From Newfoundland to Yellowknife, surprise visit makes woman feel 'blessed'

A Yellowknife woman got a big surprise Sunday night when a knock on the door turned out to be her mother, who'd traveled all the way from Catalina, Nfld., to spend Christmas with her for the first time in 18 years.

"I was shocked," said Melissa Hernandez. "Very surprised. And blessed to be able to spend Christmas with mom and Bill."

"I opened the door, slowly, and then I see two people standing there, and they say, 'Any mummers allowed in?'and then you know the rest."

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A video caught by her aunt, Tina Stead, capturedthe moment of reunion.

The pair have tried to meet for Christmas in the past few years, but it's never worked out.

"It's just been other events happening throughout the year. A lot of travelling for other things, and just nothing came together for a Christmas gathering."

"We actually talked about it last year," said mother Bonnie Mackey, "but it didn't come through for us, so we decided we would do it this year and keep it a secret as best we could."

That wasn't easy.

"I stayed off Facebook for the last 10 days," Mackey said. "I was afraid somebody was going to say, 'I thought you were going to visit your daughter!'"

It worked. Hernandez had no idea, though she suspected her husband, Aaron Hernandez, also known as the musicianGodson, was in on the plot.

"He had no idea," Melissa said. "I kept asking him, 'are you sure you didn't know?'"

Now the family is planning some traditional Newfoundland meals, and a tour of the city.

"We're going to take them out on the ice road," said Melissa. "They've never seen that."