satrunrose

I would love to be a fly on the wall for conversations between Nurie and Kaylee. Do they passive-aggressively point out evidence that Mahmo likes them best, or is it more of "Look, I did the Christmas tree farm, you'd better be taking her to the Nice Olive Garden so she gets off our backs about it"?

Man, I am so torn on this one. One the one hand, Amy does have a point that Dax's haircut is really nobody's business, especially since there is just so much that you can criticize about Amy the parenting expert (ugh) and the way she's spoiling her son rotten. But here's the huge other hand: Amy has been chasing celebrity (both reality tv and social media celebrity) for over a decade. She is cousins with teens and young adults who were born on camera. Heck, she was the one defending her choice to have Dax's sm open to his 9,000 nearest and dearest and now she's all shocked pikachu that there are people who don't like her kid's hair and say it. I'll echo what others have said, if you don't like it, get the poor little knife-thrower off the internet. Oh, but no, can't do that, what else would Amy have to get performatively irate over now FF is in jail?

Honestly, this is the one Duggar family where I want to put my fingers in my ears and go "La la la not listening!" if someone finds out something abhorrent about their beliefs. The family seems so happy and sweet. I really want them not to have asshole values. PS. Yes, I know the chances are slim but I just need one decent Duggar, just one!

There is a teeny tiny part of me who, despite living nowhere near the Rods, would kind of love to infiltrate a Jillstravaganza. I'd have anecdotes for years. Caveat: I would have to put on my best fake fundie, though. Having Rods harangue me for an hour about Jeesauce would be hell enough.

Uhhh, Amy, couldn't you, you know just... get him less stuff? This Is one of the last years before he's old enough to go full on Dudley Dursley "Last year you got me 40 presents and this year you only got me 35!" They should be course correcting before he gets completely insufferable, not amping it up to a month-long gift-a-palooza. The kid's homeschooled and the Dillard kids don't seem to have gifts-to-the-ceiling Christmas, so it's not like he's going to feel hard done by in comparison to his friends and classmates.

I picture "Jim" and "Shelly" as JB and Michelle's non-evil mainstream twins.

I'm sure Tim and the sluttish frontal hugs came into it, but Saint Nurie and the Sunshine Band (ahem, girl) held hands on Mahmo driven engagement photoshoots, so they're not living up to DBD's purity standards either. PS. Tim and the Sluttish Frontal Hugs would make the weirdest Fundie picture book title.

I doubt they will be. The grandmothers don't seem to step up at all after the babies are delivered, their married sisters and sisters-in-law (mostly) have the same demands on their time and energy (and the ones who don't are probably considered dubious influences by the true believer crew), Jana can't take care of everyone's kids and neither can the lost girls. They have few friends and the ones they do have are far away (Carlin) plus I've noticed that because the fundie women are so reliant on grifting to support their lifestyles, they seem to burn through what friends they have at a pretty fast rate. I'm so caught. I recognize it's sad that they don't have the kind of community support their mothers had, but you also don't have to raise and homeschool eleventy million kids just because some sicko loon with a foot fetish said you had to.

Is it the angle, or does that staircase look a little cockeyed?

The fundie girls inability to handle traditional female responsibilities always boggles my brain, so thank you for pointing out that they only had to do one thing (at high volumes) as kids, not all the things. I was absolutely not raised to be a SHM and my mom cooked with loathing (she hated cooking, but she loved us), but I left the house (and went to college and have a career) knowing how to cook, clean and do laundry. If my parents could do that around 2 full-time careers, what the heck is the Fundie matriarchs' problem? Also, re Hello Fresh, I find it's good if you have solid basic cooking skills and want to step up your game a teeny bit. I'm not a bad cook, but I find the timing in the instructions isn't quite right and one step always takes a lot longer than advertised which throws everything else off.

I can't bring myself to be too optimistic about Timbits (he'll always be Timbits to me), because I've been burned before and I can't forget his "Ugh! Women talk to me. Why can't they be dogly and modest like my sisters?" posts. Still, I can't help noticing that he does look a lot more relaxed and happy than he ever has in these pics with Heidi and fam.

Honestly, I know they're all adults and they made their beds etc. (plus I share your limited sympathy for fanatics), but I feel badly for most of gen 2. The only way for them to get away from - your family completely controlling your life - doing all the work so Ma and Pa can swan around "winning souls" or whatever they tell people their doing - no friends or social life outside of your siblings (who are encouraged to snitch on you) - Accountability partners - No individual attention (oooh don't forget that 15 min appointment once every two weeks!) - Thrilling conversations around favourite Bible verses and why sinners and liberals suck. - No real identity outside of the labour you provide to the family (see Jessa, the one who packs). Is to find a fellow fundie who is mildly tolerable, make a big show of being "best friends" and smooching in pics and get married before you've ever had a chance to figure out who you are and what you want. Is tragic...I mean not as tragic as how some of them, Jessa are recreating that for another generation but yeah, it's still sad.

Sorry, wasn't clear, I meant JRod using SM to grift and shill Plexus, not being directly monetized. How much are you making on a video at Jessa's rate? Seems like would be, at best, "fix the fence" money not "provide for 7 people".

I sort of feel sorry for him too, but then I remember that it takes two to make a new blessing. I think if JB isn't paying for a lot, then he must be. I don't think Jessa is on social media enough to be covertly (or overtly) supporting the family (see the Stew Crew and Jill Rod).

Glad to see Mr One and Only looking so delighted to celebrate the big anniversary. This is what I don't get about SM photography. You can edit, you can try a different angle that doesn't show faces, you can say "Jeez, my darling headship, could you try not looking like you're pondering a really deep sermon at a funeral?" Why publish shots that make it look like Ben would rather be scaring his kids about Hell than be at breakfast with his wife?

Doin' it amoeba style!

It's interesting to see the grift tour evolving. Being Grandma (or nana, or mimi) of the Year doesn't seem to have nearly the same draw on the lecture/singing circuit. Also interestingly, aside from some awkward "Been married four months and telling everyone else how it's done" speeches, none of the younger generation seems to have taken up the "family band" grifting circuit. I guess you could argue that they're doing the modern equivalent through SM, but with all the influencing it seems a little more worldly and less JEEESAUS!!!! than their mothers were.

Not the best choice of photo there, Pointy Jill. If you look quickly, Renee looks like she's wearing a very low-cut strapless dress. Oops!

The Napiers have done some short term places, but I think their original goal to revitalize the town pushes them more towards building the population base. I also feel like their houses aren't quite as cookie cutter as Good Bones has become (the tiny living room, small but fancy kitchen, as many beds and baths as you can stuff in). They also learn more towards respecting the historical detail, although I've noticed this shifting as they've started to do more 70s-80s ranchers that never had charm to begin with. In other words, I really like the Napiers and I hope they don't go down the Good Bones or Windy City Rehab implosion route.

Do you think Jill is trying to get Plexus sales into the Church grift via Renee? Like, Jill knows that even her marks will say no to adding Plexus in with the cd, book and donation box, but a Godly young woman earning money to do Godly things might get a foot in the door? Otherwise, I really can't see what Renee is going to bring to the table. Her friends are all Jill's friends and I doubt they'll buy from Renee if they aren't already buying from Jill.

It's such a good thing that Jill makes sure to let us know weekly how much she adores Dave, otherwise such immodest behaviour would set tongues a wagging!

Can they though? I would imagine a lot of those Clearing House donations were inspired by the churches they visit feeling the need to send some regular money for the waifs... er... to support the Rods in their Godly mission, I mean. If they stop the in-person visits, I can't imagine "we print the same six pamphlets and send them to churches by the thousands" is going to jump out at people who are looking to donate (and Jill's SM doesn't send the message of someone who is reliant on Christian Charity much anymore).

I actually do believe that andKaylee is her sunshine girl now. Aside from the Nemo birthday pics and the odd "vacation" to visit the hospital's coffee maker, the Nurthans have been MIA and poor (lucky?) little Newmie is almost non-existent. I figure two babies in, Nurie is finally too busy to devote herself to Mamma's ego. In contrast, Kaylee has been doing it all: caring for ailing grandparents so Jilldo can get credit, offering up her premie for hundreds of photo ops, sticking with the family band a hot minute after giving birth, not doing whatever horrible heathen thing Jilldo's convinced non-fundy moms do to their babies in the NICU. Not to mention, that Jon's always right there with the wallet to give poor Mahmo the treat she deserves.

You're right, I just hope for the Lost Girls that they don't get stuck in the weird romantic-arranged hybrid where they end up being Madly In Love With The One GoD Chose Just For Me!!!!!!! after a few rounds of group chats and supervised phone calls.

I think Jana, as always, is a bit of a question mark. Does she get actual income from the properties in her name? When JB and Michelle are gone (assuming she's still single) is she expected to move in with JD or Josh (if he's out of prison)? Does she move between her siblings every few months like the maiden aunt in a victorian novel? Worst case scenario, she gets 1/19th and the more time that passes, the clearer it is that that isn't likely to be set for life money, even for a single person if they have living expenses.