Donna,

    You ask a very good and interesting question.

    Is it possible, that whether paradise was in heaven or in the heart of the earth, at that time, that Jesus could still be with the repentant thief, after he died, as well? Jesus is simultaneously both fully God and fully man. In his earthly ministry, his deity was veiled, (except for the peek that Peter, James, and John saw with the transfiguration). The Son of God took on flesh, but he didn't give up some of his deity, since God is immutable (i.e. he can't "un-God" himself). Therefore, since he is God, that includes, not only omniscience, but also omnipresence:

    John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

    He said to Nicodemus that he "is" in heaven, while he is talking with him on the earth.