Sam Jaeger’s character Joel on the hit NBC show “Parenthood” and his wife Julia (played by Erika Christensen) keep hitting snags in their attempts to have another child. But in real life, Jaeger is the proud pop to a step-daughter and a year-and-a-half-old son. And he loves being a dad so much that it has inspired him to pen his own children’s book — the kind grown ups actually want to read to their kids.

“I started it this summer. It’s a reminder to parents to slow down and appreciate the world around us. I know for me, certain mornings you read the same book 20 times and if it is a book you hate then you start to hate the whole morning,” Jaeger told HuffPost Celeb. “The good books stick around for a reason. There is a reason that we come back to them and they are so rewarding. I am hoping this is something like that.”

Jaeger doesn’t yet have a publishing deal, but he is working with the literary group at his agency to land one.

And this week Jaeger debuted another project and labor of love for his family, the independent film “Take Me Home,” which was screened at the Savannah Film Festival. He wrote, directed and starred in the flick, which also stars his real-life wife, Amber Jaeger. But filming wasn’t without its fair share of uncomfortable situations for the on and off-screen pair.

“‘Take Me Home’ should have gotten us divorced. It was certainly not easy to make it, driving across the continent with seven smelly guys in an RV, and the fact that she still came away with a brilliant performance is amazing,” Jaeger says. “Thankfully our marriage came out okay. We had a lot of stressful times on the road and I have to say it was a pretty big accomplishment for a couple who had been married for less than a year.”

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