"I'm so thankful to be home to spend the holidays with her," said Christine Rainey, a specialist in the U.S. Army.
This South Carolina 10-year-old didn't know whether her mother deployed in Qatar would make it home for the holidays, but her worry turned into overwhelming joy when her mom showed up in the middle of her dance recital.
As the group of girls, all dressed up in red and green, began singing "God Bless America" with bagpipes playing in the background, Kaley Faris suddenly exclaimed, "Mommy!" before running offstage and into the arms of U.S. Army specialist Christine Rainey, who wasn't supposed to arrive in their Columbia home for another week.
"She just sobbed when she saw me and then was super excited I was home early," Rainey told InsideEdition.com. "I'm so thankful to be home to spend the holidays with her."
Rainey said she was originally scheduled to return home on December 23 after a 6-month deployment in Qatar.
"[I] knew that weather could be an issue, so [I] was worried I might not make it home in time for Christmas," she said.
But sure enough, her deployment day was moved up, and the moment Rainey found out her return would be the day of her daughter's dance recital, she coordinated with her daughter's dance teacher to set up the homecoming surprise.
"It took about two weeks to plan the surprise," Rainey said. "[Kaley] couldn't believe how many people had known [and] helped to make it happen for her."
Read: Mom Makes Cute Photoshopped Christmas Card While Her Husband Is Deployed in Iraq
The mother and daughter pair is now enjoying their holidays together with no future deployment date in sight.
"She's the best part of me and to be away from her for such a long period of time is really difficult," Rainey told InsideEdition.com. "I'm so thankful to be home to spend the holidays with her."
Watch: Former Marine With PTSD Brought to Tears as His Mom Gifts Him a Puppy for Christmas
