Carol Guiles was not expecting visitors when she pulled into the driveway of her Owego home, and she certainly wasn't expecting them to run up to her with a giant check for $2.5 million. Standing with the Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol, Guiles clasped a hand over her mouth and the tears started.

"This is great... this can help us tremendously," says Guiles.

Guiles and her husband Dale had just arrived back home at the same exact time the Publisher's Clearing House reps and camera crew pulled up to the house. Carol says Dale was the one who saw the van, but he couldn't believe it was for them. In fact, he wouldn't get out of the car at first and took a little coaxing.

"This is shocking for us... because nothing good ever really happens for us, you know," says Carol Guiles.

That streak of bad luck just came to an end. The Guiles' say this check is life changing, having been struggling through some hard times the past few years. Standing in front of a few inflatable Christmas trees and a snowman in their front yard, the couple says this is a Christmas miracle.

"We've had financial troubles... and our kids couldn't help us because they're having struggling times, too," says Carol.

She was quick to spread the news to their three kids. Getting her daughter on the phone first, Carol had to put on Danielle Lam from the Prize Patrol to convince her it wasn't a joke. Within 15 minutes all three Guiles kids had the news. In 30 minutes, their daughter Gwen and son Bo were at the house. Gwen says her mom has been entering the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes every night for about four years, sometimes staying up past midnight to finish entering all the contests.

"I gotta get it done, I gotta get it done, because that's how I'm going to win, she says," says Gwen.

The Guiles' are raising five of their ten grandchildren in their house. A double-wide that they've been in for 22 years. The first order of business will be paying off the mortgage and then building their dream home, maybe with a little more land.

But for the Guiles family, all those zeros on that check amount to more than a big pay day.

My grand kids are going to have one heck of a Christmas.

Ultimately, this money will help the family bounce back and give them not only a good Christmas, but a comfortable life.