Gary: The original Belden Lineman

[Maharincess]

On 8/14/2018 at 7:05 PM, guilfoyleatpp said:

Holy shit, exchange students?  Could Gary get ANY MORE AWESOME?

He's such a good guy. I'm glad that TM* has been a windfall for him. In some cases. Maybe not in the case of Jesse...that's just sad. He's made a life that works for him though. The extra money is nice.

 

*TM = Teen Mom :)

Who is Jesse? 

[ginger90]

6 hours ago, Maharincess said:

Who is Jesse? 

I think it was supposed to be Jody? That’s who Gary’s mother said was Gary’s father, but test results proved otherwise.

If my memory is correct!

[guilfoyleatpp]

I did mean Jody! Sorry, I have 90 Day Fiance on the brain!

Edited August 16, 2018 by guilfoyleatpp

[geauxaway]

This is awesome!  I honestly believe Gary is genuine and does want to give back.  I’m guessing some of that is rooted in the fact that he grew up poor and in a somewhat chaotic house (see Being Gary for a taste of Crazy Carol).  This may be something he would have wanted as a high school kid, but his parents couldn’t afford or support.  So now he is making a dream come true for his own family because he has the resources to do so!   You go, Gary!

[druzy]

❤️???

[MyPeopleAreNordic]

I bet Gary & Kristina are going to be amazing exchange "parents." How cool would it be to have Gary and Kristina as your host parents and the girls as your little "sisters"? It would be so awesome! You know they will keep them safe but not be overbearing, and that they will just be pleasant in general. You know their house will be fun without being dangerous. Plus, you also get to play with the Shirley's spite chickens' little chicks and eat Gary's homemade cookies. I may even be jealous of these students. Can Gary & Kristina be my exchange parents for a week or two in some kind of bayou to cornfields Louisiana to Ohio exchange program? LOL. 

[ghoulina]

You know, this really says a lot about the choices Gary has made and the kind of like he and Christina have. Not just anyone can host an exchange student. I'm sure they have to go through all sorts of checks beforehand. How many people from the TM franchise would be able to pass those? I know Amber and Jenelle certainly wouldn't. Adumb and Rhine? Oh hell no.  It really speaks to Gary making a conscious effort not to go down the same path that a lot of his co-stars did. 

[geauxaway]

1 hour ago, ghoulina said:

You know, this really says a lot about the choices Gary has made and the kind of like he and Christina have. Not just anyone can host an exchange student. I'm sure they have to go through all sorts of checks beforehand. How many people from the TM franchise would be able to pass those? I know Amber and Jenelle certainly wouldn't. Adumb and Rhine? Oh hell no.  It really speaks to Gary making a conscious effort not to go down the same path that a lot of his co-stars did. 

I was thinking the exact same thing!  It shows that Gary and Kristina are most likely very respected and involved members of their community and the school district.  

Edited August 17, 2018 by geauxaway

[druzy]

[LBS]

How does Gary remain so pure? Team Gary all day!

[Calm81]

On 7/23/2018 at 8:21 PM, druzy said:

This is getting creepy. Not only does she have most of my daughters clothing but her exact backpack - except my daughters has an “A” ?

[kokapetl]

No one who appears on such bottom of the barrel reality tv should be hosting exchange students. Aren’t the host families supposed to have age appropriate “siblings”? 

Not that I’m suggesting big fat Gary of anything improper, but they seem to let anyone host an exchange student.

State Dept: Fifty teens allegedly sexually abused or harassed by host parent last year (2012)

Edited August 22, 2018 by kokapetl

[MyPeopleAreNordic]

On 8/18/2018 at 8:20 PM, Calm81 said:

This is getting creepy. Not only does she have most of my daughters clothing but her exact backpack - except my daughters has an “A” ?

You, your daughter, Kristina, and Emilee all have cute taste! Ya'll also choose things that are age appropriate & fun for a little girl (looking at you, Farrah) and are moderately priced (looking at you & your boutique school outfits for Leah, Amber). 

Edited August 23, 2018 by MyPeopleAreNordic

[ginger90]

[druzy]

[CaliforniaLove]

They're cute...and "normal". I put that in quotes because there's really no such thing, but regardless of your family dynamic, "dinners out" "playing outside",  etc, is just refreshing, and they're never doing the "hey! We're enoying dinner at Cracker Barrel. For 20% off, go to crackerbarrel.com & enter code DADBOD."

[druzy]

[MargeGunderson]

I love how normal Gary's posts are, and the lack of a million hashtags. 

[druzy]

[FairyDusted]

LOL I wonder if Gary made up the teachers names for security, Mrs. Dick and Mrs. Smith? LMAO!

Yup. I'm a 14 year-old boy.

[guilfoyleatpp]

2 hours ago, FairyDusted said:

LOL I wonder if Gary made up the teachers names for security, Mrs. Dick and Mrs. Smith? LMAO!

Yup. I'm a 14 year-old boy.

At least it wasn't Mrs. Johnson!

[FairyDusted]

Just now, guilfoyleatpp said:

At least it wasn't Mrs. Johnson!

Oh man! PERFECT! Maybe I can bribe my Grandson into holding that sign......He's 13 though and can read. *Off to bake a Lemon Cake*

[crazychicken]

I love that Emilee wants to something normal like a vet not a star or billionaire.

[geauxaway]

Yah, that Emilee is so basic.  Her favorite thing to do isn’t “live.”   ?

[FairyDusted]

Makes me love her all the more!

[druzy]

I wonder if Amber is there...

Edited September 9, 2018 by druzy

[FairyDusted]

Really @druzy? You just keep on wondering while Leah Don't give a fuck;)  My guess is NOPE. How would she do this? Is Andrew home yet? 

You know I adore you and I'm just giving you shit Gurl;-}

[druzy]

[druzy]

[Birdee]

Dang it, that Shirley bunch if freakin' adorable. And I'm glad the girls look like little girls dressed in normal clothes from some place like Old Navy or Target. And I bet Emilee is so excited to each lunch with the "big girls."

[FairyDusted]

I'm glad Leah and Karly get to go to school together. 

[ghoulina]

3 hours ago, FairyDusted said:

I'm glad Leah and Karly get to go to school together. 

Yes! I bet they're really close. I'm so glad Kristina honors her ex's wishes by keeping her off of tv. 

[druzy]

[druzy]

[Marisagf]

I am truly amazed that Kristina can style Emilee's hair with bows everyday.  Or maybe it's for every photo.  Regardless, whenever we see Emilee, her hair is so cute and styled.  I have a six year old girl with gorgeous red hair and she has only started letting me brush her hair.  She used to wear hair clips and bows up until she was about 3.  After that, she cannot keep them in for long.  I know all kids are different, but I'm so impressed with Kristina's hair care game!  :)

[druzy]

Many people can learn and relate to you Kristina Shirley ?

[FairyDusted]

Kristina has 3 gorgeous girls. She gets in that hair practice! They all always look clean and happy. I ❤️ Gary and Kristina. 

I kinda wish them a lil boy down the road. Never thought I’d say that about any of them. 

[Brooklynista]

3 hours ago, FairyDusted said:

Kristina has 3 gorgeous girls. She gets in that hair practice! They all always look clean and happy. I ❤️ Gary and Kristina. 

I kinda wish them a lil boy down the road. Never thought I’d say that about any of them. 

No worries. Amber will be bored with baby James soon enough and he'll be left on Kristina's doorstep with Leah.

[CalicoskiesNC]

Yes, I think Amber missed out on a lot of toddler time with Leah so she doesn’t realize the work has not even begun wth that baby yet. Wait till he is 2,3,4 getting into everything, not listening and need real parenting. Same deal with Cate and her 3rd coming.  Babies are adorable and women love all the attention when pregnant. But 1-3 yrs later you are just another tired mom and all the special attention is gone and your cute baby that just laid around cooing is now active and needing real parenting. Have fun! Poor kids, hope they will have other adults the littles can count on for nurture. 

[Rebecca]

On 8/16/2018 at 11:07 AM, geauxaway said:

This is awesome!  I honestly believe Gary is genuine and does want to give back.  I’m guessing some of that is rooted in the fact that he grew up poor and in a somewhat chaotic house (see Being Gary for a taste of Crazy Carol).  This may be something he would have wanted as a high school kid, but his parents couldn’t afford or support.  So now he is making a dream come true for his own family because he has the resources to do so!   You go, Gary!

This. I can also see how he ended up with the likes of Amber when he was younger when I saw his jerk of a mom behave the way she does. So glad he didn’t continue that cycle and found someone normal to settle down with.

17 hours ago, FairyDusted said:

Kristina has 3 gorgeous girls. She gets in that hair practice! They all always look clean and happy. I ❤️ Gary and Kristina. 

I kinda wish them a lil boy down the road. Never thought I’d say that about any of them. 

Right? I never imagined hoping anyone on this show would have another kid.

14 hours ago, Brooklynista said:

No worries. Amber will be bored with baby James soon enough and he'll be left on Kristina's doorstep with Leah.

You might just be joking but taking it seriously I don’t think she’d ever allow that. Even if they wanted to adopt her baby, Andrew dipped out and Amber HATED parenting him and was miserable she’d never let Geary and Kristina give him a great life. I truly believe she’d rather give her kid a shitty life than show everyone, especially Gary, what a true failure she is. She can’t even admit it to herself and doing that would be a giant billboard of failure in front of her face she would have a hard time denying. She’s the most spiteful one, imo.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Rebecca

[druzy]

[Bridget]

On 9/21/2018 at 7:42 PM, druzy said:

Many people can learn and relate to you Kristina Shirley ?

Not only can she teach others how to be kind and refrain from inappropriately criticizing and judging people, she can teach them how to use the correct “your/you’re”!

She is officially my hero.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Bridget

[druzy]

[druzy]

[teapot]

I love the DeBoers' and the Shirleys' social media; it's so nice and normal!!

[gunderda]

Kinda late to the party... but when they went to California.. I wonder if Kristine's other kid was able to go too? Makes me wonder how they let that kid know they can't be in the photo.

 

I wonder if the exchange students will be on the show... I imagine there was probably some discussion back and forth before Gary was approved. I guess Gary could just not post about them if they didn't want to but seems like there must have been some approval from the parents if he's posting pictures on social media.  And I think it's a good thing because I've heard there's a huge shortage in homes for exchange students so it could raise some awareness. 

My aunt and uncle (and cousin) hosted two exchange students (different years) and they loved it and still remain close to each. But then my friend's friend and her husband hosted one (they had no kids are were pretty young) and it didn't go very well at all - I think the student was a bit rebellious and they all didn't mesh well so the student had to be placed in a new home.

[druzy]

[AmyFarrahFowler]

I love Kristina but can she refrain from the "mini me" crap? Every mother I know with a little girl under 10 does this and it drives me crazy.

Edited October 29, 2018 by AmyFarrahFowler

[druzy]

[druzy]

Happy Birthday Gary!