How Clemmer Found Her Way Home

Some of the best stories aren't planned—they're discovered in the quiet moments between “just one more, Dad” and the gentle breathing of sleep.

Over five years ago, tucked into the sacred ritual of bedtime, I found myself spinning tales for my five children. They never wanted the store-bought stories. They wanted their adventures—the creek they'd explored that afternoon, the woods behind the house, the garden where they'd found that enormous toad. So I wove their days into tales, making heroes out of their discoveries and turning ordinary moments into extraordinary adventures.

Somewhere along the way, a cat wandered into one of these stories.

We named her Clemmer, inspired by our own Clementine—a slender, orange long-haired cat who's been part of our family for over fourteen years. The name just stuck, the way the best things do. And suddenly, Clemmer wasn't just a character in a bedtime story. She became part of our ritual, part of our family, part of who we were becoming together.

Growing up, I remember my dad reading to us. Richard Scarry's busy worlds. Classic Golden Book adventures. The sound of his voice turning pages into portals. Those moments instilled something in me—a lifelong love of learning, reading, and writing that I carry to this day.

As we grew, the stories grew with us. Hardy Boys mysteries. Nancy Drew adventures. The endearing Boxcar Children series. There was always a stack of books on our bedside table, always another world waiting to be discovered. Reading wasn't just entertainment—it was how we engaged our imagination, how we learned about bravery and kindness and doing the right thing even when it's hard.

Now, as a homeschooling father of five, I wanted to pass that same gift to my children. But I kept running into the same problem.

We were always looking for wholesome, positive, uplifting stories our kids could listen to as part of their day. Stories that celebrated kindness. That showed bravery as something anyone could choose, regardless of age or size. Stories that taught values without being preachy, that entertained while inspiring.

While wonderful books exist, finding quality read-aloud, screen-free audiobook content proved surprisingly difficult. Either the stories had questionable content, or they simply weren't available in audio format for independent listening.

That's when it clicked: Why not bring our bedtime stories to life?

One of the joys of creating Clemmer's world has been weaving in the real experiences my children have lived. They see themselves in the Anderson family. They recognize their own personalities, their own names, their own adventures transformed into something larger than life.

We make it collaborative. Sometimes I ask them for ideas and let their imaginations run absolutely wild as we brainstorm on paper. Other times, life hands us the perfect story.

Like the day three of my kids were playing near the creek when I heard an exasperated yell from outside my office window. My ten-year-old son had nearly stepped on a copperhead snake. It had reared back and struck his bright yellow rubber boot. After I intervened and dealt with the venomous creature, I knew—this had to be a story.

In “Clemmer Finds a Family,” that terrifying moment becomes the origin of everything. Except this time, it's Clemmer who saves the boy, a brave little cat protecting a child she's only just met.

That's the magic we're creating together—turning their real courage into legendary tales.

We currently live on just under an acre of land, and our kids are always outside exploring. We have a garden, fruit trees, blueberry and blackberry bushes, and a creek running through our neighborhood. It's a taste of something bigger.

The kids have affectionately called our dream “the farm.” While it doesn't exist fully in reality yet, we get to live a piece of it every day, and it's beautiful.

Riverside Farm is our vision of the future—the life we hope to build as a family. A place where adventure waits around every corner, where animals aren't just pets but friends, where nature teaches as much as any textbook, and where family bonds grow stronger through every challenge faced together.

When children finish listening to a Clemmer adventure, I want them to feel something stirring in their hearts. I want them to have a heartwarming, emotional response to Clemmer's bravery and realize—I can be brave like that too.

I want them to understand that no one is too small to help others. That sometimes doing the right thing has a cost, but it's always worth it in the end. I want them to feel the overwhelming importance of family and taking care of those closest to us.

And yes—I want them to laugh, to smile, to hear these barnyard animals come to life in ways that make the ordinary feel magical.

So welcome to Riverside Farm. Welcome to Clemmer's world.

Whether you're a parent searching for quality content like I was, a homeschooling family building your curriculum, or simply someone who believes children's stories should inspire while they entertain—you've found your place here.

These are the stories I tell my children when the lights go down and the world gets quiet. Stories born from stacks of bedside books, from my dad's voice reading Richard Scarry, from copperhead snakes and brave orange cats, from the childhood we're living and the farm we're dreaming of building.

Now, they're yours too.

Let the adventures begin.