Navy Dad Shocks Kids by Showing up in Their Photo With Santa

I'm so glad that I didn't do my makeup before watching this because it'd be running all down my face. Oh, the tears!

Rob Stella is retiring after serving in the Navy for the past 23 years and on Thanksgiving, he found out that he'd be returning home from his final deployment a few days early.

Rob was supposed to land in California last week, but his return got bumped up by a few days and he told his wife, but he wanted to do something to surprise his kids who had no idea their dad was going to be home early.

So, when Rob's wife took their kids to the mall to her their picture taken with Santa, Rob hid behind the couch they were all sitting on and photobombed them.

What makes this homecoming even more special is that it was Rob's daughter's 10th birthday and she didn't think her daddy would be around to celebrate it with her.

This is how it went down (do yourself a favor and grab a tissue or two):