Temperance

While Jinger has changed her sense of style and her hair color, she was straightening her hair before she met Jeremy.

Speaking of the Maxwells, Anna Marie apparently went somewhere in the vicinity of Lady Liberty to get her surgery. There are several legit places to get laser removal of breast cancer so who knows where she went. She was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer. It is a severe diagnosis, but it could be worse. She also is meeting with her oncologist on Monday, which is great. I'm glad she has an ocologist and isn't just meeting with random doctors. When she had the surgery, they ended up taking out a larger area than they had anticipated. "Surgery went very well, though due to the continued growth and location of the tumor, the surgeon recommended a more extensive surgery than we were originally hoping for. Christopher and I understood the necessity and agreed that it was best the approach at this point." I'm confused as to how they don't know whether all the cancer is removed. Here is the end of Duggar Data's post about it: "Anna Marie also shared more detail about her laser surgery. Apparently, they aren’t sure that the entire tumor was successfully removed. She explained— “ ‘Margins’ refers to how much clean tissue surrounded the tumor when the surgeon removed it. Because of its size and location, mine had a very small margin—but we don’t yet know if that means there were cancer cells left.” Sounds like maybe she will have to undergo another surgery."

I don't their lifestyle is that bad. I think being a fundie is hard and not great, no matter what. But these women have enough for their basic needs and they don't have twenty plus years of pregnancy to go through. Of course there's a prejudice against single women even in the secular world.

So Jinger is excited to meet Bella, but not Maryella. Am I missing something? If she hadn't been back to AR for a visit, how had she met Maryella before? Or is Maryella snubbed. I know she met Ivy when Jessa was visiting California. I notice Kendra and Addison/Garrett aren't there. Nor are Abbie and Grace. So many baby nieces so little time! That definitely looks filmed so it makes sense no Jill. As for the picture of Jinger, Jeremy, and Lissy, I have no idea if Jinger is pregnant, but that outfit looks like it would conceal a small bump well. I tend to lean toward Jinger and Jeremy having another baby soon, because there's usually push (pun intended) to get to two kids even among non-fundies.

The Maxwells have more money than Jill, so do the Mallys. (Sarah Mally is the woman who wrote Before You Meet Prince Charming.) Being single doesn't make your life less fulfilling even if you're fundie. Sarah Mally seemed happy enough as a single woman, and now she's getting married (May 2nd) and she still seems happy. Plenty of women aren't fulfilled even when they are married and have children and are fundies.

And now it's time for the Bontragers and their "Mighty Men Camp". This is a weekend of camping is for teenage boys men. It's not until May, but they're already advertising so you can register and pay in advance. Here's the official blurb: "Join us to be prepared for life, adversity, and manhood. At this training bootcamp, you will be stretched outside your comfort zone physically, spiritually, and mentally. You will discover what it means to truly be a man, in your disciplines, character, passions, pursuits, and conversation. The event will feature pushups, sit-ups, rigorous hikes, Bible studies, manly conversations, and practical challenges from God’s Word. You will leave emboldened and equipped with the courage and skills to battle the enemy by the power of Christ." Both Joshua Bontrager and the main Bontrager family blog are advertising this camp. The two men in charge of it 20-year-old Denver Bontrager and his brothers' brother-in-law Charlie Bowers (around 20 years old). The Bontragers aren't the only fundies with a man camp. Dwain Swanson, Lauren's father, also ran one at one point. It's not until May 14-17, but if you register before March 14, you get the early bird price of $167.

Jill's makeup looks normal to me with her sunglasses on. I have no idea what the "right" shade of lipstick is for anyone, but with her eyes covered, her face looks normal. (The pose is overly clinging.) Actually I'm not sure she's even wearing make-up, but it's probable. Still with the sunglasses, it's a completely different look to me.

Duggar family friend Kristen Nicole Young had her baby today. The baby is a boy and his name is Judah Miles. This is her third child. Her kids are all born in even years so her daughter Ava will be 2 in few months and the older son is around 3 or 4. Not sure if she's Quiverfull or not. It's possible she's Quiverfull given the company she keeps. She's very religious of course. She's also into things like essential oils, holistic living, etc. I think Sierra is also into essential oils.

That's an old photo of Josh and Anna from when he worked at the FCC. (Before Joshgates 1 and 2). Anna is also pregnant in the old photo.

Ben's sister? Danielle is probably relieved that she doesn't have to give her brother a free haircut and devote her time to paying customers.

So unhappiness is trained out of them! That explains a lot. Especially about the Pearls, who always seem happy despite their upbringing.

Someone on Tumblr figured out that Kelton and Post Malone are born on the exact same day (July 4, 1995).

On a other snark site, somone pointed out that Josiah proposed to Lauren right after the birth of her youngest brother Duke. Duke turned 2 a few days ago. Lauren's mother Lana was 42 at the time and now she's 44.

Sarah Mally's wedding is set for May 2nd. It's little more than four months after the engagement. She is currently 41/40 years and has been dating/courting the guy for several years.

I made a mistake they didn't say that, but they clearly implied it.

Actually I saw that video and JB and Michelle pointed out that Austin's friends who led into rebellion had negative consquences. Austin saw he had to go back to Jesus. JB and Michelle also made it clear (implied) Austin is their favorite son-in-law and that speaks volumes to me. Austin is just more likable than Derick. He's religious hardliner who probably hates the LGBTQ more than Derick. He and Joy seem more resistant to change and new experiences (like the food). Joy isn't qualified to homeschool a dog.

It's telling that yesterday was Gideon's second birthday. If things had worked out differently, he would be a big brother already. Gideon is a honeymoon baby so Joy and Austin will be married three years in May. They have been through so much. Joy had a difficult labor and then a c-section. Then she got pregnant again and had a loss. That's a lot to go through in such a small span of time, and Gideon's birthday reminds how short timespan it was.

Austin went to Israel for his honeymoon. They came home wearing One For Israel shirts. One For Israel is an organization that seeks to convert Jewish people. They had been volunteering with the organization on the honeymoon. Derick at least tried the local food when he was traveling. Austin said he and Joy tried to eat American foods as much as possible and that there should be a law requiring all countries to have American chain restaurants. (This was in segment where the couples discussed honeymoons while John David and Abbie were on their honeymoon.) I do think putting Israel in school could be a publicity stunt or they could change their minds about him going to school. But poor Gideon will probably be homeschooled by Joy. Austin is certainly more likable and better-looking, but he's easily the most conservative. He has shown through his words and actions that he is just like his in-laws and parents.

Derick is not the most conservative. Austin is the most conservative. Austin was raised fundie/IBLP and I'm still waiting for signs he has in any significant way moved away from his upbringing. Jeremy seems fine, but his church still seems extremely retrograde and sexist. Ben has interesting political views, and may be less conservative than Derick. It is a conservative notion that we need to save face and preserve decorum and make things look nice and not tell family secrets. There's a reason JB and Michelle like the idea so much! The Duggars have done bad things to their kids. From covering up the molestations to the sad state of their homeschooling to putting the kids on television, they deserve a comeuppance. The Duggars showed up on television and pretended to be perfect. They justified the show by saying it was ministry meaning they were hoping to "save" people and convert them to their way of life. Derick is not the person I would chose to write a tell-all, but maybe other members of the family will be inspired to write their stories.

Maybe she did learn something from Jessica and won't be pregnant immediately. Jessica lived with her man before she married and she married in May. As far as we know, she isn't pregnant yet, so evidently they found a way around it. Maybe young marriage won't be such a bad idea if they wait a little to have a kid.

No. Alyssa wants to have more kids so John can have a boy, but they're taking it slow for her health issues. It's surprising to me if JD is that guy. He seemed just as fundie as the rest of his family when he was younger. Like a lot of fundie boys (he was a teen), he was hung up on gender roles. Hopefully he's growing/evolving away from that. I agree it's a good sign they picked a normal church. I agree with this and I also add that whether she's temperamentally suited for nursing is a different issue.

He's good looking to me, although at my current age I'm too old for him. He's probably the same age as Michelle and both of them are probably too young to get married. His looks aren't the problem to me; it's their ages, that neither of them has had time to figure themselves and that they probably still navigating careers to support themselves and each other. Her older sisters both have good jobs/careers so Michelle could also be working.

He's cute in my eyes. If I was her age, he's exactly the type I'd be dating.

Michelle Seewald turned 18 earlier this month and she is engaged to her boyfriend Elijah Barger. They previously posted pictures with a lot of non-side hug touching, but otherwise I'm getting Ben and Jessa flashbacks. I guess Ben's parents learned nothing about marrying a kid off too young. Ben's sister Jessica became a cop and was 22 when she got married. Danielle is 20 and works as a hairdresser. I have no idea how old Elijah is, but he looks just as young as Michelle. Ben was 19 and 1/2 when he got married and Michelle will probably be younger when she gets married. (Michelle is Ben's sister, Jessa's sister-in-law and an aunt to Spurgeon, Henry and Ivy.) If you want to see the pictures Michelle Seewald post some announcing her engagement to her Instagram. Maybe someone can post the Instagram post here?

Did we know Jeremy has a podcast? He has a podcast with a man named Josh Buice. So far there are fifteen episodes. Episode 14 Jeremy interviews Mark MacArthur, son of John MacArthur. John MacArthur is the head of Jeremy's seminary and eighty years old. Mark is not a theologian (as far as I know). He is investment advisor and Jeremy talks to him about money. Since the podcast earlier this month, Mark MacArthur is under investigation by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). The SEC: "The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent federal government agency responsible for protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of the securities markets, and facilitating capital formation." He could be innocent, but it seems shady to me.