Andrew asked for my family's blessing on Christmas Eve, so from then on, I was fully prepared for the official proposal.  I got my nails done super fancy to accent the new ring I was waiting to wear, and let Andrew know that he had about 2 weeks until I needed to have my nails filled (although I could push it to 3 weeks if needed...). On Andrew's birthday (January 4th), I came home and there was a FedEx sticker on the door saying that they had attempted to deliver a package but were unable because they needed a signature. Certain that this was my ring, I texted Andrew and let him know about the sticker.  He played it cool but I could still tell.  He even said that Loonie (his grandmother) had been trying to send him a birthday gift. I was starting to believe him that this wasn't my ring but I held out hope.  Then he said that he would just sign the slip and put it on the door so they could just leave the gift on the porch tomorrow.  I was indignant that he could NOT do that.  He argued with me that the gift would be fine, and that's when I knew that this was actually a birthday gift from Loonie.  I told him about my theories and he told me to RELAX!  I let my mother and some of my bridesmaids know (they didn't officially know they were bridesmaids at that point ;-), and they told me to be patient.

So here's what really happened.

Literally the night we got home from talking to Jess's family about our wishes, I ordered the ring, that had already been picked out. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one. Fast forward to my birthday (and the above story) and the ring is here. I'm at school freaking out (I don't handle my emotions well... big surprise). My teammates send me home to get the slip from the door, I call FedEx, and make plans to pick up the ring that night before rehearsal, having totally thrown Jessica off my trail. At this point, EVERYONE knows... I texted all her ladies of honor, and they were all in on it. So, rehearsal is over, and I come inside to let the dogs out. Outside, I put the a sign on Gus that said "Will you give my daddy the best birthday present ever?" and had him go back inside. He's pretty much the cutest puppy you've ever seen in your life, so I knew it was going to work. He comes over, hops up on her, she reads the sign, still very confused. By the time Jess was done reading the note, I was already on my knee with the ring open. *SIDENOTE* the company I bought the ring from has the coolest ring boxes ever with a built in light, so that little sucker was sparkling like crazy. I'm not quite sure how to describe her reaction. There were gasps, squeals, and many tears. I had to repeat myself, because she was sobbing too loud. She said yes, and it really was the best birthday present I could have hoped for...