Moving to Tumblr

Hi:)

I am moving my blog to Tumblr because I can do more stuff with it there.

The new blog is at http://livingintraining.tumblr.com/

Hope everyone follows!!!

Stuff for Our Puppy

So I have a list of items that we will need for Reese's when we finally get her. I want to make sure that we have everything she will need so we don't have to panic over not having something important, i.e. a leash, chew toys, water bowls. Also, I figure that spreading out the costs over the next month is better than having to buy everything at once too:/

Currently, this puppy is already almost set:) I think I mentioned earlier that I had purchased her orange collar which says "R. Bilicke" on it. Today during my lunch break, I went to PetSmart and picked up a few more items. I got her some toys and some other important things. I had a pretty good idea of what items I wanted, because our friends gave us some great Retriever tips over the weekend.

These are the toys/Kong. They are made for extreme chewing, which I know will be good for our lab. The blue bone is supposed to be great because it is hard but chewing at the same time. The red toy is a tough squeaky toy. I'm not sure if it will last for long, but I couldn't resist getting her something fun like that. Then the Kong is supposed to be a fantastic occupier for her. You put a treat in it, and they will play with it for a long time:) Hopefully these items will help her not chew on other things. We also have quite a few tennis balls for some fun games of fetch with her:) Between the playtime and chew toys, I am hoping to wear her out each night haha.

These are the more serious items for Reese's. I bought her the steel water bowl for outside so she won't be tempted to chew on it. Then for her food bowl, I got her a sturdy plastic bowl which has worked well for other dogs. I also bought her a brown leash so it matches her chocolate fur:) The last item I got is pretty great, I must say. It is a 2-in-1 portable food and water bowl. Our friends had this and I thought it was great. It allows you to store the dog food in the top half of the bag and as you and your dog are out and about (say on a hike), you can feed it or more importantly give it water.

So those are the latest items for Reese's.

Reese's

So I have mentioned a couple times that we are getting a Chocolate Lab in a few weeks. We have named her Reese's (like our favorite candy) and are excitingly waiting for her arrival. She is currently only 3 weeks old but has already started walking around. From what I have heard, she is growing extremely fast - we are going to have a big puppy on our hands:) Becky (Reese's breeder) has been great, giving me often updates because she knows how excited I am haha. She has also been sending periodic pictures showing Reese's growth process which I absolutely love seeing!! Here are a couple of her (kind of her, possibly her - all the females have looked the same thus far haha).

A few days old (how cute are her ears!!)
The girls (I think the one on the left was telling them to sit still)

Week 2 (She's grown so much already- look cute is her tail!?)

So I will post more as I get them. I'm already completely smitten with Reese's and I haven't even met her yet!

Birthday man

Last Saturday was Bryan's birthday. We had a nice day with a quiet morning (we did some yard work haha) and a fun afternoon/evening with his best friend, Dave and his wife, Kris. We had lunch and then the guys played some golf, while Kris and I bonded over some shopping - she got me to try on a dress, actually 2, so we must have bonded because I DON'T do that haha. They have an adorable Golden Retriever who is a year old, so we talked a lot about puppies and got a lot of great information. Anyways, after that we went back home and barbecued. It was nice:)

My baby is a pretty awesome guy. I love being his wife and I can't wait for the many more years to come. Life is good being a Bilicke. Happy Birthday, My Love:)

New House!

We are finally in our new house! After the constant highs and lows of about 5 months of looking and one month of escrow, we did it! We are finally in our house. We moved in last weekend so have had the joy of living in our new home for 1 week now. With the much appreciated help of our family, we were able to move and completely unpack in one weekend. It was great and we are very thankful!

Our house is awesome! We absolutely love it! It is in a great location for us and in a pretty decent neighborhood too:) We seem to have some nice neighbors and a lot of parks and hiking literally within 5 minutes of walking from our door step. The house is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with 2 patios. The previous owners just put in the brand new energy efficient windows which are awesome and we have tile throughout the house, with floating wood floors in the bedrooms. The bathrooms are updated with the Home Depot items that we had been eying so that is awesome too!! We decided we wanted to splurge a little, so we purchased brand new stainless steel appliances which look amazing. We are so happy with everything!!

We even got to puppy test out the house yesterday, when some friends of ours came over with their year old Golden Retriever. The house passed with flying colors and is ready for our 3 week old Chocolate Lab puppy, Reese's, who will finally come home to us in about a month when she is old enough to leave her mommy. (Aaaaahhhhh it feels like such a long time!!!) Anyways, things will work great for her here=)

So that is the homestead update=) We bought it- We love it- We are happy!

Here are some pictures=)

New Season

Over the last few months, there have been some great things and some iffy "lifeish" things that have happened in the Bilicke household but overall, things are going pretty well. Marriage is still such a blessing and every day is a pleasant adventure with each other as we grow together as husband and wife. A new season has begun in our lives as Bryan and I will be moving into our new home next week. This is a pretty big accomplishment and it has been interesting to see just how specific God's hand guided us to our new home by closing many doors and opening a few doors to allow us to finally get into our new house. We have been looking for a house since the beginning January and had a few disappointments along the way - house hunting is not as easy as it appears on House Hunters or My First Place or any of the other house hunting shows on HGTV. The reality of house hunting is that one shouldn't get attached to any place until escrow closes. That may sound dreary but it is just safer that way because otherwise you are faced with constant highly emotional "ups" and "downs." That is rough to say the least - yes, unfortunately I had to learn the hard way, but once I learned it, I learned it! Now you may say "Brooke, you guys haven't closed escrow yet. You still have a few days left - why are you attached to your place now?" Well, my answer is that while something weird could hypothetically happen, we should be okay because we have already passed the inspection, the appraisal, and the loan approval process. In fact, we have already signed the final paper work. We are literally waiting for the keys now so that is why I feel comfortable talking about the house. Honestly though, while I have been excited about this house, I have kept the possibilities of anything happening open in my mind. Thankfully, nothing has happened and we will get the keys after this weekend:)

Our house is really cute, having just over 900 sq ft of living space. Yes, it is small (haha) but actually it is perfect for us right now. It is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house and has updated features. We purchased all brand new stainless steel appliances a few months ago (in anticipation), so it will be nice to finally be able to use them! The bedrooms are good sizes, and house has a lot of light that pours in from the brand new energy efficient windows. It's funny because the previous owners updated the house pretty much exactly how we were planning on updating whatever house we thought we would end up in. Now we don't have too - except that we might replace the master shower and put in a brand new tile shower. But that isn't really super important right now. Anyways, the yard is really cute too. The front has a nice piece of grass in it with a large shade tree, and the rest of the yard is mostly concrete with a small piece of grass in the backyard. It will be really easy to maintain. I can't wait to plant flowers in all of the flower beds! Anyways, we are really proud of it. It reminds me of a cozy beach cottage - that is not at the beach haha:) I will post pictures of it once we get settled.

On top of buying a new house, we are also adding the first member to our family, Reese's, our new chocolate Labrador Retriever puppy who will be coming to us once she is old enough to be separated from her mommy. As I write, she is only 4 days old - She was born on May 1st:) I can not wait to meet her in person!! I will obviously also post pictures of her as soon as we get her:)

So anyways, those are the newest happenings in the life of the Bilicke's. I must say that it is a pretty fun time right now:)

My Husband

This weekend was a nice and quiet weekend around the Bilicke homestead. We did a few things, but mostly just hung out and relaxed. Sunday we slept in and went to church. The message was on 1 Corinthians 7:1-9 which is about marriage. We left feeling encouraged and talked about the message and our church for most of the drive home. I am very thankful that we get to go to Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. We have an amazing pastor who loves Jesus and teaches about all the topics in the Bible, even when they are awkward or tough.

Anyways, the rest of the day we just lounged around and hung out. I love that. I get to hang out with my best friend every day; he really has become my best friend. I get to share everything with him; all my joys, all my worries, all my quirks, my dreams, my hopes, etc. etc. He always responds by encouraging me, laughing with me and even just being silent when I need him too. I am so blessed to have Bryan as my husband. He is an amazing man and an amazing husband. He is responsible and takes care of me - not in the "he does everything for us way" but rather he is constantly looking out for things that are important for my/our well being (even as simple as not letting me try the Costco samples because I am allergic to them haha), and makes wise and careful decisions about our life (like choosing what we can afford in a house so we won't go broke). We never fight and living with him brings peace to my life. I feel incredibly safe and protected with him. He gentle and caring. He loves Jesus and that transfers into how he interacts with everyone around him. I am truly blessed by him. When we got engaged and then married, I didn't really understand how I could grow more in love with him. Now even though we have just been married for a little more than a year, I can now see how it is possible. I actually do love Bryan more every day and it always blows my mind. It's pretty amazing, especially when I try to imagine what it will be like 30 years from now, Lord willing. I really can't imagine how awesome it will be. We will have both grown individually, as well as together. We will have amazing memories, a family of our own, and many life experiences. I am really excited about that and loving every day as we continue in our life together. I can't believe God blessed me with Bryan!

House hunt

I haven't had as much time lately because in the midst of work, school and normal life things, we are house hunting. We hope to find something soon. We are looking for a 3 bedroom, 2 Bath single family residence or condo/townhouse in the Ontario area near the 10, 15, and 60 freeways. We'll see what happens!

1 year Wedding Anniversary

So last Sunday, January 16th, Bryan and I had our one year wedding anniversary. I must admit that I got a little excited - which I wasn't expecting because I didn't think it would be that big of a deal but it turned out that it was really special and fun to be able to say "happy anniversary" and "we've been married for a year now:)" On Saturday, we went to Disneyland which was really fun. The cast at Disneyland really makes you feel special when you have an anniversary. They gave us buttons and pretty much all employees say "Happy Anniversary" to you and some ask you questions about it:) It was pretty cool. Then Sunday, we went to church and then had lunch with my parents. That was nice:) While we were eating, my mom asked us what advice we would give to others who are getting married now that we have been married for a year....so I have been thinking about it and thought I would blog about it.

First off, Bryan's advice:

He thought it was important to tell people who are considering getting married to pick who they marry wisely. He explained that he has seen a lot of guys (but this can go for girls too) who try way to hard to get people to date and eventually marry them. For example, some guys will show up to every date with flowers, a box of candy, and a teddy bear. While that might actually be something that some guys like to do, others will do it just to impress the girl. In reality, they can't continue doing it for long and that is why you hear people say things like "the magic left after we got married." So basically: if you want to get married, be yourself and do not do things that you can not keep on doing forever. Sometimes it is good to do something special but if your whole relationship has been based upon you doing something you can't keep up, its not going to end well.

Bryan said he picked wisely because I was really easy to impress and he didn't have to do anything haha.

My advice/thoughts:

1st: Be a team and be one with each other. When you get married, you cease to be a "you" and you become an "us." That is Biblical. People who say that you need to be be your own individual within a marriage are not supporting the "oneness" concept of marriage. If you are constantly thinking about how you can be a "you" within your marriage, you are not going to be focusing on how to be an "us." Like the saying goes, there is no "I" in team. When Bryan and I got married, I stopped being "Brooke Schumacher" and Bryan stopped being "bachelor Bryan Bilicke." We became "Brooke and Bryan Bilicke." That doesn't mean that we can't like or dislike the same things but it does mean that we operate as one unit. This is the only way to have a successful marriage. Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Seattle explained this well when he said that he and his wife are so close and so much of an one unit that he does not know where she stops and he begins in every aspect of their lives. That is the goal of marriage in our opinion. (A special note: in order to be one with your spouse, you must believe that divorce is not an option. That means that A: it isn't an option; and B: you don't talk, threat or joke about divorce. When you say "I do," you are in it until death. Otherwise, you are signed up for heartache.)

2nd: Marriage does not have to be hard. Life for us after our wedding has been really easy and pleasant actually. We both prefer being married far more than being single. Any major problems that we have had to deal with haven't even had to do with our marriage and we have handled them as a team. I believe that you can make a conscious decision to have a peaceful marriage. Both Bryan and I have done that and I think it has paid off. We really like each other and there is no reason to mess that up.

3rd: You don't have to fight. I think there is this misconception that married people have to fight about everything big and little and that is just not true. Once again, its a choice you have to make. For Bryan and I, we really do not fight or disagree at all - it really is rare. Sometimes we have disagreements but those are usually fixed very quickly or after we have some quiet time to think about it by ourselves. After that, one of us will approach the other and we will calmly talk about the problem and resolve it. A major thing is that we do not go to bed angry with each other. Why go to bed angry and upset with the person you share a bed with? Then your whole night is ruined by being upset and not being able to sleep.

4th: Say you are wrong if you are wrong and be understanding with your spouse if they are trying to say sorry. That's pretty self explanatory. Say you are sorry and don't beat up your spouse if they say they were wrong. You shouldn't kick each other when you are down.

5th: Focus on the things that you love about your spouse and be actively thankful for them. Every morning on my way to work I spend my drive time praying. The first person I pray for is Bryan. In this time, I thank God for him and pray for our marriage. This time has been a blessing to my heart as during the time that I am praying for him and us, God has shown me really neat things about Bryan and our relationship that make me even more thankful for him.

6th: Tell your spouse that you love them and tell them how thankful you are for them, that you are glad that you married them or that they are special to you. Do this often! These things bless your spouse and I think help you grow in intimacy.

7th: Smile at each other. As simple as this is, being friendly towards your spouse is good!

8th: Have fun with each other. Joke around, laugh with each other, go on dates, talk about the future and make plans with each other. Along with not being difficult, marriage can be really fun:)

So those are some of my thoughts on marriage after one year. Bryan and I really love being married and encourage everyone to do it!

I want to be different

Over that last couple of weeks I keep hearing people talk about resolutions they are making for 2011. It has made me think about some things. Sure I could make "deals with myself" for the next year and most likely break them all. Some things I've heard would be:

I want to be a better cook. I want to be rich. I want to work out more often. I want to become famous. I want to take a class on some interest that I have. I want to hike in the Grand Canyon. I want to travel more. I want to impress others. I want to have more fun. I want to be the best at something. I want to find that special "someone." I want to practice a certain skill set faithfully, etc etc.... Some of these are perfectly fine and perhaps even good things to strive for.

But - does it really matter? I'm not saying that being healthy and practicing things and having fun and accomplishing goals isn't good. But what I have been thinking about is that most of these things aren't going to last and yet, people spend so much time and energy trying to accomplish these earthly goals. The point is, what are we doing that will actually last forever? We should live life to the fullest but at what point do we live life to the fullest and forget about living life for eternity?

Essentially, you and I are dirt clods. Our bodies are made from the components found in dirt which makes complete sense because God created us from, dirt. Genesis 2:7 says "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." When we die, we turn back into dirt. Everything we have stays here on earth when we die. Fame, fortune, experiences - they all stay behind. The only thing that you and I get to "take" with us, is the record of all that we have done, good or bad, holy or unholy.

In thinking about this, it seems that I should work on my eternal life more than this earthly life. In doing that, I will actually be living this life to the absolute fullest. The purpose of life is to glorify God. If you are not doing that, you are not living life to the fullest. You could have everything in the world, all the fame and fortune and opportunities and yet, you would still be living an unfulfilled life. I would rather be a poor, unknown, simple person living life for Jesus, than the person in the previous sentence. The scary thing is that even Christians can not be living life to the fullest. Instead of living life for Jesus, they pursue things like money, or fame, or personal relationships with other people and not Jesus. I've done this before. I've gotten into the mindset of pursuing earthly treasures more than pursuing Heavenly treasures. As Christians, when you and I die, we will be rewarded by Jesus with Heavenly crowns based upon what we did on earth that was to His glory. These crowns are going to be amazing. We will then, in an act of worship, lay back down our crowns at Jesus' feet. The question is do you want a little crown to lay at Jesus' feet or a big, huge, crazy sized crown to lay at His feet? Remember that He is Jesus! The KING of the Universe and all that is! I want a freakin huge crown to give Him!

That brings me to this:

My desire for this year and every year after that is that I would change and become more like Jesus. I don't want to be a carnal Christian living for things of this world, instead of Him. I want to become more like Jesus. I want to be more loving. I want to be less agitated by things that I believe to be stupid. I want to pursue Jesus and get to know Him better. I want to be more kind. I want to have more patience. I want to become wise, not with worldly wisdom, but with Biblical wisdom because it is actually God's wisdom - the Bible is His Word and is everything that was in God's heart that He wanted to tell us. I want to cultivate a tender heart so I can be more teachable. The list goes on... It is a good thing I have the rest of my life to work on this. My goal for today is that on January 7, 2012, I will be a more Christlike Brooke Bilicke than I am today. Then, on January 7, 2013, I hope that I will be a more Christlike Brooke Bilicke than I am on January 7, 2012. I guess the goal for each year is that I become more and more like Jesus and less and less like Brooke Bilicke. I want people to see Jesus when they look at me, not me.

So that is what I have been thinking about for the last few weeks...