Soldier mom returns home to surprise family

AUBURN, Ind. (WANE) - A surprise family reunion took place Saturday morning thanks to the unexpected return of a soldier who had been serving overseas.

Specialist Ashley Dubois spent the past seven months in Afghanistan with the 381 National Guard.  She was limited to internet video chats and phone calls during that time.

"It has just been so long since I've talked to them and been this close to them," Dubois said.

Her mother, aunt and 9-year-old son were not expecting to see Dubois when they arrived at 15 ^th Street Portraits in Auburn.

The family members were at the photography studio under the impression that they would participate in a photo session, the results of which would be turned into a blanket and sent to Dubois in Afghanistan.

Dubois hid in the back of the studio to surprise her family with her homecoming.  Her relatives said it took a few seconds to believe who they had seen.

"Unreal," Nancy Lamb, Dubois' aunt, said.  "It was a statue or picture, and then she moved, and then it was like, wow."

Dubois' son, Gage also wasn't sure his mom was home.

"I told her I loved her, and I missed her a lot," Gage said, when asked what the first words to his mother were.

Dubois' mother, Roberta Montel, said she spent the last seven months checking the internet to find out if her daughter was safe.

"As long as I saw or heard something, whether she was posting on Facebook or whatever, that put my mind at ease," Montel said.  "I'm proud of what she's chosen to do.  And I'm very proud that she's home and can step back into her life."

Dubois had promised her son she would be home before Christmas.  During her deployment, Dubois volunteered to stay later than scheduled.  Her relatives began to wonder how they would break the news to Gage that is mother may not be able to keep her promise.

"It would have been one of the most difficult conversations I would have had with him," Lamb said.

On Saturday, the family found out Dubois was able to keep her promise.

"I can take you school shopping now," Dubois said to her son.  "I can take you to your first day of fourth grade, and we still have a little bit of summer left.  We can do all sort of stuff."

Dubois' family said they have burned a candle ever since Dubois' deployment.  The plan is to continue to burn the candle until every member of the military has returned to American soil