CarolMK

I suspect it's probable that Ben got a better homeschool educational experience than Jenna did. He started in at the community college right when he turned 18, I believe and had to have passed their entrance requirements in order to do so. Jessa graduated from homeschool at about 16 or 17 and then was immediately put in charge of teaching the younger ones. Plus, there are only 7 children in Ben's family instead of 19..much more doable for his mom, especially if there were at the most 5 who were in school at the same time since some of his siblings look to be fairly young.

I believe when Priscilla was single and working, she was at Gothard headquarters in Chicago. That's one of the few places, if any, that single women are allowed to live and work in this belief system.

One thing I've heard quite a bit from MIchelle in watching reruns of previous seasons...how they're "praying" about adoption. The hell they are. Their leader Bill Gothard was always against adoption anyway and has not changed his position. If I were Jana, Joy Anna and Jinger, and Michelle was serious about adopting a baby how, I'd band together and run away in the middle of the night.

Funny you should mention that. We know that Anna was raised with Gothardism, but Derrick and Ben were not. It's interesting that Jim Bob did not seek men who were strict Gothard followers to be husbands for his daughters. Maybe in the 6 years since Josh and Anna were married, the Duggars have moved away a bit from Bill Gothard and his teachings even though it looks like they still embrace the lifestyle. They don't appear to be nearly as strict as some of the families associated with it such as the Pearls, however..I assume all of their kids had to marry somebody who was raised the exact same way they were.

I liked seeing the relationship Anna and Jana have now. It seemed that when Josh and Anna lived in Arkansas, Anna was actually closer to Amy than any of Josh's sisters. But yes, if Jana gets to go and visit Josh and Anna for a couple weeks here and there, it gets her away from her own overly controlling parents. She also doesn't have to be the mom when she visits Anna and Josh, their children clearly know who their parents are. I'm not sure that Jana's buddies are aware that they have real parents, Michelle seems to be a mom in name only.Jim Bob is a bit better, but overall I think Josh is a lot better with his kids than Jim Bob is with his.

Ben replied on his FB page this his major is political science. Isn't this what Josh wanted to major in originally? Although when Josh graduated from homeschool 10 years ago, the Duggars wouldn't have even considered College plus then. I think Josh must have set a goal for himself to find a nice girl and get married as well as run his own business, since that was a requirement for being allowed to marry Anna. I guess that John David is still running his towing business. Is there any official word on what Joseph and Josiah are doing (well, Josiah just finally got back from what was it, 6 months of Alert boot camp) ?

I happened to see on Ben's facebook page (the one where he refers to himself as a business person is the real one) and there was a reference on it from Ben's Aunt Joanna that Ben is still in college. He's taking online courses at the National Park community college and then plans to transfer after he has his 2 year degree, which should be around May of this year. I think he mentioned something about midterms. So maybe Jessa and Ben will be living somewhere else after their marriage, how far are they from a real college...are there any in their area within commuting distance? Anyway, glad to see that he is still attending and is planning to finish his education. What about that, Jim Bob? Or do you still think all of your kids don't need college?

I actually hope Jessa and Ben wind up in Grandma's house and that Ben gets to work at something more than being Jim Bob's assistant/slave. Even though I'm sure Grandma could live there if she wanted to, she doesn't seem to mind living with Jim Bob and MIchelle, even if it means doing mountains of laundry every day. I suspect Grandma realized long ago how crazy Michelle is and stepped in to help many years ago, way before Grampa died. I'm liking the dynamic of Jessa being somewhat bossy with Ben. I bet it's her way of thumbing her nose at her parents who believe that the man is the head of the household and she's supposed to be under his authority bullshit. Jessa is going to wear the pants in that family.

I was just thinking, the British/Israel trip was 3 years ago (in September) and the China/Japan one was 2 years ago? I never saw the China/Japan one but have it set up on my DVR to catch it this week. But since that time, we haven't seen the Duggars go on any big trips. Last fall, the big news then was Jessa courting Ben and then later on, Jill with Derrick. I guess with the older girls getting married and now having babies of their own, TLC won't be having the big trips for awhile. It must have cost a fortune to take the entire family, including grandma and cousin Amy to those countries.

I watched the European trip the other day since it's been about 3 years since they went. It was interesting to see Scotland, Ireland, England and Israel, that's for sure. But it's a shame how Jim Bob acted throughout the trip...first he questions a street performer about his faith (and looks taken aback when the man tells him he doesn't believe in God)...then trying to make the guards laugh over at the London Tower, I think it is? Ugh. Also, the entire family seemed to be poking fun at both the high tea and the country restaurant serving traditional English foods..they just seemed like a bunch of ignorant rednecks. In Israel, they ran into some fans..and I will say that Josh was very nice and polite to a Muslim women who recognized them, but Jim Bob just seemed dismissive and walked away. Lastly, Jill and Michelle ended up staying an extra 6 days in Israel since Josie got sick with a respiratory illness and since she was still on oxygen, it was not safe for her to fly. I believe that the pediatrician from the hospital actually accompanied them home, in fact. Josie wasn't even 2 years old when they made this trip. Of course, for the first year of her being home from the hospital, Michelle went on and on about how no one was allowed to come near Josie, she was so fragile and delicate and had prematurely developed lungs...but just a couple months later, she's well enough to go on a 20 day tour around the world, in 4 countries and dragged through some places that didn't look particularly clean (the Jordan River was polluted and had rats swimming in it, and the market in Israel looked to be in a run down neighborhood...also, London was very crowded with all sorts of people, sick and healthy I'm sure..and the farm in Ireland had many animals they kids were all touching, too. It made no sense to bring Josie on that trip.

What gets on my nerves about the Duggars is how much they got sucked into this lifestyle and took everything they learned as gospel for the perfect lifestyle. Gothard himself..they sent all of their older children to the ALERT and Journey of the Heart camps. Later Gothard is outed for molesting girls and they ignore this, continuing to send their kids there (hasn't Josiah been on some extended trip related to this?) Following Michael and Debbi Pearl's books on how to discipline/beat children into submission, and blanket training. There has been at least 2 deaths from parents using these methods on their children but the Duggars didn't seem to question them either, it may be that the blanket training/corporal punishment simply eased away due to the constant filming of the TV show over the last 10 years. Also, their friendships with people like the Jeubs, who have been outed as hypocrites from their 4 oldest children, all of whom were kicked out of the home. And the Jeubs make a living selling books about how wonderful they are as parents and how much they love children. More often than not, stories are coming out about how abusive this lifestyle is for the minor children, being denied education, freedom, and the ability to live as children the way the rest of America does.

The Jeub story keeps getting worse every day. In Cynthia Jeub's latest update posted today, she tells about how Michael and Debi Pearl visited their family and that their parents worshipped them. Apparently the physical abuse after that became horrific after that visit. Chris Jeub, her father, actually had the nerve to put out a podcast from him and his oldest 4 children still at home (ranging in age from 14 to 18), that what their parents did wasn't abusive, it was just "normal". Ugh..all 4 of them go on for about a half hour of how yes, they admit they were disciplined, etc. but don't believe that there were in fact abused. Even when Wendy punched her oldest son so hard, he needed makeup to cover it for the filming of their Kids by the Dozen show. The next younger son admits that his mother threw silverware at him when he didn't do the dishes. But it was okay with him because she apologized. And Chris admitted the whole family needs counseling. They want Cynthia to go to counseling with them. Not by herself, with them. His podcast was deleted but is now posted on Cynthia Jeub's blog under her post of today. It was very hard to listen to, knowing that he put his kids up to this.

I liked the segment with Josh and Anna much better than the triple date with Jim Bob and MIchelle. Anna is way more likeable than Michelle at this point..Michelle is making me cringe more and more every time she opens her mouth. The handcuff thing was just stupid. Not entertaining. I notice that Anna didn't have to go through this kind of hazing when she and Josh got married. Knowing Jana and John David the way we do, I can't see the two of them participating in these ridiculous courtship rituals for the sake of the show. I can understand why both of them are still single The longer they stay single, it might start to piss off Jim Bob- he'll be seen as a failure that he wasn't able to provide spouses for his adult children among his admirers.

Hopefully Jana wasn't doing much chaperoning on last night's episode, maybe she got to relax for an hour or so with her smart phone while Ben and Jessa played with the 5 youngest kids. Have to wonder why Jackson, at 10, is always included with the little girls in all of these outings and yet no other Duggar boy is. I can see Ben and Jessa maybe having 5 kids total , but not more than that and hopefully more spread out. It looks like Ben's parents were 19 and 20 when they married and ended up with only 7 kids..I'm sure they never used birth control either.

I've been reading Cynthia Jeub's blog (it's under her name, just google it to find it). Apparently both she and her sister Lydia were thrown out of the house last year. Also, she has made 3 recent statements about how she and her siblings all suffered physical abuse from both of her parents, and it has been going on for many years now. She's in therapy now. Some of her family is now commenting on her blog, including her older sister Alicia who is now about 30, the one sister Alissa, who is married to a Muslim and is living in Australia, has not commented just yet. It's incredibly sad to read, especially since Chris and Wendy Jeub claim to be such wonderful parent and publish parenting books such as "Love in the House". I only saw the Jeubs on that Kids by the Dozen show though I understand that they did make another tv special. The kids were all homeschooled and I think they're conservative Baptist but not sure if they follow Gothard or not.

Jessa and Ben could have a huge Carvel ice cream cake for their wedding. I've never heard of doing this as a wedding cake but I have to say that their cakes are really good. I wish we knew more wedding details but I'm sure TLC and People are keeping a tight clamp on things until they're ready to tell .

Some people might be familiar with the Jeub family..Chris and Wendy Jeub have 16 children and are friends with the Duggars. Their two oldest girls are out on their own and have been for several years, the oldest one was in fact made to leave since she was showing signs of rebellion (according to her parents) at age 19. Now their second two daughter, Cynthia and Lydia, and living away from home in their own apartment and seem to be experiencing a similar shunning, they are 22 and 20. Both Cynthia and Lydia are on Twitter. The Jeub family was featured on Kids by the Dozen a few years ago. Though not as intense as the Duggars in terms of the way they raise their children, apparently it's been difficult for the oldest 4 daughters. There is a thread about it on Free Jinger if anybody cares to look it up under the Jeub daughters.

Most people would think if a person has 19 cats or dogs, that they're a little weird..maybe a lot, actually. I think where I live you wouldn't be allowed to have that many dogs on your property unless you had the proper acreage. Being in the suburbs, also, noise would be a problem. Heck, I have a neighbor with 2 noisy dogs who he leaves out for hours at a time and people have complained..so it has gotten better. But having 19 kids is supposedly to be perfectly okay, because after all, they're the Duggars and can do no wrong. Although at least they seem to have a decent amount of space now. I don't at all agree about all the siblings sharing a bedroom and find that to be very strange. Even the Bates family doesn't do that. Back when they had 15 kids in that 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, I can see why Michelle had a nervous breakdown and I'm surprised if it didn't happen again somewhere along the way.

I wonder if after the wedding that Ben and Jessa decide to move down to Hot Springs and have Ben go to work with his dad in the windshield business. Jim Bob wouldn't like it but he couldn't do anything about it once Jessa's married. Looks like the upcoming episode is going to be about Ben and Jessa taking out the little kids to play at a kid's place, hopefully this time Jim Bob and Michelle won't be tagging along as chaperones.

After watching Jana being interviewed on tonight's show, I really think she's not in a hurry to settle down and get married. It might be hard on her with Jill leaving, but it probably won't make much of a difference when Jessa goes since she doesn't appear to work that hard around the house. Also, the younger ones are growing up and need less care. It seems that Jim Bob is actually more desperate to marry off John David, but he, too doesn't seem all that interested in marrying right now. Maybe the both of them will wait until the show is off the air, even if it's a good 5-6 years from now.

One of the episodes tonight, the one where the girls go shoe shopping, they mention that they still go to thrift shops for used shoes..ugh, really, Jim Bob? Seriously, the family must be millonaires at this point, all the years on tv, the real estate investments, cell phone tower, paid speaking engagements, 2 books, etc etc. Used shoes for those kids are just totally wrong when they can easily afford new ones for everybody.

I don't like the bridesmaids shoes much at all. Tacky. And heaven's sake, Jill, bare feet? Why not ballet slippers? My sister wore them in 1982 so she woulldn't tower over her husband. Where were Jeremiah and Jedidiah during the carpet laying ordeal? and is Josiah still at Alert camp?

Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like for the Duggars if Jim Bob had not gotten lucky in real estate and the reality show never came along. He might have had to work 50-60 hours a week to support his family, and put his sons all to work for him as soon as they graduated homeshool in order to help provide for their family. Also, I suspect there would have not been 19 children if Jim Bob had had to work those kinds of hours all his life...he might have been too tired to get Michelle pregnant every 16-17 months for years on end. And they also might have been stuck in that 3 bedroom,2 bath house even today. But Jim Bob being home with the family 24/7, it seems unusual to Jill for her husband to work a typical 8 hour day.

I saw this episode as a rerun the other day. This is the show where Ben and his mom go with the Duggars to Erin's wedding. On the way down, I remember Jim Bob asking Ben if he is lovesick..I guess meaning is he in love with Jessa, and Jessa answered in a very snarky way to her dad "Do you even know what that means?" , all while they're on the bus. I could see Jessa was super annoyed with the question and also that Ben's mom was thrilled to be on the show with Ben. I guess the Seewald's also had to pass Jim Bob's test, maybe even more so than Ben did.

I actually think that Jim Bob was on the lookout for some fundie guy to become interested in one of his daughters, hence the fact that he pretty much arranged this relationship between Jill and Derrick. Hopefully it was Jill who came to him to speak of her desire to be married and to have Jim Bob find a nice guy for her than Jim Bob doing it for ratings and to save his show from cancellation. Jim Bob knew when Ben came on the scene that it would be awhile before Ben and Jessa would be ready to marry, even if Jessa might have willingly done it as soon as she was granted permission. At one point in the show, Jim Bob actually said that he thought John David should be getting married so I'm sure it's been on his mind quite a bit with his kids.