Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Micah is Going to Kindergarten?

August 12, 2015

Micah is going to Kindergarten?

How is it possible?  How can my middle child be old enough to start kindergarten?  My sweet, kind, loving, generous little Micah Man.  As I have been expressing my bitterness about the upcoming transition of me letting go of Micah, a process that begins the moment you give birth, Mason has offered, what was supposed to be reassuring, words, “You still have 3 years with Ethan and just think when E starts school I will start Middle school”

 With WIDE, Misty Eyes and a deep breath I simply sigh.  Hes right…but for now I do still have Ethan and while I know that I am terribly going to miss Micah I am overjoyed with excitement for him too.  Micah is beginning his own journey.  He is stepping away from me a little more and into the world that God has created for him.  I will continue to pray that Love and Faithfulness will be written on the tablet of Micahs heart and that he will be clothed with the virtue of compassion as he walks the road before him. I trust that Micah will always know that God has a perfect purpose and plan for his life to prosper, not to harm, to give him a hope and a future.

 Today Micah was painting a picture, I think he may have used every color available, he is quite the artist by the way. He began painting a house and inside was a bunk bed and he and Mason were there reading books and eating cookies and outside of their house was a beautiful sunny sky, green grass and a double decker tree house complete with a red tunnel slide.  Beside their house was mine where I was in my bed cutting up peppers to give them good food to eat. 

Oh Micah, may you always feel safe knowing your big brother is with you.  And Mason may you realize the awesome gift you have been given to have Micah as a brother.  And may Chris and I always be the providers that our boys need. May we as their parents trust only God to be our provider, to lead them well, to train them in the way of the Love of their heavenly father. And may these boys love their brothers! 


This summer I have seen glimpses of my prayers being answered.  These boys are loving each other, enjoying one another’s company .  I have tried to tell them they are brothers by birth friends by choice.  I pray that they will continue to work at their friendship and grow to appreciate their differences. 

Friday, June 26, 2015

Overcoming the Battle with Micahs eating habits

Overcoming the battle with Micah’s eating habits.
June 26, 2015

Micah had a horrible bout of stomach issues last year serious icky tummy with explosive trips to the potty, accidents and inability to function normally.  The pediatrician, after lots of blood work, referred us to a GI specialist who ended up giving Micah a heavy dose of probiotic that worked wonders and set his gut back on track.  However, because of his gut issues we stopped forcing him to try foods and just allowed him to eat what he felt wouldn’t upset his tummy.  SO now that a year has passed since his stomach drama Micah’s normal mealtime routine is come to the table sit, enjoy conversation but DON’T EAT DINNER… he hasn’t eaten meat (other than “bumpy” bacon and chicken nuggets) in …well I honestly don’t remember the last time.  He dosent pitch a fit, he dosent complain he simply sits and will eat the fruit that is offered and spinach salad, sweet peppers and plain pasta with “shake” parmesan cheese.  THAT’S ALL HE WILL EAT….Like most parents we tried bribing with dessert…the whole family ended up a Brusters for ice cream cones while Micah danced a happy dance with no dinner or treat.  We tried “if you wont eat food then you will have to sit at the table”  SO he sat even through family hallway bowling cheering while his food sat in front of him.  We also tried enforcing early bed time…he still refused to try dinner. 

I had really been concerned with his health, his bruises, his peeling nails, his poor nutrition and lack of protein and decided that for his health we had to help him take control and learn to eat food again.

We had Crock pot chicken fajitas for dinner.  I pulled out a piece of chicken the size of my pinky fingernail, tore it up really tiny and put loads of cheese and made him a cheese roll up with a TINY bite of chicken…he refused.  SO we decided that that’s what he’d have for breakfast…breakfast came and went, then along came lunch….by dinner time Micah had been over 24 hours and had not eaten anything!  (I made pasta for dinner and he agreed to even give the red sauce a try.

The next day didn’t want to give hamburger casserole a try.  Tater tots, hamburger meat topped with lots of shredded cheese…he wouldn’t even try a bite of tater tot- YES a tiny bite of a TATOR TOT!!

SO we brought it out at breakfast.  He was sad. We decided that this was a deeper issue of obeying us.  He refused, we inflicted punishment for being disobedient.  There were tears but Micah carried out his punishment of cleaning his room after receiving a spanking.  At one point he told me, in a very fearful voice, that he saw a man in the back yard making karate chops that scared him (I looked and didn’t see anyone) Then he came out of his room and told me he was just REALLY scared.  After about 30 min he cleaned his room and even made a cool pattern with blankey and his animals on his bed.  He decided he would give the tiny bite of tater tot a try.  He didn’t like it but he obeyed, took a try bite then began this conversation with me.

“Mommy, Hell almost won” 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know, Hell or the devil, they didn’t want me to obey, they wanted me to be sad, they wanted me to not have a good day. But I bet all of Heaven is having a party right now”

“Wow, Micah! God is speaking to, you revealing a deeper truth, it was more about the disobedient heart vs the food.  The heart issue.  God loves you and wants you to be happy and eat good food.  And the enemy is on he prowl like a lion looking for someone to take over by whatever means he can, Like the man you thought you saw in the woods doing Karate chops…the devil wants you to be fearful like you felt when you were making the right choice to obey and clean your room even when you didn’t want too!  Following God and being a Christian and making the right choice may not always be easy but God will give you a way, the courage, strength and faith to see things the way HE has designed. Your feelings don’t have to be the indicator of how you react.”


Parenting isn’t easy. Sometimes, A LOT of times, I wonder if I’m doing anything right.  Today I was reminded that obedience and respect for me will help set Micah up to obey and respect Gods commands later.  And that when I’m faced with tough situations I don’t have to let my feelings dictate how I resopond. And that The enemy is very real and just as much as I am warring for my kids souls and hearts, the devil is fighting for them too!  BUT God has already won the victory.  Jesus HAS overcome, HE is enough!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Ben Cleans the Fire Place






Ben
and the
Magic Fireplace















By: Mason, Micah and Mandy Haynes
CHAPTER 1

Once upon a time there was an old neighborhood called Egnarts Doohrobhgien. No one knew this but its actually strange neighborhood spelled backwards.  In a particular house, a big one, there lived a boy, named Ben, his dad and his mom.  

One ordinary day the boy was cleaning his fireplace. One of the bricks Ben cleaned ended up turning like a knob. Suddenly, he saw an elevator.  Luckily, his mom was using the restroom and his dad was at work.  So Ben decided to walk in.

The door to the elevator closed immediately and Ben couldn’t get it back open.  Ben really didn’t have a choice but to click a button.  Besides, he didn’t have very many fun things to do around his house anyway, other than doing chores.    He clicked a button with the picture of an arrow pointing up.  He didn’t know this but the elevator symbols were the exact opposite of what they looked like.  So if Ben wanted to go up he would have had to click the down button.  Ben started going down, down, down and down. Once the long descent had come to an end the elevator door finally opened.

CHAPTER 2

Ben stepped out of the elevator into a dark narrow hallway.  He looked up and down and all around and noticed a ladder in the corner of the wall.  Ben walked over to the rope ladder and climbed up.  As he climbed up the ladder he realized there were spider webs, flies and fleas covering the walls.  Once he got to the top of the ladder he entered a much larger room that had black and white walls.  There was a familiar scent of peaches in the air although there was nothing in the room, not even another door.   So Ben went back to the door he came in from hoping he could retrace his steps and find his way back down the rope ladder, passed the spiders, fleas and flies back into the elevator and to the chores his mother had waiting for him.  But, much to his alarm the door that lead into the black and white room didn’t lead him back to the ladder instead into a bright hallway with seven doors. 

CHAPTER 3

The first door he saw was a wooden one with a metal handle.  The second door was a metal door with a wooden knob.  His eyes were drawn down the hall to a beautiful door made of leaves.  All of the other doors were doors made of solid ice with copper handles.  The first three doors he tried to open wouldn’t budge.  Next he tried the 4 ice doors.  The first of the ice doors didn’t move to his surprise the second to last door opened.  He walked in expecting to find a freezer full of ice cream or something super cold but instead the door opened to a tropical island with hot sand and bright sunshine gleaming in his eyes. 

CHAPTER 4


The island was only one mile long.  Even though he’d only been exploring for about 45 mins Ben felt like he had been traveling for days and his tummy was REEEEEAALLY hungry.   While Ben was walking around the island he discovered a candy trail.  The candy was so appealing that he began to drool and his eyes opened wide to hold his gaze on what would soon become his lunch.  ALL THE CANDY HE COULD EVER WANT IN HIS ENTIRE LIFETIME!  What started as a trail led to a forest full of all types of candy.  Hard candy, chewy candy, giant trees with M &M fruit, starburst, Smarties, Skittles, Twix, marshmallows (Bens Favorite, so he puts some in his pocket) chocolate swamps, and a waterfall of Carmel syrup that the took a bath in and licked himself dry.  Slurp, Slurp, Slurp went his mouth but his ears heard a Grrrrr, Grrrr, Grrrr.  Fear encompassed his mind and his heart began to race as we wondered what it could be.



CHAPTER 5


There, straight in front of his face, was a GRROWWLLL.  An enormous black grisly bear was standing on two legs as if he had just found his dinner, he started lunge forward.  Ben thought the bear was coming straight for him but the bear raced past him and grabbed a mouthful of candy and Ben was relieved.  But just to make sure the bear wouldn’t attack him he threw a handful of candy in the opposite direction and as the bear chased after the candy Ben set his feet in motion as fast as a train to get far far away from the bear. 

As Ben ran faster and faster he met his friend Jake.   Jake is funny.  His head is topped with very stylish perfectly combed brown hair. His greenish bluish eyes sparkle and seem to smile when he talks.  He carries himself with a humble confidence and is decked out in stylish tall socks, and always wears under armor and nike attire. 

Ben reaches Jake all out of breath from running away from the bear and he replays the events of his day beginning with the dreaded chores assigned by his mother, the elevator, the rope ladder, the doors the candy and his latest encounter with the grisly bear.  Jake tells Ben that he too was cleaning his fireplace and had the same exact experience as Ben!!  The two friends decide that they should keep adventuring… together!

CHAPTER 6

Ben and Jake agree they should get some shut- eye before their next adventure.  The boys look around the island and discover what looks like an old abandoned territory or maybe even an old ship and they decide to set up camp there.  Ben searches for some big leaves to lay on and Jakes hunting for some sticks to make a fire.  Just as Ben is finishing up their beds, made of leaves, he sees Jakes fire blazing in the setting sun and remembers that he has marshmallows in his pocket that will be perfect for roasting! 

The boys eat their sticky marshmallows and go straight to sleep so they will be ready for the next day. 

The boys were sleeping soundly when all of the sudden…

Pirates appear and they hear the sound of, “ARRRGG you lazy land lovers, trespassing is not allowed!” And a parrot is screeching loudly as if someone had invaded his territory.   The boys thought they must be dreaming only to discover they weren’t!  SO they stand frozen as as statue, unable to blink, and the pirate captian gets out a gun and says, “put your hands up, or else I’ll shoot”  So the boys slloowwly put their hands up and the pirates demand them to follow and become their slaves. 



Saturday, May 2, 2015

Micahs Salvation Story

Saturday, May 2, 2015 began as any other typical Saturday in the Haynes Family.  We woke early, ate some chocolate chip pancakes and, as Micah likes to call it, the bumpy bacon vs the flat turkey bacon.   The Haynes Team worked together to do a quick straighten of the house and we were out the door headed to the Fort Mill Strawberry Festival before 9:00 AM.  After walking the festival and watching the boys collect lots of junk from the booths that Chris and I somehow ended up carrying, we left when our hands could hold no more, our arms and pockets were full of strawberry erasers, Sand art, Frisbees, balloons, a cup and new helmets for all of the boys and our bellies sampled some funnel cake and strawberry donuts.  We had a short window to grab some lunch at our favorite fast food, Chick Fila.  Then we headed to Masons football game.  His cheering section for the Ducks is always full of both sets of Grandparents and two little brothers that are his biggest fans.  Once again the Ducks walked away with a win!  We had some time before Micah’s soccer game so we stopped at trail head park and our family pretty much had the playground to ourselves.   Ethan had started potty training the day before and was very proud to keep his underwear dry when he made some use of the parks potty!  You know its your third kid when instead of staying in the house on day two of potty training you just go with it and are gone the entire day!  After everyone had sun screened up and refilled their water bottles, we headed over to the soccer field to cheer Micah on.  Chris has had the opportunity to help coach Micah this year and Micah is growing into quiet the soccer player.  After soccer we had time to swing by the house for Chris to jump on the mower while the boys jumped into the shower before we headed over to Phillip and Linda’s for some Chop Suey and homemade chicken fingers  and some mac and cheese that we didn’t discover was too cold for Micah to eat until after ice cream and brownies were served for dessert at Haynes Family Dinner.

Finally, we were back at home reflecting on our full day as a family.  While I put Ethan in the bed, Chris, Micah and Mason were in Masons room reading their nightly bible stories with daddy.  Tonight’s bible story was from the Jesus Story Book Bible.  The story that Micah chose was the story of Jesus’ baptism.  Chris began asking the boys if they understood what it meant to be baptized and Micah said yes “Baptized means you wanna be clean and ask Jesus into your heart”  Mason explained in further detail that it is a symbol of being clean, you need Jesus to wash your sins away and make you clean.  It’s a symbol of the death burial and resurrection of Jesus and how we are made new.  Mason said, “Micah when are you going to ask Jesus into your heart, its okay if you don’t want to right now, there will be lots of opportunities when you go to the Exploratorium?”

Micah’s face was grinning and as the conversation continued I asked Micah, “Micah, do you want to pray and ask Jesus into your heart?” He without hesitation quickly nodded and smiled and said, “Yes, I am ready”! He wanted to be sure we understood that sometimes we would still make mistakes as a Christian, and that’s why we need Jesus!  Micah wanted to be clear that he didn’t think saying a prayer was going to make him perfect or make it any easier for him to make wise choices.  Mason encouraged him that when Jesus is in your heart it does make it easier.  We discussed the power of the holy spirit living in us when we become a Christian and I explained the A,B,C’s that Mason basically said to Micah from learning it at AWANAs, Admit you are a sinner, Believe in the Lord Jesus and Confess your sins.  Chris led Micah in a simple prayer and after the prayer Micah was so excited at the thought of being able to share his salvation story with his Cousin Caleb!  Micah also said that he understood that even Christians, like daddy, hurt peoples feelings.  Micah confessed that he had hurt feelings when daddy made him go to the bathroom when he didn’t have too or when daddy asked him to brush his teeth when he had already brushed them.   Understanding that you indeed will mess up and make mistakes is the reason we need a savior!  Chris apologized to Micah for hurting his feelings and thanked him for being obedient in those situatons.

As we set in Masons room, all somehow trying to fit on the bottom bunk, Chris encouraged Mason and Micah to trust each other, to encourage each other.  They have the awesome gift of being not only physical brothers as part of the Haynes family but now they are also brothers in Christ.  

Thank you Lord, For Micah!  The reminder that our hope is in you! For the gift he is to our family.  For the joy he brings and the honest way he can openly confess.  May he continue to have the ability to understand his feelings, his emotions and communicate well and may he learn how to trust you, wait for you and know that you do indeed hear him!


Micah 7:7  But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.