Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)

[sweet201]

Bates gossip, Maxwell snark, and TFDW live on! A place to discuss all things about the other fundie families that we've been introduced to through the Duggars.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Bella
specificity

[Rebekah]

Anyone else thinking that Whitney thinks she's having or wants a girl from what she's been posting on Pinterest?

[Ivy26]

Wait, Whitney's pregnant?  Geez, that was fast....

[Rebekah]

Kelly mentioned a while back that someone was and on a fan page on Facebook Kelly's mum said Whitney was. So I think a lot of people are assuming she is, but nothing's been announced, either due to the Erin or because Whitney never was and Kelly was actually referring to Erin.

[cmccasandra]

I personally don't think Whitney is pregnant.  There has been no confirmation on either blog.  After Kelly mentioned the pregnancy it was posted about Erin's miscarriage.  JMHO

[Teena]

I just checked out the Bates' site and noticed that their daughter, Alyssa is also getting married in May.

I noticed that the site mentioned "Light dessert Reception" to follow.  In my mind, I picture everyone having a slice of wedding cake.  NOW, having said that (and maybe I'm wrong here) why the heck do they have three separate wedding registries? I wouldn't expect anyone to bring a gift to a reception that is nothing but cake and coffee...am I wrong?

[Rhondinella]

Oh, I think you bring a gift to any wedding, period.  Where I come from a "cake only" reception is actually very, very common.  Most of us don't have the money, or don't think it's worth spending the money, on an extremely lavish dinner after the wedding.  In fact, in my whole life I think I've been to one wedding that had food other than cake, punch and maybe a few snacks.  But you still take a gift.  

[SmallTownMom]

Weddings in this area always include a nice meal at the reception.  Sometimes it is just a cold buffet, other times a sit-down dinner, but guests are always fed.

About a year ago, we were invited to a very lavish wedding, and the invitation stated "hors d'ouvre (sp?) reception to follow".  My husband asked me, "What does that mean?"  I told him it means you'll be hungry when we leave.  We were, and drove thru McDonald's on the way home.  When our daughter got married, we had a nice reception with a real dinner.  I would feel bad expecting people to spend money on a gift and not feed them at the reception.  We're PA Dutch, we're going to feed you if you are hungry or not! 

It will be interesting to see what the Duggars do when their girls get married.  Other than announcing the first kiss, and being a total ass at the wedding, I can't imagine JimBoob doing anything, especially shelling out for dinner for his guests.  Whatever they do, we all know it will include Styrofoam and plasticware.  And the words precious and special.  How many times did Michelle say those words on last week's episode?  This special chapter in our lives, etc.

Yes, how special was that fake announcement?  I think the Bates go way over the top, but at least they are alone when the guy asks.  Mommy and Daddy Duggar take a little too much interest in their grown daughters' lives.  I hope they don't expect a detailed description of any sexual encounters.  I could see JimBoob asking.  Yuck!

[Rebekah]

Kelly just posted on their blog that Whitney and Zach are expecting and their due date is October, 1 week after Erin and Chad's. Really feel for Erin now.

[all4mom]

Would you rather have the Bateses (and, yes, this is how it's spelled and pronounced) as in-laws or the Duggars?  Enough said.

[MrMattyMatt]

The Bateses.  The men are much better lookng!

[cmccasandra]

Kelly just posted on their blog that Whitney and Zach are expecting and their due date is October, 1 week after Erin and Chad's. Really feel for Erin now.

Oh man! I feel so bad for Erin. This is going to hurt her so much.

[Ljohnson1987]

Erin will probably be pregnant before Whitney's baby is due. 

[Rebekah]

That's true, and maybe also Alyssa as she gets married in May. But I can't tell if she wants to have kids right away as there are rumours that she wants to go 'fundie-lite'. Michael on the other hand I could see, but despite Brandon's romantic gestures is not engaged yet and (just putting it out there) I don't think that will be till at least June. Just have to wait and see I guess!

[Jenniferbug]

My heart goes out to Erin and Chad. What a difficult tangle of emotions they must feel. 

I think it's interesting that both Alyssa and Michael were cuddled up with their guys in the pictures. They seem so much more affectionate and comfortable! 

[Absolom]

It's almost like with each round, Gil and Kelly get a little more relaxed. I think it's good to see. The pregnancy for Erin apparently never developed an embryo so she'll be more upset at losing the potential of a pregnancy than actually losing a fetus. I believe, also, that she'll be pregnant almost any time now.

[CarolMK]

It's too bad that the Bates show didn't last at least another season. I would have rather watched their own show and the weddings instead of watching by way of the Duggar's show. I guess even though they're very religious, Gil and Kelly are too ordinary to make interesting reality tv. Their short lived show did have some interesting effects, like visiting with the grandparents and Gil taking out one of his daughters to go hunting. 

[all fall down]

The Fabulous David Waller has managed to knock up Priscilla a second time. They are due in November. 

Edited April 10, 2014 by christine falls

[Rebekah]

If you work back from mid-November like they said (I went with the 15th) she's about 8 weeks. Erin was 9 when she had a D&C.

[floridamom]

I can't help but think that the Duggars extended some type of "charity" to the Bates' as they aren't as fortunate financially as JB & Michelle were. JB's great idea was to film the Bates' home renovation and have TLC pick up the bill, you know they did. Also, Jimmy Boy and Queen Michelle will make a Bates wedding all about their own family because it is being filmed on THEIR show... How arrogant.

[MrMattyMatt]

I am sure Erin Bate's wedding was extra-speshul because of the TLC/Duggar money train.

[FinePoint]

I still can't get past the pink princess bedroom that Erin and her husband have. For those who haven't seen it, it's on his blog. (scroll down)
It's been brought up on the other board that she's probably just gone over the top with finally getting to have her own room apart from her sisters, decorated the way she always wanted when she was growing up. But still, that's pretty pink and frou-frou. 

Edited April 11, 2014 by FinePoint

[Teena]

Someone may have helped decorate that house.

The rooms are small and all the beds are on an angle---that's a typical decorator move...not something I would have expected from Erin Bates.

That ultra-pink bed is really small...geez..I'm sure David Waller wouldn't have had an issue with the pink decor!

[Marigny]

I still can't get past the pink princess bedroom that Erin and her husband have. For those who haven't seen it, it's on his blog. (scroll down)

It's been brought up on the other board that she's probably just gone over the top with finally getting to have her own room apart from her sisters, decorated the way she always wanted when she was growing up. But still, that's pretty pink and frou-frou. 

If my gaydar wasn't pinging before, it is now.

 

This is exactly why every woman should have the opportunity to be on their own before they get married. You discover who you are, grow up, and don't feel the need to have a princess pink bedroom. That room could double as a Rooms 2 Go Kids ad. 

[FinePoint]

If my gaydar wasn't pinging before, it is now.

 

 

Me too! My gaydar pings with Erin's husband as well as Derick.

[Lillybee]

If we are talking about friends of the Duggars, we need to talk about the Maxwells. The Maxwells make the Duggars and Bateses look like practicing Satanists; they are that crazy. Pa Maxwell took only the girl children to Jinger and Joseph's SOTDRT graduation. I always wondered if he wanted to hookup one of his girls with JD  or Joseph. This link from Free Jinger is pretty complete. http://freejinger.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=15254.

The Maxwells seem to be fairly limited on their diet. For example they get to eat bean burritos because Pa Maxwell says he couldn't taste the meat in them so why bother. The Maxwells do celebrate birthdays with a dinner of the birthday person's choice and usually a nice homemade cake but one year Steve was dieting so he allowed everyone two animal crackers for dessert.

This is a link to their blog.  For some reason, it is a very boring blog but the crazy is apparent. It is like taking a trip down a rabbit hole. http://blog.titus2.com/

Edited April 12, 2014 by Lillybee

[LazyToaster]

And these are all real people? Wow.

Ok just thought of something, I'm so lucky to have had the family I had and not some weird cult thing.

[SmallTownMom]

I watched the announcement where David and Priscilla tell the world about their 2nd blessing.

The way that girl keeps saying "yeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssss" reminds me of Anna's "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddddddddd." But I kind of like Anna. Except building the playhouse on the deck wasn't real smart. Kids that age climb, so build it in the back yard, honey.

Priscilla's squinty eyes creep me out. She seems like she is a few fries short of a Happy Meal. And David? I think he seems a little meaner than he used to be. Made me wonder how he really treats the little woman.

[Lillybee]

The thing is that in their belief system, he can treat her any damm way he chooses and she is stuck putting up with it.

[Ivy26]

All in all, I would prefer the Bateses as in laws.  Still a little whacked out, but not as bad as the Duggars

 

Call me controversial, but while I think Erin and Chad have every right to mourn the loss of their pregnancy, I have a real issue with Pa and Ma Bates saying that their first "grandchild" is in heaven.  Erin lost a pregnancy, it was a blighted ovum.  There was no baby to lose!  It was a non growing embryo.  I've had two blighted ovums, and I took comfort knowing I didn't technically lose a baby.  Sure I was disappointed, but in my mind it was okay.  But heaven knows these people think if sperm reaches the uterus ZOMG she's pregnant!

And this is why most women and couples wait until the end of the first trimester to announce anything.  I think Ma Bates was kind of crass to announce the pregnancy before an ultrasound confirmed anything

[Jenniferbug]

She didn't announce before the ultrasound. People kept asking in comments if anyone was pregnant, and Kelly responded "yes" once but didn't say who (she meant Whitney, who was already a fee months along). Chad wrote a post on his blog about their miscarriage, and then Kelly wrote hers a day or two later. I think Kelly has generally been good about respecting her children's wishes- she's mentioned them previewing her posts first or waiting to announce things till they ok it.

[Absolom]

Call me controversial, but while I think Erin and Chad have every right to mourn the loss of their pregnancy, I have a real issue with Pa and Ma Bates saying that their first "grandchild" is in heaven.  Erin lost a pregnancy, it was a blighted ovum.  There was no baby to lose!  It was a non growing embryo.  I've had two blighted ovums, and I took comfort knowing I didn't technically lose a baby.

 

 

Thank you!  I keep saying this over and over also about Erin and also Anna Duggar.  They need to keep it perspective.  In no way did they lose a baby.  They lost a very early pregnancy that was doomed from extremely early days.  They lost the possibility of a baby which to me is hugely different. 

[Bella]

As sung in the Monty Python movie, The Meaning of Life: 

 

 

 

Because every sperm is sacred
Every sperm is great
If a sperm is wasted
God gets quite irate

 

Clearly the Duggars really worship at the First Church of the Pythons.

[wanderwoman]

Yeah.  I would tend to agree that most rational people know a blighted ovum is not a "baby".  But, these people don't have enough understanding of the physiology or biology at play.  They believe that the soul enters the cell at the moment of conception.  Since their focus is on the soul,... they can't separate the reality from their belief.  So, they mourn the loss of the potential.  I can almost understand that grief.  Many people get sad and depressed over less than that.  BUT, claiming it's the "first grandchild", is ridiculous.

[Sew Sumi]

Well, Zach Bates lost in his bid to become the Mayor of Anderson County, TN. In the Republican primary, he lost to a WOMAN!!!

 

As of At 9:45 pm, Terry Frank had 3,896 votes to Zach's 3,406.

 

I wonder how many of those votes came as a result of his celebrity? It certainly had nothing to do with experience (he listed his experience as a volutneer fireman, but NOT the fact that he was a County Commissioner). WTF?

 

The Duggars' streak of campaigning for losers remains intact (they also campaigned for a Tea Party guy in NC who also lost today).

[Rebekah]

Sorry to butt in, as I was actually finding the direction of the thread really interesting - also have never experienced the deprecating by age groups, but Zach just posted on his blog that he and Whitney are having a baby boy [guess I was wrong ;)] due on the 22nd of October making her 16 weeks. Also all about the bates posted that Zach didn't win his election and their assuming that he will continue as county commissioner. Alyssa's wedding is in 17 days.

[maraleia]

OK posters I have a project for all of you. Since this thread is being used as a catch all right now do you want to keep it that way or make two threads- one for all the other fundie families like the Bates and their news updates and one just for fundie practices, beliefs and how they compare to other people's faiths?

 

Per a few people's suggestions I have created a new thread and moved the religion talk there using the suggested title. Have fun in there!!!

Edited May 14, 2014 by maraleia
added note about moved posts

[andromeda331]

I wonder if Whitney's considering naming her baby after one of her parents, weren't they killed in an accident and then she was adopted? 

Edited May 12, 2014 by andromeda331

[Rebekah]

OK posters I have a project for all of you. Since this thread is being used as a catch all right now do you want to keep it that way or make two threads- one for all the other fundie families like the Bates and their news updates and one just for fundie practices, beliefs and how they compare to other people's faiths?

Sorry, still getting the hang if this, I'd prefer if we seperate in two Maraleia, don't know about anyone else

[mbutterfly]

The policies about discussion here at previouslytv are lovely. This is a perfect example. 19 Kids and Counting has introduced us to a faith group that is new and different and interesting to many of us. Some of us will enjoy discussing it as we see glimpses during the show (coupled with some related news stories). I think a separate thread because some posters will simply want to talk about the Bates and other families and are not so interested in the religious views of the folks. 

Edited May 13, 2014 by maraleia
duplicate post

[MrMattyMatt]

I vote for a separate thread all well just because the Bates and Religion are two different topics. 

[maraleia]

So think of a catchy title for the thread about religion and I will start it out and move the posts about religion here to the new thread.

[LazyToaster]

How about "Gimme That Old Time Religion". I'm singing it which has a better effect, uh sort of...

[maraleia]

Keep discussing all the other fundie families here. I wonder if we will get any reports of how different things were at Big Sandy this year in light of the Gothard allegations.

[all4mom]

The fewer threads, the better (only one per show would be ideal, IMHO), so I vote for no further subdividing.

[Howyougetthegirl91]

Did anyone see pictures of Alyssa's wedding? Pretty , but I didn't care for mixing two different colors at all. Especially brought pink and blue. Thought Erin's wedding was much prettier , but Alyssa did look nice IMO.

[Sew Sumi]

Alyssa totally highlighted her hair. If you look at older pictures of her, her hair is plain ole brown; now it's much more golden. I thought coloring hair was verboten in Gothard circles. I know that the Duggar girls said in their book that after a home peroxide disaster from Jana that they will live with the color God gave them, I figured this was a Rule.

 

I liked her dress, except for that blasted flower. Why can't the fundies leave this certain embellishment ALONE? The tulle headdresses of the poor flower girls, Addee and Ellie, were atrocious! If I knew how to link a .jpg pic here, I'd give y'all the evidence. At any rate, they're certainly on the FB Bates Family Fan Page (or whatever it's called...a search with those terms should get you there). They have lots of wedding pics up. Smuggar and the duggarfam's Instagrams also have a lot of pics (and a couple videos...one of The Kiss).

[andromeda331]

I liked Alyssa's dress but so far my favorite wedding was Whitney's, Her dress was beautiful and I loved the colors. 

[Chai]

I can't get over the Barbie pink bedroom that Erin CHOSE for their bedroom!  I remember not making ours over feminine when I was a newlywed, because it was my husbands room, too. I think living too close to the poverty line and having too many siblings to never have your own bedroom is the cause, I don't know. Even when sharing a room with sisters,no one ever painted one pink? ever? seems strange to me.

 

I did think Erin was very loving and sisterly to the one sister who didnt want her to leave and kept crying. That says a lot to me on how they really love each other.

[WhitneyWhit]

What ever became of Lydia of Purple? She used to make dresses for them, didn't she? And she was always trying to pimp out her daughters on her website, it was very strange.