MISSION - Yolanda Calderón puts the break down on her wheelchair as she waits for her daughters. She put dinner on hold because they were out of rice.Her oldest daughter, Bobbie Joe Beavers, runs into the home after taking her sisters with...... Full story

  McALLEN - Juanita Elizondo’s arms bristled with goose bumps as a United Way volunteer brought yet another bag of donated gifts into her home. "Those are the miracles of the Lord," Elizondo, 61, said. "I can feel that so many are...... Full story

ALAMO — The doting father didn’t recognize his kids when they crawled into bed to tell him, “Happy Father’s Day.” A physician had diagnosed Herminio Garza’s recent splitting headaches as bad migraines only two...... Full story

MISSION - The Leiva family’s small artificial Christmas tree will remain in its box this year, as it has the past two years. Even if the children had lights and ornaments to decorate the two-foot plastic tree, their holiday spirit would be...... Full story

PHARR — A king-size bed greets guests when they open the door to Ruth Mendoza’s small home. The neatly made bed takes up most of the space in her one-room apartment. It’s where the 34-year-old woman, her husband and their two...... Full story

EDINBURG — Five-year-old Juan Vega had been crying. He didn’t understand exactly what had happened to his house, but he knew he didn’t have his school uniform anymore. Juan was afraid that he couldn’t go to Dwight...... Full story

  MISSION - The little yellow house on Flores road needs a Christmas miracle. A pink bicycle would delight the 8-year-old girl. The four-year-old, after much deliberation, finally settles on a Christmas tree, which the family...... Full story

ALTO BONITO — Aissa Thaily hears the cracking sound at least twice a year. Each one signals the snapping of the 8-year-old’s fragile bones. Aissa has had 12 fractures in her short life. The most recent one occurred when she pulled her...... Full story

  Enrique Orozco holds his 2-year-old son, Enrique Jr., as they watch the family’s television, which sits on an old TV stand in the corner of their modest, two-bedroom home. His three daughters, Silvia, Citlaly and Cristal, giggle as...... Full story

PALMVIEW — Five Band-Aids stick to the ceiling in the Martinez family’s two-room house. The four children, who sleep in the adjacent bedroom with their parents, stuck them there, hoping to keep the rainwater out. With a beaten-down...... Full story

NEAR EDINBURG — Micalea Carrizalez tries not to think of her old trailer home, where years of hard work and her sense of security went up in flames after someone she knew set it on fire. The 34-year-old said she cried for days and...... Full story