I SAID “YES”!!  – I said “Yes” to Jason’s proposal. I said “Yes” to “Him”. I said “Yes” to becoming a “Bonus Mom” to his boys. I said “Yes” to him becoming a “Bonus Dad” to my boys. I said “Yes” to a Life of Love, Laughter, Adventure and whatever else life throws at us.

Jason and I had been discussing an engagement for months now, in light of the upcoming move. I have discovered that apparently I’m attracted to guys who like to “mess with me” and frustrate me when leading up to “the proposal” because Jim had done the same thing to me! Jim intentionally started a fight on the way to propose to me and Jason has spent the last few weeks telling me how he spent his “ring money” on tractors and trucks instead!  He watched me squirm for weeks. Meanwhile, (and unbeknownst to me) he had already picked out the ring!

On Saturday, April 21st, we were outside for most of the day. It was a beautiful day out and the kids basically came out in their pajamas to start riding tractors, have these weird battles that I don’t fully understand, and ride their bikes. Jason and I cleaned the goat pen and we didn’t go inside until 2pm for lunch. The only indication I got that there might be something the boys and Jason were keeping from me, was when they were headed back outside after lunch. I asked what they were going to do and Shamus said “we’re working on a surprise for you from Jason”.  Obviously, this sparked my interest, but Jason played it cool and I tried to calm down by telling myself that it was a Birthday or Mother’s Day gift – because both are upcoming in a few weeks. All four boys headed outside and Jason told me to stay inside and relax (if I wanted to).  About 15 minutes later – he texted me. He said the boys and goats were being funny and that I should come see what they were doing.  I must really love this guy because I gave up taking a nap to see what he was talking about.  I walked out towards the pasture and as I got closer, I saw our four boys lined up, each holding a piece of cardboard, with their backs to me, facing the pasture part of our goat pen. As I got closer, they all turned around and each had a sign with a single word that spelled out “Will You Marry Me??”. I remember putting my hands over my face in surprise and my eyes welling up as I noticed Jason get down on one knee next to me, with an open ring box. I basically threw myself into his arms and cried on his shoulder, and he had to ask me if that meant “Yes?”. – Of course it was a “Yes”!

After a little shock wore off, I had the boys recreate their pose with the signs so that I could take a picture. Then in true wild, Workman/Gainey, boy fashion, they each threw their signs into the goat pen for the goats to chew on!. -Because goats eat everything – And the boys think it’s funny! -Perfect combination.

Jason told me that he had called my Dad and had also gone a step further – and called my Father-in-law to ask his permission, as well. The fact that he would ask Jim’s Dad shows the deep respect that Jason has for my relationship with the Gaineys with fully understanding that they’ll forever be my family. My In-Laws told me repeatedly how touched they were that Jason thought to ask them, and while it’s bittersweet for them, they know that Jim wanted me and the boys to find this level of happiness again. My Father-in-law also said “Yes” on Saturday…..when I asked him to walk me down the aisle with my Dad at our wedding next summer.