My name is Kendra Darlene Ogilvie.  I live in Dayton, Ohio, with my husband, Berry, and our three children: nine-year-old Karis Deanne, seven-year-old Colton Marcus, and three-year-old Pegeen Marguerite.  

I'm a little person (i.e., a dwarf).  I am not even four-foot five.  My husband and two of my children are dwarfs, too.  The only one who isn't is my son.  He's normal size; it won't be long before he's taller than me, and in a few years he will probably be taller than his daddy.

Berry and myself have the achondroplastic type of dwarfism (normal sized trunk, shortened limbs, larger than normal heads, accompanying facial features), and so does Pegeen.  As for Karis, she is a dwarf as well, but she has normal sized limbs for her size and her head isn't big.  She looks normal excepting she's just very little.

Because of our shortened limbs, both Berry and I have arthritis in our knees, feet, hips, and hands.  We also have it in our spine; this makes it hard to walk sometimes, especially if the weather is bad.  I walk with two crutches; Berry uses a wheelchair; he has it worse than I do.  He has JRA (diagnosed when Berry was 12); I have osteoarthritis, which is the degenerative kind.  It gets worse over time.  I've had it since being pregnant with our firstborn, but most days I can manage the pain quite well.

Berry works as a schoolteacher (our kids are homeschooled).  As for me, I work in the law field; I work with families who have children with special needs.  I help them to win their disability claims if they are denied.  I love my job.  I've done this for the past seven years, since Karis was only two.  It helps pay the bills and it gives us money for what we need.

Besides raising my children and working, I love to go on long car rides/trips,  sing in the church choir every Sunday (we are Baptists; we go to New Foundation Baptist Church not far from our home), talk to other families who have children with special needs, as a way of giving them hope and encouragement, and educating others about dwarfism and what we little people face in a world not geared for our unique needs.

I have a very happy, rewarding life, as you can see.  God sees to that.  In gact, God is a huge part of who I am and what I do.  I cannot imagine my life without God; He's blessed not only me and my husband; He's blessed our children as well, and for that, I am truly grateful.

One day I hope to write a book about my family.  The working title is "Our Own Tiny Family".  I have maybe six chapters written out, but they are very rough drafts.  I need to work on my writing and get motivated to actually write more than I do.  I just don't have the time: I'm too busy with the children and my other activities!  LOL

I think people would be interested in hearing my story and see what I have to say.

Well, Karis and Colton are calling me, so I will go.  I will write in here again soon; I hope you enjoyed reading about me and my family!  Until later, this is Kendra saying so long and God bless!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!

~Your new friend in Ohio, Kendra Ogilvie.  :)

~To be continued.~