Compelled Honesty

Before the Gasser kids came to live w/ us, I ran to the store and got a TON of snacks and well, basically things to buy their love. As the week went on I kept noticing things missing from the pantry. And I mean 80% of the box type of things!!! I could never catch the culprit(s), but I had my suspicions......and all the wrappers hidden in the backyard didn't help either.

I KNEW if I asked them I would get the I-didn't-do-it response but I also knew I would be able to tell by their face who did it.

I told Brooks about my situation after a while of it going on because I KNEW he would want to get to the bottom of it and I wasn't sure I wanted to yet before. Well, now I did!

Brooks asked where my video camera was and grabbed it and put it up on the laundry shelf facing the pantry and then called in each of the boys to ask if they had eaten the oh-so-healthy-snacks.

As predicted they each said they hadn't done it. 

Then Brooks said to each of them, "Okay, but you see that camera right there? It's been 'on' the whole time and has been taping who did it. I haven't watched it yet, but I'm about to and I WILL find out who did it. So if you would LIKE to confess now there will be less problems, or you could wait until after I watch the recording and the 'problems' will be worse."

Bronson said he hadn't and by his face, it was obvious he didn't.

Emerson said, "Okay, okay, I did it, but I didn't KNOW there was a camera there!!!!"

Then Camden after hearing that cocked his head and said, "You mean, that has been 'on' the whole time?....and you're about to watch it? Okay then, I did it." (Ironic since his talk in church that next Sunday was on "Honesty means telling the truth regardless of the consequences")

Funny how the threat of evidence can sure bring out honesty...........even if the camera was just put there 5 seconds before he called them in. ;)

FOLLOW UP- The 2 boys got a talking to, and a warning and a consequence promised for the next time. 

A few days ago the camera was still there and Camden asked "Is that camera still on". Since I'm not as good as Brooks at this, I told him "no". Later I caught Camden outside w/ a granola bar while Brooks and I were outside. He just could NOT choke that thing down fast enough to face me. I'm hoping it DID taste good though because compared to the soap washing in his mouth he got afterward, I sure hope it was worth it.

He walked out of the bathroom after crying to Brooks and said, "Daddy, do you KNOW HOW MUCH PAIN you did to my MOUTH?!?!?"

I'm not sure how much "PAIN" soap can really cause but hopefully the aftertaste lingers just long enough to make him stop sneaking food for the next....oh......11 years.