Girls’ singing Christmasgrams will make you smile
Published: December 6, 2007
Alexis Hurrell, who is 7 years old, wanted to make it clear that she wasn’t necessarily speaking for her sisters when she explained why she is taking part in the Miss Miracle Pageant to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.
“We just want to help other kids. Well, at least I do,” is how Alexis put it to me.
For the record, Alexis’ sisters — Katelynn, 8, and Isabella, 5 — also want to help other kids. But let’s face it, the chance to dress up and be in a real pageant is sort of appealing to girls of a certain age, and the Hurrell sisters are definitely of “a certain age.”
The Miss Miracle Pageant is a pretty neat deal. Girls between the ages of 4 and 12 who are interested in taking part in the pageant are asked to raise a minimum of $100. Those who do will get to take part in the pageant on Jan. 12. The winner of the pageant will be the contestant who raises the most money. Each participant will receive her own tiara and an 8-by-10 photograph of herself taken by a professional photographer.
I don’t know if the Hurrell sisters will raise enough money to actually win the pageant, but I’m not sure that’s really a big deal to them. I really believe that Katelynn, Alexis and Isabella are sincere when they talk about helping kids. I really believe that because I think Katelynn, Alexis and Isabella know a thing or two, even if it’s in a subconscious way, about kids who could use a little help.
See, the three girls and their youngest sister, Emily, who is 3, until recently didn’t get to spend a lot of time with one another. Instead, they spent time in separate foster homes, desperately waiting to be adopted. As the oldest sister, Katelynn seems to have a fresher memory of those days. She told me, in a very matter-of-fact manner, that the girls “had to wait so long to get adopted.” A little less than a year ago, their wait ended when the courts awarded custody of the girls to Randy and Karla Hurrell.
If you had a chance to spend a few minutes with the girls, you would quickly see what drew Randy and Karla to them. First of all, they are as cute as they can be, they’re funny, they’re charming, and they love to laugh. Of course, I imagine they also can be a handful. I imagine riding herd on four high-spirited, yet well-behaved, young girls can be a tad exhausting. But I think Randy and Karla are used to dealing with handfuls, and I think they are used to dealing with “a tad exhausting.” The couple have been foster parents for 18 years. Karla said they have helped raise 200 children and have adopted nine, six of whom still live with them.
In addition to Katelynn, Alexis, Isabella and Emily, Randy and Karla have an adopted 14-year-old daughter named Kylie and an adopted 7-year-old son named Solomon. Randy works for Mediacom, and Karla works for the Children’s Miracle Network. It was Karla who mentioned the Miss Miracle Pageant to the girls.
“They wanted to do it the moment I told them about it,” Karla said.
Once the decision to raise money for the CMN was made, the girls had to figure out how to get their hands on some cash. Since knocking over a liquor store probably was not a good idea, the girls set their sights on something a little easier and slightly more legal. They decided to make and sell caramel apples. The girls had fun doing that, but they quickly decided it was going to take a lot of caramel apples to raise $100. Plus, as Katelynn pointed out with a giggle, Randy kept eating the caramel before it made it to the apples. Next, the girls tried their hand at making Christmas tree ornaments, but so far that hasn’t exactly taken off either. The ornaments, as Karla put it, “are a work in progress.”
Finally, the girls hit on something that I think is a winner. For $25 the girls will come to your house or place of business and sing Christmas carols from a song list they have put together. If you would like to hear from the singing Hurrell sisters, you can make a reservation by e-mailing Karla at karlahurrell@yahoo.com. The singing Christmasgrams will be delivered between Dec. 17 and Dec. 23.
One of the things on which I pride myself — to paraphrase Mark Twain — is that I tell the truth in this column … mainly. For the most part — to paraphrase George Gobel — if I tell you in this column that two roosters can pull a train, you better hook ’em up. So, I’m telling you, if you pony up the $25 or $35 to have Katelynn, Alexis and Isabella sing Christmas carols, you will be glad you did. The girls will make you happy. They will make you smile. I promise.
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