**ETSY CLEARANCE SALE**

Take a look. I am trying to clear out my stock so that I can post some new stuff for Fall and Winter.

www.jenniefincher.etsy.com

"My Grandma Rides a Harley"

My mom got this onesie for Lane.

I know these aren't the cutest pictures but she wasn't in a smiley mood last night...I think she was missing her daddy (he was out of town all week) b/c as soon as he got home she was all smiles.

SALE SALE SALE

I am having a sale on my etsy site, so take a look.

www.jenniefincher.etsy.com

Happy Anniversary Baby! It has been a great 8 years!

In honor of the Summer Olympics...

My aunt Paula brought these back from Thailand for me...I love them! Anyway, just thought this was appropriate for the Olympics in China...Go Michael Phelps...he's my favorite olympian(mommy's too)...he kicks so fast in the water...just like me .

Our Love Story

A few of Brandon's cousins have been posting their "love stories" with their husbands on their blogs. I have really enjoyed reading them, so I have decided to post my own now especially since our 8th anniversary is next week (Aug 12).

Brandon and I met while we were both attending ACU. It was our junior year in school and I had just ended a long distance relationship with someone. GATA grub (for non-ACU folks this was like a sorority social) was coming up and I really needed a date but had no one in mind to invite. At the urging of one of my roommates I went to a Junior class get-together at Dairy Queen. I was busy meeting new people and visiting with well established friends when I decided that I should be using this event to find a date to the grub. While standing in line, I asked one of my friends who she might recommend sitting at a certain table. She immediately said, "Oh, you should definitely ask Finch he would be a lot of fun." I didn't know who she was talking about and she offered to introduce us. So we went back to the table and she introduced us. It went something like this...

Shanta: "Hey Finch have you met Jennie?"
Brandon: "No"
Shanta: "Well Finch, this is Jennie and Jennie this is Finch."

Brandon: "Hi, nice to meet you."

Jennie: "Hi, you too."

Then we immediately proceeded to go back to our side conversations with other people. So that was our first meeting. After that night I decided that I would ask Brandon to the social but wanted to do it in a creative way since we knew nothing about each other. So I began sending him one note card a day through campus mail with details of the grub. It went kind of like this:

Day one - "What: GATA grub

Day two - "When: (date)

Day three - Who: Jennie Fincher and my mailbox number

Brandon's reply was a note card that said "Why?" and a construction paper puzzle that said, "Because it would be fun."

A couple of days went by and I hear through the grapevine that Brandon might be confused about who I was, so I mailed him my GATA page (it is a fact sheet that we give to new pledges so they can learn some things about you.) I then get a hand delivered message from two of his roommates that is another puzzle made out of construction paper that says, "So, how many piercings do you have?" ...So let me explain...on my pledge sheet I had a couple of random questions that the new pledges could ask me during their mandatory visits. One of the questions was "Ask me how many piercings I have." I blacked this out thoroughly with permanent marker before sending it to Brandon and somehow he and his roommates figured out what it said. So to all of those who may be wondering, I had 8 piercings at the time (1 naval, 1 eyebrow, 6 ears...so get your mind out of the gutter.) Anyway, we finally arranged over the phone to meet at a GATA intramural soccer game and then talk afterward. And that is just what we did, we went the grocery store and I bought us each a pint of ice cream and we went to a nearby park and talked for a few hours. The theme of our social was "Before & After" and at the time Brandon was a the pledge master for his club (aka Fraternity) and he had shaved his head and had a very long goatee to make himself look more intimidating. I had long straight hair at the time (go figure) and we decided to go as Rogaine before and after. Here is a picture from that night.

Brandon and I were friends for a while. We lived in the same apartment building and would often go to each others' apartment and hang out. He began leaving me little "copy stop" notes on my car, like "Have a great day." and "See you later." After about two months, he invited me to go to see the midnight show of the "The Changling" at the Paramount on Halloween (this is something that is a must for ACU students), I thought nothing of it and met him at his apartment after my shift at Walmart, I had worn an angel costume most of the day and was super tired. I got to his apartment and he offered me some chili...that he made...yeah, I know...I thought, "Wow, he's pretty amazing, I have never even made chili from scratch." On our way into the theatre, Brandon softly asked me, "Can I hold your hand?" Normally, this would be sweet and no big deal, BUT this is Abilene and ACU we are talking about. If you walk too close to someone then people thought you were getting married. I looked at him and said, "Are you sure? You know what this would mean." And he smiled and grabbed my hand and said, "I know." And true to form, at the movie intermission a bunch of my friends came over while Brandon was getting snacks and bombarded me with questions about the two of us.

We dated from that point on. We never broke up even through some tough times...we remained together. There is a really funny story (that has turned into a family joke) about when I met his family for the first time at Thanksgiving on their way to Arizona, but I'll save that for another time.

In February of the next year Brandon proposed to me and we were married in August 2000. I knew in my heart that Brandon was meant for me and I was meant for him. We are so different in how we approach life, but it really works for us. We balance each other out. I believe that God led me to that Junior social where my friend, Shanta, recommended I ask Finch. We have been married for 8 years now and I have never regretted, not for one second, choosing to ask him to GATA grub.

Brandon brings the best out in me, I have known that for many years. I strive to do that same for him everyday. I thought I couldn't possibly love him more, but then Lane was born...and watching him be a daddy has stretched my love in ways I could never have imagined. It reminds me of one of my favorite church songs:

Your Love is Deep

Your Love is High

Your Love is Long

Your Love is Wide

Deeper than my view of Grace

Higher than this worldly place

Longer than the road I travel

Wider than the gap you filled

Who shall separate us

Who shall separate us from Your love

Nothing can separate us

Nothing can separate us from your love

There are no words to describe this video, so just watch and laugh.