Happy New Year!

I'm not one for resolutions. How could you possibly know where life will lead you in this upcoming year of your life? How can you resolve to be/do/not do/think/feel anything when you have no idea what your life will be like in the next three, six, nine...months? For instance, if you had told me last New Year's Eve that in one year I'd be anticipating the arrival of our third child, I probably would've told you that you were crazy! But here we are.

Life takes the most unexpected twists and turns. The only thing I resolve is to be open to those changes and allow my life to flow as it may. Which may or may not be my chosen path. The universe (or God) knows plenty more than we do and I trust it (or Him) to guide me in the right
directions.

May you, also, experience the fullness of life and all it's un-expectedness during this next year of your life! Cheers!

Detoxing...

We are all doing a little post-Christmas detox today following days upon days of fun, crazy, mass-eating, present-opening, family-visiting, cleaning, cooking, baking, crafting, wrapping, laughing, crying (the little ones...due to sheer exhaustion, a me a little too due to pregnancy hormones galore), etc. I think we all need a little time to re-group, re-focus, re-prioritize and get back to normal living.
After a very busy holiday selling season, I'm really enjoying spending so much time just hanging out with the girls. My house is actually semi-picked-up, I feel like I'm on top of the laundry situation, and the girls have gotten out of there pajamas almost every day for a week now. But I'm also excited to get back to soap-making! I have lots of ideas swarming about for new products, updated wedding favors, and so on. So, maybe after a few more days of detox, I'll be ready to jump into things again. But for now, we'll just be chilling here in our cozy home!

Today will be spent baking pink and green cookies for Santa, doing some baking in preparation for our big Christmas dinner tomorrow, going to church tonight to celebrate the true meaning of it all, and enjoying the magic of Christmas Eve and all it's anticipation of what's to come.

I wish you all so much love, joy, and peace! Merry Christmas!

Yesterday, my husband's mentor and a dear friend of our family, lost his battle with cancer. As if in sympathy, the Earth around us has decided to stay very cold and bitter today. My first thought, after the initial shock and heartbreak, was in feeling so badly for his family to have this pain right before Christmas. But it eventually came into my sphere of consciousness that although his battle with cancer was relatively short, his death was imminent. Maybe in God's timing, He hoped for peace for the Thomas family. I truly hope that they find that peace, through the pain, and that they know how much of our hearts will be with them at this time. Art was loved and he will be missed. Good bye our dear friend.

Oh, yes, and to all those wonderful men in my life who have gone before him, please show him around!

Snow Day...

While it was not the super fun day of drinking cocoa and making Christmas crafts that I had originally imagined (tired toddlers often have their own plans...), it was a nice (and welcome) day of rest. I enjoyed being confined to our cozy home all day, napping next to our lighted Christmas tree, and watching our little neighborhood turn into a true winter wonderland!

Brent even got to use our new snow-blower!

And the girls and I did get to make some snowmen...inside! (Sleet is not fun to play in.)

Slowing Down...

As Christmas draws nearer, my busy-ness is starting to subside...which is a very welcome change of pace. This tired, pregnant mama wants to rest a bit and enjoy what's left of this beautiful holiday season. In fact, I'm about as excited as the kiddos about the snow day we're anticipating having tomorrow! Here's what I've been doing (and will be doing) with my increase in free time...

(1) Wrapping Gifts!

(2) Baking Cookies for Santa

(3) Making snowman cards and snowflake ornaments with the girls

(4) Listening to this constantly

(5) Snuggling up with a cup of cocoa, a cozy blanket, and reading this ...(did you know that cavemen made snowmen???

(6) Gazing at our lighted Christmas tree at night with my sweet girls beside me telling me what the magical ornaments do while we all sleep.

(7) Listening to Layla sing Winter Wonderland...so incredibly cute!

(8) Admiring all the beautiful Christmas cards that we've been getting

(9) Painting 20 tiny fingernails red to match the fancy, foofy dresses we just had to have for our Christmas Eve church service.

(10) Sleeping...lots of sleeping...I hope!

I truly hope that you all are taking some time to slow down and enjoy the season that will be over all too soon!

Oh Christmas Tree...

...oh Christmas tree. How lovely are your uber-decorated branches. (especially the bottom two feet of you!)

It was so fun hunting our tree together...Rayne you picked the perfect one!

And, of course, decorating was a blast. Yes, Layla, all of the decorations are your "special ones"!

A Little Thanks...

I just wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for the ways in which you have helped my small business to grow this year. Because of your purchases, support, & good word of mouth, Madeline Bea Soap Co. has grown into a business that can share its blessings. I am so proud of the ways in which we have been able to help others this year.

Back in May, thanks to your purchases of Bath Bars, we were able to donate $200 along with 50 Lavender Lemongrass Bath Bars to the Ronald McDonald House of Danville, PA. These donations helped them to provide housing and comfort to families of sick children being treated at Geisinger Medical Center.

In October, a portion of our sales went to the Feel Your Boobies Foundation. Because of your patronage and support, we were able to donate $300 to the foundation which will enable them to fund initiatives to encourage women under the age of 30 to “feel their boobies” in an effort to detect the early signs of breast cancer.

Yesterday, Madeline Bea Soap Co. donated 25 Christmas in NY Bath Bars to the Ronald McDonald House of Danville, PA. These small gifts will be given during their Christmas celebration to the families staying at the House over the holiday. I only hope that they will bring the smallest amount of joy to these much needing families.
It brings me great joy to be able to give to others in these ways. Thank you for helping to build my little dream of Madeline Bea Soap Co.!

Sincerely,
Maegan Beishline
Madeline Bea Soap Co, creator/owner

A Little Joy...

My post yesterday was a little, well, melancholy. And while I felt it necessary to write about that certain moment in my life and those certain feelings, I'd rather post in a more uplifting way. So, I thought I'd share some Christmas pics that I took of the girls the other week as a means of righting my blog chi! Enjoy!

Some Stillness...

'Tis the season for hustle & bustle, rushing off here and there, and un-ending to-to lists which in turns creates the season for anxiety, stress, knee-jerk reactions, etc. How can a season as beautiful as Christmas turn into something so ugly?

I'm well aware of these happenings and I typically try to prepare as best I can so that I don't contribute to the madness. I try to keep my focus and perspective and remember the truly important things in life so that I'm not as affected by the outer craziness. Most times, I'm really able to accomplish this without much trouble. But lately, my life has been very busy. Our routines have not remained constant, we've been rushing from one thing to another, I've been working too many hours and not sleeping enough. I've felt myself influenced, affected, and altered by things that I did not choose and in ways I did not want. I feel myself falling victim to what I typically avoid.

I've come to a point where I can recognize that I need to slow down a bit. I need some calm, quiet, and space to remember who I am and where my focus needs to be. It has meant altering my plans a bit, re-prioritizing, deciding what needs to be done and what I could probably let go. It will involve some different choices over the next few weeks to remain the person that I aspire to be. But it is so necessary.

So...I vow to sleep more, work less, sip more tea, play more with the kids, talk more with my husband, and help us all to enjoy the magic (not the stress) of this wonderful season. This is me.