, the mother of Jesus, might have experienced deep sorrow. Naturally, they all guessed his crucifixion, and death on the cross. {A} also named the time when Mary searched for three days in Jerusalem for her son, who was missing, and later found Him in the temple, teaching. Once they were done throwing out their thoughts, we taught them the 7 times Mary experienced great suffering in her life. We talked quite a bit about it, and how hard many of those times must have been. We can only try and imagine. (And as a mother, I don’t even want to. But I must, to truly begin to appreciate her sacrifice, and reasoning for it.)

It was a lovely tea time, even if the tea itself wasn’t the hit they hoped. There will be others, no doubt. Probably many in the coming cold season. We just leave the table with a warmer feeling inside. Perhaps it’s the tea. Perhaps it’s feeling a bit more in touch with our faith than when we sat. Or maybe it’s just the time together. In any case, we find tea time is good for the soul.

On a somewhat unrelated note, we might mention how Sunday ‘got away’. At some point, either while we were at mass, or picking up lumber at Home Depot, our little friend ‘Webington Ringaling’ broke free in the house…and we still haven’t found him.

Meet ‘Webington Ringaling’ – a Ringneck Snake

September 7, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

I swear that half the fun of getting a new pet, is naming them!

‘Webington Ringaling’ was rescued by {A}. She was on a job site with her Dad on Friday, when she spotted him, with his tail all caught up in a spider’s web. (Thus his cool name.) He’s a Ringneck snake. He’d probably been dangling there for hours, but just couldn’t break free. He had been in the shade, and lucky for him, {A} saved him before the approaching late afternoon sun got to him.

Aside from our formal lessons, every day occurrences like this, are how Science is taught at our home. Natural, real curiosity leads to research, and research leads to reading, and learning. Real life observation provides even more.

There are 12 subspecies of ringneck snakes found over much of the eastern and southern parts of the United States, as well as parts of the Pacific Coast States. ‘Webington Ringaling’ is just a baby, only about 4 inches long. But adults can range from 10-27 inches in length. {A} has learned all kinds of facts about ringnecks, and exactly how to care for this one for awhile, providing for him a safe and healthy environment while she observes him. She’s handled him some too, but not much, because this variety of snake is edgy and nervous, and shouldn’t really be handled unless necessary. (The photo below counts as ‘necessary’ in my book.)

Not sure how long we’ll allow her to keep him. It may depend on how fast he starts growing. He has everything he needs in his terrarium, and she feeds him small insects and slugs. So he’s in a pretty happy environment for the time being.

Just makes me wonder what lessons God has in store for us next.

Our First Day of School /Thoughts on a New Homeschooling Year

September 6, 2008 By Laura 1 Comment

We really view homeschooling as 24/7/365, and the world is our classroom. But in early September every year, we begin the new cycle of academic plans I spent the summer putting together, as well as fresh new books. Some homeschoolers do not ever refer to grade levels for their kids, but we tend to. While they may work ahead of their grade level (or behind if necessary), in any given subject, they generally are all at a grade level. So for all intensive purposes, we have a 6th grader and 3 1st graders this year.

If you haven’t been able to tell, we all love school around here. We just love what and how we do it, and love that we can. : ) But there is something especially exciting about the beginning of a new school year. I get butterflies when the boxes of new books start coming in, and everyone is begging to open those boxes, too! We all love the feel and smell of new books.

And then there is all of the new school supplies. Freshly sharpened pencils crowned with perfect erasers, that new special pen, notebooks filled with fresh white blank pages, just waiting to be covered in the new knowledge that awaits us. And then there is the new crayons, so beautiful you hardly want to use one….but you can’t stop yourself……the fresh set of paints….the folders you can’t wait to put something in. Yeah……there is something thrilling about new school supplies.

This year, being our 4th home schooling (the first 2 only being with one school aged child, formally), I am more prepared and organized than ever. We really want to be better at living the Liturgical Year, as we are called to do by our faith anyway. (We are Roman Catholic.) It’s a lot! We did make efforts last year, and very much enjoyed what we made time to do, but we know we can do better. We WANT to do more, because it really is so spiritually fulfilling, for all of us. So each school day, we will start as we always have, with our Daily Devotion, which in simple terms, is family prayer/scripture study time, and lots of discussion, together. There is much more to study, always more to learn, and more implement more regularly in our faith-practicing daily lives. The greater hope is to bring us closer to Christ, which is the point of every single day.

Other than that, {A} is very excited to start Latin this year, and {J, O and S} are super excited about having ‘Spelling Quizzes’ this year! That “q” word just makes the giggle with anticipation.

Next we’ll just share some photos from the day, with possibly brief explanations. Keeping in mind, this blog is a record for our kids’ memories, as much as sharing with others.

So we starting the first day with Devotion, outside. After prayer, we learned about St. Gregory, as it was his Feast day, and then the kids sang some songs and the dances that go with them, which they learned at VBS. I should have video’s it for you all, knowing how cute they were going to be. But alas, I only took photos.

Here they are rump-shakin’ and a-raisin’-the-roof, praisin’ the Lord! lol. (Can we get an ‘Amen ‘?!)

Then it was time to go in for some more formal work.

They just did some writing, copywork, math, direction games, and had an art/drawing class – which they very much enjoyed. We started with all of the formal subjects the next day. {A} did all of her subjects for the day.

”

Oh, and how we can I forget ‘First Day of School’ photos? I came across LAST YEAR’S first day photos, and was blown away with how much they have grown and changed!! I thought it would be fun to share them and post them side by side. Unreal.

I sure wish they wouldn’t grow like that. Must be all the food they eat. But I’m glad I take so many photos, so we never forget. I hardly remember {A} looking so young and little last year.

Here below was our whole gang last year. I guess I didn’t take this group shots this year, for the first day. And {A} had hers taken in one of the rooms she loves to do her school work in most – the sun room.

Later on in the day, every one spent more time doing some casual reading. (They all love to read and read around here.) I only took a couple more shots of {A} and {S}. As I’ve posted these photos tonight, I see the color is looking off (only) on the blog. I’ll have to look into what the deal is with that but, I’m sure you ‘get the picture’. lol’

Well…that’s about it. I’m tired now. Are you?? (And do you smell somethin’?)