Not only was it this family's very first Little League game of the season - already a big deal to the baseball-loving bunch - but it was also an especially heartwarming occasion thanks to one very special, very unexpected surprise on the field.

Capt. Ed Maxa, 31, shocked his four children last night by emerging onto the field after hiding in the dugout during his son's game in Richmond, Texas.

"Baseball season started and I thought that would be so cute," Tara Maxa, 30, told GoodMorningAmerica.com of the shocking homecoming she helped her husband plan. "I couldn't have asked for a better surprise so I'm glad it ended up that way."

The coach had gathered the family together at home plate to give a nice speech about their dedicated and hardworking father and husband, who until this point, had been overseas in Afghanistan for 11-months to the day.

But the children had no idea the coach was prefacing their dad's actual arrival.

"It's amazing. They're so happy," Maxa said of their kids finally having their daddy home. "This morning they were so excited to get up. And they couldn't go to bed last night. There's been such a void since he's been gone, but now my kids are so much happier, and I'm happier."

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