Riding a T-Rex and snuggling with Lions...

Those are the  things that Jett and I plan to do in Heaven.

I think it is safe to say who the inquisitive one is, among my children.
Mikah pretty much takes after her Daddy...
'It is what it is', and she doesn't really question it.
Jett, on the other hand...
well, he isn't happy until he has questioned you to death on a subject,
any subject,
everything that exists about it,
and all that there is to know about it.
'Why this', 'why that',
'How come this' and 'How come that'...
If he wasn't so cute, I'd strangle him!

Lately, he has had this obsession about death.
We're not really sure where it originated,
we think it has to do with him asking my Dad where his 'Mommy and Daddy? are'
My dad explained to him that his Mom and Dad have passed away.
Ever since, Jett has questioned me constantly about death...
wheredo we go when we die, when do we die, why do we die...
I thought just telling him that when you die you go to Heaven with God, would suffice,
but that was not the case.
He would talk about it all the time,
he would even get upset and say he didn't want to die,
and ask 'When am I going to die?',
'When are you and daddy going to die?'
or get upset and tell me he didn't want me to die.
At first I wasn't concerned about it,
but after a while it started to bother me,
so much so that I even called and asked my Mother about it.

Finally one day,
on our drive home from dropping Presley off at school,
he started with all the questions again.
This time I thought about when I was a child,
I vividly remember dreaming about going places where everything was made of candy.
Seriously,  I was obesessed with the Hansel and Gretel story,
thinking how lucky they were to find a house MADE of CANDY!
So, remembering this,
I told Jett when we die we go to Heaven,
but this time I told him that Heaven was this beautiful, amazing place,
where all the houses and playgrounds were made out of candy.
We went on to talk about how everything and everyone was nice in Heaven.
At one point he asked me where dinosaurs and animals go when they die...
'Heaven of course!'  I said.
But he asked 'What if the dinosaurs eat me in Heaven?'
So I reminded him that everyone, and everything, was nice in Heaven...
even dinosaurs!
He really loved this...
He said "You mean I can pet and ride a T-Rex in Heaven??!!"
I said "Absolutely!"
The next thing I know we are talking about how we are going to slide down a giraffe's neck,
swim with sharks, swing with monkeys,
and yes... ride a T-Rex.
Jett said he would even be happy to share his meat with a T-Rex,
'Cause you know Mommy, dinosaurs are carnivores?'

He couldn't have been more excited to share this news with Mikah, when she came home from school that day.
The next morning,
I kid you not,
Mike and I caught them jumping up and down,
hugging one another, outside their bathroom,
squealing about how fun Heaven will be one day.
Hmmm.... for a minute or so I worried that I might have taken it too far.
But after reminding myself that they are only 4 and 5 years old,
and knowing that I managed to shoo away all the spooks my son has about death,
I didn't worry for long.

A week or so later,
as Jett and I watched the Animal Planet together,
a favorite past time of ours,
he asks me what my favorite animal is.
When I tell them that despite how dangerous Lions and Tigers are,
they are still my very favorites.
My precious son didn't miss a beat,
he says...
"Well, don't worry Mommy, in Heaven you will be able to snuggle with them"

*Sigh...
Maybe Heaven is really just made up of 4 year old little boys, and all the sweet innocence that comes with them...