msblossom

David can take his cute little text messages with x's & o's and shove them up his a$$. Open your eyes, Shannon! Your husband is as sick as his secrets and should never to be trusted again after how his side piece tried to worm her way into your family by pretending to be your friend -- last straw.

I wonder why Bravo doesn't rent a villa or large house for this franchise of HWs like they do on RHONY? One, I like it better because it's more interesting with them all interacting under one roof, and two, they aren't offending hotel and dining patrons. Scenes like Vicki, Tamra, and Shannon in the pool are not impacting anyone else's stay but their own. And they can be as drunk and loud as they want. I don't think we've ever seen this group on "vacation" in a rented villa.

It's his middle name. David Brooks Ayers.

I don't think it was implied that all 3 of Shannon's daughters attended the sleepover together. I don't know the age difference between the twins and their oldest daughter, but if I had to guess I'd say 3 years. No way does a girl of 13 want to attend a sleepover with their 10 year old twin sisters. Saying that David used the opportunity for a hookup with all 3 girls out of the house overnight would have already been on Shannon's radar, don't you think? She would have freaked out on him so bad and been unable to WIU. I don't know if Brooks has cancer or not, seems highly suspicious. And as I've said before, my husband attended college with Brooks aka David, and the one and only time I met him after a Mississippi State game a few years back the guy was a drunk. a con and a leech -- I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him! And if Vicki wants to hitch her wagon to him for love then she can knock herself out -- but then know this, if he's faking cancer she 100% knows it or she's dumber than a box of rocks. She couldn't be with him and not know he's a bullshitter.

I guess I'm in the minority based on my own experience, but as a child of the 70's slumber parties and TP'ing was sort of the norm. I had my first slumber party at my house when I was 11 with 5 girls. My mom had passed away about 3 1/2 months earlier and my dad was probably trying to help me have some fun as I adjusted to my new normal without mom, who died of breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy, lots of radiation and chemo and was very very ill, and in and out of the hospital a lot. After a couple negotiations, my dad gave in and ok'd the slumber party, which became a birthday tradition for the next 2 years. We slept (no sleeping occurred) in a tent in the backyard, told ghost stories, played games, talked about boys and came in the house around 1 or 2 am with our sleeping bags and crashed in the living room. My dad took us to breakfast in the morning. Pretty innocent fun! No TP'ing occured. The next 2 years it did, and we got caught one year by my older brother, who later told dad about it. I didn't get in trouble. I grew up with fairly lenient parents because there was so much going on with my mom for several years, but I never got into much trouble and was generally a very well behaved kid. Times were more innocent when I was growing up; neighborhoods were safe, we never locked our doors, we lived in the same house for our entire childhood and we knew our neighbors within a 2 block radius really well and many of them were our good friends and spent time and had sleepovers on a regular basis in each other's houses almost like a 2nd home. Times have changed. It's a different world.

Those photos are really telling. Michelle looks like she's wearing a dead animal or a rug made of hair on her shoulders in that last pic.

Ah, I see what you're saying and agree, Sometimesy. I feel that the longer Ben remains indebted to JB by accepting employment and living rent free in the mold house that even if he had aspirations at one time to continue his education at a mainstream college, he won't. That, and Jessa's got him by the balls and calls the shots. I think we'll see an even more extreme version of himself as time goes by, especially if they land that spinoff.

I wish I could give this post more than 1 like, BitterApple, you nailed it! Their lives would have been vastly different, and better IMO, and may have gotten back to a more mainstream form of faith. Or not. Either way, they'd have all been much off.

I think what GEML was saying is that if Ben continued his education, at a decent college, he would learn the art of debate which is far more effective than just preaching your opinion about what you believe to be true. It acknowledges the other person's point of view and when done well is rather disciplined and persuasive, while maintaining a certain level of respect.

I wish JB & M had stopped having kids after Jinger. Swap out Josh for Josiah, and Jessa for Joy.

I see what you're saying, Galax-arena, but in Ben's case I think he's coming off that way in large part due to Michael Seewald, who is a hateful man and hyper Calvinistic. Completely agree with you on Jessa.

I came across a woman years several ago and if not for her constant use of the word *see* she would have been forgettable. She worked in housing on the campus where my husband was enrolled in grad school and she was giving us a tour of all the housing options. She would insert *see* two or three times in each sentance. It went something like this: "If you'll follow me, see, over to such & such apartments, see, you'll see how large the one bedroom with a study nook is, see. They come with washer and dyer hookups, see, although we do have washer and dryers that can be rented, see, for an extra $40 a month and to be included in your rent, see." We nicknamed her the See Lady. A couple years ago we had lunch with a friend and former student and I'm not sure how it came about, but I mentioned the See Lady and he knew exactly who I was referring to without explanation. Every now and then my husband will crack me up and start talking like that. I've never heard anyone use the word see as a place marker before or since. Except maybe Bogart, and old gangster movies. It was really strange.

I hope they only sell those t-shirts to guys, because they would be pretty defrauding on girls with boobs since your eyes go straight to their logo.

Take away Ben's hyper-Calvinism and he has the potential for being well-liked, if not a little dopey.

Hair seems pretty high on the list of importance to Michelle and the elder Duggar girls -- as long, outdated, stringy and frizzy as it is. ETA: Although Jana and Joy have pretty, silky hair.

^^^Neglect, household chaos, and generally being treated like a commodity will take that out of a kid. The Howlers and Lost Girls never got to experience childhood to the extent that Josh through probably Jessa/Jinger did. After that, they were relegated to being a circus act and treated like cattle.

Her efforts are half assed when she does makes an attempt. But that's very very rare.

I agree with much of this, but I also think the Duggars are so rule obsessed that they often seem obsessed about their behavior. For instance, they tend to build fences around the law (10 commandments and some Old Testament practices) and create rules and laws in addition to how we're to live according to scripture. And rather than accepting the grace of God, they run around doing, doing, doing what they believe is acceptable to God in almost rote fashion without really understanding the freedom and acceptance we have with God, as if it depends on their behavior. We can't earn God's love and acceptance, it's a gift of God. They're extremely insecure in their faith that they become maniacal about all the outward trappings of how they think a good Christian behaves. And around in circles they go, it must be exhausting.ETA: Regarding their rote faith, they don't allow themselves to question and struggle through their faith or areas of unbelief. They mechanically or robotically just believe EVERYTHING, but probably couldn't articulate well what it is and why they believe it, which is common for children (and some adults who just go through the motions and don't really think through why they came to faith). It's actually healthy to question faith or religion and work through, God isn't intimidated by it, nor do I believe he has a problem with it. I did, and do, and it strengthens my faith and makes me dig into and discover truth.

SewSumi, I'm so sorry for the passing of your sister. Losing your sibling without being prepared for it and not having closure really sucks on both ends -- that's a lot to go through and process. You're in my thoughts and prayers. Hugs to you.

Agreed. They look well cared for and clean. Michelle, I'm assuming it's her, put some effort into doing their hair, scrubbing and bathing them and dressing them in clean dresses that were probably in style at that time. Adorable.

I love the Heifer Project and other organizations like them! My favorite is the Dalit Freedom Network. These are so very worthwhile and do quite a good job raising money, helping to make a substantial difference by empowering those who are otherwise without hope and personal freedom, along with bringing awareness to their plight.

People are posting in the wrong forum. Jeana and Shane are throwbacks from Real Housewives of OC.

I agree. The lack of transparency equates a lack of accountability, and they appear to want people to blindly give money because they're fans of the show and it's up to them how they spend it. That's not typically how people go about raising support for missions, lol. If nothing else, it is consistent with how the Duggars roll.

There are all kinds of missions, but Christ's own words before he departed tells his believers to go into all the world and share the good news of the gospel. That's not a very popular message these days and many Christians have made a mess in their attempts, but the truth is this: what compels believers to step out of their comfort zone and share the gospel comes from God and that's a calling. Men and women all over the globe have been obeying Christ's mandate for more than 2,000 years. It might not be a popular topic on this board, but for many Christians it's their life purpose, as what appears to be the case for Derick and Jill.

Regarding the statement I made about Jill and Derick selling/giving away their belongings, sorry, I might be making that assumption because that's what most families do when they set off to do long term missions. If you remember, Jill and Derick's plan to serve in missions full time was years down the road so it made sense for them to "set up house", but it wasn't until pretty recently that they made other plans to go much sooner. IIRC, it was shortly after the Alive festival that Derick announced their plans and I thought I heard Derick announce via social media or read somewhere that mentioned them paring down their belongings and making preparations to go. I'm sure they packed and stored a lot of their sentimental and personal belongings. As far as furniture and household items go, most full time missionaries don't hang onto those things typically because they don't plan to permanently live stateside again for several years, even decades. Even when on furlough, every 6 or 7 years. they'll come back for up to a year, but they are given fully furnished missionary housing (when supported by or in partnership with a mission organization within your denomination).