28 days...

Today Hogan is 28 days old.  He has been with us exactly 4 weeks now.  As I hold Hogan today, and look at him, and snuggle him, my thoughts are captured by memories of his beloved brother Odell.  I simply cannot stop thinking about Odell today.
You see, this is where our journey ended with Odell...day 28.  This is when we lost him.  This is the day his heart became weak and his battle to great and God welcomed him home.  This is when we had to say goodbye. 
Spending these last 28 days with Hogan has been a vivid reminder of how short our time really was with Odell.  No wonder we miss him so much, we were just getting started in life together.  I had so much more to learn about who he was as a person, and what his personality was going to be like.  Although I had seen Odell's courageous and brave spirit in those 28 days, there was still so much more life to be lived together.    
Because of those short 28 days, my memories of Odell are limited.  It's not as if I have a lifetime of memories that we made together.  He wasn't here for a lifetime, or a few decades, or even a year...just 28 days.  So that's what I have to remember, when he was with us here as a baby, for those first 28 days.
I can't seem to take my eyes off Hogan today.  I just keep staring at his precious features and feeling his soft hair, remembering Odell and what it felt like to hold him. 
Today I am thankful for the 28 days we shared with Odell.  I am grateful for the 28 days and counting that we have had with Hogan.  I am thankful to be blessed with another son to love and care for during my time on this earth.  Lord thank you for my children, and for each and every day that I am able to spend with them.  Let me not take even a moment for granted.