Happy belated 7th Birthday Joshua and Caleb!

In my last post, I wrote that I didn't think that there was anything really exciting to write about....UH....HEEELLLLOOOOO! Stacey.........just your boy's 7th BIRTHDAY!!!! I guess I have an excuse since I was so sick on their birthday that I don't even think I saw them until the late afternoon that day.
Happy (belated posting of your) Birthday boys!! We love you so much and are so thankful to the Lord Jesus that He gave us 2!!:):) You are both so precious to us!


The other day Joshua was talking about a field trip that we went on last year to John Muir's house in Martinez. He said, "We went to John Muir's house....but he wasn't there." :):) Below is a picture of the kids in front of John Muir's house.


This morning I was sorting laundry in front of the boys room and was able to eavesdrop on a conversation between them.

Caleb: "Tomorrow is Flag Day!"
Joshua: "Flag Day? What's flag day?"
Caleb: "It's a day when you say "God Bless America" and all that stuff"
**When I looked at the boys calendar today, I read that it was MEXICAN Flag Day:):)

As you can imagine, I had to run downstairs (smiling all the way of course) to quick write it down so I wouldn't forget it. SO CUTE!:)

The Epps Happenings

Well, it has been awhile since I've updated...mostly because it really didn't seem like there was anything really interesting lately in our lives that deserved a post on. But hey....we've got 5 kids! There is ALWAYS something, if not something INTERESTING, going on at our house:) So...now I think back at the last 3 or so weeks and recount. I had to say goodbye to my dear friend Betsy on the 29th. With some friends, even though you don't see them that often, you just seem to pick up where you left off. That is Betsy and my relationship. I appreciate her so much and wish that we could spend more time together sharing our hearts, our joys, our struggles. I appreciate you so much Betsy!

Last week we were ALL down with the horrible, no good, very bad, volcanic and violent stomach flu. It started with the youngest...skipped Caleb...but then came back to Caleb...and ended with the oldest...and I'm not talking about the oldest child. It was BAD! I think I got it the worst of everybody:( Thankfully Charley was already planning on taking a couple of days off so I just stayed in bed and slept.....ALL DAY!

Charley has been preaching at Calvary for the last month on Joshua and Caleb. Last week, he talked about Joshua, Jericho and Rahab. I was impressed with the fact that both Joshua and Rahab believed God in what He said and they showed their belief in their obedience (Joshua in taking the walled city of Jericho and Rahab in her obedience in putting the red chord out her window) It made me think of me and my life. Do I move forward in obedience, taking God at His word, or do I worry and question? In my quiet times lately, I have been studying Genesis and I was struck by Noah and his unquestioning belief and obedience to the Lord. Did he question God when God told him to build an ark? I'm thinking he didn't since the Lord didn't record it. He records others disbelief and questioning (Abraham, Sarah, Zechariah), but with Noah it just says, "Noah did all that the Lord commanded him." What a testimony to his family and to us thousands of hears later! I pray that it may be said of me, Stacey did all that the Lord commanded her. As I write this, the song Trust and Obey is running through my head.

When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His word

What a glory He sheds on our way

When we do His good will

He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey

Trust and Obey for there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

I looked at last years calendar a few days ago and realized that today is the 1 year anniversary to when Joshua went in for his surgery...the first time...his tonsillectomy and insertion of tubes. We are so thankful that Joshua is doing so well and praise the Lord that even though this time last year was quite a frustrating time for us, that the Lord knew exactly what He was doing and everything was fixed in His perfect timing. Thanks to all of our friends and family for lifting us up before the Throne of Grace during and after the surgeries. Your prayers were felt and MUCH appreciated!

A Night with Friends

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Excuse me as I cry...my friends are leaving in a few days to go back to Nicaragua.:(:(
We had a fun night together last night. Dinner, dessert, lots of excited children, and lots of chatting and sharing. How I wish we lived closer but thankfully with the internet, we can at least stay in semi-constant touch. I have one more visit to Starbucks with Betsy on Thursday night (while the kids are at Awana). Looking forward to that! For those of you that don't know, Betsy discipled me in my early college days and was also a bridesmaid in my wedding.
Goodbye dear friends! We will miss you terribly! :(:(



Well here is our first family picture with Buster as a part of our family. Didn't turn out too bad if I do say so myself. ;)



Megan came over last week and was able to spend the night and a day with Kristina and Abby. I think that is the first friend that the girls have had over to spend the night. I tried to keep the boys out of the girls way as much as possible, cause, well,,,,you know how boys can be sometimes. They are just a bit more rough and tumble than the girlies. Thus, the black eye that Joshua is sporting in the family picture above. Nobody is quite sure how it happened...but it is narrowed down to Caleb or Anna. Go figure! It must not have hurt him that much, because I didn't hear any whining or crying because of it.

Buster is here to stay!

Well, we did it! We are now the proud owners...or to be PC about it...caretakers of a 3 month old Dachshund Chihuahua mix puppy. He is pretty cute and loves to lavish us all with wet kisses:):):) We are excited to start this new journey in our lives. We went through a place in Oakland called Lisa's Passion for Pets (it's actually a pet store..but the owner rescues dogs from being put to sleep). She has ALL KINDS of little dogs...so if you are looking for a littler dog, I would suggest checking her pet store out. You can foster dogs for a week at a time or adopt them. The kids absolutely LOVED going there and getting to see and hold all those cute...well most of them were cute...dogs.

Goodbye Jasper

Well, we took Jasper back yesterday. Cute doggy, with some good things about him, but also some bad things...such as nipping at all the kids. He followed me around the house and liked me, but he DEFINITELY didn't like Charley and was not really a kid dog. Oh well, live and learn. We now know that we want more of a loving and "joyful" dog...not one that seems depressed most of the time.
the dog saga and search continues..............

Welcome Jasper!!

Well here he is in all his glory! Jasper (actually his name was Casper...but we didn't like that name) We have him until Saturday unless we decide to adopt him...then we have him forever. He has been a bit timid, but seems to be settling down a bit. I am his best friend (not bad for someone who is not crazy about animals) and he follows me around quite a bit. He is starting to follow others too now, so that is a good sign. He is getting used to us and we are getting used to him. Last night we were all sitting on the couch...he jumped up, laid his head down and promptly fell asleep. So cute! It would have made a super cute picture:):)

...and the dog saga continues

Well today was a fun day. We went to the SPCA and a dog store that was having a doggy adoption day. At the dog store, there were A LOT of small dogs..which is what we are looking for. We took one for a walk that really has a lot of potential as becoming a member of our family. He is a Papillon mix...kind of a creme color...very sweet and calm..and best of all.......potty trained. Anna keeps saying, "I'm the first pooper picker-upper." We are praying about possibly fostering him for a week to see if he would be a good fit for our family. Exciting..Exciting! On the way home, we were trying to think of boy doggy names.:):)
We were also able to spend a fun evening with the Rods...fellowshipping, laughing at kiddos:), and going to Rigatoni's for dinner. Thanks Rods! We appreciate you!