Albanyguy

“Why don’t you and Nathan go back to Florida and leave the baby here with me! After all, you don’t know anything about babies and I’m an expert. I’ll send it back to you when I get tired of showing it off...I mean when you’ve had a good long rest!”

And when King Charles saw a portrait of himself, he said “Odds fish, I am a very ugly fellow!” I doubt if Cade is capable of that kind of self-reflection.

Nathan must know by now that a trip to visit the in-laws will end up costing him a small fortune, but he does it to make Nurie happy. We don't really know how Nurie is adjusting to life so far away from her precious Mama. You might think that she'd be ecstatic at slipping out from under Jill's clutches, being free to build a life of her own, and that she'd dread returning home for even a brief visit. But it's also possible that, having spent her life with every thought, word and action controlled by her mother, she finds her newfound freedom to be frightening and disorienting. She may long for the security of her old prison cell. Nathan does seem like a genuinely kind young man, more so than most young Fundie husbands. Perhaps he's hoping that, in time, he'll be able to gradually wean Nurie away from dependence on her awful mother.

At least she had enough sense not to post a gushing Father's Day tribute to Josh this year.

Yes, but being a DUGGAR means that you're Fundy royalty, one of the Lord's special favorites. It cannot be repeated enough.

I can easily see Jim Bob and, especially, Michelle being willing to throw one of the less favored "expendable" brothers under the bus. Probably not JD (the family pilot) or Jed! (who Jim Bob may try to run again for public office), but one of the other Howlers. Of course, the ideal solution would be to cast the blame on a non-family member, but that may not be feasible.

Especially since many of their "sweet friends" had to drive long distances to get there and were probably starving.

And when she gets home, she and Derick can re-enact the pottery scene from "Ghost"!

"But...but...but...I'm Jim Bob Duggar! The Lord ain't supposed to TAKE AWAY!"

I think that Derick is okay with it because he knows without a doubt that Jim Bob, Michelle and the rest of the family will see it and the sight of his kids reading secular children’s books and hearing Jill talk about taking them to the public library (and the knowledge that Israel goes to public school and that Sam likely will, too) will drive them crazy. I doubt that JB and Meech really have any emotional investment in Izzy and Sam, but it must really stick in JB’s craw that one branch of his tribe has successfully slipped out from beneath his control and that all the other kids can see it.

I think you nailed it, except I doubt if Shrek even pretends to protest.

Shouldn't they have made Fenna promise to have as many puppies as the Lord saw fit to send her?

I don’t think she’s quite reached the point of thinking ahead to “when Josh goes to prison”. I think she, Josh and Michelle are still clinging to the fantasy that Josh will be acquitted or, at the very worst, given a very mild slap on the wrist. Jim Bob may have a more realistic grasp of the situation but if so, he may be encouraging the others in their delusions because he’s too prideful to admit that for once Daddy can’t magically fix everything. I agree that by the time the baby arrives, Anna will have faced the facts and will be hellbent on getting knocked up before Josh goes away.

I'm sure that if there had been legal adoption proceedings, some one close to the ground in Arkansas would have found it out and let us know.

Gabby won “Female Video of the Year” last night. I hope she can enjoy her triumph this morning and that Cade can truly be happy for her.

Jill, if you like home so much, why don’t you stay there and stop dragging your poor kids around like a troupe of performing monkeys? I doubt if any of the sweet friends you impose on or the congregations you grift off will miss you very much.

I hate to say it, but this is especially true because she's a woman. The country music establishment is not only cliquish, it's extremely sexist.

If Gabby really did back out of appearing at the CMT Awards because Cade guilted her into it, her agent and manager must be furious. Not only would it have meant a national spotlight (one that they must have worked hard to get for her), but backing out at the last minute like this means she most likely won't be invited back again. If she isn't careful, she could easily get a reputation for being unreliable or difficult and she's not famous enough to overcome that yet.

I cannot believe that they have ever donated a penny to anyone, anywhere. To them being a "missionary" doesn't require giving money. It just means pestering total strangers to come to Jesus and "inspiring" the faithful through their singing and preaching.

But the leghumpers give them exactly what they want...lavish, unstinting praise.

In other words, a sales pitch for his business.

There may come a day when he doesn’t have much choice. The TLC gravy train is going to stop and depending on handouts from Jim Bob is risky. And what happens when Jim Bob dies? I seriously doubt that he’ll leave his estate divided equally among his kids. He’ll designate someone to be in charge of doling out the family trust and if it’s Michelle, she’ll award the lion’s share to her favorites (which I don’t think includes JD). There’s another gruesome possibility. Jim Bob is a relatively young man. Let’s say that Josh gets a ten year prison sentence. By the time he gets out, Jim Bob will likely still be around and, given their warped value system, I wouldn’t put it past JB and Michelle to leave their firstborn Crown Prince in charge of everything. And if Josh ever gets his hands on the purse strings, he’ll spend his days making his siblings suffer. The Duggar boys and their wives may be forced to go out and get real jobs in the outside world.

That could also apply to everyone in the family he married into.

I wonder if Jeremy and Cade ever commiserate over their mutual frustration at being "Mr. Jinger Duggar" and "Mr. Gabby Barrett".

I must have missed that one. What happened there?