Tag: blackandwhite

blackandwhite · brazilian · family · Fashion · kids · love · photography · World VS Life

SneakPeek Senior #Photography

EllyFilho1 Comment

A lot of people know I’m a passionate photographer.
I decided to send my son out to get his photos taken instead by another professional.
I couldn’t be happier how these came out. I can’t wait to see the rest of the photos.

Lisa ( The photographer ) did an amazing job 🙂

14560214_980915855387726_618388188137326237_o

14567528_980915935387718_783745161920574811_o

This is how you can contact her

there are many ways to contact us:
via email bryceaustinphotography@yahoo.com
via telephone 617-852-7748
via facebook bryce austin photography
via mail po box 335, raynham center, ma 02768

This is her website http://www.bryceaustinphotography.com/portfolio.html

blackandwhite · family · kids · love · Niche · photography · Style · women · World VS Life

5 issues to be addressed in Premarital Counseling

EllyFilhoLeave a comment

wedByElly11

Planning your wedding is stressful enough, but it’s a piece of buttercream-frosted cake compared to the day-to-day reality of actual marriage.

Indeed, so often couples get caught up with everything involved in prepping for their Big Day and romanticizing the concept of marriage that they forget to (or don’t realize that they should) address all of the less-romantic issues that will inevitably arise when two people commit to sharing their lives together.

wedByElly10

Premarital counseling is an excellent way to confront these issues upfront and establish a stronger, healthier relationship moving into matrimony.

1. Money
Finances are a common cause of contention between those about to be married.

2. Time
Time can also be a big problem in a relationship. One may feel neglected if their partner is often away at work, school or other functions. Conversely, a partner may value their space and wish they could spend more time alone.

f

3. In-Laws
When you marry someone, you’re not just marrying them – you’re essentially marrying their family as well. It’s important for you to learn how to get along with the whole family, especially if at this point you’re already on shaky ground. It’s also helpful to establish what sort of boundaries as a couple you will put in place. Some family members may be in the habit of just dropping by for a visit. This may upset your new partner. Also, it would be helpful to discuss how you plan to spend time with both sets of in-laws during holidays.

4. Resolving conflict
All couples disagree sometimes. What’s less important than the frequency of conflict (though frequent fighting is a serious issue that must be addressed, of course) is how a couple reacts to said engagements.

wedByElly963

5. Religion
Again, now is not the time to sweep lingering issues under the rug. Statistically, couples that share the same faith (or lack thereof) are more likely to stay together than those that don’t. If your partner is of a different faith, you need to decide whether this is something that will bother you long-term or not. This can be a critical issue.

Be sure to discuss these critical issues during premarital counseling. Ultimately, it all comes down to honesty and respect.

If you’re able to be honest with your partner and respect their traits and beliefs even when you don’t like or agree with them, and if your partner can do the same, then the future of your marriage looks bright.

 

blackandwhite · brazilian · family · Fashion · kids · mom · photography · Style · Wordless · World VS Life

{Wordless} Wednesday with my favorites from 2010 

EllyFilhoLeave a comment

These are just a few of my favorites of 2010 as a lover of the photography profession I got the privilege to experience what it was like to photograph a bride at her most special day and do a Photoshoot of a this beautiful little girl that her natural was what made her perfect. My little cousins on her first birthday. Being natural on her porch.  And of course with a camera in my hand I always got to experience, capture and register my boys most silly special moments. 

  

” Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part of the past.”

  

” Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.”

  

“Photography is about capturing souls not smiles. ” 

  

” When people ask me what type of equipment I use —I tell them My Eyes. “

blackandwhite · book · Devotion · family · love · Niche · photography · Poem · reeding · Review · review · sunday devotion · women · Wordless · World VS Life

Marriage: The Final Frontier

EllyFilhoLeave a comment

  
Marriage: The Final Frontier
What is it about human nature? Our ability to appreciate the majestic is only rivaled by one thing: our ability to grow bored with it.

In 1961, President John Kennedy challenged the United States to put a man on the moon. Throughout that decade, the American public had an insatiable appetite for space flight. The media covered nearly every detail of NASA’s efforts, and the astronauts became national heroes. The euphoria culminated in 1969 when Neil Armstrong’s crew landed on the moon, an event witnessed by an estimated half a billion people.

But, amazingly, less than a year later, public interest in moon landings had all but evaporated. Imagine that: A feat as incredible as humans walking on the surface of the moon had become little more than a footnote on the nightly news.

It really shouldn’t surprise us. It’s human nature to lose interest in things that ought to inspire us. Like marriage. A man and a woman stand at an altar, and it seems impossible that their passion could ever fade. Yet, fast forward to the not-too-distant-future, and in all too many cases their life together has begun to drift toward the mundane.

  
It’s natural. But it’s all the more reason why couples must fight this tendency. Make time in your day to connect with one another. Get a babysitter and do something special. Use your imagination, but whatever you do, be proactive about reviving the fire that God used to draw you to your spouse in the first place.

“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned.”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭8:6-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For a daily dose of encouragement and perspective, check out Jim Daly

blackandwhite · Devotion · family · Family Share · love · photography · reeding · sunday devotion · women · World VS Life

Drifting in Marriage 

EllyFilho1 Comment

  

 Drifting in Marriage
Good marriages are like a relaxing canoe ride when the winds are calm and the lake water is as smooth as glass. You just have to be careful you don’t drift.

One year, while working as a camp counselor, Craig Jutila grabbed a canoe for a quiet afternoon on the lake. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and almost no breeze, so the water was completely still. Letting the canoe come to rest in the middle of the lake, it dawned on him: it was after hours, and no other boats were out. So he did the only sensible thing. With an extra life jacket for his pillow, he nestled in for a short nap.

An hour later, he woke up to voices. Somehow his canoe had beached along the shoreline of a camping area. Craig realized there was a current in the water and a breeze in the air he hadn’t sensed. They’d caused him to drift, and he ended up somewhere he never intended to be.

Like that canoe, marriages often drift. There’s no obvious conflict or struggle, just subtle distractions that lull spouses asleep. Couples hardly notice they’re losing interest in one another until they end up somewhere they never intended to be.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution. Be intentional about the path your relationship is taking and keep your eyes focused on the Lord. It may not take as much effort as you think, but these small course corrections can change your marriage.

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4:25-27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For a daily dose of encouragement and perspective, check out Daly Focus

blackandwhite · family · Family Share · love · photography · women · World VS Life

“Till death do us part.” 

EllyFilhoLeave a comment

  
“So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19:6‬ ‭

Commitment
Traditional marriage vows include the phrase, “Till death do us part.” Unfortunately, these words have become something of a ceremonial cliché rather than a statement of deep commitment to God and another human being.

Travel through our country’s small towns, and you’ll likely come across an array of honorable folks who still seal their agreements with a handshake and who consider their word an unbreakable bond. In the business world, contracts are much more formal, of course, crafted with highly detailed legal jargon that reads like a foreign language. Whatever form these commitments take, the purpose has always been the same – to offer protection, not when everything is running smoothly, but when things fall apart.

Commitment is perhaps no more important than when it comes to marriage. It provides strength and stability when a relationship encounters challenges. Unfortunately, many couples take an opposite approach when things turn sour – they run, rather than digging in their heels when commitment requires it the most.

As the president of an organization dedicated to strengthening marriages, trust me, I understand that relationships can encounter serious difficulties that are not easily resolved. But with the highest rate of divorce in the world, it’s evident that our society rushes too quickly toward marriage break-up instead of diligently working to restore a relationship back to health.

Commitment is foundational to surviving conflict. It enables us to focus on honoring God and serves as the fuel for us to work through our struggles with persistence and determination. The next time you find yourself in a heated disagreement with your spouse, commit to drawing closer together instead of running away.
For a daily dose of encouragement and perspective, check out Daly Focus

Devotion · Family Share · photography · reeding · World VS Life

What do you want from me?

EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Day Challenge Day #24

Asking for What You Want

{God} Listens to the godly person who does his will. John 9:31 

It’s exciting to know that you, by your prayers, might shape the nature of God’s intervention into human experience. Throughout the Bible, God listens to and responds to the specific prayers of His people. On one occasion, the people of God were attacked by enemy armies. Daylight was needed for a proper defense to be made and for a lasting victory to be won. The leader of God’s people called out to God, asking that He delay the sunset long enough for their army to prevail. God had an unlimited number of options, but He let a human being decide which one He would employ.

In the same way, many times God simply waits to find out how you would like to proceed. He can do anything, but He sometimes gives you the role of deciding what that “anything” is going to look like.

sad_girl___by_emoticide

When you pray in accordance with God’s will and purpose, you often set a course of action by your prayers. Don’t hesitate to figure out exactly what you want and ask God for it.

God, in accordance with Your will, I would want…

Oh! I want so many things. The real question is what do I need? Well, actually the question is in accordance with God’s will. I don’t know what God wants from or for me. Just this past week I asked him to exact this question. ” What do you want from me, God?”
I prayed for financial, my kids crashed my car. I prayed for love and peace that lovely neighbor won’t stop talking crap about me and getting on my nerves. I pray for health I get sick (or been sick for the past 2 months just getting worst)

What do you want from me, GOD?

pol

A 365 Day Challenge Day #25

Representing God’s Interests

As a person who prays, you represent the interests of God, looking for ways to further the purpose of God in your own life and in the lives of others. Your requests stem from your understanding of God. As you see the good that God wants to do in the lives of the people He loves, you will become bold to ask Him for what might be humanly impossible.

Your love for God will give depth and meaning to your prayers. you will gravitate toward higher motivations. For example, while you could pray for a million dollars because you want a nice house and fancy cars and luxurious vacations, your love for God might instead cause you to pray for a million dollars because you want to build and staff an orphanage in Asia. same prayer__different motives.

Many Christians use the phrase, ” in Jesus’ name,” when they pray. This is a way to underscore the idea that our prayer is intended to further God’s good purposes on this earth. Our motive is to pray for His interests.

God, based on my understanding of what You want, here’s my request…

My prayer request has been simple lately.  Health, the safety of my kids, and the salvation of my family Amen!
photo 1c378e67c9d74f5eb5872db3c191bec8.jpg

blackandwhite · brazilian · Challenge · country · entertainment · Family Share · Fashion · fun · love · mom · photography · Style · teens · women · Wordless · World VS Life

30 Day #Photography Challenge

EllyFilhoLeave a comment

4faa843a40e5f34fbea66554f63de375

I decided to start this challenge 🙂 who wants in?
There was a point in my life that I was a ” professional ” photographer and it was one of my favorite things to do. I used to photograph weddings, models, birthday parties, and etc.
Due to illness, I had to stop doing what I loved the most.
I want to do this challenge to relive that dream.
and I’m going to do just that 🙂 Starting day one tomorrow.

Carol

3884455068_6fa3cab34f_b

book · Challenge · Devotion · family · Family Share · love · mom · motherhood · photography · Poem · reeding · Review · sunday devotion · women · Wordless · World VS Life

I just gotta say this…

EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #6

photo 1_1.jpg

A Place for Prayer

The great thing about meeting with God is that you can meet Him anywhere. He can be found on the factory floor just as readily as He can be experienced in a cathedral. If you could find a way to travel to the most distant galaxy, you would find that God is already there.

But just as a couple much in love will seek out a quiet place to be alone together, so you may also wish to find a place all your own to meet with God. You might find a place in your home where you can be free to focus on God. Or you might enjoy connecting with God outdoors along a nature trail or in a park.

photo altalenando-1048171_960_720.jpg

Maybe you would prefer to meet privately with God in a church building or mix it up so you don’t get bogged down by too much routine.

photo 72ce805b175efc2fa617004099ae6f6f.jpg

 

As you move forward in your journey, you’ll identify the atmosphere that works best for you. A place for prayer helps you grow in your friendship with God.

God, the place that works best for me to communicate with You is…

The Best place for me to communicate with God is where ever I communicate period. I think the important thing is to separate the time and communicate, and by doing it is what really matters. Of course we all have our little secret special place like our closet, for me, it’s the laundry room or the shower hahaha.
I always have long dialogs at those special times. 🙂

He said, ” My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14 NASB

photo dfd62e3c8fe80ec7961b93309a84ecca.jpg

Dear Lord, 
You have the power to do more than I ask, more than I can imagine!
When I come to you in prayer then, let me do so knowing what great power You hold over any situation in my life.
I cannot measure Your power or truly even conceive of it in its fullness, but I know that the One who designed the universe by simply speaking it into being has the power to design my life.
I believe You can remold and reshape me and any circumstance in which I may find myself. 
God, I praise and thank You for my life and all that You are doing even now to help me.
Lord, I thank You for Your powerful and loving Spirit and for shaping me in ways that only serve to make me stronger. 

Amen. 

12cfa28db7bf1bb3de78466ee5eee084

find-us-on-youtube_button

 

red-fancy-pinterest-button

 

twitter-9b

 

facebook_logo298

Family Night

#FamilyTime Saturday Fun ( Hotel Tips )

EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A Cleaner hotel rooms

Get a better night’s sleep during your next hotel stay by quickly wiping down your room.
I’ve worked as a housekeeper at a hotel in Boston for a little while.

I remember very clearly my cleaning routine.
When I visit hotels today, I particularly recall how the cleaning of rooms were done.
Just the way they trained me. After training, I did my own cleaning.  Use to make sure everything got cleaned.

Typically, hotel maids have a checklist of what they’re obligated to tend to. Stripping and replacing the sheets and towels, vacuuming the floor, dusting the table tops, wiping down the sinks, and sanitizing the toilet and tub are part of the routine.

Considering the parts that probably don’t get attention, here is a checklist of what you can do to sanitize your next hotel stay.

You’re not the only guest in the room. Who knows what types of germs, cover the many surfaces in a hotel room.

Before making yourselves at home, take an antibacterial wipe or spray soap and wipe the places touched by thousands of fingers. The doorknobs, TV remote, light switches, phone, refrigerator handles, ice bucket, toilet flusher and faucet handles are probably pretty yucky.

Be careful with drinking from reusable glasses,  Who knows what might be going on there.

What’s the first thing we do when we enter a hotel room?

Usually, we plop down on the bed. But how clean is that bedding, really? The bedspread and blankets are likely dirty When I worked as a housekeeper, I don’t remember the bedspreads ever been washed. The sheets, of course.

Clean sheets are normally a given in a room. But the coverlet or comforter and extra blanket in the closet possibly haven’t seen a washing machine. One solution is to strip them from the bed altogether and sleep in the sheets. Bedbugs have become a major epidemic in many hotels. Rather than setting your bags on the floor, elevate them on a table. Or, store them in the bathroom, where bed bugs normally don’t hang out. ( even though I have found them there. )

Don’t leave your clothes on the floor. This decreases your chances of returning home with uninvited friends. Wear slippers or shoes Have you ever wondered how often the floors are shampooed? I have too. I cringe as my bare feet walk over dirty hotel carpeting. The occasional night away in a hotel or inn is always an adventure. If you don’t worry about a little grime or bacteria, you’re lucky. But if you’re like me and want an easier night’s sleep, take a few precautions.

Untitled

Resources Book Club for 1 & own experiences