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says Justin. “Denise and I love

our jobs, and we have found Midland to be a great place to raise a family.” Their family consists of three children—two boys and a girl. Jesse, the oldest son is 8 and in the second grade; Hannah is 6 and in the frst grade; and Jacob is 4 and attends the Helen L. Greathouse Children’s Center at Midland College. “That’s another reason we love Midland,” says Denise. “The Children’s Center is so accommodating for Jacob.” Jacob has a form of dwarfsm called achondroplasia, which is the most common among the 200+ different dwarf forms. Achondroplastic dwarfs have short stature, with an average adult height of approximately 4 feet. The prevalence is approximately 1 in 25,000. “He’s the only little person in the Children’s Center,” explains Denise. “In fact, when he was born, he was the only little person we knew! Now, we have a network of people that we have met who have children with the same physical condition. The Children’s Center has the accommodations that allow Jacob to be himself—be little and be independent.” Being a little person doesn’t slow Jacob down one bit. Rita Stotts, Director of the Helen L. Greathouse Children’s Center, says, “Jacob is a delightful child. He does not let his size stand in the way of taking charge of any situation. He is always ‘on the go,’ full of energy, very intelligent, loves computers and lets nothing get in his way of success! ”

“Jacob is also the true Texan in the family” says Justin. “The rest of us are transplanted from Montana, but Jacob is proud of the fact