God's got BIG plans for this boy!

As you know...Israel was the face of the Portland Shriner's Christmas card. This was such a special exerience for us. Because lets be honest...when we found out about this little boy, we had NO idea what God't plans were for him. Obviously, we still have tons of questions and wish we could see the whole picture, but we are learning to trust God, step by step, as he shows us His perfect plan for Izzy. Just last week I received another email from Shriner's. As it turns out, the national office saw the Christmas card and requested to use Izzy's story on their national magazine! WOW! Of course we said yes! I continue to stand amazed at how this precious little one year old is touching so many lives.

Giving Back - A Fundraiser for Shriner's - Donation Update

At our last trip to Shriner's Izzy and I paid a little visit to the HR department and saw our new found Shriner's friend, Kay. We presented her with an envelope including the donations and a little letter. Izzy was happy to pass off the money to such a special place. I wanted to share with you the letter that I included. And just once more, say THANK YOU to everyone who was a part of this step in the journey of Izzy's life.

January 13, 2011
Dear Shriner’s Hospital for Children,

We wanted to take a moment to personally say THANK YOU for everything you do for our precious Israel. We count it a privilege and honor to be a part of your family. We are blessed by this hospital each and every time we come!

We also wanted to say thank you for making our little guy the face of your Christmas card this year! Wow…how special! And the way you did the card, with the wording and pictures was precious. We cried…more than once. It was wonderful to get to give out the cards personally as our Christmas card this year. But even more so to give them to others to send out and receive donations for your hospital! We raised $420 in such a short period of time! We know firsthand that these cards touched many lives! Thank you for sharing them with us!

We wanted to name those who donated money…no matter how small or large the amount.
• Kevin & Melanie Kruse
• Jeff & Mary Ballard
• Don & Sue Turkington
• Jim & Jenny Bettis
• Glenn & Jagene Dorn
• Suzie Doeren
• Sharon DeLaveaga
• Wanda Petipiece
• Jan Steiner

Thank you again…for everything!
All our love,
The Turkington Family ~ Jon, Becca, Rachel, Jaxon & Israel

~ Splish ~ Splash ~

Splish ~ Splash...Izzy has outgrown the bath!


As a parent of a child who is a little different then the "standard" child, I take full advantage of every positive that this brings our way. One of my favorites has been bath time in the kitchen sink! Since Izzy's legs are short he has fit perfectly in the sink for almost two full years! This means my back isn't killing me bending over the tub. It also means I can make lunch or clean the kitchen while he is taking a bath and still be right there with him! Sadly, I think this was his last bath in there though. Not only is he getting to big, but it's getting scary! He likes to kneel all the time now and most recently he has been dropping his toys over the edge and doing this...


Yeah...that doesn'e excetly make me feel comfortable! One slip and he is over the edge! Guess its off the the big boy tub from now on!

I just have to share one more picture with you though...he posed like this all on his own...seriously...it doesn't get much sweeter than this!