Focus on Life : Checking Out - Expression!

Another trip to the Vault!

This week's focus on life prompt from Sally Russick was to check out "Expression." Just wasn't able to get out there with the camera this week, not even to focus on the dog or...squirrels or something. But I did think of some older shots of my kids. My son in April of 2013:

Waiting to leave for the airport.

Mugging for the camera. 

More mugging

You really going to sit here and wait with me the whole time?

Mike was on his way back to Join Base Lewis McChord in Washington that morning, and I was going uncharacteristically wild taking family pictures. The last three were taken at the airport, and we really did leave before Mike did. He always insists on getting to the airport super early. I got bored taking pictures of airplanes!

Here are some pictures of my daughter, in July of 2012:

Playing the "Claw Machine"

Ooops, she noticed I was taking pictures.

Just standing with her friends at the Lego store.

On Sara's 23 birthday, she and her friends invited my husband and me to accompany them to the bigger better mall about an hour from home. We had lunch, saw a movie (Brave) and had some nostalgic fun. Oh yeah, and they all bought themselves swords at the Lego Store. 

Let's see what other expressions people have found. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Focus On: Having Faith

What exactly is "faith" anyway?

faith  (fth) n. 1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. 2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief, trust. 3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters. 4. often Faith Christianity The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will. 5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith. 6. A set of principles or beliefs. Idiom: in faith Indeed; truly. [Middle English, from Anglo-Norman fed, from Latin fids; see bheidh- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

When I opened the e-mail containing this week's photo prompt from Sally Russick, I felt that maybe, for the first time since I started participating in her challenge  "Focus on Life,"  I was going to have a little bit of trouble with this one. After all, we are talking about a fairly emotionally charged word. Faith. As in church, and religion, and all those things that I am not involved with. Interested, yes, respectful, I think so, but I am not, as they say, a person of Faith. 

But hold on, back that up, let's look at the small "f" faith. Definitions 1-3 above are completely uninvolved with religion. And last Sunday, I was able to hold in my arms the object of a lot of my faith in the past year.

My son, Michael, home for the first time since he returned from Afghanistan in January. I had a lot of faith that he would return unharmed. And just look a him!

Enjoy the rest of our expressions of faith at The Studio Sublime.