If Christmas goodwill were part of football, then retired Arizona Cardinals' quarterback Kurt Warner and his wife, Brenda, teamed up for the perfect sneak play Wednesday by surprising an unsuspecting family with furnishings for their new home in Goodyear.

Janel Rocha, 33, who does administrative work, arrived to a house full of furniture, a computer and food in the refrigerator, important for the single mother of two boys, Victor, 14, and Leonardo, 10.

"It's beautiful," a tearful Rocha said. "It's the best Christmas present ever."

The Warners' First Things First Foundation and its partners made sure Rocha's family didn't move into an empty home.

Brenda Warner recalled the Warner's first home had no furniture when they moved in, and they slept on pillows with no electricity in the house.

"But it was our home, and as we were driving here today, I thought about all the memories that are going to be made in here, all the game nights that will be made on that couch, and the smiles and laughter and them growing up to be incredible young men in this house," she said.

The Rocha family was the first of two families the Warners touched with their generosity on Wednesday.

The other family was in New River.

Kurt Warner said the program is all about helping families move forward and seeing them smile.

"For us, it's really what Christmas is all about," he said. "Anytime you can impact somebody's life, it never gets old. I had a good football career, but that got old. Changing peoples' lives never does, and these families that have worked so hard and worked so long to get to this point, and then to see them be able to take hold of that, and to really run into their future . . . and to see their excitement moving forward, I don't know how that gets old.

"Each time your heart is touched, it's a great feeling and it makes you want to do more and more, and we're thankful that we get to be a small part of making their dreams come true."

Brenda Warner said she remembers living on food stamps and in low-income housing, and when Christmas came, it was only because of her parents that there were presents under the Christmas tree.

The Warners have seven children.

"Those are tough times, and some people just need somebody to give them a little help," she said. "I went through many, many Christmases and many holidays (when) it was just hard times. It wasn't as joyful as you wanted it for your kids."

Rocha spent the past year working with Neighborhood Housing Services of Southwestern Maricopa County to complete the necessary requirements to buy her first home through the Homes to Owners program.

Among the donors to First Things First were Atlanta-based Aaron's Inc., a national sponsor of Homes for the Holidays, which donated the furniture and a computer.

Phoenix-based U-Haul provided a grant to buy linens, decorations, and lawn and garden supplies.

The Rocha family was the 22nd family - the seventh in the Valley - rewarded for hard work since the annual First Things First program began in 2002.

The foundation looks for unsuspecting candidates who work hard to make better lives for their families and who have taken the necessary steps to buy a first home.

The foundation also donated $2,000 toward Rocha's down payment.

In the end, Kurt Warner couldn't resist calling plays in a loose huddle with the family.

"Make your beds. Do the dishes," he instructed the boys.