MOORE -- First, understand that Steve Sorrells loves to hunt.

An avid outdoorsman, Sorrells, his wife Maylene says, lives for those months between September and March.

"He loves deer season, or squirrel hunting, or dove hunting, or whatever hunting season it is," she said. "He just loves to hunt."

Given the chance, Steve would spend most of his time, shotgun in hand, somewhere in the woods.

You should also know that Steve, a plumber, and Maylene, a stay-at-home mom, have redefined the term large family. Between the two of them, when they got married, they had six children.

A short time later, they adopted four more -- Maylene's nieces who had been abandoned by their mother. And, by the time the paperwork was completed, the Sorrells became a family of 12 -- two adults and 10 children.

But there was another.

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Far from Oklahoma, in North Carolina, lived a frightened, lonely 15-year-old girl.

Lacey had never really known her father; she'd only seen him as a toddler.

Her life wasn't easy. First she lived with her mother, then her aunt, and she was placed in foster care.

She was, she said, alone and by herself.

A young girl who thought she'd been forgotten.

A young girl who dreamed of a father she'd never seen, and a family she'd never had.

But Steve Sorrells hadn't forgotten about Lacey.

And the images of his oldest daughter, so far away, haunted his days and nights.

"I knew when Steven and I got married that he had another daughter," Maylene said. "He talked about her all the time. But we didn't know where she was."

Steve continued searching.

"We looked and looked," Maylene said. "Then we got on the Web and finally tracked down Lacey's mother and Steve talked to her.

That conversation was rough.

"She was pretty tough on Steve," Maylene said. "But he understood."

True, Steve had left. He'd made his mistakes. He was young when he and Lacey's mother were dating, and then she got pregnant.

"He was young, dumb and stupid," his wife said.

After that, things hit a brick wall.

And time and distance had not made things any easier. The anger, frustration and tension remained. Steve was told he couldn't contact his daughter.

But he refused to give up.

Through 2007 he stayed in touch. Then, in March 2008, Lacey's mother told Steve she had permission to tell him the address where Lacey lived.

His first letter went out a short time later.

"He wrote his daughter for the first time in May," Maylene said. "And he got a letter back from her."

That first contact was bittersweet.

The letters with Lacey happened during the same time Steve's father died -- the man who adopted him. Still, Steve was overjoyed, Maylene said. He had found his daughter and written to her. But he also discovered that Lacey wasn't living with a family, but instead, had been placed in foster care.

"We didn't know why she was in foster care. And it just broke Steven's heart."

There were questions, too.

In her letter, Lacey wanted to know why her father had left. Like her mother, Lacey was angry because Steve had been absent for so long.

Steve wrote back, but that letter remained unanswered.

"It was on June 10th," Maylene said. "A month to the day that his father had passed away and it was also Lacey's birthday. We had gone out to eat and Steve was pretty down. He was sad about his dad and because of Lacey."

A gentle nudge from Maylene changed things.

"We went home and we were sitting there talking, I told him to look up her address and get the telephone number."

But Steve was afraid to call.

"So I called," Maylene said. "I was scared, too. I called once and then quickly hung up. Then I called back and asked for Lacey."

Eventually, Steve would get on the phone and, for the first time in 11 years, speak to his daughter.

"At first it was tough," Maylene said. "He told her he was sorry, and that he didn't know what to say. But he also told her he wouldn't go away. He said he wasn't going to give up and he was going to do everything he could to see her."

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Now in contact with Lacey, the world became a little brighter for Steve and Maylene.

But that brightness was short-lived.

"We got a phone call from Lacey's court-appointed advocate," Maylene said. "And he ripped into Steve. He told him what a schmuck he was for leaving and he really kicked Steven in the dirt."

Steve's reply was simple: "We're not gonna give up."

Later, the advocate would call back. This time, the conversation was more cordial.

"He said he needed to know what happened," Maylene said.

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On July 17, Steve traveled to North Carolina.

And, there, for the first time in 11 years, he saw his daughter. He also underwent a DNA test to prove he was Lacey's father.

Two weeks later, Steve's life would, once more, turn upside down.

"They had set up time where Lacey could call Steve on Sunday and he could call her on Tuesday," Maylene said. "Then, about two weeks later, we got another telephone call."

This time, it was the good news-bad news thing.

The good news was that DNA tests proved Steve was Lacey's father. The bad news was that he had to be back in North Carolina in five days for a court appearance.

Steve was perfectly willing to go; after all, he worked hard to reestablish contact with his daughter.

But there was a problem -- he was broke.

Remember this is a family with 10 kids and one working parent.

And Steve and Maylene had used all their spare cash to pay for his first trip North Carolina and cover the cost of the DNA testing and the attorney's fees.

There was no money left.

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In the short story "The Gift of the Magi," author William Sydney Porter -- also known as O. Henry -- tells the story of Jim Dillingham Young and his wife Della -- each of whom wanted to give the other a gift for Christmas. Because neither has any money, Jim and Della secretly sell their most prized possession to purchase the other's gift.

The story is filled with irony, faith and, at its very core, love -- demonstrated by the fact each person was willing to give up something they held so dear as a gift for the other.

Since its publication in 1905, O. Henry's story of a simple, profound love has been embraced by the world. Millions have read it; thousands more have studied it; but few have lived it.

Count Steve Sorrells among the few.

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With the clock ticking, and his young daughter waiting, Steve Sorrells did the only thing he could. He needed cash to get to North Carolina and he needed cash fast.

Steve Sorrells sold his entire gun collection -- all 13.

There would be no hunting for a while. The only trips to the woods would be for walks.

"My husband gave up something he loved so he could be with this daughter," Maylene said. "He sold every gun he had to get the money to go back to North Carolina."

On Aug. 6, Steve flew to North Carolina.

On Aug. 7, he appeared in court.

On Aug. 8, he brought his daughter, Lacey, home -- permanently.

"I remember I was at the dentist's office when the phone rang," Maylene said. "It was Lacey calling. She wanted to know if I could get her school stuff."

Court had gone well. The judge told Steve he'd been deprived of 11 years with his daughter. The judge was impressed by his desire to reconnect. The judge closed the case and granted Steve full custody of Lacey.

Maylene's screams were heard throughout the dentist's office.

"I'm pretty sure they thought I was nuts," she said.

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For Lacey Sorrells, her life has been turned upside down since the summer of 2007.

No longer living with relatives or in foster care, Lacey is now the eldest child in what can only be described as the Sorrells Tribe.

A place she proudly calls home.

"It's everything I've ever dreamed of," she said. "It's amazing. I never thought I would see my father. My mom and her family told me he didn't want to see me and that he didn't care about me."

Steve proved otherwise.

And while she was, at first, shocked by the fact she had 10 brothers and sisters, Lacey has quickly come to embrace them.

"At first I was scared. I didn't know what to think. But after a few days I was perfectly fine. They were so accepting of me and I just fit right in. It was really cool."

Three months after her arrival, Lacey said she "still can't believe" she has a home with her father.

"It's been three months and 22 days and I haven't stopped crying yet," she said.

She's also developed a new love of the holidays.

"I used to dread the holidays," she said "I didn't like them at all. But this Thanksgiving, well, it was, the best holiday I've had in seven or eight years. I mean, that's how holidays are supposed to be, just bein' with your family and just getting to spend time with them."

Yes, the world is different for Lacey Sorrells.

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The hunter made his choice.

He could hang on to what he prized -- his gun collection and his affinity for game hunting and the outdoors -- or he could trade all that to soothe the tears of a frightened 15-year-old girl he hadn't seen in 11 years.

Steve Sorrells chose the latter.

And, whether he knows it or not, he changed a young girl's life and restored her faith in both humanity and her father.

Sure, he may no longer have his guns, but now, he has something far better -- the love of his daughter.

And he has no bigger fan that the pretty, 15-year-old, formerly of North Carolina.

"No one has ever done anything like that for me," she said. "I mean there are other ways. But he went out and did something like that; he sold all his guns, something he loved to do so much. I just never had anyone care about me so much that they would do anything like that."

M. Scott Carter 366-3545 scarter@normantranscript.com