CarolMK

I remember reading somewhere, can't remember now, but apparently after Brenda had her 11th child, she suffered a ruptured uterus during delivery. She did in fact get pregnant for the last time about 3 months later and had a successful 12th pregnancy, but got her tubes tied afterward.

The friends are very annoying, imo. But I think part of the reason that they're there is that Ben is still a minor. and they probably can't get consent from all the parents of his real friends at high school to film them. Actually, they probably aren't able to film at the school at all, so they have to go to the friend's apartment. And there seems to be some artsy vibe with the friends that's off, too. My son is a college student, lives with his girlfriend and 2 roommates in a small house near campus and they don't have this level of drama going on. Or if they do, I don't know anything about it. Also, Carly wasn't in this episode very much. If the focus is to be about Ben and Carly, start showing her more and tone down the friends.

After watching the season finale, I wonder, is Carl going to be off the show for awhile? I hope he's not gone for good!

One thing to also remember for those new to the show, Kelly did say early on that their children would respect the rules of their house while still living there, but when they moved out and married that some will choose to do things differently. We've seen this in that Zach is letting baby Bradley have Winnie the Pooh decorations/stuffed animals in his house, and Alyssa has been seen wearing jeans (not on the show, but on her instagram account). Zach and Whitney didn't wait until marriage to kiss but the Bates didn't seem to make a huge big deal out of it, either. I'm sure we'll see some more difference as time goes on. One thing I thought was refreshing too, was seeing Gil's 50th birthday party with some of the men he'd gone to college with attending. We never saw any of that when the Duggars had their show, the kids always had to do exactly what their parents believed (side hugs, ad nausem) and they were not allowed to have any independent thoughts of their own.

Is Josh in a similar situation as Bill Cosby? As far as I know, all of Cosby's tv shows have been pulled off the air even though he too has not been arrested or convicted of a crime. Then again, Cosby is much older and has plenty of money to live on the rest of his life..not the case with Josh. On a similar not, I remember when the whole Monica Lewinsky affair happened with Clinton and she couldn't escape the public eye for years, finally moving to London for a long time. It's been 20 years now so a lot of younger people might not have ever heard of her. But Josh Duggar will always have his name/brand associated with the tv show. And in 20 years, Jim Bob and Michelle will be nearly 70, hopefully nobody will be paying them to trot around the country to speak out about their beliefs. Gothardism might well be on its way out by then anyway...we can only hope. I haven't seen one positive story about the long term effects of raising children in this faith/cult.

I really hate to say this, but I don't see how their marriage can survive something like this. No matter how Anna was raised, the stress level has to be catastrophic for Anna. I know that in their world, divorce is practically non-existent, but I can't see that she's able to trust him anymore. How can you be married to somebody that you don't trust, especially given the nature of his background? There must be a few people that the Duggars know who are divorced who share their values.

I loved seeing Kelly with her grandson. She sure loves that little guy, you can see every time she holds him, she's smiling from ear to ear. I know it's a reality show, but that love is real. The I Love You day was cute, but it would be way to much work for me....we prefer Christmas to celebrate with presents. It's a little tough getting the know the younger kids but I think I'm getting a better idea of who they all are.

So, does anyone want to venture a guess about what's next for these two? Will Michelle try to do a radio show like Dr. Laura where she's preaching, teaching and nagging? (Laura's tagline) Will Jim Bob try to start an online ministry? Nothing would surprise me anymore, but I think however they can, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar are determined to stay in the spotlight. They're probably writing their third book about this past experience right about now.

I just caught this episode the other day, having missed it the first time. I thought it was pretty funny, first of all, because my husband has an old car he's attached to that our son drives now...a 1993 Toyota Corolla that seems destined to last forever, too. Then when Mike started driving Peggy's car and the Oak Ridge boys song came out, I was laughing so hard I nearly fell out of my chair, especially when Samuel and Carl joined in.

I thought that Anna was due sometime in early July. I'm actually wondering where she'll have the baby...are they still in DC til the end of July or have they moved and we just don't know of their whereabouts at the moment? Somewhere, I read that they were renting their house until the end of July. TLC will probably not be filming the birth, but who knows what TLC is thinking now.

I'm wondering if the "counseling" that Michelle stated her girls received was the stupid Journey to the Heart sessions. Are they essentially brainwashing camps for teen and young adult women? That's what I've assumed in what I've read about them. This literally makes me ill.

Thanks for the recap, I couldn't bring myself to watch it. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are delusional and it's frightening to hear that they thought that this was no big deal. By the way, when I went to Twitter, it looks like supposedly Jana, Joy and Joseph all have Twitter accounts. They were listed as "official". Could it be true that they actually have Twitter accounts?

I'm actually kind of worried about Jessa, honestly. All of this crap comes out and she's about halfway through her pregnancy...the stress level must be enormous. I swear, I wish it were possible for Jessa and Ben to sue her parents for not protecting her as a minor...and Jim Bob and Michelle would have to give up a portion of their fortune to all of their daughters affected by the tragedy. Then she and Ben can go live elsewhere, how they want to on their own terms, not the terms her parents decided for her. One area I was most very impressed with Jessa was how well she ran that "flea market sale" or whatever they called it, the first time we briefly saw Ben on the show. She seems very organized and has a decent head on her shoulders, if only she'd have been allowed to be educated the way most women her age have been, she'd have so much more freedom to make decisions. That said, I really hope she can pursue higher education at some point, as well as Ben also will hopefully attain a bachelor's degree. The more they can be free of the Duggars, the better. I'm a lot more worried about the two of them being dependent on the Duggars than Jill and Derrick, since Derrick has had the Walmart job for awhile now.

I'm amazed that this interview is going to be televised. I'm utterly disgusted and won't be watching, but I will read here for the recaps. I can't believe the Duggar parents are actually getting paid for this. Even if the interview "goes well" for the Duggars, so to speak, does anyone think that the show will return? I just can't see that happening, unless they do a couple of specials like Jessa having her baby, maybe a future wedding.

I really think that Jim Bob and Michelle are worth more than 3.5 million. Between all the real estate, income from the show, book sales and paid appearance/speaking arrangements, I have a feeling it's closer to a net worth of 10 million. They're set for life even if they never work a day again. I wish it were possible for the ones 18 and older to sue their parents for a portion of the income from the tv show and leave home on their own terms. It probably won't ever happen though.

In defense of Jessa and her sisters, if they're not very good at cleaning and cooking, I have to say that I blame Michelle for this. From what we've seen all the way back to the very first special, the older girls were the ones primarily cooking the meals and taking care of the little kids. Michelle grew up the youngest in her family and most of us assume she was probably pretty spoiled and didn't have to do much to contribute to household chores. And over the last 10 years, there has been so much emphasis on the tv show, and allowing time for filming, things like cleaning, along with homeschooling, gets put on the back burner. I keep going back to what "Alice" posted on that thread , and she started out by saying that Michelle had not cooked a meal, cleaned her house, or bathed a child in years, that it was all left up to the older children. I really do believe that.

Oops, I meant Kayleigh's law, not Meghan's law for New Jersey. Kayleigh's law refers to the underaged driver needing a red sticker on the license plate of the vehicle, anyone under 18 who is a newly licensed driver and those with driver's permits must display the sticker. It has nothing to do with sex offenders. As far as I know we are the only state that has to do this, and it's been in effect for the last 5 years. I wish I knew how to post the link for it.

Lovely picture of Maisie, what a beautiful baby she is! I'm glad to see that so many of us are blood donors as well as organ donors. My sister, who is a middle school science teacher, feels so strongly about organ donation that she wants to donate her body to science as well when she passes away...although here in NJ, that might not be so easy to accomplish. We have some weird laws in this state, such as not being allowed to donate bodies to science. Also, my state is the only one that requires newly licensed drivers and permit drivers to attach a red sticker to the license plate. It's a safety precaution, I'm aware, but everyone I know who has daughters doesn't use them. It's advertising to the whole world, "yes, I am 18 years old and younger and I am alone". I do like the idea that we have the graduated licensed driver's laws here, but not Meghan's law. One of my friends freaked out when her daughter was followed coming home from her job at Burger King that her husband took the stickers off the minute she came home.

One thing that I really appreciate about Kelly and Gil Bates is that they don't feel the need to kiss all the time the way that the Duggars do. That was so annoying to watch. In fact, I don't believe I've ever heard Gil make the same sort of stupid jokes that Jim Bob has made in regards to "trying" for more. The Duggars have always preached about modesty but don't seem to conduct it at all whereas the Bates are modest by choice and much more discreet.

Is anybody here a blood donor? I'm working on my third gallon pin now. Since I'm O +, the American Red cross reminds me on a regular basis to donate and I try to schedule my donations about 4 times a year. Lately I've noticed that the American Red Cross will tell me a couple of weeks later where my latest donation has traveled to. I'm in NJ, and the most recent one was to Columbia, MD, as well as Philadelphia, Newark, NJ and NYC. I was wondering if there was a limit on how far it can travel in order to be used for a patient. They always say it can help up to 4 people at a time. I starting donating 30 years ago my senior year of high school, took several years off when I was pregnant and my kids were little, and started up again about 7 years ago. .One donation I'll never forget was for my 26 year old niece, who was born 6 weeks premature and needed 2 transfusions.I had to go over to Philadelphia in a snowstorm to get to the hospital (using public transportation ) and these were the days when weather people couldn't easily predict that 3-6 expected inches could turn into a two feet storm. Thank goodness for modern tecnhology.

If Jill and Jessa get a spin off show, maybe there's a possiblity that Josiah and Marjorie could be a part of it. Though I don't see how they could keep Jim Bob and Michelle off of a wedding episode.

I have a feeling that even if John David was allowed to use social media, he wouldn't bother with it. He seems very private in general and only does interviews for the show when he's kind of forced into it, imo. I also really have to wonder if there is any truth to the rumor that he is living in his own house instead of living with the Duggar family. To be honest, if that were the rumor that proved to be true rather than the other one, I don't think it would have hurt the Duggars at all. Jim Bob would just give some sanctimonious speech about how they decided to "let" John David live on his own because of his multiple jobs, etc. Not to mention that even the average viewer of this show has to think it's more than a bit weird for a 25 year old man to share a bedroom with all of his siblings down to the 10 year old boy.

Other than Mike Huckabee and Michael Seewald, has anyone else come out in support of the Duggars and made a public statement yet? These are the only two that I am aware of.

I don't believe that this is the same Courtney. The one who wrote that piece lives in Chicago. Sorry but I think it's just a coincidence.

Well, I think it's safe to say that the show is going to be officially done soon. If there aren't any sponsors, how can TLC continue? I'm sure the Duggar family was earning a decent salary from being on the air for 10 years. Without advertising, the show can't exist anymore.