From Apples to Family

Russ and Alex woke up early one Saturday morning. They were excited because Alex's parents were taking the two of them to a nearby orchard to pick apples for the day.

Russ, excited, was dripping milk down his chin from his morning cheerios, said "What do you and your parents do with the apples you pick?"

Alex, also enjoying his cheerios, finished his bite and said, "We make all kinds of things for the bakery. Apple pies, apple cobbler, apple crisp, and we even make our own apple juice and cider to sell. We stay busy picking apples every Saturday when they are in season."

"That sounds like fun, and tasty," Russ said.

"It is. My parents won't let me do anything in the oven yet. They always say they will when I'm older, but now, I'm old enough to help pick apples."

Just then, Alex's mother came out of the bathroom, fresh from her shower, and told her seven year old son, "That is correct. When you are a little older, you can learn how to make our recipes, but for now you can help us pick apples."

Russ asked, "What kind of apples are we picking?"

Mrs. Smith replied with a smile, "Today, we are picking red delicious apples. They are great for the cooking plans we have for the bakery. You too better get cleaned up, we need to be off soon."

A few minutes later, both boys and Mr. and Mrs. Smith were loaded up into their green minivan on their way to the orchard. Once they arrived, the boys unloaded all the baskets and waited for their instructions.

Mr. Smith spoke, "Be careful about the apples on the ground, they may be bruised or have a worm in them. You need to do an inspection on each apple before carefully placing them in a basket. Just follow our example." Mr. Smith put a ladder by a tree and climbed up to start picking apples.

Mrs. Smith picked up an apple from the ground saw a bruise and showed the boys. "This is what a bruise looks like on an apple. And that one that has a small hole in it, probably has a worm in it," she said as she indicated another apple on the ground nearby. "You two can help by bringing baskets to us as we need them, and you can try checking the apples near the ground." Everyone got busy picking apples and having fun. Alex and Russ were having a race with the apples they could reach. After a while, they lost count of how many apples they picked.

Before long, Mr. Smith called, "Boys, it's time for lunch. I hope you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and potato chips."

Russ piped up, "Yes, I love those." Soon, the only sounds were of everyone eating. Once they finished their lunch, Mrs. Smith said, "I hope you two saved room for dessert. I brought some fresh apple cobbler for everyone."

The boys were eager to try it.

"This is really good cobbler, Mrs

Smith," Russ said.

Alex said, "I think this is the best one yet. Thanks mom."

Mrs. Smith smiled and said, "You boys are very welcome. Now that we are done eating, let's take these baskets back to the van."

After several trips, with everyone carrying baskets, they were loaded up. Both Alex and Russ were tired from their adventures in apple picking and fell asleep on their way back to the Smiths home. Both Mr. Smith and his wife carried the boys in and let them rest a little while longer on the couch. Mrs. Smith began getting the apples ready for a few pies to sell in the bakery the next day. Mr. Smith started working on getting dinner made for everyone. At four thirty that afternoon, both boys woke up to all the delicious smells going on in the house.

"What smells so good?" Asked Russ.

Mrs. Smith replied, "I just finished baking some apple pies, an apple cobbler, and an apple crisp. Mr. Smith started working on making a nice pot of baked potato soup with fresh rolls."

Russ said excitedly, "Thanks for today. It was so much fun."

Alex said, "I'm glad you were able to join us."

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Russ started to cry.

Standing up, Mrs. Smith came over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Russ, through his tears, said, " I I"ve nnnever experienced anything like this tttoday. You see I I don't know who my parents are. I normally stay with different people and ttthen I move unexpectedly. Today, I really felt like I belonged to a rrreal family. Tthanks for that tttoday."

Mrs. Smith saw the look on Russ' face and hugged him tightly.

Alex was looking shocked to learn that his best friend could move unexpectedly at any time and ran to his room.

Mr. Smith went to talk to his son. Once he entered into Alex's room, he asked, "Are you ok?"

Alex, with tears running down his face said, "It's not fair. I get a home and the same stuff every day. I didn't know that Russ didn't have that. I didn't know that he could move at a moment's notice. Why does that happen?"

Mr. Smith thought for a moment and said, "I agree it's not fair. Sometimes parents are unable to take care of their children and the children move from house to house. Each person that goes through this hopefully gets adopted into a new family that takes care of them."

Alex asked, "Can we do something to help Russ? I don't want to lose him."

Mr. Smith looked thoughtful and said, "We might be able to help, but I need to talk to your mother first. Why don't the two of you go eat dinner? I will talk to her."

Alex agreed and went out to eat dinner with Russ.

While the boys are dinner in silence, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith went into their bedroom to talk about possibly adopting Russ. When they came out, it was Mr. Smith who spoke first, and said, "Russ, we have agreed that we would like you to join our family permanently. We will take care of you but only if you and Alex agree to it."

Alex asked, "Does that mean we will be brothers? My vote is yes."

Russ said excitedly, "I will finally have a mom and dad and brother! When is it official?"

Mrs. Smith answered, "Yes, you two will be brothers, and we will start everything on our end tonight. Russ, you can stay with us tonight too if you would like. I already talked to your foster parents about it and they agree with us."

Russ, smiling came up and said, "Thanks Mom and Dad." Before long, both boys were excited about being brothers and having each other.

Over the next few months, the adoption of Russ became official and the Smith family welcomed him into their family with open arms.