Welcome

I am here to tell you about a crazy family called the Tapia's.Welcome to our home page. We hope that you enjoy getting to know what we are doing and how we are doing. Since I have been terrible about keeping organized and writing Christmas cards....you can read my blog and catch up with us!

We are still living in Houston, well actually Spring, TX! We have been blessed to stay safe from the floods of this area and Ike. Well, with Ike, we lost one tree! Actually, the tree got so much water that it fell over. So we replanted it and it has survived. We were so blessed through Ike. We lost electricity for fourteen days. So no hot showers, no tv, no refrigeration. It was long and nutty. There were so many blessing that we handled it well. We got to know some neighbors and made new friends. Robert and Tony went and helped families giving them water and ice. I helped an elderly woman bring food to her home. Ike brought out the good in people as well as bad but we were given blessing to have the good. We had no damage to our home and we were blessed to be able to help others. We fed our neighbors, shared our food and prayed. We were blessed.

Since Ike, things seemed different. We are so behind in everything, including Christmas cards. Which is why the blog. My friend told me about her blog and I am learning how to use it an enjoy it too. We have been really behind in everything so this is the fastest way to get in touch with you all.

November we spent Thanksgiving with my niece Sarah. We had more food than you can imagine. We enjoyed Sarah's company and spent time eating, playing and talking. It was wonderful. We were able to spend time with Robert's sisters and even got to play on the 4wheeler.

Christmas came quickly! We were so not ready but thrilled to have everyone come to our home. First to arrive was Sarah and Mindi from Del Rio, TX. We went shopping almost as soon as they got here. Sarah loves to cook and is a veggie only eater. So we had to get some special foods to share. The next day was Christmas Eve! Mom and Dad flew in with Cathy from SLC, UT. Duane flew from Vegas but had trouble. His flight was to leave at around 6am. They called him at 2am and told him to show up at his regular time but that the flight was delayed. He spent the whole day at the airport. What a way to start your birthday! Yes, Duane's birthday is Christmas Eve. Once everyone arrived we cooked a feast of pasta and seafood! We pigged out and loved every minute of it! Then we had a special train cake for Duane. We ended the evening early due to everyone flying in was tired. Sarah, Mindi, Robert and I stayed up late enjoying the company and just talking! No special Christmas Eve service or anything. It was just so amazing to have the family together and enjoying the company. Christmas morning....the kids got up early! Not too early but early. We made them stay in our room so they couldn't see if Santa had arrived. Sarah and Mindi got up and we realized that Cathy wasn't here. She called and said they had all overslept. I think everyone was tired! We finally all got together and enjoyed sharing presents. Santa was good to us. Everyone loved what they got. We had a great breakfast and enjoyed the day. I had Robert's family over that night and another feast was had by all. Ham, turkey and veggies, lots of them. Not your typical Christmas feast but enjoyed no less. We played Pictionary Man, definitely a game to get for your family! It was a ton of fun. Teams were eliminated and we all just started to draw and guess.

The day after we were blessed to have Aunt Beth and Uncle Carl come down from Dallas and share in our family celebrations. It all seemed to go so fast. Then everyone left. I was sad but for the first time I was actually ok instead of bawling my eyes out. I hated having the family leave but was thrilled to have shared the holiday's with my family! We were thrilled to have everyone come and celebrate such a special holiday!