It was a very happy reunion Wednesday for a military mom and her son in Winter Haven.
- Air Force Sgt. Danielle Holbert surprises son at school
- Son Ryan didn't initially see his mother
- She will return to South Korea, then move to Charleston
Air Force Sgt. Danielle Holbert is half-way through a six-month deployment to South Korea. She surprised her fourth-grade son, Ryan, at All Saints Academy by returning home sooner than she told him she would for a two-week break.
Her daughter, Baylee, is an 11th-grader at All Saints. She also got to reunite with her as well. Holbert said she has really missed the children.
"Yeah, it's hard. I can't even talk to him every day and that's the hardest thing," Holbert said. "I get lucky with Facebook getting to see them on messenger and stuff like that."
Before she surprised Ryan, she was a little nervous about how it would go.
"Oh, I'm super excited. I'm real excited," she said. "I'm nervous but I'm excited. I don't know how he's going to take it. So I hope it goes well."
A few minutes later as Danielle was standing in a school lobby, staff members brought in Ryan with his fellow fourth graders. He didn't expect to see his mother and didn't notice her until a staff member pointed her out.
Then he ran to her and they hugged for a long time.
"Well I wasn't expecting her for five days and they said something about the little kids awards," Ryan said as he explained overlooking his mom.
Danielle Holbert will return to South Korea until September, and then the family will move to Charleston Air Force base.