Round 27 Goodness

I had a blast baking this round. Well, every round. I spent an entire day baking. My guy was working and I was actually caught up on laundry and housework so I dove in. I had big plans. Peanut Butter M & M Bars, Snickerdoodles, homemade Oreos and Monster cookies.

I was especially excited to try out the Oreos recipe from Bake at 350.  I even added the little heart that she did. To give it a little extra flare, I rolled the filled cookie in red sugar crystals.

 

          

              

It is Valentine's Day afterall. What kind of baker would I be if i didn't throw in some festive Valentine's Day sprinkles and M & Ms.

I tell you, every time I bake for Baking GALS it reminds me just how big this world is and how much of a difference one organization can make in the lives of people who sacrifice so much for our country.

Pictures From Cheryl

One of the team members emailed me some pictures of the goodies she made. My mouth is watering...

 And my personal favorite:

Round 26: Final Stats

First of all, I am a slacker. I apologize for that. I've been meaning to writing about "Operation Christmas Blessing" on this blog but time has just gotten away from me. Somehow I managed to write it on my personal blog but not the Baking Gals blog. I think I got my wires crossed. Oh well.

Here's the blog about Operation Christmas Blessing.  I hope you enjoy reading it and looking at the pictures. I had a good time writing it.

So do you want to know just how many boxes we sent between the 2 teams?

Between "Team Fire and Icing" and "Team Baking Blessings" we had 32 team members. Of those 32 team members I've heard from 23 people. Are you ready for the grand total?

I am.

Are you?

Are you sure?

Have you been good this year? Oh wait, that's Santa's gig.

ok ok I will tell you.

maybe.

OK for realsies...

Drum Roll Please.....................................

47!!!!!!

I am shocked and blessed and overwhelmed by your generosity. I hope you realize what kind of impact we have just made on the lives of those we sent boxes to. 

Take a moment to imagine being in a desert, away from your family and friends. Freezing cold temps. Thanksgiving has passed, Christmas is coming. Probably no Christmas Lights. No tree. No (or very little) Christmas music. Then you get a box in the mail. A box from a total stranger. They have sent christmas cookies, much needed toiletries, hot chocolate, apple cider packets, hand warmers and kind notes, among other things. Can you imagine how you would feel? Humbled, blessed, joy and thanksgiving. Take a moment and think about how you would feel and multiply it by atleast 2 or 3. That is probably what they are feeling.

Thank you , from the bottom of me heart, for taking the time during this busy season to be part of such an amazing organization! Hope to see you all in the next round!

The Spirit of Giving

Each round I am continually amazed by the generosity of everyone involved. I've received many emails, from people on both teams, telling me about everything they have/will send. It is just blows my mind.

Eventually Matt will be my brother in law so basically, he is my family. Josh's sister, Angie, is a good friend of mine that is more like family than a friend. Therefore Josh is family by association. Follow me? I hope so ;)

I want to thank all of the members (past and present) for taking care of my family. I know the men/women that are deployed appreciate it far more than words can say but don't forget that those of us that have loved ones over there also appreciate your generosity. It is comforting to know many other people, from all over the United States, are doing everything they can to take care of our family. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Ok.. Now I am getting all mushy. I need a tissue.

Round 26: CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Here we are folks! The Christmas round. I love this round. I love Christmas and the spirit of giving. There's something extra special about blessing someone at Christmas, isn't there? Imagine being thousands of miles away from your spouse, kids, parents, friends, and extended family. I think I would shrivel up and die. Honestly. My family is everything to me.

I've always loved to bake so when I heard about Operation Baking GALS I was all in. What a great way to combine my love for baking and my love for giving. I'm not sure how many rounds I have baked for but I never tire of it. It is just as fun each time. I'm not sure who it blesses more: me or the recipient.

I am excited to be hosting 2 teams this round.
1)Team Fire & Icing. Reciepent is my boyfriends brother, Matt. We've already sent him packages the last 2 rounds. They are having fun with it for sure. Matt was in Iraq when I first started dating his brother so I didn't meet him right away. Shortly after his return we found out he would be deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Now here we are. I've emailed Matt back and forth and he is definitely missing home right now. I hope we can make this round extra special for him and his unit.

2) Team Baking Blessings. Recipient is the brother of someone I met in college. I believe this is Josh's first deployment. He is a christian and has a huge loving heart. This shouldn't surprise me because his sister and my friend from college, Angie, is one of the sweetest people I know. Their family is close-knit and I know he will really be missing home this holiday season.

I am encouraging everyone on my teams to make/write our christmas cards to each of the recipent. I am also hoping they will get their friends and family involved by having them write out some cards too.  I've started Operation Christmas Blessing through my other blog. I have high hopes for this round!