cereality

Jessa and Ben seem compatible and seem to be like any young couple on a road trip -- entertaining each other. But something about Jessa posting 4 consecutive videos of Ben singing had me thinking "trained monkey." Good to see he knows secular songs though -- he started on a Celine Dion song; it's this kind of "exposure" to "worldly" things that'll make the Duggar get out into the real world.

I wonder if now that the "newness" or whirlwind of courting, engagement and marriage is wearing off, Derick is starting to notice just how different Jill is from other girls he's known. He went to school in the south where many do have college sweethearts to whom they get engaged during school and married shortly thereafter, BUT even then those girls have lives. They had their own classes/major which need not be the same as their boyfriends; many girls at southern schools are very involved with sororities and guys with frats -- so there's a whole another avenue where the girl is spending time with her girlfriends and organizing events without her man in tow. Now here's Jill -- nothing to occupy her besides her siblings and Derick. In his heart of hearts, I wonder if he thinks it's odd that she has no outlets besides him and her sibs, and the one outlet she did have (midwifery) -- she was quick to give up -- and is content to just email him all day, go out to lunch with him a few times a week, host sibling sleepovers, and wait for him to come home. He never comes home and hears "hey babe -- I went to lunch today with my friend x and she was telling me a, b, c."

I don't think there's generally anything wrong with meeting a spouse for lunch occasionally - they're young and in love and in the "get to know you" stage where they likely miss each other and they realize these spontaneous lunches will get harder with a baby in tow, naptimes etc. BUT I do think it's too much in this case where she seems dependent on him for company; she is the one who has said she emails/texts all day long -- that plus lunches in an 8 hr day is a bit much. And he seems like a polite enough guy who doesn't want to piss off his pregnant newlywed bride by saying "hon I have to focus at work, please don't email me unless something is wrong" or "that project is really crazed, I'm just going to bring lunch back to my desk and work bc that'll give me an extra 45 min to work while it's quiet." He seems like he'll do whatever it takes to keep her happy -- at least right now and probably even moreso because she's pregnant; that's nice but she should be the one who is a grown-up and realizes that there's no need to email him at 3 pm when she's going to see him at 5 pm anyway and can just tell him whatever she wants then.

I've always wondered about this. He ONLY works an 8 hr day -- which I'm sure seems long to Jill -- but in reality this isn't NYC investment banking where he's gone 70 hrs a week and then also logging in from home. But he's only away 40 hrs a week, and it seems like he and Jill STILL need to get together for lunch regularly during the week. And she has said that she was emailing/texting him at work all the time before the wedding; somehow I don't think the emails simply "root beer floats or ice cream sundaes" but more along the "hey babe -- how are you? How's work? So I was thinking about desserts for the wedding . . . " And I bet she expected similar responses from him, not just "that's fine." Somehow I doubt this has totally fallen by the wayside now that the wedding is done -- now it's probably texting about pregnancy symptoms and baby planning. I also wonder how she feels about him working with women. I would be shocked if there weren't at least 1-2 female junior accountants in Derick's group; it's quite possible that when all the 22 yr olds in that group run to the cafeteria to grab lunch, that includes a few women. I wonder if Jill is perplexed or jealous about that? Derick went to a secular, co-ed college and likely had female friends in his dorms, classes etc. who were not his girlfriends. But Jill has been raised to believe that even female and male siblings shouldn't spend too much time together (see Joy and Josiah) as it'll stir up God knows what -- so what could be stirred up by these heathen women choosing to work who have the cubicle next to her husband!? Though I wonder if Derick is learning the way husbands do -- i.e. nothing good can come from telling my wife that I regularly talk to my female cubicle-mate everyday, so let me not mention it and let her assume that my buddies are all guys.

I thought both couples left the Bates house together to go to Erin and Chad's house -- in that case Ben & Jessa were the chaperones; though I'm surprised there was no 5th wheel because both couples could have agreed that they could sneak a kiss or get it on with their partner somewhere in the house and no one was to report back to anyone else what happened. I think the Bates are more "normal" about this kind of thing -- not normal per say but I think they get that these "kids" will be married in 2 days, if they sneak a kiss in their own home -- that's up to their conscience/faith.

Josh and Anna have been married for what 5-6 years now? Can't they sit down like a normal couple and talk about what each of them realistically wants re more kids and then see if they can come to a compromise. Maybe for Josh it's 3 and for Anna it's 8. But then can't they act like all other couples and say -- let's go for one more and see how we feel after that? By making all of these "ooh I can't wait to have more" statements with Josh looking fearful, it seems like they've never talked to each other about it and just have a tacit understanding that they will keep 'trying" whether they are both on board or not. Seems like a bad dynamic 5-6 years into a marriage -- this is the person you're supposed to trust with everything. But I feel like if one or the other were trying to prevent pregnancy here, they'd have to be sneaky about it. In this case it would be Josh -- so maybe he should be sneaking a look at Anna's cycle/chart and conveniently arrange work trips on those days or conveniently have to work late or have a headache. He couldn't go so far as to use a condom as she'd know, but he could always -- withdraw -- not that that's fool proof but it is a way for a man who seems like he just does not want another kid.

I can't tell if I believe Anna and Josh re having more kids. I don't think Anna is lying when she says she enjoys the ones she has; she is really engaged with them and I can see here worrying about losing that connection. But then it's the constant pregnancy tests, the talk about twins etc. that makes me wonder -- is that just what she's saying? Though I guess being programmed your whole life that your job is to bear kids -- that programming doesn't go away in a few years. With Josh though -- it's really clear from the looks on his face that he is not interested in too many more or any more. He looked horrified when she said 5 or 6 was a start and maybe twins will be next. I think Josh remembers very clearly what life can be like with a dozen kids and no TLC contract; when TLC found them, they were living in a 3 bedroom home with one bathroom; and even after they became fundie royalty and had money, they were socializing with a lot of other fundie families -- like the Bates and I'm sure others -- and he's only enough to remember families with a dozen kids living in a rural shack someplace. Now that he's experienced real life -- a real paycheck, being able to spend it on wants and not buying used/saving the difference, not having to load up at Aldi -- he doesn't want to even put himself in the position of having to go back to that. I think Josh -- like JB is savvy -- I think he realizes that the TLC machine won't last forever and that DC is a fickle town. Sure he has a unique role at his job bc he has an in to the fundie world, but all it takes is a change of leadership or a budget cut or some other fundie with political connections coming in -- like say John Webster -- and Josh could easily become yesterday's news. If that happens, fine, he'll go back to Arkansas and resume the car dealership or start another small business, but those things don't pay great, JB isn't about to supplement if TLC income stops (or even with TLC income -- I don't see him handing Josh a mansion like Jill's) and Josh could easily find himself with 8 kids on a used car dealer's salary and wants to avoid it.

I think every new marriage for this family will be a good thing because it will open the Duggar spouse's mind a little bit to the world. Whether it's Anna supporting and encouraging Josh to move to DC or Derick taking Jill to a Broadway play and a Nepali restaurant or Jessa and Ben in Paris. Of course the Paris trip only happened because of TLC, but being with Ben rather than JB and the horde of 18 kids -- it's possible that Jessa did experience some local stuff that Ben may have wanted to do. It's possible that Ben wanted to eat crepes or French cheeses so they did that instead of turning up their nose at "foreign" food and heading to the closest McDonalds at every single meal for chicken nuggets. I think the Duggar kids are so underexposed and closed minded that even these little steps will do a great deal for them.

So are they in Paris now or we think they went immediately after the wedding? Did they go somewhere domestically as well? I swear her IG pictures suggested that she was someplace that looked wooded -- like a cabin or something -- and posted a pic inside what looked to me to be a Cracker Barrel restaurant. I wonder if they did a few days in a mountain cabin someplace -- or maybe just the wedding night -- and then jetted off to Paris; similar to how Erin and Chad Payne were in Tn. at a cabin for a few days and then off to Ireland. Good for them I guess. Jessa's done these kinds of world travels before, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ben has never left the country before. I bet he and his parents are thinking -- see this is why we wanted him marrying fundie royalty -- the Seewalds work hard but with Mike being a windshield repair guy working 12+ hrs a day to support his family, he couldn't have given Ben an opportunity like Paris. I can see why a 19 yr old would be excited by this and would think -- so what if I have to clean a few toilets and be a make shift handyman, if I get perks like this. If Ben and Jessa want to enjoy these kinds of options (which JB would undoubtedly have TLC cut off if they strayed too far from what he wanted), fine -- they should take 1-2 yrs and enjoy vacations, GMA, being on the road to stump for politicians etc. and give TLC access to Ben's "work" for JB and more importantly Jessa birthing babies 1 and 2, who should be on their way within the next yr or 2 anyway. But all the while I hope Ben keeps in mind that he needs to be his own man and support his own family without JB's interference and TLC won't be interested forever -- so I hope he continues online classes, prepping for insurance exams etc. so that once they've had their "fun" and don't feel like one more vacation is worth cleaning another toilet or listening to JB about whatever he wants them to do next, Ben can be on his way to a job in Hot Springs with a plan to find housing and put food on the table.

I think it's too early to say where Jessa and Ben will end up. The obvious answer is that they'll be on the homestead or in Josh's old house with their own kids and Ben working for JB at whatever odd jobs. BUT Ben strikes me as someone who may have some anger and pride in him. If he runs around at JB's call for a few years and really gets nothing out of it besides dirty toilets to clean, I can see him and Jessa leaving -- to Hot Springs to pursue some other job or to pick up a trade or maybe even an insurance or sales career (which I imagine is why he's even sticking with online classes as you probably need at least an AA degree these days if not a BA). I don't see him waiting forever for JB to hand him a car dealership or get him hooked up to the right people for some kind of job in the fundie world or some kind of DC/political gig. As for why it would be good for him to go from having his life controlled by JB to having it controlled by the military -- bc the military is legit. It is a nationally known credential/job which people have pursued for generations. Meanwhile JB is just making it up as he goes -- if JB thinks it's God's will that Ben clean toilets to prove that he'll do anything to provide, then that's what he will be doing. In contrast in the military -- despite it being regimented -- he could pick up a trade that would be useful in the real world like welding, auto mechanic, etc. or even pursue a degree on the side in something that'll be really marketable when he gets out -- like IT/computers. And while military life is totally controlled through basic and probably initially, the young enlisted married guys I know who aren't deployed have relatively normal lives; they live off post with their wives and kids and do whatever they want with their families during their time off, just like any other working guy. I'm not suggesting that Ben will go into the military, but I do think it's a legitimate path rather than being on JB's life track -- no matter how legit JB thinks he is.

Wouldn't that be something -- Jana and Tim Tebow? I'm not sure if JB would be comfortable with it, since Tebow is an actual celebrity and won't be dancing to JB's tune since he surely does not need a house or a job from JB. I believe he's a free agent right now; he's only 27 so I imagine he has some playing years left, so if he gets picked up by a team in say Minnesota or Fl. (I don't follow football closely -- randomly saying that), that would mean Jana would be gone. I think Jana would be fine with that -- gets her away from her family and allows her to have her own life with her husband. While I don't think JB would be jumping at the idea of such a courtship, if Tim somehow has an eye on Jana -- I don't think JB will affirmatively say no either. After all it settles his oldest daughter to have a millionaire's lifestyle but with a man who is outspoken about faith. It gives him something to brag about in fundie circles. Instead of people whispering -- why isn't his oldest daughter married yet -- he gets to say "bc I was waiting for the right man, and I don't see you landing a millionaire son in law like I did." It helps his competition with the Bates -- Alyssa married a senator's son. And moreover it helps JB get his grown kids settled -- after he retires it's quite likely starts up a business or foundation of his own as many pro athletes do since they have the money and need to do something; well there's another source of possible employment for his sons or sons in law. As for Jana -- are NFL wives really that much in the spotlight? I mean some of them want to be -- they're always with "their man," they're using their last name to launch clothing lines, appear on talk shows etc. But with some -- I don't even know if they have a wife. Some players deliberately keep their wife and family out of the spotlight -- probably to protect them from criticism for every little thing but also to protect them from stalkers out there. The QB of the Ravens if from my area (2-3 hrs from Baltimore); while he has a condo/townhome in Baltimore where I'm sure his wife spends time during the season, they've made their real home in his hometown in my area -- that's where she usually is, raising the kids and doing normal things like soccer practice. I could see Jana doing something similar.

Agree with you re kids. I feel like Jill will have the biggest family; she seems to be the most into the kool aid and it seems like Derick is trying to be like the Duggars a bit. I can honestly see her having like 8 or 10; maybe after that Derick may back off a bit as he realizes an accountant can only provide so much and if the TLC interest has died off by then. I think the ones like Josh, Jessa, Joy, and Jinger have really gotten used to the "good life," and they don't even want to go back to the possibility of having a family of 12 in a 3 bedroom home with 2 bathrooms. I don't particularly think any of them are into kids, so they won't feel compelled to have one year after year, but even if they start of that way -- they'll soon realize that money becomes much tighter with every new kid and lay off at around 2-5 kids per family. As for Jana, I think by the time she gets to that phase she'll be so sick of child rearing that 1-3 is all she'll even want. No idea about the older boys -- I can see them doing whatever their wives want, and it's a rare wife that wants to go through labor 19 times.

I could see the military being a good thing for Ben. First I think he could hack it -- he looks like he works out all the time; he wouldn't be like the Duggar boys huffing and puffing as they run a mile or 2. The military is pretty diverse, and it would do him a world of good to have intense interaction with people of different races, ethnicities, and religions. They are trained by being put in impossible situations that they can only work their way out of if they work together; through that comes an intense bond and it may lead Ben to think -- that black guy or Muslim guy or whoever is just like me; he's working just as hard as I am to put food on the table and he really saved my a$$ in that field exercise. It would open up his world a bit, while allowing him to continue college or learn a trade. I can see Jessa being a complainer though esp if they land at some base in the middle of nowhere, but maybe not. Enlisted military wives tend to be young with a kid or 2, so maybe she'd make friends get so involved in that social circle that she wouldn't care if Ben were away on training for months. And if she landed someplace like San Diego, I can totally see her putting on a bikini and spending her days on the beach. Regardless of the military, somehow I don't see Ben and Jessa having that many kids. I think they'll have 1 right away and I wouldn't be shocked if they're pregnant already, but after that once Jessa realizes that there's work involved -- even when you can dump some stuff on Jana and Joy -- she may not be super interested to having another kid every year. Ben is one of 6 or 7? I can see him wanting a similar sized family, but I can see Jessa wanting 2 or 3 max. I think just like Josh and Anna, they'll slow things down a lot and frankly with Jessa I wouldn't be surprised if she just went on BC at some point secretly to ensure there are no "accidents."

Just checked out Jessa's instagram for the first time in a while -- from her veteran's day message, Ben's grandfather (or great grandfather?) was in the Navy. Interesting. Not suggesting that Ben is enlisting anytime soon, as I can't see Jessa handling being an enlisted soldier/sailor's wife stuck on some base, but it suggests to me that Ben's family may be more "progressive" re school and career planning. Lots of enlisted take classes via the GI bill and some even complete full degrees; maybe Ben and his family aren't affirmatively anti-education like the Duggars.

I'm not sure whose influence will be greater, but I agree that the addition of any new spouse will change the family. The only way it wouldn't would be if the spouse's family was 100% as conservative and "isolated" as the Duggars -- then they'd view Duggar life as normal. With Derick -- we have someone who went to regular school, college, Nepal, and has a job in the outside world. He won't change Jill overnight and I'm sure he knows that, but I think there will be lots of little ways in which he'll make her realize -- you can still be Godly while doing x. I think we're already seeing it. I don't think Jill would have been up for a Broadway show with her family -- they're all in agreement that dancing is for heathens and stirs up desires. But when her Godly husband suggested a show, she went and probably realized that even after a show consisting of music and dancing -- her faith was in no way lessened and it was merely a fun activity. Same with going out for Nepali food in NYC or making some kind of squash dish that Derick likes -- in little ways she's already moving out of the mindset that "foreign" foods are gross. When it comes time for her kid to go to school in 5 years, I would be surprised if he wasn't at least going to a Christian/parochial school. She may not be down with public school, but I feel like after 5 more yrs with Derick she'll think -- look how great my man turned out with a lowly public school education -- Christian school won't hurt my son. As for Josh and Anna -- they had a TV immediately after marriage, I'm guessing because Anna grew up with one and thought it was weird to be without one. Anna has gone from "OMG it's been 4 months and I'm not pregnant yet, I'm miserable" to at least partially believing -- sure we'll have more but I'm not DYING to be pregnant; because of her attitude, Josh isn't chomping at the bit to get her pregnant either. She's the one who supported him moving to DC for a job -- without her emotional support I think he would have been too scared to death to leave the only life he knew; now you can tell he's enjoying life with 3 kids and maybe 1-2 more will be enough. They together have just become more "modern" -- I mean you have Josh wearing shorts and Anna dresses Mac in shorts too. Ben and Jessa -- I'm not sure if Ben went to regular school or homeschooled, but his best friend seems to be in college and he is taking online classes; he doesn't seem anti education. I totally vote that their kids will be the ones who will go to public school. I think Ben will not mind in the last and Jessa will be happy to have the kids out of the house for 6 hrs a day so she won't even want to start the charade of homeschooling. Ben wears shorts and now you have Jessa wearing low cut tops etc. I feel like Ben and Jessa together remind me of the dad from that polygamist show (my 5 wives) -- not bc of polygamy but because that dad has his faith/beliefs that he's instilling in his kids but he isn't holding his kids back either -- he has 1-2 kids in college; 3-4 daughters in their late teens/early 20s who are living in an apartment together; he runs his own successful business which seems to employ 10-20 people. I feel like he has found the balance between religious and secular, and I feel like Ben and Jessa will as well bc they will pull away from the Duggar influence (apart from the paycheck) and see how the Seewalds and Ben's friends are living their lives and emulate that.

I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and then went to school in Philadelphia. I will say there are tons of suburban families who never go into Philadelphia for shopping, entertainment, education or anything else -- to them it's the big bad city with high crime and they're happier staying home near their suburban malls. Danny's family strikes me as that type -- I mean you have to be pretty unexposed to ask someone to speak African. Though if Amy's option is to sit in her future sister/bro in law's house 10 hrs a day just so she can get 2 hrs with Danny and his entire family at night -- she really should tell Danny or his bro/sister in law that she needs a ride to the train station a few mornings a week. She's from Cape Town -- I highly doubt Philadelphia would overwhelm her. While she could spend some time just sight seeing and looking around, I think she'd love the "International House" -- on UPenn's campus but open to students and professionals in Philadelphia which caters specifically to young people who have moved to the U.S. from other countries. She'd be able to go to events there but I think she'd just enjoy hanging out and getting coffee with people who've moved from Africa or anywhere else in the world; it would start off some friendships for her that would honestly be more worldly than what Danny and his family can provide. I imagine that Danny's friends are all people he's known since kindergarten who probably are just as unexposed as his family.

I understand what you're saying about college football. I grew up in an area where EVERYONE is a Penn State fan regardless of whether you went to Penn State or some other college or no college (and I honestly think SEC fans are even more supportive of their teams). But to me there is a difference between someone who is a fan of a college team and didn't go to college bc of money, lack of grades, interest in military/trades or something other reason vs. someone who is supposedly a fan of a college team but would never let any child of thiers go to the school no matter what because "they'd have to sit near green haired heathens" as I think the Duggars or some other fundie family has said before. There are plenty of people who didn't go to PSU but if their kid wanted to go, could afford it, and got in -- they'd jump at the chance. OTOH the Duggars look down on formal education but the school's sports team is ok? In that case why not just find a pro team to root for?

In the first episode, I think Danielle made some passing reference to having a man to take care of her financially -- maybe she thinks getting a young stud is good because he'll be able to do hard physical work and provide a sizeable income beyond what she can earn in retail. I know there are people like Danielle in the U.S. but being in an east coast big city, it always kind of shocks me that such people still exist given how "connected" everyone is through the internet. I mean she and her family seem like the types who never even considered that someone could believe something different than them and those beliefs could come with different requirements; they strike me like a few small town people I grew up with you were in utter SHOCK that I didn't celebrate Christmas. They couldn't conceive of the fact that there were people in the world who didn't put up a tree, believe in Santa, go to mass etc. As for Yamir -- he's in a small town that probably has a few factories and/or retail options where everyone works unless they are in a skilled trade (like contractors) or are trained in healthcare/medicine (as I'm sure there are dr's office and hospitals). Given his lack of English skills, I'm guessing retail is out unless he can get someone to give him a job in the back -- unloading trucks and stocking shelves. That leave factories and again a foreman may not love the lack of English skills; the parents were right his first shot is a place that already employs a lot of Spanish speaking employees because you know that kind of workplace doesn't care as much that you didn't graduate from the local high school and don't speak English -- I'm betting many/most of the foreman there speak Spanish themselves.

Part of me wonders whether Danny's own brothers and sisters suspect he's gay -- I mean he pings the gaydar as do his friends. But they are also a religious family and I'm sure do not want their little bro to be gay. The constant talk re consummation, the wedding night etc. may be to get them married off quick and to make the whole thing seem "exciting" as they may be religious enough that they're hoping "once he gets it on with a woman once, he'll be hooked and any thought of dudes will be gone and that'll save him from eternal damnation." As for the thing with his father -- WTH!? Why is he so worried about his father now? Didn't he realize his father didn't like IR marriages when he proposed and brought her over here? In homes where inter-race or inter-religious marriages are not ok, that's not a development that comes out when you hit age 22; it is put into the kids' minds since childhood that they are to end up with someone just like their family and nothing else will be approved of. If inter-racial is a problem to him, he shouldn't have gotten involved with her, let alone asked her to leave her whole life behind. If IR is not a problem for him, then he needs to man up and tell his father -- this is how it is, get used to it or you won't be seeing biracial grandkids ever.

What is with Danny's family? They act like they're from Hicksville with the whole -- you're tan and speak African nonsense -- yet they live 30 min outside of Philadelphia, which is one of the top 5 or 10 metro areas in the U.S.; there are plenty of Africans, biracial people and all kinds of other diversity in Philadelphia. How are they so unexposed? And I cannot believe the amount of references made to sex with a perfect stranger. Are you worried about the wedding night? Who the hell says that?? And then when they went to go look at that farm/barn for the wedding, there were a few references made to -- you can consummate the marriage right here. I get that Danny is the youngest in a large, overly close, over bearing family, but the interest in their little bro's sex life is kind of creepy. If Amy doesn't put a stop to this, she will have people in the hotel suite saying "no no Danny, that's not how it's done, let me help you." As for Mohammed -- the one thing I don't get, if he is SUCH a religious Muslim -- i.e. won't eat non-halal and won't engage in any pre marital sex -- why is he ok with marrying a Christian woman? I'm Muslim myself so I am not criticizing, but Muslims who are "non religious" enough for an interfaith marriage typically aren't sticklers for things like halal rules. Has she thought about this (of course not)? Does he expect her to convert? Religiously a Muslim man can marry a woman of any faith bc he can make conversion a requirement of marriage. Has she thought about whether he intends to do that and would she be ok with that -- not saying she is going to mass 7 days a week but a small town Christian who laughs at someone's religion forbidding pork, who also has a cross tattooed on her finger, does not strike me as the type who'd be ok converting to a "foreign" religion. Shouldn't she be wondering why such a (hot) religious man is with someone like her (not hot and not of the same faith) and take a hint that maybe something is asunder and a scam is underway?

What is with Danny's family? They act like they're from Hicksville with the whole -- you're tan and speak African nonsense -- yet they live 30 min outside of Philadelphia, which is one of the top 5 or 10 metro areas in the U.S.; there are plenty of Africans, biracial people and all kinds of other diversity in Philadelphia. How are they so unexposed? And I cannot believe the amount of references made to sex with a perfect stranger. Are you worried about the wedding night? Who the hell says that?? And then when they went to go look at that farm/barn for the wedding, there were a few references made to -- you can consummate the marriage right here. I get that Danny is the youngest in a large, overly close, over bearing family, but the interest in their little bro's sex life is kind of creepy. If Amy doesn't put a stop to this, she will have people in the hotel suite saying "no no Danny, that's not how it's done, let me help you." As for Mohammed -- the one thing I don't get, if he is SUCH a religious Muslim -- i.e. won't eat non-halal and won't engage in any pre marital sex -- why is he ok with marrying a Christian woman? I'm Muslim myself so I am not criticizing, but Muslims who are "non religious" enough for an interfaith marriage typically aren't sticklers for things like halal rules. Has she thought about this (of course not)? Does he expect her to convert? Religiously a Muslim man can marry a woman of any faith bc he can make conversion a requirement of marriage. Has she thought about whether he intends to do that and would she be ok with that -- not saying she is going to mass 7 days a week but a small town Christian who laughs at someone's religion forbidding pork, who also has a cross tattooed on her finger, does not strike me as the type who'd be ok converting to a "foreign" religion. Shouldn't she be wondering why such a (hot) religious man is with someone like her (not hot and not of the same faith) and take a hint that maybe something is asunder and a scam is underway?

I'm laughing at the fact that they're releasing a statement -- you know -- like the White House press secretary does when there is a major world development or a school shooting or an Ebola case in the U.S. They think they're SOOO important that people are waiting with bated breath for their explanations and justifications of the world. Where did Jessa receive criticism? Do people criticize right on Instagram? While I look at pics, I never read the comments and somehow I thought it was leg humpers commenting not people who'd criticize.

IIRC the Bates had a whole series of kids who started courting, got engaged and married one after the next -- Zach, Erin, and Alyssa probably all married in a 12 month span. I really think that's what got JB thinking that he better get his kids started so as not to fall behind in the contest and also bc they were desperate for more material for the show. Now it seems pretty quiet for both families. Michaela is courting and will marry but it may be the only wedding on the horizon for the Bates and who knows -- given that she's a bit more reserved, maybe that whole wedding is more low key. I suspect when the next batch of Bates kids courts and marries THEN JB will be thinking -- uh oh, gotta keep up, let's line someone up for Jana, JD and maybe Jinger or Joy. Given that we haven't heard about any Bates courtships and the next batch of Bates kids is 17-19, that may not happen for another few yrs as Lawson and Nathan don't seem ready and the next girl is like 16-17. Jana may have to wait a bit for the "contest" to start again so she may be more like 26-27 when it happens. That would probably be optimal if she could meet a friend of Derick's from school or work; chances are he'd be a college grad conservative Christian so she'd have an "easier" life -- more disposable income and an expectation of a large family but maybe only 4 or 6 or 8. But for something like this to happen, JILL is the one who has to take an interest, and I suspect she's too "satisfied" with her own life situation to care too much about Jana. She's so proud of herself for finding a man and getting pregnant on the first shot, that I doubt she's thinking that she'd love for Jana to escape the TTC and settle down. Derick is fairly reserved, and I don't think he'd see it as his place to say "we need to set Jana up" esp. since she's fairly reserved too and he'd worry about embarrassing her (whereas a Joy or Jinger would come back with a snappy remark if they thought that was out of line). Jill has to be the one to say to him that we need to set up Jana -- let's invite over these college friends and how about some guys from work, do you work with any conservative single guys. If she initiated, I'm sure Derick would do it -- he seems like the kind who is nice enough that he has friends, so it wouldn't be awkward for him to invite a bunch of dudes over to eat and watch a game on a Saturday and say "btw my wife will be inviting a few of her sisters, you really should meet them -- they'd be great."

I feel bad for Erin. In their culture a woman's worth comes from her ability to bear lots of kids. Erin miscarried her first and didn't get pregnant again right away -- whether it's because they don't want to or are having problems. You know Jill is going to be hauling her kid off the bus and practically gloating about how great it is to be a mom and how blessed she is that she and Derick conceived immediately -- with zero sensitivity re how Erin may feel.

Exactly -- a spontaneous kiss to show love or gratitude or passion or to say hello -- perfectly fine, we all do it. But a kiss that says "this is MY man or woman" really? When you have a 19 and 22 yr old doing that, fine they're young and horny and stupid -- I can overlook it. But when parents nearing age 50 need to say "this is MY man" in the same pose, filter etc. as their 22 yr old daughter -- there's something really wrong with that. We know he is your man -- he has been for 30 yrs and you delivered every one of his 19 blessings yourself, we know, we remember. What I don't get -- even if the parents are gross, smug, and self absorbed enough to send this to their daughter, why on earth did Jessa post it? Wouldn't most girls look at that pic and say "uh ok thanks" or "oh my parents are gross" and move on? Did they MAKE her? How do you make a married woman do anything? Threaten to cut off Ben's job and throw them out of the house?