When Two Becomes Three

My sister and her husband became the parents to Rian Erasmus Fourie on Monday the 10th of March 2014. These photos are from a four-day visit I had the privilege of making to the brand new family during their first week together. It was beautiful to see how this life-changing experience created a new bond between husband and wife, between parent and child. I saw how a new mom learns what love means by caring for a helpless new-born: swaddling, breastfeeding, and learning that it is hard to put a baby to sleep and even harder to keep him awake to feed him! How a new dad grows into his new role by being in charge of laundry (lots of it!) and shopping and making tea (lots of it!). I saw little Rian’s first bath at home (in the kitchen zinc), his first outing snugly against his dad for a walk, and meeting his grandparents. I saw friends coming over to meet the young man, bringing meals and (always!) the celebratory bubbly. I saw a new chapter in history being written before my eyes, and for four days the everyday things of this new life were infused with eternal things and lasting meaning.