Shirley Milam received an early, and unexpected, Christmas gift last week after snowstorms kept her and her family housebound.

Milam, 78, has been staying with her daughter, Karen Budke, and three granddaughters for several months, helping out while her daughter battles breast cancer. Milam’s from Southern California — “the desert of Southern California,” she added — while Budke previously lived in Honolulu. Neither was ready to drive in the snow.

“We just about panicked the morning it started snowing,” Milam said. “My daughter was quite ill that day and not feeling good, and we’re looking outside and I said, ‘Karen, I told you we should have gone and gotten groceries.’”

Milam called Zooka Super Toothcare for Kids to cancel dentist appointments for the children, Sami, 7, Tori, 9, and Kayla, 11, who go to Pine Ridge Elementary. She happened to ask the receptionist whether she knew of any grocery store that delivered.

“They never did call me back, but about two hours later one of the ladies from the office showed up at the door with all of these groceries — milk and bread and OJ and everything you could use,” Milam said. “We were just dumbfounded.”

The staff at Zooka just wanted to help out, said Kelli Adams, the receptionist who took the call.

And when Nicki Cross, the office manager, overheard the conversation, she decided to do something about it.

“The roads were bad, and they were stuck at home, housebound,” Cross said. “I just felt badly for them, and so went and purchased some groceries for them and took it by the house, just trying to show some love.”

She’s a woman of strong faith and put herself in their shoes, she said. She’d been a single mom and been blessed, she said, so she wanted to help out. She said she’s done similar things in the past.

“I was amazed at how much it seemed to mean to them,” Cross said. “It was probably more of a blessing for me.”

And she was worried about the family not being able to get the basics, she said.

“I grew up in this weather,” Cross said. “We don’t think about people who come here and are new, and it’s terrifying for them. We forget sometimes how hard it is for some people.”

Kayla Budke said she was surprised and happy to see the special delivery, which even included treats like cupcakes.

“I came downstairs and saw all these groceries; we didn’t tell them our address or anything,” she said. “She brought everything that we needed.”

Meanwhile, Milam says her daughter has been learning how to navigate the snowy roads.

“She’s getting braver each day,” Milam said.