Babies - according to Lorelei

One night a couple weeks ago, Lorelei chose a this off the shelf for her bedtime story, I kind of sighed and wondered how I would turn it into a story she would sit still and listen to, but there are many colorful pictures in it, and she pointed at this one:

And said, "Baby"

"Yeah" I said, "that is a baby. Did you know mommy has one of those in her tummy? Do you think it would be nice to have a baby brother or sister?"

She got a very serious look on her face and replied in a concerned but matter of fact tone - "But baby brother die"

I was shocked, I had talked to her about William and tried to explain things, but didn't realized she understood...the rest of the conversation revealed that she had much more understanding than I could imagine and a very real concept in her mind of what all had gone on.

"Yes, you're right he did die..."

"He very sick, big owies.....He went to Heaven....He's an Anjow(angel)....he's a star!" (In the most precious little girl voice ever!).

I nearly cried...to know that he was really in her heart and she actually knew what happened...in her own little girl way...was just so precious to me. I'm not going to argue with a 2.5 year old's theology regarding whether or not he's actually and angel or a star...she obviously thinks of heaven as being in the sky and that's where the stars are...etc... I'm not sure where she got that all from, but the fact that she could articulate it back to me was amazing!

I agreed with her and affirmed what she had said, and asked if she'd like to have another baby brother or sister.

She knit her little eyebrows together and looked very concerned..."But baby die?"

How my heart hurt...I can't promise her this baby won't die...especially when she obviously understands the concept so well. I simply replied "I hope not!" We need to talk about it more yet, as I think it would be a great way to build upon the foundation of her understanding of prayer. Right now we just encourage her to say "Thank you Jesus for...." and encourage her to be thankful. I'd like to talk to her about how we can ask Jesus to take care of our baby, and that WE don't have to worry about it, because He has the baby in His care and His plans.

When moments like this happen, I think of Mary in Luke 2:19 where it says "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." Its one of those things that as a mother, I believe will always be in my heart...