It's a...

...BABY!!!

As Jeff mentioned in this post, he was super tired and half-asleep when I first told him I was pregnant. I finally found my camera and have proof to show of how terrible I was to have told him so late at night!

He is still so super handsome when he's tired. After things were able to sink in for a few minutes, he was more awake and excited. :)

(Ha! I just noticed that although Jeff is pointing at my belly, he's also pointing at Simba, a male lion, on my shirt! I should have seen the sign...!)

Well, I am now 20 1/2 weeks along, about half way through the pregnancy! My dear mother called me 'fat' on Sunday, but I'm glad! My belly isn't in that awkward chubby stage anymore. You can actually TELL that I'm prego! It's been amazing to know now that what I am feeling inside my stomach isn't just gas, but a tiny babe living and moving around!

Today was our ultrasound appointment! What a surprise we had! We were pretty sure we were going to have a girl, but are happy to be having a BOY instead! Wahoooooo!

He wanted to let us know that everything is going A-OK!

In this picture, his head is laying sideways. The ultrasound caught the lenses of his eyes, so that's why they look all bug-eyed and alien-like! I love how his cute little mouth is shaped into an "O" with his hand up by his face, as if he had been deep in thought and just had an epiphany about something.

Jeff and I are pretty excited! This will make SEVEN grandboys on the Wakamatsu side (no girls yet!), and the first grandchild on Jeff's side to pass on the Thomas name. We love our little baby boy so much already!!!

Manti Getaway Day 2

Huge breakfast at the Rose Cottage! The owners made it for us. This sure beat having a continental breakfast!

After breakfast we got ready, packed up, and headed to the temple!

So beautiful! It was so warm and nice, with no snow covering the flowers...unlike on our wedding day!

Jeff found a friend....eeewwwwww!

We decided to reinact some of the photos from last year. Sadly, no one was around to take a picture of us both jumping off this bench at the same time.

This is when it really hit me that I am pregnant and can't do the same dynamic and jumpy things I used to. After landing this bad boy, my tummy was pretty sore for a bit!

19 weeks prego! (Side note here: this dress cost $2.00! Steal of a deal!)

According to Jeff, I am definitely gaining weight.

Hey! Look! It's finally a picture of my REAL ring! Ha ha ha!

We were so blessed to be able to do work in the Manti Temple! The live session here was incredible...words can't describe how lovely and peaceful it was. We were also able to do sealings, and were happy when they moved some of us to do them in the room that we were sealed in! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Old memories and new.

We love each other. And we're happy about it.

Lunch at a park in Ephriam. Jeff is such a hottie!

We had such a great and uplifting time together! Before this trip, I hadn't been well enough to go to the temple for three long months. I had missed it dearly, and was so grateful that the Lord had answered my prayers and sustained and helped me to sit through a session and sealings without too much discomfort. When we finished, as I was changing all the pain settled in my back again, and I was amazed at how much my burden had been lifted so Jeff and I could participate in His work. He truly blesses us when we are willing to serve Him!

We drove back to Orem, and finished our night by picking up pizza and watching Tangled with GramMi, PawPaw, and Derrick. Yay for families and fun!

Manti Getaway Day 1

Last week, Jeff and I went on a little anniversary getaway to Manti! It was so much fun to be alone together 24/7.

We had to take a short stop at Jeff's dad's office so Jeff could retrieve his jacket that he left at his parents' house the night before. His dad was so kind to take a few snapshots of us before we took off! (Fun side note: The outfit I wore cost me $2.75, jeans and shirt! Amazing. Jeff's getup was all "new" as well...sweater, jacket, and pants for a total of about $5.00! Yeah, baby! I love great deals!!!)

The handsome driver! Lucky me!

So happy to be with my man!

Tradition! Breakin' out the spam musubi once we hit the freeway! So ono!

Beautiful fields and scenery on the way down.

The beautiful temple on the hill! Seeing it brought back memories of trying to make myself look my best for our wedding last year. I remember frantically trying to finish my makeup in the back seat of my parents' car. I had a little hand mirror my sister let me borrow, but I really wished that I had a sister to help me!

We "checked in" to the place we were staying in (they left the key in the door for us because they were gone), and then we headed down town to do all there is to do in Manti! Seriously, I think we pretty much did everything except go to their little museum. We strolled down Main Street first.
We took a look around their tiny library. I'm so grateful I grew up in a city that has a fantastic selection of books! We visited some shops, including a little candy shop. We still have yet to eat the chocolates we bought there, but they look divine!

When you drive up to the temple, there is a part of the hillside that is covered in daffodils! Beauty.
We drove around Ephriam for a short bit, mainly to see if there were any good places to eat there. We saw the quaint campus of Snow College, visited the Walmart, and went back into Manti.
Jeff and I went to a park to enjoy the sun and read together. We 're currently working on The Chronicles of Narnia. Love it. And I love the discussions we have about things in the stories and how they relate to Christ. Two minds truly are better than one; I learn so much from Jeff and the insights he has that are different than mine.


Dinner time! The owners of the "cottage" we stayed at recommended we go to this place to eat, Dirk's Farmhouse Restaurant. It was great! This was our appetizer of zucchini and mozzarella sticks with two dipping sauces. Mmmm.

This was my order, fucil and chicken. I have no clue what fucil is, but it was great!

Jeff's BBQ barbacoa steak burrito. Yummo!

Happy with an almost bursting belly. We only ate half of our meals, but the leftovers were delicious.

Happy Anniversary!

This past Sunday was our one-year anniversary! It's so crazy to think that already a year has gone by since we were sealed in the Manti Temple. It has been so wonderful to think back and reflect on our wedding day, and on all we have gone through together since then. This past year has been the best of our lives! So many blessings and so much happiness has come to us. It is so special to have an eternal companion and best friend to love, turn to, and share with life's great journey. Jeffrey is such a wonderful and amazing man, and I am the most blessed lady alive to have him!

The beautiful roses Jeff got me, along with a sweet message.

Honey Bunches of Oats! My favorite!

A belly band! And belly balm! (For the pregnancy)

May 1st is also May Day, or Lei Day in Hawaii. I made Jeff a lei to celebrate that holiday as well! Jeff got also got a pull-up bar, a little massage guy, aaand.......

...a mechanics tool set!

It was fun to spoil each other with presents! After church, we made tin foil dinners in our oven. That was quite the process! The hamburger in our refrigerator had gone bad, and Jeff was so sad that we couldn't go out and buy some more (it was Sunday). We had to throw it out and instead used some steaks that we were saving in our freezer. Our onion was moldy, but luckily it was only the end part! Half of our potatoes were rotten and most of our baby carrots were old and hard, but luckily we had enough for the both of us. In the end, it all worked out. They turned out so yummy!

Jeff used herbs his parents brought back from France. It looked so pretty!

My plate was more spicy and peppery, just the way I like it. :)

For dessert, we went down memory lane and ate the slice of cake my sisters saved for us from our wedding! We were anxious and nervous to try it out.

It didn't look too terrible, so we gave it a try.

We were soooo surprised to find that it still tasted good! The white cake was still moist, the filling was still berry good, the chocolate fondant was still light and chocolatey, and the frosting! The frosting still had a hint of taste of the gardenias that were on top of our cake! THAT was the coolest part of eating the cake by far!

I'm so eternally grateful that I married Jeffrey-Joo, the love of my life. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He is such a light in my life, and a great example of Christ-like goodness. He truly has a golden heart. One year down, and forever to go! Wooohoooo!!!

A Pinch of News from the J&J Family!

I wanted to let everyone know what has been happening in our lives between since our tire fiasco in January and my recent dance recital. (by the way, I had no idea that Jewel had even posted that video until I started receiving comment updates in my email.) We want you all to know that we are doing great and loving life!

January -

News of another member to our family

After many months of thinking, fasting, praying, and planning Jewel and I decided to try and make our family a bit bigger. Our hope was to have the baby in September. So we started keeping a watch on Jewel’s Menstrual cycle. After a couple of months, we thought we had it all figured out. A couple weeks passed and after listening to stories about couple’s first times not being successful, I was beginning to doubt that Jewel was even pregnant. “Oh well,” I thought, “I guess we’ll just have to plan on next month.” A couple more days passed when I came home physically drained. All I wanted to do was climb into bed and take my long winters nap. I crashed onto the bed and fell asleep without even reading our scriptures or saying our prayers. Jewel in the meantime thought that it would be a good day for a pregnancy test. While I was sleeping she nervously went to the bathroom and took out the pregnancy tester from its packaging. A bit curious and a bit hopeful she looked at the results. “POSITVE” She began shaking with excitement as a big smile grew on her face. She quickly knelt down and said a prayer of thankfulness to out Heavenly Father. After rising from the prayer and still a bit shaky, she got out a letter that she had written to me a few days earlier. (She was saving it for the day that she told me that she was pregnant.) The she began planning on how she would tell. (I was still in a heavy sleep through all of this.)

I first remember her shaking me a little and saying, “Jeff, wake up. We need to say our prayers.” It took a little bit of effort but I finally got up. “I’ll say the prayer,” she said. I, still half-sleeping, folded my arms and closed my eyes. She began, “We are so grateful for this day...please bless Katie with her pregnancy and Karen as well (my sister and sister-in-law) and me...” She pauses and looks at me. Surprisingly I was still too tired to even get what she was doing. “We pray that Thou wilt bless Katie, Karen, and me with our pregnancies.” Still nothing from me. Though, I was beginning to wonder why she was talking about pregnancies so much. Finally Jewel could not wait any longer and said loudly, “and we thank the the I am pregnant.” I got the hint and jerked my head up. “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” Jewel then gave me the letter that she had written and a willow tree figurine titled Father that she had kept stashed for away. I could hardly believe what was happening.

Febuary -

The Spreading of the News

We are both super excited for the addition to our family come this September 26th! Jewel could hardly wait to tell everyone that one night, when when she was up late and unable to go to bed, she wrote a poem for the time when we would tell everyone about the pregnancy.



A pretty cleverly written poem, if you ask me. Can you see the hidden message inside the poem? It was a fun week when we decided to give the poems out to family members. The fastest to see the hidden message was my mom, who only glanced at it and gasped while putting a new big smile on her face.

One month down and more agony to go

February was also a time of new pains and sicknesses for Jewel. It’s probably best if I put in her own words. This was an email she sent out on the 4th of February.

Hello, people I love!

I just thought I would share a list of the things that have made me gag this morning. Most of them are smells, but many of them are sights, too. Very interesting. I never knew that the mere sight of someone could make me gag. And I'm not too sure if I'll be able to take the bus too much longer...

Here we go! The Gag List:

1. Waking up and thinking of crackers...the Cheez-It White Cheddar ones that Jeff wanted to buy.
2. Smelling my Prenatal vitamin. (Always a gag.)
3. The cold air of the morning.
4. Walking into PawPaw's kitchen.
5. Midway through eating Frosted Mini Spooners...had to wait a bit before I could continue.
6. PawPaw's paint
7. Spoiled milk on people...there are more people who smell like that than I ever imagined!
8. Looking at a girl eat a blueberry poptart...just thinking about it makes me gag again.
9. B.O.
10. Looking at a guy with dreadlocks, or another with oily hair.
11. When people cough or sneeze right next to me.
12. Stinkers. Especially when you are stuck typing next to someone who just let one. Ewwwwww!

There have been more instances, but these have been the most memorable.

So far, things I can count on not making me feel sick is:
1. Hot chocolate
2. Baked potatoes
3. Citrus fruit (And after I peel them, I like to keep the smell on my fingers. For some reason, it helps clear up my sickies when I sniff my fingers again.)

But amongst the down times there have been a good share of ups. Here’s an email from February the 16th.

I wanted to let you all know that Jeff and I went to my first doctor's appointment, and the lady said everything looks good! I'm going to have to go get lab work done (blood drawn, yuck!) before my next appointment in 4 weeks. Then, I will be 12 weeks, and hopefully we'll be able to hear the baby's heartbeat! SO exciting!

March -

St Patty’s Day with a thump thump thump

St. Patrick’s Day was not only a day full of green but was the first day that we heard our baby’s heartbeat! It took the doctor a while to find the heartbeat but he eventually found the fast paced heartbeat. (some say that a face paced heartbeat means that it's a girl. I guess we'll have wait only another week until we find out for sure.)

We also went to my parent's house for their huge annual St. Patrick's Day party. (My family has Irish ancestors. In fact, my mom's maiden name was Carrigan.) Jewel also decorated our apartment with candy and other green things. She made be a sandwich with green bread for lunch and put green colored food coloring in our milk for breakfast. She is so much fun to have around for holidays.



April -

April Fool's Day!

I was a little scared for this day to come around because I knew that Jewel would go all out and pull as many pranks on me as she could. Luckily, there were only a few bad pranks. The rest were actually quite fun.

First the BAD pranks.

There was some slippery gunk under the car door handle, tape over the key slot, my seat was pushed completely forward, the windshield wipers were on at full speed, and the music was turned all the way up. At home Jewel put a picture of a snake on the computer desktop (I have a snake phobia) and a rubber band was wrapped around the spray attachment on the kitchen sink so that it would spray anyone who tried to use the water.

The Fun Things (Look at the picture)

For dinner we have grilled cheese sandwiches, peas and carrots, an orange drink, mashed potatoes with gravy, and cupcakes for dessert. The fun part about was what they were made of.

The cheese sandwich: Two slices of angel food cake with orange frosting.

Peas and carrots: Green and orange Starbust cut and rolled into the shapes of steamed carrots and peas.

Orange drink: Orange Jello

Mashed Potatoes and gravy: Vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup.

and the coolest one of all...

Cupcakes: Cooked meatloaf in aluminum cupcake cups with colored "real" mashed potatoes used as frosting.