THONOTOSASSA, Fla. - Air Force Staff Sergeant Will Terry has been in Iraq for the past seven months. But nothing in Iraq, he said, compared to what he was about to do.

That's because Sergeant Terry came home two weeks early and is getting ready to surprise his wife, Ashley.

"I'm probably more nervous than anybody in here," said Terry.

Ashley's second grade students at Thonotosassas Elementary were in place and ready to go.

Will's eyes gave away his anticipation, and his wedding ring was a constant reminder of what he misses most "every day, every day."

Suddenly, Ashley entered the school's media center, and seven months of anxious separation melted away as a husband and a wife are once again whole.

For Ashley, the time apart was challenging. "It was hard. He was there every day. And then he's going, and he's not there, " she said. "It's hard. You don't have the person to turn to talk to. You go to bed by yourself at night. It's difficult"

But now those feelings are gone. Replaced by love. Love for country, and for each other.

Said Will, "This right here is what it's all about - America."

Ashley Folsom-Terry and Will Terry are both graduates of Armwood - Ashley Folsom-Terry is in Class of 2001 and Will Terry is in the Class of 2002.