Wellfleet

From the photo, I would never guess Maisie had been a preemie. She looks like the Campbell's Soup Girl dolly I had as a toddler, and dragged everywhere. Most importantly, she looks very very happy to be there with her Momma. You guys are going to be, if you're not already, bestest friends. ⭐️ May the Force be with you! ⭐️

100% agree. The whole deal is whacked. If it was a flow chart it would look like a can of worms. And Derick, wake up! It's the absence of honest information that's making you look so bad. For God's sake, stop listening to your FIL, and your wife - and grow a pair...

Me as well.

Oh, wander! You poor kid, my heart aches for you. Honestly. Currently sticking virtual pins in my virtual 'Dudley Douchebag' doll. And I now have another for HW - and the pins for her are even longer and thicker. Bwahahahaha! If it was up to me, I would be taking steps immediately to ensure that this so-called dad would be permitted ONLY supervised visits with Maisie now that he has expressed blatant disregard for her special medical conditions. Ones which could threaten her life. Something tells me HW isn't exactly headed for the MOTY banquet either. Does she have any idea how likely it is that she too could very well be left behind? This prize guy of hers couldn't handle the challenges of ONE family. How in the world does she think Mr Wonderful is going to handle having her and ANOTHER kid in the mix? Not exactly the brightest porch light on the street, is she? Yep, I think I'll get knocked up even though I barely know this guy. Nope, I think D Douchebag has shown his true colors, sadly enough. Hey, ANYONE can handle life with plenty of $$ and no problems. That's a cake walk. But when some poop flies into the fan, a truly strong person of character rolls up his sleeves and gets to work, doing What's Right and as much as he possibly can... Thanks for letting me vent too. Weak, pathetic fathers tick me off big time. Probably because mine was Anything But - I so wish Maisie was going to have a father like I had. And hang in there, lovey... ❤️

This was exactly my impression too, the moment I saw Maisie's new photo. She is a spot-on copy of the Gerber baby! And I should know... we had a Gerber plant in my hometown when I was a kid. Complete with a water tower on site, featuring that cutie-faced Gerber baby. Very tall tower - you could see "the baby" from all over the city.

Derick just made his Instagram private. The "Public" aspect was shut down for one very simple reason. He's a weenie. He didn't want to see any more of what the vast majority of the "Public" was saying to and about him. It bothers him and standard fundie procedure - or at least standard Duggar procedure - is to bury one's head in the sand ASAP and pretend it's just not happening. If their mission is legitimate, all he needed to do was to provide the information the donors and leghumpers want. It's that simple. But he knows he has no way to do that.

I would agree - for the most part. Because of their upbringing, the girls are nearly entirely about Daddy, Jesus and Prince Charming. And probably in that order too. But despite their best efforts, I somehow doubt that Boob & Me-chelle were successful in irradicating every trace of original interest, impulse, feeling, whatever - from their daughters. It would definitely take a serious long-term separation from Ma & Pa and TTH, but I think there's still hope they could be de-programmed. Of course I could be wrong, but my gut feeling is that they're not ALL the way over the edge yet.

Sounds like a recycled post to me, like something she was asked just before Jill got married. Although I really have no idea. I never read their posts or visit their site other than when checking out links from this forum.

I'm sure it would be good for you at least. And Maisie might be able to start it after she turns one. But in your case, get the raw stuff if you can. Much more effective. There's a boatload of info on Earth Clinic, for nearly every topic in health. You might find some helpful info in the dealing with chemo side effects for example. Some really wonderful, affirming experiences & success stories.

Wander - Your post reminded me. With Winter coming and Maisie likely to be in contact with others a lot more, I'm hoping you find this useful. A single mom in AR - yep, Arkansas - sent this in to the Earth Clinic website. Honey water. She gives it to her little girl every AM in her sippy cup and she hasn't gotten sick at all, even though many others at her day care did. Cheap, easy, healthy, natural and EFFECTIVE. Certainly worth a try. Let me know if the link doesn't work for you and I'll PM you a copy of Dina's text. It's just a little thing but I hope it will be helpful to you. I was a teacher of tiny kids for 25 years and know how easily and how fast illness spreads among the little short folks. And one less problem is One - Less - Problem. Take care & have a great weekend... http://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/honey3.html#immunity_4819

I did - for a fair amount of time. And I consider myself a well-educated and a reasonably-suspicious person. I don't believe most of what I'm told by people I don't know. Everyone gets the side-eye-prove-it look from me at first. Yet it still took about two years of Duggarville before it started to dawn on me that something was off here. It was Boob's overwhelming need to be the Grand Poobah about everything - and his sense of entitlement about it actually irritated me. After that, every time I saw him I couldn't help but think of that old line of Foghorn Leghorn's in the Warner Brothers cartoons - "Dat boy just ain't never gonna be right..."

Quincy Seewald? Love it! Made me think of a VERY funny bit from Comedy Central's Key & Peele. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gODZzSOelss&list=PL83DDC2327BEB616D&index=133

I think you're probably right, churchhoney. Stealth missionaries. They have to disguise their reason for being there. Or THINK they do. Good grief - when are these fundies going to learn that their proselytizing is not welcome most places in the world? The poor unwashed masses - as the Duggars see them and whom they think they're saving - are just fine without them. Spiritually at least. Seriously, I wonder how the Duggars would react if they suddenly starting running into "tourists" on the streets of Springdale or Tonitown - from India, for example - who were always trying to talk to them about Hinduism, Brahma and Vishnu. Something tells me Boob would set a whole new standard for rude behavior. I could even see him becoming physical, although admittedly in a Boobish, weenie kind of way.

The TTH furniture in that big common room has always looked very mismatched to me. Like pieces that were either donated to them or that they picked up at flea markets, garage sales etc. No surprise - none of them seem to have a sense of style or even an interest in it. Although I have seen some of the older girls - Jana, Jinger, Joy - looking nice on occasion.

How could someone brand new to the Himalayas - the freaking HIMALAYAS - !!! - possibly lead treks there? Does this make any sense at all? Unless they were relatively short tours, in a small area, at low elevation - and Derick didn't start doing them until very close to the end of his assignment, I can't see it. And PS - if I spend a major chunk of change to see the Himalayas, I want an honest-to-goodness expert Sherpa guide. Not an accountant from Arkansas, thank you kindly. Nice buzz, Derick...

This has happened to me many times on this site. I've usually thought it was MY laptop. Check again in a few hours, sometimes things are back to normal. Sometimes not. Not a huge deal to me so I haven't bothered to report it.

So true - my taste alone has improved about 1000% since I was 20. I knew nothing at all back then, but thought I Knew It All. Wellfleet, thy name is Insufferable...

True enough. Ben has got to become a brighter bulb than he is now, if that's possible. Otherwise it certainly isn't going to happen for him as he's dreaming it will. But in most cases, I have to admit I'm still the kind of person who wants to see the credentials. I want proof that the individual thought enough of what he/she wanted to do to seriously study on it. Someone who thinks that masses of people SHOULD listen to him - and that's what all these tele-preachers think - should care about Getting It Right. Make a real commitment. Put in the time, effort - and money if need be - to get the degree. That sheepskin adds a layer of earned gravitas, IMO.

Great post - love this. The similarities between Ben and Osteen are interesting too. Neither has a bachelor's degree, neither has attended divinity school. And bonus - what did Osteen study when he did attend college for a time? Radio and television communications. Getting a double-yuck vibe here.

1000% agree. IMO, even if everything else the Duggars has ever said was proven to be true, it has been clear for 10 years that they are simply not going to work as hard as would be needed to keep a dairy farm afloat. Boob would be interested in doing it only for as long as it took to film it. And I really have my doubts about the piano teacher being willing to come and pitch in after she finds Boob crying his eyes out in the barn...

Marys - hope you have luck with your own gluten experiments. I discovered that it certainly DOES seem to affect my skin. Had serious acne as a teen/college kid. Have had rosacea for 20 years. Did the antibiotic thing for only about a year but quit that. Too uneasy about taking basically-toxic drugs on a daily basis. Plus the whole 'our dependency on antibiotics is helping to create superbugs" thing - too scary. Anyway, have seriously reduced my gluten intake for several months now, and almost immediately my skin began to clear, become smoother. Far fewer bumps, zits, nasties under the surface etc. Still very very pink cheeks but I've read that the longer you've had rosacea, the longer it takes for the redness to subside. So I could be looking at a year or more - gulp. But still much better than before. I still eat some gluten but very small amounts, never a lot in any one day. When I have too much, my skin tells me because there is a noticeable change for the worse the next day. No kidding - that fast. To some extent, I think sugar can affect the skin negatively as well. But I've never been big on sweets and bottom line, for me, there's a much bigger improvement when avoiding gluten. Wish I had known about this as a kid. I never asked to be beautiful and I'm not. I just wanted clear skin. Anyway, best of luck with yours.

Dear Wander - your post has flattened me. I feel so badly for you and little Miss. Two things & I'm forcing myself to be brief because I know you're going to get a zillion messages. 1 - Heartbroken for you. Read post through blinking blur of tears. Certainly never expected to hear this kind of news about your husband, whom I pictured as Dudley Do-Right last Winter when Maisie was still in hospital. Have to keep telling myself there ARE good guys out there. And IMO, these boys really need to get a LOT more press than they are. If for no other reason than maybe it will start to shame all the douchebags. So Maisie's dad is Dudley Douchebag going forward now - whaddaya think? 2 - Absolutely FLOORED by your strength. No kidding. You're the Kevlar Mom. You're bulletproof. You're that inflatable roly-poly clown that little kids hit & try to knock down in nursery school gym class, but that springs back everytime. The fact that you're still upright and facing forward is nothing short of a miracle. A miracle named Maisie. And you're right - you will survive. Two big, warm squishy hugs and cheek-to-cheek squeezes are beaming your way, plus some industrial-strength fairy dust for the job search. Along the best quote I could find for you right now: "When you're going through hell, keep going...." Courtesy of Winston Churchill, who knew a little about going through hell himself... ❤️❤️❤️

That is one terrific kid, Readalot. Give her a aqueeze and an "atta girl" from me, if you would. The world needs a whole lot more of her...

My own personal guess is that no, Derick was not nearly as isolated and sheltered as the Duggars. I think he went to "real" school, had friends other than his brother, participated in Boy Scouts etc. I agree that idealistic is fine too - probably even the norm for people his age. Hopefully anyway. But everything we hear and see from the past makes him sound so incredibly innocent, so naive. To start with, it sounds as though he married the very first girl he ever "went out with..." Maybe there were girls before, but I'm guessing we'd had heard something if there had been. Even if only as a way for him to say how wonderful it was to find his soulmate in Jill. I read the entire OSU oral history interview - major snore - and Derick comes off as Colonel Homespun Corn-Pone from start to finish. To actually believe that even accountants at the FBI would rate a firearm is extremely naive, IMO. I don't expect him to be a savvy street-smart punk in any way, but from what we've been "shown" about Derick via TLC and social media, it does seem reasonable to assume that he hasn't exactly experienced much of the real world and its many problems. Princess Diana realized how important it was for her boys to know BOTH billionaires with yachts - who can write checks to help fund charities - and the homeless people living under bridges who would need those charities. They needed to see how everyone lived, not just the people they'd mostly be associating with. But most fundies seem to do all they can to shield their kids from everything that's unpleasant or ugly in the world.
 And that's not how problems get solved.

I like Waste Management Palace!