She has got to be one of the cutest little children we have ever seen:  huge, big dark eyes that miss very little.  Long, dark-brown hair usually done up in a ponytail or pigtails.  A tiny snub for a nose.  A sweet smile.  Round, full cheeks that give her face a cherubic quality. 

Yes, that is our daughter, Mina, aged two years, whom we adopted from Croatia.  We finally got her several months back, before Christmas, and it has been one exciting, exhausting (not to mention, adventerous) ride!

My name is Susan.  Susan K. Riles.  I live in Westlake, Ohio, with my husband, Simon, and our four children; in addition to Mina Grace, we have 9-year-old Carrah Lynn, 7-year-old Patrick Simon, and 5-year-old Cayden Douglas.  My husband is a vet's assistant; I, meanwhile, work as a bookkeeper out of my home, where I can keep an eye on our two youngest while the two older ones are at school.

(Cayden will start kindergarten this fall; as for Mina, she is too young, and still too new, to start something like preschool.  She is still getting used to her surroundings, not to mention, a new language, a new culture, a new life.)

Mina is perfectly healthy; however, she is delayed, due, in part, to not speaking English.  She knows maybe six words in English; the rest is Croatian babytalk; we have a very hard time trying to understand her most of the time.  Yet we try to help her as best as we possibly can.

Mina loves butterflies; that we've come to discover.  Every time she sees a butterfly flitting about, her whole face will light up brighter than the sun, and she will squeal, "Butterf'y!  Butterf'y!"  She also loves having her sippy cup, full of juice (apple preferred, but she does love pineapple and cranberry as well) by her side; she is always sucking on it. 

Besides butterflies and sippy cups, Mina loves showing off for us.  She is a natural-born dancer:  any music comes on, and there she is, moving her entire body, her arms, her legs, to the flow of the music, a smile of pure joy on her face, and her dark eyes snapping with excitement.  She tries to sing, but mainly goes "la, la, la" in place of the words.  It's really cute to watch her.

We think she's either going to be a singer, a dancer, or a lover of butterflies or flowers.  Flowers are another item that bring her joy.

Cayden adores his little sister; however, like all brothers and sisters, they sometimes do get on each other's nerves.  This is when he'll push her aside (much to Mina's dismay); this is when the tears will start (both sides), and then I have to act as referee, to try to stop it from coming to blows or to tell them that I do not allow violence or fighting in this house.

The older children put up with their little brother or sister as best as they can; however, they have their own lives:  school, friends, sports, sleepovers, different activities to keep young minds, bodies active and healthy.

I am blessed to have five beautful children; we couldn't be any happier than we are right now.  I hope this good life will continue; I will have to pray to God that it does! 

Well, I am going to go.  Cayden is screaming at me; guess little sister got into his toys again.  *Sighh*  A mother's work is never done!  So before there is blood being shed, I'd best investigate and deal with this at once!  I will write in here again another day; until then, this is Susan Riles signing out of here!  Take care and God bless!

~Love, your new friend in Ohio, Susan K. Riles.  :)