Oh The Cute Things Kids Will Say

Recently, Samantha and I were having a conversation about heaven at the breakfast table. I thought it was pretty deep to have this talk so early in the morning, but Samantha just kept firing off question after question in between bites of Rice Krispies.

She asked me questions like, "How do you get to heaven?" and "Will I go to heaven someday?" and "Does everybody go to the same heaven?"

Then, we got into some deeper questions...

"Mommy, how does God know when we're ready to go to heaven?" and "Mommy, when I go to heaven someday, will you come visit me?"

Oh my dear Samantha. I am amazed at the fact that you're trying to grasp the concept of heaven. I love the fact that you're wanting to learn things that are so awesome and so amazing and so out of our realm. I love the fact that you're only 4 years old and are thinking of things. I hope that someday we will all be together in heaven.

Oh The Sweet Things Kids Will Say

Samantha's thoughts always amaze me. Not only what she says, but just the fact that she thinks it.

So this past week at breakfast, the Madore-ables are sitting very quietly eating their breakfast. Normally, the rule at the table is to keep the talking to minimal to concentrate on eating. When talking is involved, the eating part is usually forgotten. This is the time when Samantha's best questions come to life. It usually comes right after the 4th bite of oatmeal and before the piece of toast with crunchy peanut butter.

"Mommy? Are there streets in heaven?"

"Streets in heaven? What do you mean hunny?"

"Well, when we go visit Grammy Rose there's a street to drive by her grave and there's rows and rows of people who are with her." [Just a side note, "Grammy Rose" was my grandmother and the Madore-ables Great-Grandmother who passed away April 2010].

When my Grandmother passed away, the hardest part of receiving the news on the telephone was explaining what happened to Samantha who was just barely 3 years old at the time. I explained to Samantha that Grammy Rose's mind, and her soul a.k.a "tummy" to a 3 year old goes to live with Jesus, but her body stays here on Earth and in the ground. That's the way Jesus wanted it to be. I also explained it to Samantha that my Grandmother is not only surrounded by the people who come to visit her and bring her flowers, but she is surrounded by the other people who are buried near her too.

I asked Sam where did she get the idea of streets in heaven, and her answer was from watching Dora and from Sarah's backpack she received from Christmas. Samantha then pointed out to me the map that was attached to Sarah's backpack has a street on it that leads from one point, to the next, etc. She thought that the road on the map looked like the road that was in the cemetary. I really think she feels that the pretend path that's on the Dora backpack is similar to the road that we take to visit my Grandmother's grave.

Have I mentioned how amazing I think Samantha is?

Inside Samantha's Mind: What Is Heaven?

Earlier in the week, Samantha asked me a question that on one hand, I was surprised that she asked. On the other hand, I'm really glad she asked because it showed me she was thinking about it.

Samantha: "Mommy? Where's heaven?"

Me: "Heaven is up in the sky hunny. It's above the clouds where you can't see it."

Samantha: "Is God up there?"

Me: "Yes hunny. And Jesus too."

Samantha: "How do you get to heaven?"

Me: "Well, you need to be a really good girl for Mommy & Daddy, and you need to be nice to Sarah and share your toys."

Samantha: "Who else is in heaven? Grammy Rose?"

Me: "Yes, Grammy Rose, and Bapa Thompson. Grand Papere and Grandpa Madore too. Anybody who is good, and did nice things for people goes to heaven."

Samantha: "Do you sleep when you go to heaven?"

(I forget how the dialogue went here, but I explained to Sam that our bodies sleep here on Earth, and that's why we can go to the cemetery to visit anytime we want to, but our hearts go to Heaven")

So after a minute or two of silence, I asked Sam if she understood what I had said, and if she had any other questions. She seemed to understand thankfully and I reminded her that if she ever had questions about heaven that she can always ask Daddy or myself. (This is where it gets cute).

Samantha: "What do you think people do in heaven?"

Me: I started to answer, and then I realized that I should put any creative ideas into her head because everyone's interpretation of heaven is different. So, I thought this was a great opportunity for Sam to think, and of course I was hoping for some good blogging later on. "Well Sam, what do you think people do in heaven?"

Samantha: (after some thought) "They play games"

Me: "Games? Really? That sounds like fun. What kind of games do you think they play?"

Samantha: "They play frisbee"

Me: "What else do you think people do in heaven?"

(Samantha thinks about this for a little bit)

Me: "Do you think they eat peanut butter & jelly sandwiches?"

Samantha: (smiling) "Noooooooooooooooooooo Mommy"

Me: "Well, do you think people eat food in heaven?"

Samantha: "Yeah. They eat raisins and cheese sticks"

Me: "That sounds like a good snack. There must be a lot of healthy people in heaven."

Samantha: "Yeah, they walk a lot like you do!"

Samantha is our little chatter box, but in between all that chatter I love it when she asks questions like this (1) it shows me that she's thinking, and (2) it makes for some fun blogging ; )