In stillness and chaos

I woke up in Iowa at my parent's house the morning after my sister gave birth to her second son. My sister and I sent a few texts back and forth, and then I drove a few miles down some country roads to document this family's first morning as a family of four. Judah was sweet and new and sleepy and hungry, and big brother Jethro was engaging and funny and not-so-interested in his new brother for the time being. My sister and brother-in-law were as they always are; calm, collected, unphased. They were also tired, of course. It wasn't long before others came over and then others still. While there were 4 extra kids playing, there were also naps being taken on the couches nearby. A kitchen packed with relatives and FaceTime conversations could not be heard in the upstairs bedroom where I spent some time with my sister and Judah as they nursed. He napped, and she watched him nap. Time with a newborn passes differently, seconds become hours, a month seems like a week. In that time, there is a stillness that even the chaos of a large extended family can not steal.