It was the reunion of a lifetime for a sergeant serving in Afghanistan and his family.

Sgt. Chris Calvert has been serving in Afghanistan for the National Guard for the past year.

Calvert’s family has taken a cardboard cutout of him everywhere, from dinner to sporting events, just so he could be around.

His family received the real thing when Calvert surprised his kids during a school assembly.

Calvert says they all plan to spend a lot of quality time together.