Months ago, we made a big deal with our two kids about going out to dinner. Just our family. My husband and I were so excited. We had BIG news to share with them.

A baby.

Their response? Well…it was lackluster at best.

Our 5-year-old son kept looking at the TVs to catch a glimpse of baseball. And the news seemed beyond our 2-year-old daughter’s comprehension. They smiled and moved on to asking for more water and chips.

The highlight of telling the big news wasn’t until 15 minutes later when our food arrived at the table.

Giving us a quizzical look, our son asked the only logical question a 5-year-old could ask under these circumstances.

“So…did you EAT the baby?”

Well…no. God put it there. Our son nodded. We could see his little mind pondering the new information. Then he voiced his confusion and curiosity as he watched me eat.

“But your food goes in your stomach…”

An excellent observation. We told him the baby is in my tummy, but not where the food goes. For lack of a better explanation, we told him the baby is in its very own water-balloon.

Apparently this was a satisfactory response.

He nodded, smiled and said nothing more about the baby. No questions. No excitement or sharing the news with others.

For months.

We continued mentioning and celebrating the baby, but our children continued as if nothing happened.

I guess a new baby wasn’t big news after all.

Two months later, I picked up my son’s artwork from his preschool cubby. And suddenly I was that mom, fighting back joyful tears in the preschool hallway.

Why? Because of this drawing of our little family:

What more could a mama want?

After class, he told me all about how his teachers had been surprised and asked him about the little one in the belly. He proudly told them he was going to have a baby brother or sister. AND he had decided he wanted a baby brother.

It may have taken longer than expected, but they finally GET it. Hearing the baby’s heartbeat and the pictures and video from the ultrasound have certainly helped.

We now have one very excited soon-to-be BIG sister and BIGGER brother.

Now we just have to wait until May…

Grateful.

My heart may burst.