Family Videos

As I drove to Arielle's on my way to a family reunion. I was remembering when Arielle was a baby. I would put a video camera at the food table at family Christmas dinners.  After the reunions were over I would take the videos home. Then on the nights when Kev would be at meetings I would show the videos to Arielle. I would point out each family member and tell her who everyone was. I wanted her to get to know my family, her family. I also had family pictures in her room and we would name each person before bed.

So when Arielle was probably two years old we went to a family reunion at my cousin Debbie's. I went in and started setting up the camera. The video camera was huge and we had to carry the VHS player with us to attach the camera.  Kev was bringing in the food. When he came by the table, he asked where Arielle was. I told him I thought she was with him.

We went on a search. As we walked through the crowd everyone said she came by and said hi, and went that way. When we found her, she was on the front porch with the older men and  sitting in my Uncle Grady's lap with her glow worm. I said, "I'm sorry", and when I went to get her, Uncle Grady, said, "She's fine, go visit."  That showed us that the videos worked. She was at home with a family she had only seen a couple of times.

I'm from North Carolina and when Arielle was a baby, I really wanted her to feel a part of my family even tho we lived so far away. I grew up in a close knit family. I lived near grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. My church had lots of family and we went to grandparents every Sunday for dinner (that's lunch).  The videos truly helped.

Now lets fast forward to today. You do not need a huge camera and VHS player, you can use your phone. FaceTime is a perfect example. Your kids can visually speak and have a relationship face to face even though they are hours apart. You can send videos to each other. We sent videos to my nephew on his daughters adoption day for her to watch. Everyone wanted to make sure she knew who they were and that she is loved. My daughters mother in law has started a Facebook group for her kids and grandkids. She reads stories and sings songs, so even if she isn't there physically for her grandchildren she can still read them to sleep.

Have a Blessed Day,
Mama D

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)