For those who might have wondered what really went down when I won the state association's School Psychologist of the Year award, check out my latest posting on Kveller - I Missed a Major Career Milestone, But At Least I Was With My Kids:  http://www.kveller.com/blog/parenting/i-missed-a-major-career-milestone-but-at-least-i-was-with-my-kids/

For the last day of November's National Adoption Awareness Month, here's an ode especially to new adoptive parents from the ever so relevant, Dr. Seuss: 

I was so pleased to have been invited to contribute to the Social Work License Map's website - Life Lessons My Adopted Children Taught Me:  http://socialworklicensemap.com/life-lessons-my-adopted-children-taught-me/

Here's my piece for the Thirty Portraits of Adoption Series in honor of November's Adoption Awareness Month - Playing Behind the Scenes: Life as a Single Adoptive Father:  http://www.chicagonow.com/portrait-of-an-adoption/2014/11/playing-behind-the-scenes-life-as-a-single-adoptive-father/

Here's part 2, the Christian side of our family life posted on Kveller - My Adopted Son Wants to Be Christian--And I Need to Let Him:  http://www.kveller.com/blog/parenting/my-adopted-son-wants-to-be-christian-and-i-need-to-let-him/

Check out and share my article, The Joys and Challenges of Parenting Older Adopted Children in November's issue of the Adoption Advocate (77):  www.adoptioncouncil.org/files/large/74006f69a8fa720

Please visit Tara Vanderwoude website,  www.taravanderwoude.com
Tara is a Korean adoptee and an adoptive mother, as well as a social worker, advocate, and educator. Her mission is simple, yet powerful in the quest for fostering an enhanced understanding of the complexities surrounding adoption: My writing attempts to give voice to these complexities -- they are plentiful, multi-leveled, and multi-dimensional. Like you, I'm still learning... and relearning. Effectively responding to the "best interests" of the child, regardless of whether adoption is the outcome begins with an open mind and willingness to regard different perspectives.