The Barnetts

Well it's been awhile since I've written anything down. Truth is, my spare time is now completely devoted to trying to keep up with a WILD 17 month old. Hayes has two speeds...on and off. He sleeps like a dream, but when he's awake, he's firing on all cylinders. His energy level defies any logic or relation to my gene pool. (I still believe in the saying, "When baby sleeps, mama sleeps." Even if it was meant for newborns.) For the record, I'm blaming his hyped up enthusiasm for life on James.

Here are Hayes' new words (with translation). To help paint the picture, he adds emphasis on the second syllable of every word (even if it doesn't have two syllables) and he has this crazy Alabama drawl.

Yeah...we're not really sure where that hair came from either!

I have spent my entire adult life trying to figure out what my passion really is...or better put "Why did God put me here?" James' passion is finance and serving the inner city. So together we started a financial peace ministry in a lower income area of our community. While I enjoyed doing this, it really wasn't MY passion. 

I always thought I would mentor younger women in marriage and motherhood. Unfortunately I didn't get married or start a family until I was well into my thirties, so I'm right there with the twenty something brides and moms soaking up somebody else's valuable knowledge.

Add on to the fact that while I love being a mama, it doesn't come natural to me. My advice would end up being, "Girls...come Friday you will feel like you've been run over by a very large truck. A truck that ran over you and backed up and did it again. And It's okay. Hiding in the closet with a glass of wine is totally normal."

(Then word on the street would be, "Boy that Barnett lady's advise? Really Bad." And nobody would show up again.)

I have a dear friend who mentors single woman to wait patiently on the best that God has in store for them. She is AMAZING at this and her ministry and grown far beyond her expectations. I would love to do something like this, but I imagine that grace and patience are not the first words people would use to describe me.

I guess this was a lot of words to say that I did not choose a ministry; one was chosen for me on the worst day of my life. On May 29, 2012 my mom passed away very unexpectedly. I was in shock, heartbroken, bitter, angry and very very pregnant. While I would have loved to stay and set up house in that dark pit, I couldn't remain there for very long. The stress and anger were doing a number on my body and I still had to make it through the final five weeks of pregnancy.

Since Valium and vodka are frowned upon during pregnancy, James thought it would be best for me to talk to a professional, which would have been golden assuming I wanted to talk. Thank God for a couple of friends who had also experienced great loss and were really persistent. One friend lost her husband when their son was a few months old. She brought me books, called, knocked on my door, and forced me to talk. Another dear friend lost her mom almost a year prior and walked me through every emotion...right down to the ugly acceptance.

Now that the anger and bitterness have faded, I can see clearly where God needs me most. So here it is, my name is Anne-Michelle and I have the suckiest ministry around and I honestly hope nobody shows up. Ultimately, I didn't have to be patient, graceful, wise, or knowledgeable. I just had to walk through the valley and make it back to tell somebody else, "I know what your going through, it hurts like hell, and while it may not feel like it now, by God's grace you will survive."

One of my best friends lost her dad two weeks ago after an eight year battle with cancer. Stephanie and I have been friends for over thirty years so she is like a sister to me. I had known for a little while that the end was close, and made sure that I was there for her because I knew. I knew where she was mentally, I knew where she was physically and worse, I knew where she was going to be in a few days. What I didn't know was that while I was ministering to Stephanie, Mr. Brown was preparing to be an even greater minister to me with just a few hand written notes.

Mr. Brown's entire eulogy was delivered solely on the hand written notes in the margins of his Bible. (Just take a second and let that soak in.) He would write down specials dates, versus, store love notes from his wife, and jot down what God was saying through His Word. I learned that while Mr. Brown prayed for physical healing, because miracles happen every day, he mostly prayed for God's will and found peace in the eternal picture. Mr. Brown knew that every day was a gift. An extra chance to tell your family you love them. An extra chance to heal hurts and ask for forgiveness. An extra chance to walk closer and deeper with God. And an extra chance to make the margins count.

Good bye Mr. Brown. You truly were a good and faithful servant. We will see you soon, but in the mean time, go give mama a hug and y'all have a good laugh that Catholics and Baptists really do both get to heaven. : )

I would like to apologize to my family and friends who read this blog in the hopes of keeping up with Hayes. I have failed all three of you miserably. The fact of the matter is we are going through major changes. Hayes moved up a class at Harris Early Learning Center and we moved up a neighborhood (or twenty) to Vestavia Hills. (Right now I'm singing the theme song for The Jefferson's - Moving on Up. I'll be honest and say that I'm not 100% sure if we're on the East Side...directions are not my strong suite.)

We have all adjusted beautifully to the new house. Hayes, Smokey and Riley love having a nice size back yard, James loves his new man room, and I love the extra hour and half each day that I'm not sitting in traffic with a whinny 14 month old. I'm sad to report that the adjustment from room 104 to room 105 has not gone as smoothly for one Hayes Barnett.

I kept seeing all of these cute "first day of school pictures" on Facebook and COULD NOT wait to get one of Hazelnut. I did get a picture, but sadly it was not Facebook worthy.



To be fair, this is his first day of school last year and his facial expression looked pretty much the same. I think gas was the culprit of his woes back then.


In room 104 a sweet angel named Ms. Belinda would cater to his every need. Now he has to eat at a real table, his pacie (George) has to stay at home and he has to nap in a cot. Oh the inhumanity!

In this picture he is napping on a large moose sleeping bag. All the other parents knew that you had to have a cot mat for nap time. Somehow James and I didn't get this memo (or didn't pay attention in orientation). I quickly ordered a cot mat, but his sleeping bag had to do for the first week. I'm sure a huge moose head sewn to a sleeping bag did not scare the other kids at nap time and most likely reassured Ms. Lisa that I would be the best room mother she's ever seen.

To make sure that Hayes didn't get too comfortable with his new classroom, we took a few days off and went to the lake for Tauntie's birthday. I can't believe my baby sister turned 30. When mama turned 30, she locked herself into her bathroom and cried because she didn't have a master's degree or children. When I turned 30, I called daddy at 1:00 in the morning and cried because I wasn't married and didn't have children. The only thing that caused Chrissy's smile to fade on her 30th birthday was the second birthday cake that her husband bought.




Hayes seems to have completely transitioned into the toddler phase, which is fun and exhausting. My side of the family is Cajun and I promise you he got his temper and dramatic gestures from me. When he gets really mad he hits his head three times on whatever is close by...the floor, the fridge, the wall, etc. I guess it's his personal way of getting out his frustration since he can't talk. I can't help but laugh on the inside, but I wish he would stop because he is bruising his forehead. And I love that forehead!

Dear Hayes,

I can't believe you just turned one! I know it in my head, but I'm still having a hard time comprehending it in my heart. Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday it was July 6, 2012 at 3:30 am and my water broke. Then a few short hours later (okay...a long time later) at 5:16 pm and you were being placed in my arms. Oh how we fell in love. You were the most beautiful little thing I had ever seen. With wide eyes, long lashes and the funniest little look on your face. (Honestly you looked like Mr. Peanut, but you were our Mr. Peanut and we thought you were so cute!)

I can't believe something so small could change our lives so much. We still aren't 100% sure if you really weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces or 6 pounds even. The nurses weighed you twice. (I always say the former since you weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces when we left the hospital.) Regardless, you were a tiny little thing that took sweet FOREVER to get here.

You are just now starting to walk and it's so funny. You look like a little Frankenstein! You have this stiff little side to side waddle and your arms are either straight out in front of you or stuck directly by your side. You are so determined and love new challenges. I keep wanting to step in and help you overcome any obstacles, but your daddy reminds me to give you some space and let you figure it out on your own. And you always do!

As independent as you are, we still end each day with you snuggling on my lap as we pray over you and rock you for a few minutes. I love to breath in that sweet smell of your hair. Hayes, you are our joy and you came into this world at the right time and daddy and I couldn't love you more.

Love,

Mama

Enjoy the video! 

Here are a few of Hayes' official one year pictures. He wasn't especially feeling the camera love this day. In fact, it was much like trying to get an evil dictator to pose for pictures with a stuffed monkey. (In other words, not easy.) Meredith did a great job and we're hoping to go back and get a few more pictures with some smiles.