Opening Day

Well today was a very exciting day! It was the opening day parade and game for Union City Little League. The boys looked SO handsome in their uniforms.....if I do say so myself:) Charley is one of the assistant coaches (he looked pretty handsome too:):)...and we just learned that one of the other coaches is our backyard neighbor! So funny:)

Since this is their first year, they need some more practice in the basic skills, but I thought they did pretty good today. Of course I am a biased mom...but they did:) Caleb caught a ball really good and Joshua hit the ball and was able to make it all around the bases (not all at one time).

Now on to Missy Poo......Anna was in her own little world at the ballpark...laying on the grass, picking flowers, and singing with all her might.."JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN. ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD. RED AND YELLOW, BLACK AND WHITE. THEY ARE PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT. JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD." So cute! She was also arraying my lap with all kinds of leaves that she was gathering. Later in the day, she was holding her stomach and telling me something which I couldn't understand at first. When she repeated it, she said, "I think I have cansaw (cancer). I think you need to pray for me." We have been praying for some people during our prayer time who have cancer, so that is why she had (so to speak) cancer on the brain. Some of the things that that little girl comes up with.................:)

Abby has really been taking off in reading! She now LOVES to read...for which I am EXTREMELY glad. I wasn't sure if she would ever love to read like her sister does, but I think she has finally earned the title, "Book Worm". She has really enjoyed reading "Sarah Plain and Tall" and the sequel to it, "Calebs Story".

On Wednesday, the 18th, we celebrated my Dad's and Charley's birthdays. We gave my Dad a "#1 Grandpa" frame, so I had to take a picture of him and his grandkids to fill it. Of course Buster had to be included since he is part of the family now:):)

Where the Red Fern Grows-

Have you ever read the story, "Where the Red Fern Grows"? If you have never read it, it is about a young boy who saves up his money for 2 years...doing odd jobs...to buy 2 huntin' dogs. He names them Big Dan and Little Ann. He teaches them to go 'coon huntin' and the story revolves around the love that these 3 have for each other. We borrowed the CD's from the library so Abby has been listening to them. Today when I called the kids to lunch, Abby came in with tears in her eyes and a look like she was about to burst. I asked her what the matter was and with a quivering lip she sadly said, "Big Dan died. He laid his life down for Billy (the boy)" She hadn't gotten to the part yet where Little Anna dies of a "broken heart" and I didn't want to make the present situation worse so I didn't tell her. I asked her, "Abby, who laid their life down for Abby?" She responded, "Jesus". I asked her, "Does that make you cry? Does that make you smile?" Her response was, "No". I told her that it should.
Do we cry or have a thankful smile when we think about what the Lord Jesus did for us? We should. It should "dissolve our heart in thankfulness and melt our eyes to tears" as the hymn very rightly states. I found Abby a little later...still listening and crying....she now knows the end of the story...that Little Ann dies too.

It's been a year!

Today it has been a year since Joshua's vesicoureteral reflux surgery! Wow! This year has sure flown by. Every appointment we have gone to in the past year has had good results...PRAISE THE LORD! We go in this month sometime for an ultrasound to make sure that his kidneys are growing like they should. Oh joy! That is always a fun appointment...I mean the part where he has to drink a WHOLE LOT of water and then have to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. Actually, besides that part of it, it really isn't that bad:)

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.