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!

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.