Home Study Update

March 4th we got our fingerprints done and dropped them off at the Department of Public Safety to be processed for state and federal backgrounds checks. Normally the background checks take about 6 weeks; so when May came around and the checks still hadn't been sent to our homestudy writer, I made some phone calls to DPS to see what was going on. The lady on the phone assured me the checks had been send off on March 10th, but our writer said she hand't received them. So, two weeks later when she STILL hadn't received even the newly sent ones, we knew something was wrong!
That brings us to today; I just received an email from our homestudy writer and apparently our fingerprints and background checks were processed in March, but sat on someone's desk at DPS and were put into a file of prints that were submitted with missing or partial information and were just never put in the mail!

So finally, she has all our paperwork (about 60 pages we worked on!) and our fingerprints and background checks. Next up she will come and do a home visit where we will do an interview as a family; then the following week she will come back and interview us individually; and that should be it!

Hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks we will have a completed homestudy that we can submit to the foster care offices in Alaska; and then we wait! (We are also open to a private newborn adoption too.)


Since the child has to be in our home for 6 months before we can go to court to officially sign the adoption papers; we would need to be placed with a child by Dec or Jan time frame (because we are most likely moving June or July of next summer). I'm praying for His perfect timing, and I ask that you pray along side with us too.

Honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen in the next few months; but I know God has a child or children already hand picked for us, and knowing this brings peace and ease to the whole process :)

Scaling It Back

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I am spending my time; and honestly I am not happy with the answer. I am wasting precious moments I could be spending engaged with my kids in a craft, a project, a recipe, a game, a book, a Bible verse or story or helping with homework. I could be investing this time in their interests and ultimately their futures.

I love technology and think it's amazing that we can keep in touch with people at any second of the day and in so many different ways; but this can be dangerous. Mom's (and Dad's), I'm sure you can relate to this: how many times have your kids said your name and you don't even look up but automatically say "just a second" because you are too intent on checking Facebook on your phone? Or they ask you for help on their homework and you say "hold on" because you are texting someone the details of your day? When did keeping informed about the outside world every-other-breathing-second become more important then being there for our kids when they so desperately need our attention (especially at such a young age)? Our kids pick up and learn from every one of our actions.

So, what is it that you want to be teaching your children? What do you want to input into their hearts and minds that will eventually come out in their actions as they grow up? For me, I want my kids to know how important family is; and I think they already do (thankfully). I want them to know they are much more important then when my phone is dinging. I want them to know that I want to spend time with them. I want them to learn that investing in others and leading people to Christ is much more important then how popular you are. I want them to know that real relationships take time and energy; that they are hard yet so rewarding.

So how do we implement these values into our children's everyday lives? We evaluate where we as parents are struggling, failing or maybe even drowning. We pinpoint what we can scale back or maybe even get rid of all together. It's different for everyone. Some might spend too much time on Facebook, texting, emailing (or their phone's in general) a game they are trying to beat, a set of books they can't put down, slaving themselves at the gym for that perfect body, putting in overtime at work to get to the top instead of going home and having dinner with your family, investing more time in growing your business then spending time with your kids on the weekends, putting all your extra time and energy towards that personal record, that really in the end, is just a title. Any area in your life that exceeds time spent with God or with your family, could use some cutting back.

With all this said; I've decided to deactivate my Facebook account and also scale back on my photography marketing. Obviously, Facebook just takes up time-too much of it. Photography on the other hand is exhausting. Starting a business in a new area is going to take time; that's a given. But when marketing and worrying about branding, trying to find new client's and always searching for new ideas becomes more of a focus then spending those after-school hours with my kids, then it's a problem.  I'm not saying I'm straight up ignoring my children, not feeding them or changing diapers, but there are definitely times where I am on the computer working on photography related things when I could instead just shut the laptop, hang out with the kids and let the business worry for itself. I am not completely shutting down the business. I still want to gain new clients, learn more about my camera, and keep the business growing, but I am going to scale it back a bit. I'm not going to waste time worrying about when my next client will come along, or how I can gain new "likes" on my page. I'm not going to constantly be trying to come up with ideas or ways to "get my name out there". There are enough people now that know I have a business, and can pass along the word for me. I am still going to keep my photography business page and remain active on it; but I'm not going to worry about my admin stats and post a photo to my page "just because it's been a few days". I want to spend all this extra time investing in my children who are our future. I want them to be secure in the fact that they are more important then any job title I hold, or any comment I receive on Facebook.

I don't know if you are struggling with this as well, and if you are then I encourage you to take a look at what you are spending most of your time on. If you find that more time is spent on a certain area of your life then with your children/family, then you need to ask yourself how you can cut back to make more room and time for the more important things. After all, your children are our future. What we teach them today will affect how they react tomorrow (or years from now). All these other things that seem important now, really aren't. We can't take our phones with us when we die, we can't have a Facebook account in Heaven, we aren't going to be worried about having the biggest most booming business when we are dead, and being popular won't even exist because our eyes will be fixed upon Jesus. But, our children's actions and relationships will live on after we are gone. So spend time focusing on them and what/who God wants them to become. After all, this is our greatest calling as a parent.


*On a side note; I am not saying it's bad to a Facebook account or to have a business and a family. If you can balance both, then more power to ya! I however have lots of time in the future (God willing) to spend on this business, so for right now, I am putting more focus on my kids (and future kids as we are trying to adopt:)
 Like I said, I am not closing up shop. I am still booking sessions and working on growing as a photographer, I am just scaling back the time I spend on the business and putting forth more time towards my children. 

If you want/need to get a hold of me, my email is suzychapstick1@gmail.com. You can email me and I can send you my phone number as well, I also LOVE to get snail mail :) I'll also be keeping up with my blog; so be sure to "follow" it, and you can also follow on Instagram; username: suzychapstick1

~Susan

Southwest OK Newborn Photographer | The M Family

When this sweet little baby boy was born, I was out of town for Christmas vacation. The plan was to do a newborn session with him as soon as I got back from Colorado. But, life happened. This baby boy had jaundice, then his sisters came down with a super contagious illness, then he developed baby acne and THEN his family went out of town! So, two months later we were finally able to schedule something!

Since we were including his sisters and mom and dad in the shots as well, I went for more of a lifestyle type of session. I have been wanting to try "lifestyle" for a while now. I am at the point where I am ready to narrow down what type of photography I want to specialize in; and lifestyle was one of those types of sessions I had yet to try. Lately, (for me) the more natural the smile, the more appealing it is. When searching out other photographers to follow and admire, I have been more drawn to the lifestyle sessions as opposed to the posed ones. Now, I do think it's important to have a few where everyone is looking and smiling at the camera, those are great to have too!

It was so much fun hanging out with this family for a bit! These girls loved showing off for the camera, especially in their pretty dresses!

Thanks, M Family for allowing me into your home and being so relaxed and easy to work with!

Next up, I REALLY want to try birth photography...any takers?!? :)

~Susan

Susan Wetlesen Photography specializes in newborn, birth, family and lifestyle photography in Southwest Oklahoma and surrounding areas including but not limited to Lawton, Wichita Falls and Altus.

Autobiography

As I'm starting to fill out the paperwork for the home study, one of the biggest documents is the autobiography. 12 pages of questions about yourself; from where were you born, to how did you and your spouse meet, to what are your motivations for adopting, to how do you resolve conflicts with your children? As you move further along in the questionnaire the questions get "harder" and more personal. I'm only on page 1 question 4 and I'm already stumbling.
"Are your parents still living? If not, how old were you when they died?"
My answer: "My dad was killed in a motorcycle accident when I was sixteen years old."
This fact is not new to me; obviously. But, the fact that I have to physically write that down, makes me realize how hard it is that my dad is not here to see us take on such an exciting, challenging yet rewarding process. Gabriel and I are in fact taking on the same calling my parents did when they welcomed me and my brothers into their home. If it weren't for my dad coming home one day saying "Well, lets put down boy OR girl on the paperwork", I might not have ever had the privilege to become his daughter. They were planning on adopting another son, but something special happened that day, he was able to help a little lost girl find her mother, and because of that, his heart and mind was changed.

Thank you Lord for sending that little girl into his life at that exact moment. Thank you for allowing him to help her out and to place that possible desire for a daughter on his heart. Thank you Lord for my father and the amazing man he was for my family, all his students and the community. Even though he can't be here today to love on his grandchildren, I thank you Lord for placing him in my life and for all the wonderful memories that no matter what, can't be taken away from me.

~Susan

The Beginning Of Our Journey

Since Gabriel and I got married we've talked about adoption; 9 years and 3 biological children later we have finally begun the process! This will be my first post about our journey! 

A little back ground info...

When we lived in Delaware (our previous station) adoption was a subject that we had started to seriously talk about. Soon after doing some research and learning about a really neat agency (that we were excited to possibly use) called Bethany Christian Services we found out my husband was going to deploy for 4.5 months. Well, at that point the idea of adopting anytime in the near future went out the door. Completing a homestudy, taking care of 2 young children and a house while my husband was gone was not feasible. 

After returning home from deployment we became pregnant with baby number 3 (along with quite a few other squadron couples; deployment babies are the best:) With this pregnancy we knew it would be a while before adopting would fit into our lives....

We then made the cross country move from Delaware to Alaska for our new assignment! Since moving here a year and a half ago we have talked about adopting on and off. It seemed like for 2-3 months we would research, talk, pray and attend meetings about adoption; then life would get busy, my husband would leave for training or go fly missions, kids would get sick, and I'd be engrossed in starting my photography business that adoption would once again take the back burner. Then a spark would bring up the conversation again and we would spend a few more months talking and contemplating this life altering decision. With so many avenues for adoption, the hardest decision is deciding which is best for your family, and where to start! I believe that this was the biggest reason why we had such a hard time getting the ball rolling. We just didn't know where to start. Foreign? Domestic? Agency? Private? Foster? Newborn? So many possibilities with really one outcome...to give a child a home, a family, love, security and to show them the unconditional love of Jesus. 

Here are some Bible verses about adoption:



A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
    is God in his holy dwelling.
⁶ God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing;
    but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
~Psalms 68:5-6

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
~James 1:27


Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
~Isaiah 1:17


Defend the cause of orphans. I love that verse. If we won't fight for them, then who will? These innocent children didn't ask to be abandoned, abused or neglected; they are not unloveable or hopeless. Unfortunately they believe they are because of the situations they have been put through, because the people they were naturally supposed to rely on and trust let them down. 

Since moving to Alaska it has really been on my heart that God has a specific child (or children) already picked for us and I believe we will be blessed with this child while living here. Now, we just have to do our part in obeying His will and get the ball rolling! 

We have picked out a homestudy writer (someone who performs the homestudy, compiles all the paperwork and concludes whether or not we are suitable to adopt) and now the process begins! She has emailed us a lot of documents to start filling out and we will be going to Anchorage to be fingerprinted soon. Even though we are not technically fostering, because we want to adopt a legally free child out of foster care; we must also become foster care licensed. Once the homestudy is done we plan to submit it to all the Offices of Child Services in the state of Alaska...then, we wait. We have not ruled out infant adoption, but have decided to try this route first. With the infant adoption, we would need a homestudy done too, as that is still an option for us. 

I know this is a calling for us. A special way we can make a difference in another person's life, forever. With my love for children, my husband's true compassion for others, and our love for Jesus, I know we can change the world; one child at a time! 

Please pray for us during this time. We will need wisdom to prepare our own children, perseverance to get through the mountain of paperwork, assurance to push through the doubt and strength to make it through the wait. I look forward to keeping you all updated on our process, and am already excited for the day we can announce the newest member of our family to you!   

I want to leave you with my new favorite song by Audio Adrenaline. Every child has a dream to belong and be loved.... 

Kings and Queens


Blessings,

~Susan


All posts related to our adoption journey will be under the adoption tag at the top of the page. 

Southwest OK Newborn Photographer | Baby B Session

Saturday I was able to photograph a sweet 6 day old baby girl. She loved to be held and had the biggest brown eyes! Even though she was born at 8 lbs, she seemed so tiny to me, probably because my youngest is now two and a half and not a baby anymore!

Here are some of her best photos!

Nothing like a soft squishy sweet newborn to put you in a good mood on a Tuesday! ;)

~Susan

Susan Wetlesen Photography
Susan Wetlesen Photography-Facebook

Susan Wetlesen Photography specializes in newborn, birth, family and lifestyle photography in Southwest Oklahoma and surrounding areas including but not limited to Lawton, Wichita Falls and Altus.

Yesterday At Church

Yesterday was an emotional day at church, and let's admit it, sometimes it just is.

 Looking over and seeing/hearing my sweet 7 year old daughter sing "How Great Is Our God" was definitely a happy moment for this parent. :)

Then the pastor spoke about some loses we have recently experienced in our church. He explained as a reminder to the congregation that through Jesus' death, our death is not the end of the road. His death replaced ours, He accomplished His death so that we wouldn't have to experience death to the fullest. Yes, we leave our physical bodies, which are not perfect anyway. We have pain, hardships, we get our feelings hurt, we struggle with thoughts of inadequacy/self doubt, we feel lonely, we suffer from loosing those closest to us; we have physical pain from childbirth, accidents, sicknesses, or just growing older. But, because of the death that Christ suffered for us, we don't have to be scared or sad about our deaths. We get to leave all of these pains and troubles behind....

After communion we sang the song "It Is Well." I leaned over and whispered to my husband, "I can hear my Dad singing this." Even though it's been 12 years, I can still hear his deep voice belting out his favorite songs at church. Then the tears came. Christ suffered his death for MY dad. He encountered the worst death possible so MY dad could spend eternity with Him. What an awesome God we serve. Even when it's not always easy to see "why"something as happened, we have to step back and remember God knows the bigger picture and the ultimate plan is authored by Him. He suffered and died for MY father, MY brother, MY brother-in-law, MY friend's husband, MY friend's mother, MY friend's father...who in your life has He died for? The answer is clear and the answer is true, Christ died for everyone...He died for me and for YOU!

~Susan

You liked that rhyming sentence at the end, didn't you? :)