As Christmas nears, kind deeds abound. Neighbors trade baked goods and church groups carol. Although some of the gestures arrive unexpectedly, it doesn't mean they go unnoticed. Many make a lasting impact.

Big help, small worldWhen she moved to Butler 11 years ago, Marla Emanuele had no knowledge of the check-writing policy at a local shipping company.So after an hourlong wait in line with her children, Emanuele was disheartened to learn she couldn't mail her Christmas gifts because she wasn't prepared to pay in cash."I had an infant and a preschooler. I had all these boxes to send out to Florida," Emanuele said, describing a line that stretched through the parking lot."I was kicking the boxes. That's how I had to move them along. I was out of breath."When the clerk finally tallied her costs, Emanuel got the disheartening news."It's all Ihad with me," she recalled of the checks."This nice lady behind me had felt bad. She paid for my shipping so I did't have to take everything to my car and do this all over another day."The nice lady was Lena Connell, a longtime resident of Butler."She's looking at me like: 'You can't do that.' "I'm like: 'Yeah, I can,'" Connell recalled."She didn't know me from anyone," Emanuele said.Emanuele promptly delivered repayment to Connell, along with a Christmas ornament.The two later met at a holiday party — and then again when Connell sold Emanuele a Rainbow cleaning system through her store on the corner of Second and Brady.When demonstrating the cleaning system, Connell discovered the home Emanuele was fixing up had once belonged to her children's great-grandmother."We've been friends ever since," Connell said."(Her husband David) has done work on my windows. He does tinting. It's been an ongoing thing for us."She may have thought I did something for her, but she has done a lot more for me than I could ever pay her back."As for the ornament, Connell still has it."I put it out every year, and I think of her, particularly," Connell said."She didn't have to bring me a thank you gift."

Christie Dray Blackham didn't know what to do after complications from a recent surgery.A single mother with four children at home, Blackham was told in October to stay off her foot, which had developed a bone infection.The Sarver woman's stress was eased one day while attending the Pittsburgh City Outreach church, where one of her sons is the music pastor. Sitting next to Blackham was Hannah Davis, 18.Their relationship began when, during an informal chat after the service, Davis offered to help, if needed. Blackham's acceptance yielded more than ever expected."She actually is here all the time to help me," Blackham said."She changes my dressing every day. She changes my IV. She actually showed the nurses how to change the IV pumps. The (Visiting Nurses) said, 'You don't need us. You have Hannah.'"I have thought maybe someone at my church paid her to come stay with me, because no human being would just show up at your door and stay with you.""She does all my shopping, cooking, cleaning. She takes care of the kids, and I don't even pay her. She tells people we're like Ruth and Naomi in the Bible."Davis, of New Kensington, Westmoreland County, had previously been volunteering at a newly opened home for women run by Pittsburgh City Outreach. She also works part-time with a coalition of women, some also members of the church, who provide in-home health care.Davis explains her actions with a religious conviction that looks toward need "in the here and now.""I'm listening to God's will for my life," Davis said."Sometimes (it's best to) just obey in the small things."For Blackham, the small things have led to an even bigger family, in which her adult children also play an important role in seeing her needs are met."All my grown kids have helped in different ways," she said."I just feel like everybody pulls together to help. Hannah's like part of the family now.""I'm glad I am," Davis said.

After her back surgery, Pamela Schmid was told not to do physical work like shoveling. So she found herself in a quandary in February, when her car got stuck on a snowy street."I live in the city. Parking is a premium in front of your own home," she explained."People park on both sides of the street, and you can have traffic going through the center either way. Snow is pushed in front of the homes even more."When Schmid arrived home, she got stuck in the street, blocking traffic in front of her house.A newspaper carrier, who she guessed to be in his 20s, saw her predicament, enlisting the help of some neighborhood youths."They shoveled me out. The paper carrier gave the two little boys money for helping him, but he refused to take money from me — and God love him: He didn't even have gloves on."<B>Friendly feasters</B>Danielle Zarnick must have a knack for impressing people in restaurants, since for two years running her group's meal ticket has been paid by a stranger.The first time was last year, when the Butler Township teen and nine of her friends gathered at Bravo! restaurant in Cranberry Township before a semi-formal dance at Butler High School.The teens expected nothing as they chatted with two older gentlemen and a woman at a nearby table, who were visiting there from Ohio.When they asked for their check, the wait person said the check had been paid by those at the table beside them, Danielle said."They said it was nice to see young kids dressed up and well behaved," she said. "Everyone was very surprised. We really appreciated it."The following year before the same school dance in December, Danielle was with a different group of friends at a different restaurant, but the outcome of her meal was the same.The group of nine was eating at Natili's restaurant in Butler, also before the BHS semi-formal.Toward the end of their meal, the waiter informed them a couple across the room had also picked up the tab.When Danielle and a friend went over to thank them, the response was similar to the last."They said it was nice to see everyone dressed up and ... behaving well," she said."I couldn't believe it. I called my parents. I kept telling them 'You're not going to believe this. You're not going to believe this.'"They were joking, saying my dates were pretty lucky."It just shows me (what) nice things strangers can do for other people."

Windfall on wheelsWhen Diane Dressel describes a life with her husband, Fred, the story she tells is punctuated by cars."We have pictures of every car we ever owned," Diane Dressel said, describing the first photo taken of their 21-year-old daughter, Mandy, shown with a Monte Carlo.More recent photos include a Ford Mustang that Dressel received unexpectedly. The car was given to him by an acquaintance on his postal route.Now employed in the Warrendale bulk mail center, the Middlesex Township man formerly delivered mail in a Pittsburgh suburb, where he once asked the car's owners to alert him if the car was for sale.When the time came, Dressel was unprepared to buy it, since Diane had recently been hospitalized due to complications from lupus."I was so down in the dumps about Diane," Dressel said. "Things were really bleak.""Because of my medical bills, I couldn't really buy it."They gave it to me. This was in 2005. The car was a 96 Mustang GT, but it only had 7,000 miles on it. They just kept this car stored in their garage. It was like a brand new car."According to Dressel, the middle-aged couple is somewhat well off, known among friends for their generosity toward friends and local charities."This isn't the first car they have given away," he noted, explaining he had formed a friendship with the couple.Although Dressel's first instinct was to preserve the Mustang in his garage, things have evolved differently.His son, Mark, was a senior at Mars High School, and the family soon realized the convenience of having another car."It has 60,000 miles on it,' Dressel said, noting the tender care the car receives."Even when my son drives it, he babies it, too," Diane added."They're like two peas in a pod when it comes to cars.""I don't think (they) could have given it to anybody better than him."As for Dressel, he will continue to honor the gift by putting it to good use."Really, we kind of need an SUV, living up here. But we both said 'No.'"We've got to drive this car 'til it dies."

Hannah Davis, right, helps Christie Dray Blackham with an IV. Blackham, suffering from a bone infection in her foot, recently underwent surgery and was ordered to stay off her foot. She met Davis at church, who has since been helping her with chores at home, as well as changing her bandages and IVs.

Wilfred Dressel, a former postal carrier, was given a Ford Mustang GT by a family on his route. He told the family that he would like to buy the car, but when the time came, was unable because his wife was being hospitalized.

Lena Connell, right, paid to ship packages for Marla Emanuele 11 years ago. Emanuele only had checks with her when cash was required, and Connell gladly helped her out. The two have been friends ever since and continue to help each other.