Ottawa ? The Paine family of Ottawa will be going on a free, overseas vacation sometime in the next year.

America has said so.

In a nationwide vote, viewers of the ABC television show “Good Morning America” decided that Tim and Paula Paine and their children deserve a break from some of the hardships life has thrown at them. They were selected the winners in the “Good to Go” Family Vacation Contest sponsored by GMA and National Geographic Traveler magazine.

The family was selected based on a videotape GMA invited families to send describing triumphs and challenges they had faced.

“It was my idea, and the family went along with my wild and crazy idea,” Paula Paine said earlier this week.

GMA viewers also voted to decide where the Paines will go on their vacation.

The selections were New Zealand, Canada, South Africa or Tahiti. An announcement as to which locale was selected will be made during this morning’s show.

The Paines had initially said they wanted to go somewhere and perform public service work, but they don’t know whether that will be part of the arrangement.

“We don’t care; we’ll take whatever,” Paula Paine said.

The Paine family relax in front of their home in Ottawa. The family - from left, Ian, 11, father Tim, Olivia, 13, mother Paula and Audrey, 16 - recently won a vote on the television show Good

Her children, Audrey, 16, Olivia, 13 and Ian, 11, also aren’t particular.

“They all sound good to me,” Olivia said.

The Paine family’s “triumphs and challenges” apparently touched some heartstrings. Tim Paine, who works at Honeywell at New Century Air Center in Johnson County, has dealt with Type 1 diabetes for years and wears an insulin pump. Moreover, he was diagnosed two years ago with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a rare form of cancer. Though the disease isn’t bothering him now, doctors have told him he is likely to die within 10 years.

Despite the bad news about her husband and some other “speed bumps” they’ve dealt with, Paula Paine said the family was trying to be positive and she wanted that attitude to be seen by the public in the videotape and in television interviews they’ve subsequently done with GMA.

“We really are looking to the future,” she said. “God’s been good to us and he’s just blessed us so much. We’ve learned so much and grown so much.”

Last week, while the family was visiting in Colorado, they were called by GMA and told they were the contest winners. They were flown to New York for a live appearance on the show.

The Paines were amazed how much support they received from friends and family in Ottawa and elsewhere around the country. Friends encouraged their friends and acquaintances to support the Paines in the television voting. The Paines received 70 percent of the total vote.

“We had people we didn’t even know networking for us across the country,” Paula Paine said. “We were overwhelmed by the support.”

GMA also announced that the two other families who were finalists will be getting a trip inside the U.S.

“That made us feel so much better,” Paula Paine said. “We felt like they deserved something.”