Who You Are When Nobody's Looking

Our dinner table hasn't always been a good place for family discussions. In the past, Paul and I would scramble to get the boys fed, keep food from flinging on the walls and I felt as if we were constantly saying..."take ONE MORE BITE". As our boys are getting older, we still have the "take one more bite" moments, but we are able to talk to them more. This weekend at dinner, Will was asking us about a friend who acts very polite in front of me and Paul and then says dirty words the second we walk away.

What a great opportunity to talk to our boys about INTEGRITY. Your character is who you ARE when no one is looking. When the teacher walks out of the room and tells the children to stay in their seats...you should stay in your seat. We are trying, as imperfect as we are, to teach our boys to be people of integrity.

This brings me to Justin Bieber. The hot new teen singing sensation sweeping our nation! :)

Will got in the car after school one day and said, "Justin Bieber sings like a girl. His music is kind of annoying." I knew, KNEW that he had heard that from a kid at school and if he actually heard Justin's music he'd like it. So, I downloaded a few of his songs and put them on Will's ipod. SURE ENOUGH:
Yesterday, Will had some alone time while I was getting ready and blowdrying my hair. He was so proud to show me his music video he recorded it himself and he loves the mirror effect on photo booth:

I watched this and said..."See, Will, you DO like his music!" Now, of course I didn't do this experiment to throw my child under the bus and prove him wrong, but I wanted him to see that when NO ONE ELSE WAS LOOKING, he discovered who he really was. And who WILL really is, is a GREAT KID with an expanded taste in music. :) Yes, he listens to Justin Bieber with integrity.