The Proposal

If you know us at all.. you'd agree there is no more perfect photo to represent our family.

And we're engaged! All three of us. 
Tho, only Mommy got a ring. Or, well, a super shiny sparkly ROCK.


Was it a surprise?

Yes and no.  
The "no" part: We knew we'd get married. We knew based on crunching some numbers that early March we'd be in a good spot for purchases of bling. 


The "OMG surprise" part: This girl had no idea he'd gotten a ring yet.

So earlier this week we were getting Eileen ready for bed. I was in pjs, sans makeup, glasses and ponytail. Crazy gorgeous, that was me. And I was dead tired (yes, it's that point of training for me). Eileen & Bill were upstairs, she having brushed her teeth and killing time (procrastinating - she's mastered it) until I got in there for storytime. 

Walking into her room, 
Me, sighing & speaking at once: Lets go Eileen. In bed. It's late and you are NOT staying up (HAHAHAHA). 
Bill:  I told her we could play ONE more game. 
Me, with serious exasperation in my tone: UGGGHHH OK. Hurry lets play the game.
Bill, ignoring my tone: K, Eileen get on the side of the bed. We're going to guess what's in my pocket. 


Me, in my head- huh? what? what is this game? we have never played this. omg i am tired. wait. what. he's on his knees. huh? what IS in that pocket!?

Eileen starts randomly guessing - everything from lipstick to movies to who knows what. 
He gives a hint in her ear, which she then shares with me: It means I love you.
At which point I realize what's going on. heeheehee. 
She guesses some more things (some were at my suggestion.. balloon..bubbles... hair bow.. )
Of course then I'm thinking to myself: HELLO DORK. there is a RING in that pocket! Why are you dragging this out with guesses of a freakin BALLOON!?

Now on a mission, I start giving hints.
me: Sarah has one!
e: ohhh a BABY! 
stunned silence. 
me: no eileen. it is not a BABY. there is not a BABY in Bill's pocket!!! 
me: ok, another hint. Sarah has one and it is sparkly. 
eileen: OHHH! A RING!


Smart girl that kid. 
So she's bouncing all around. 
me: wait, Bill has to ask us something!
At which point over her going bonkers and Gracie running around with her stuffed hedgehog, somewhere in there was the "Will you marry me?" and of course, obviously, the answer was a resounding YES. 

Once I stopped drooling over his most excellent taste in bling, and stopped being over the moon that it fit and i didn't have to give it back for sizing, Eileen wanted to know what ELSE was in Bill's pocket.  HA!


So this was where we called our families. Eileen called Mom & John, Sissy & David, and Dad & Beanie. She told everyone "Mommy got a wedding band. "  Close enough ... they knew what she meant. 


It goes without saying that I wouldn't have had it any.other.way. 
Pajamas and glasses or not.. Having Eileen be part of The Proposal was perfect. Just perfect. 

Obnoxious to post a picture of the ring?  I suppose possibly.. but then again girls are girls are girls,.. and while the stories are always fun to tell and fun to hear.. we all know all we care about is what the ring looks like?! 


And now for the funnies and such of the backstory ..
I really had not a clue he'd gotten it.


Bill picked up the ring last Friday. I thought he'd gone to the mall (ok well he actually did go to the mall and got some new pants so I'd not even think twice about where he'd been).  Of course, he was at the jewelry store when Round One of Nasty Storms hit. This town was under a tornado warning, with crazy rain/wind/hail/floods and just scary crap- and of all times he's ring shopping! 


Bill is also quite the savvy man. He does have fantastic taste on his own and no doubt would have picked out one hell of a ring even without any guidance/hints. But just in case, he'd paid a visit to my Pinterest boards, printed out a picture, handed it to the salespeople, and said "i want this."  and well, they had it. :)


Now, we're talking about a man who literally loves to give gifts. To the point that once he's bought something for someone, even if their birthday (or whatever the occasion) is 3 weeks away- he will not be able to hang on to the gift. He gives it as soon as he can. (which generally works out well for my impatient self).  So on Tuesday evening, when Bill told me he'd been carrying that ring in his pocket since FRIDAY - well you could have knocked me over with a feather. I couldn't believe it! 


So. Needless to say, Eileen was up WELL past her bedtime. We were blown away at the FB responses. Our offices were a constant stream of people on Wednesday. All in good fun. It's been a pretty dang good week.

I love you Bill Bryant and I can't wait to be Mrs. Erin Jamieson Bryant.