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

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

An interesting bit of the podcast for me, IIRC, was that they didn't seem to think there was a legit question of whether Jill's kids were being properly fed. They argued that some kids are just skinny, and "my parents were good parents but there was a time when we were poor and literally didn't have a lot to eat," and so forth. They were mainly on the side of being very reluctant to criticize her parenting in that regard although the conversation did wander a bit at that point. OTOH I'm not so nice and I look at Jill's SM photos and see some children who do not look healthy. Thinning hair (when the family norm is lots of hair), skinny, dark circles under eyes, sallow coloring. None of those alone = disease but all together they suggest someone who's not well. So effing awful when it's a child! All the kids don't look that way but one or two of the younger girls do.

The thinning hair is what gets me. 

[Rootbeer]

1 hour ago, Jeeves said:

As I said in another topic here the other day, it's a generational race to the bottom with these families who are not good at homeschooling. Each generation will be less educated than their parents.

Jill herself was homeschooled by her mother at what they refer to as the 'Joyful Noyes' homeschool after their last name, Noyes.   Meanwhile Jill is really a-noyes-ing.

[crazy8s]

9 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

An interesting bit of the podcast for me, IIRC, was that they didn't seem to think there was a legit question of whether Jill's kids were being properly fed. They argued that some kids are just skinny, and "my parents were good parents but there was a time when we were poor and literally didn't have a lot to eat," and so forth. They were mainly on the side of being very reluctant to criticize her parenting in that regard although the conversation did wander a bit at that point. ETA: they did say that she feeds her kids on "that diet drink" (Plexus) so it's not like they were big fans of her parenting.

OTOH I'm not so nice and I look at Jill's SM photos and see some children who do not look healthy. Thinning hair (when the family norm is lots of hair), skinny, dark circles under eyes, sallow coloring. None of those alone = disease but all together they suggest someone who's not well. So effing awful when it's a child! All the kids don't look that way but one or two of the younger girls do.

yes,  I had a bit of trouble listening to that part as well. They seemed to not know which point they were wanted to make. The dysfunction of fundy women and food or that snarkers were being mean to the rod kids. As @Jeeves said it wandered a bit.

They did mention in the pics Jill shows of food for the family, it does not seem to enough for a family of 15. I can't remember if they mentioned pictures of Jill with groceries. To me those  pics also never seem to show enough food for 14-15 people. They did comment on jill pointing out how lucky the girls were to be "so trim" and could escape the car accident. and maybe about nurie getting her wedding dress at 13 and needing to stay slim to fit into it. No mention of how timbits almost immediately filled out a bit when he was away at school.

Sure some children are naturally thin and even downright skinny. I have a grand like that. he is 8, high energy, always hungry. he is average height for his age, but under the 5th percentile for weight. The difference for me, when looking at skinny grandson and the rod kids, grandson has energy, always running, plays sports etc.  He also doesn't have the dark circles under his eyes, the thin hair/hair loss or the long time between teeth falling out and the new ones coming in.

side note here - grandson, being a clever child, has figured out during pandemic all school breakfasts and lunches are free for all students at his school. the boy has been eating breakfast at home, getting another breakfast at school, eating his lunch from home for morning snack and getting hot lunch everyday for a year now. 

[libgirl2]

14 minutes ago, crazy8s said:

side note here - grandson, being a clever child, has figured out during pandemic all school breakfasts and lunches are free for all students at his school. the boy has been eating breakfast at home, getting another breakfast at school, eating his lunch from home for morning snack and getting hot lunch everyday for a year now. 

That is clever! 

[Triple P]

2 hours ago, Jeeves said:

An interesting bit of the podcast for me, IIRC, was that they didn't seem to think there was a legit question of whether Jill's kids were being properly fed. They argued that some kids are just skinny, and "my parents were good parents but there was a time when we were poor and literally didn't have a lot to eat," and so forth. They were mainly on the side of being very reluctant to criticize her parenting in that regard although the conversation did wander a bit at that point. ETA: they did say that she feeds her kids on "that diet drink" (Plexus) so it's not like they were big fans of her parenting

The host of the podcast is ex-IFB, so I can't help but wonder if her take on this is a reflection of her upbringing.

[heckkitty]

My take on that was that they didn't necessarily think it wasn't true that the Rodrigues kids aren't being fed or well cared for, but that they see some folks as snarking on the kids for their appearance or whatever, and that the snark should be directed at the parents, not the kids. I can get behind that. I think they also questioned how much Jill "forces" her style on her girls especially. I think they see it as the example she sets is of someone whose style is stuck in the 80s, and that's the only example they have. I mean I guess in light of that, their choices (eyebrows) might be their own, but IMO that's still Jill's fault for keeping them from ever seeing other options.

TLDR, I agree that it's not great to snark on little kids, but snark on their parents all day, because the snarkworthy stuff about the kids is often because of a parent's decision. 

[CouchTater]

 

6 hours ago, Jeeves said:

@CouchTater told us upthread about an episode of the Leaving Eden podcast which was about JillR - it's here: https://podcastaddict.com/episode/129356578. I listened to it and mentioned above that at about the 33 minute mark they discuss Jill's position in the IFB world. It was enlightening. Here's my short take on it. Jill's clearly striving for fame and success in her world. For women in IFB, that's a matter of being the wife of a successful pastor/preacher. She can complement her husband's role by being an inspirational speaker to women. And of course they can have their kids playing instruments and singing to round out the package.

A big problem with Jill's plan for IFB world domination, is that David's not all that good as a preacher. Nor is the family a very good musical group. So she's spending all that crazy energy and using the force of her narcissistic personality, to push and shove her mediocre family into as many gigs as they can land, and to create a social media narrative of a big loving Godly successful IFB family who are SO wonderful at everything with SO many friends all over the place! Of course all of that is my opinion of the situation, and YMMV. The more I stop to think about it, the more certain I am that JillR is batsh*t crazy. 

I was surprised that the podcast focused so much on David's shortcomings for why The Rods aren't higher up the fundie food chain. But the female host is a former fundie, so I guess she would know?  My assumption has always been that Jill's extreme batshit craziness would be the biggest deterrent to respectability for them, in ANY community!

[CouchTater]

1 hour ago, Triple P said:

The host of the podcast is ex-IFB, so I can't help but wonder if her take on this is a reflection of her upbringing.

She has admitted in other episodes that she is still processing and detaching from her IFB background, and that the background does sometimes inform her thoughts and opinions.  

*I was frustrated that she didn't go in harder on Jill and David.  But I got the feeling that her fairly measured approach was also a defense mechanism for her upbringing and parents (who were allegedly great parents who just happened to be poor sometimes).  Maybe the Rods hit a little too close to home for her.

[BradandJanet]

5 hours ago, Jeeves said:

As I said in another topic here the other day, it's a generational race to the bottom with these families who are not good at homeschooling. Each generation will be less educated than their parents.

I guess being uneducated makes them obedient servants of their cultish (my opinion) religion, but it doesn't help with food, housing, medical care, and other unfortunate necessities of life. It's especially hard on the boys, who are somehow supposed to find a wife, buy a house, and provide a living for a brood of kids. I wonder what will happen to the Rod boys, who have the added burden of an unhinged, controlling mother, who is mentally stuck at seventeen years old.  

[YupItsMe]

1 hour ago, heckkitty said:

<snip>. I think they also questioned how much Jill "forces" her style on her girls especially. I think they see it as the example she sets is of someone whose style is stuck in the 80s, and that's the only example they have. I mean I guess in light of that, their choices (eyebrows) might be their own, but IMO that's still Jill's fault for keeping them from ever seeing other options. <snip>

Maybe, but they do visit lots of churches, go to restaurants, shopping, etc. so it’s not like they can’t see that there are other options. I think she just doesn’t allow them those options. She buys them the clothes she likes and that’s what they have available to wear.

Now that Nurie has married we’ve seen her in some cute outfits, but even with her old habits die hard and she reverts to Jill’s style often.

[crazy8s]

54 minutes ago, YupItsMe said:

Maybe, but they do visit lots of churches, go to restaurants, shopping, etc. so it’s not like they can’t see that there are other options. I think she just doesn’t allow them those options. She buys them the clothes she likes and that’s what they have available to wear.

To counter what they see elsewhere, we know from jill's own words, she judges most all other women as sluttish and goes on long tirades to her children about such things. When Nurie went to Africa Jill had to post "nurie's thoughts about the sluttish women"

I know Jill posted not long ago about getting so worked up about temptation at the rodeo (?), she went home and lectured all her kids and took pics of them sitting there listening.

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by crazy8s

[emmawoodhouse]

Don't forget that Jill got into a war on FB with a now former friend over what constitutes modest dress. Jill roped in her entire family to back her up, including This Is Timothy Rodrigues, her parents, and IIRC, one of her sisters to defend her. This was outlined in "Renee's" anniversary post as standing for truth. 🙄

[emmawoodhouse]

Jill, always so pleasant, opined on sex-free bathrooms. The one she's standing in front of is labeled "Whatever." 😂

In sum, she's not a fan. 🙄

[Jeeves]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Jill, always so pleasant, opined on sex-free bathrooms. The one she's standing in front of is labeled "Whatever." 😂

In sum, she's not a fan. 🙄

I saw her FB post about that. My favorite part was her intro statement that "We as humans are digressing in our intellectual intelligence." 

I've been savoring that one ever since I read it. 🤣  🤣  🤣  🤣  

[Heathen]

26 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

I saw her FB post about that. My favorite part was her intro statement that "We as humans are digressing in our intellectual intelligence." 

I've been savoring that one ever since I read it. 🤣  🤣  🤣  🤣  

Huh? Can someone who understands Fundie Idiot please translate for me? 

[ginger90]

😡 

[Westiepeach]

Just when I think she can't get any batshit crazier... she surprises me.

[ginger90]

She’s such a hateful “Christian “, who has no problem displaying it.

[MargeGunderson]

But you still used it, didn’t you Jill. 

[GeeGolly]

Who would JillR be without her soapbox of hate? 

These Fundies confuse the shit out of me. They say their religion is based on following Jesus' example, yet everything they do is the opposite.

If there is an afterlife, I hope there's a very, very, very SPECIAL section for JillR and her ilk.

[Ohiopirate02]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

😡

Jill is such a hateful idiot.  There is zero need to gender a single stall bathroom, hence the sign.

[libgirl2]

20 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Jill is such a hateful idiot.  There is zero need to gender a single stall bathroom, hence the sign.

She is an ignorant moron. When I have to go, I just want a toilet..... I don't give a damn what the sign says. Would she rather it was a guy's bathroom and the women's had a line? 

We once went to a restaurant that had the bathrooms marked with these mechanical drawings that gave you no clue as to the gender (this was about 10 years ago). I thought it was pretty funny. 

Edited October 8, 2021 by libgirl2

[Turquoise]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

😡

You would never see such things at the good Olive Garden!
Perhaps she found the "please wash your hands" hilarious?
I'm assuming the barndo doesn't have separate bathrooms? Using a unisex restroom is not "acceptance of sin".

[Absolom]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

If there is an afterlife, I hope there's a very, very, very SPECIAL section for JillR and her ilk.

There is even a very old Christian joke about having a special section that is walled off so they won't know the rest of us are there.

[GeeGolly]

I hope this is what's waiting for JillR.

[iwantcookies]

[laurakaye]

Regarding the picture - so, who took it?  Did she get up to pee, see the sign, go and grab Shrek who was in the process of snorfing down the last of his fettuccini alfredo and was about to inhale the contents of the bread basket and say, "Hunk!  Babe!  Put down the butter and come take several pictures of me in front of this sign until I create the best expression of disgust, hilarity, and superior righteous indignation!  Don't worry about your food getting cold or all these heathens who need to use this sinful bathroom.  This is going to be severely excellent for my Insta page!"

But seriously, I wonder how many other patrons and staff she annoyed by doing this.  I'm sure she wasn't quiet about it.  Maybe she even sang a hymn on her way back to her seat.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, Turquoise said:

You would never see such things at the good Olive Garden!
Perhaps she found the "please wash your hands" hilarious?
I'm assuming the barndo doesn't have separate bathrooms? Using a unisex restroom is not "acceptance of sin".

Do they have two bathrooms? If so, they need to mark them by gender. 

[iwantcookies]

Jill did you wash your hands?

[farmgal4]

13 hours ago, Jeeves said:

I saw her FB post about that. My favorite part was her intro statement that "We as humans are digressing in our intellectual intelligence." 

I've been savoring that one ever since I read it. 🤣  🤣  🤣  🤣  

Me too!  That one was a doozy! 😂

[Cinnabon]

4 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Who would JillR be without her soapbox of hate? 

These Fundies confuse the shit out of me. They say their religion is based on following Jesus' example, yet everything they do is the opposite.

If there is an afterlife, I hope there's a very, very, very SPECIAL section for JillR and her ilk.

If these are the people who will be in heaven, I sure don’t want to go there!

[emmawoodhouse]

Fundie Fridays Jill Rodrigues Halloween special. Enjoy! 😁

 

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Fundie Fridays Jill Rodrigues Halloween special. Enjoy! 😁

 

Omg that is HYSTERICAL! Thank you for posting! 🤣🤣🤣

[iwantcookies]

They didn’t even take 1 kid to dinner? 

[ozziemom]

9 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

They didn’t even take 1 kid to dinner? 

They need their “date” night! 

[Rootbeer]

On 10/8/2021 at 6:50 AM, ginger90 said:

😡

I take it Jill was offended at the suggestion she needed to wash her hands.  There is something in the photo that demonstrates the 'digression of the intellectual intelligence' of the masses and it is not that sign.  It's also proof positive that this woman has absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever.

You know, at least part of the reason that I think there is speculation that Jill's kids don't eat a healthy diet is because we see how they are neglected in other ways.  The poor little girls, traipsing around in worn out clothing that doesn't even fit, let alone match.  They wear inappropriate shoes, often way too big, all the time.  Their thin stringy hair is never styled or trimmed.  They look like extras in a production of Annie. Then, we see them 'swimming' fully clothed in drainage ditches with their mother's encouragement.  Not to mention all of the 'date' nights with her husband while the kids stay home. Or the fact that we've seen that her adult kids are emotionally stunted and their mother's homeschool didn't even teach them how to string a proper sentence together.  It's pretty clear that Jill is a terrible mother in all other areas; so it's not hard to believe she doesn't provide them proper nutrition.

Edited October 9, 2021 by Rootbeer

[BradandJanet]

On 10/7/2021 at 4:58 PM, CouchTater said:

 

I was surprised that the podcast focused so much on David's shortcomings for why The Rods aren't higher up the fundie food chain. But the female host is a former fundie, so I guess she would know?  My assumption has always been that Jill's extreme batshit craziness would be the biggest deterrent to respectability for them, in ANY community!

I think aggressive people like Jill find partners they think they can control. David chose Jill because she was young and attractive, and Jill chose David because she knew he'd do whatever she wanted. Maybe she thought she could mold him into an IFB status husband. They probably didn't know much more than that about each other when they married. 

David puts up with or goes along with Jill's crazy. Jill's energy goes to creating a narrative of a handsome, devout, hardworking provider. Her efforts fail as David almost always looks bored and ready for a meal or a nap. 

It's interesting the kids never have anything publicly to say about David. Many daughters find important role models in their fathers. I wonder what they think. Jill writes the scripts for the family, and they're really all about her. 

Edited October 9, 2021 by BradandJanet

[ozziemom]

And JillR is so nuts, she doesn’t even realize what a parenting fail it is that none of the kids ever praise David. We hear plenty from JillR about how hard working etc he is and what a hunk he is, but not so much what a great father. 

[GeeGolly]

3 minutes ago, ozziemom said:

And JillR is so nuts, she doesn’t even realize what a parenting fail it is that none of the kids ever praise David. We hear plenty from JillR about how hard working etc he is and what a hunk he is, but not so much what a great father. 

Cue the GREAT father posts.

[SMama]

Alyssa and Katie flew to Miami to meet with the “sweet friend” who sends dresses to Alyssa and her daughters. In an IG story Alyssa posted they are heavy on the fancy food porn. The last one was at their hotel and what looks like room service. I understand wanting to experience the finer things in life. Am I weird for finding the whole thing creepy? That sweet friend (I can’t remember her IG name) also sent Carlin a very expensive purse, since Katie is on this trip perhaps she is also the recipient of that woman’s generosity. Still, I get creepy vibes, maybe I’m the weird one. 

[ozziemom]

10 minutes ago, SMama said:

Alyssa and Katie flew to Miami to meet with the “sweet friend” who sends dresses to Alyssa and her daughters. In an IG story Alyssa posted they are heavy on the fancy food porn. The last one was at their hotel and what looks like room service. I understand wanting to experience the finer things in life. Am I weird for finding the whole thing creepy? That sweet friend (I can’t remember her IG name) also sent Carlin a very expensive purse, since Katie is on this trip perhaps she is also the recipient of that woman’s generosity. Still, I get creepy vibes, maybe I’m the weird one. 

I get creepy vibes too. I think the woman’s IG name is Tikki something or other. If you go to her IG it doesn’t appear she has a store or anything like that. So she just sends clothes to Alyssa out of friendship? It seems like it’s a fairly frequent occurrence too, not just once or twice. Alyssa has been asked about this and her answers are vague at best.

[GeeGolly]

58 minutes ago, ozziemom said:

I get creepy vibes too. I think the woman’s IG name is Tikki something or other. If you go to her IG it doesn’t appear she has a store or anything like that. So she just sends clothes to Alyssa out of friendship? It seems like it’s a fairly frequent occurrence too, not just once or twice. Alyssa has been asked about this and her answers are vague at best.

Hmmm, I always pictured a little ole lady from Pasadena, making those clothes. This Tikky (Pantila Villarreal), is a young woman in her 30s. I got that totally wrong. Count me in on the creepy wagon too.

[emmawoodhouse]

Tessie's eyebrows are almost non-existent. ☹️

 

[galaxygirl76]

Those are even worse than Nurie and the not!Nuries and I thought that was impossible

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, SMama said:

Alyssa and Katie flew to Miami to meet with the “sweet friend” who sends dresses to Alyssa and her daughters. In an IG story Alyssa posted they are heavy on the fancy food porn. The last one was at their hotel and what looks like room service. I understand wanting to experience the finer things in life. Am I weird for finding the whole thing creepy? That sweet friend (I can’t remember her IG name) also sent Carlin a very expensive purse, since Katie is on this trip perhaps she is also the recipient of that woman’s generosity. Still, I get creepy vibes, maybe I’m the weird one. 

It's definitely bizarre. It's not uncommon for influencers to receive gifts from fans, but I've never seen someone blow money on this level. The Bates girls have also changed the narrative to appear less like predatory grifters. They're feigning relationship when the reality is Alyssa never previously claimed Tikky as a friend. 

[iwantcookies]

Jill Rodrigues posted some unflattering comments about courting on some ladies Facebook post. It’s a doozy!

[emmawoodhouse]

33 minutes ago, iwantcookies said:

Jill Rodrigues posted some unflattering comments about courting on some ladies Facebook post. It’s a doozy!

It was Shoshanna Pearl Easling, daughter of Michael and Debi. Shoshanna is getting divorced. Jill basically asked how her relationship was going. What a bitch.

Shoshanna has subsequently deleted Jill's post and unfriended her.

Edit: Found Jill's post.

 

Edited October 9, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[iwantcookies]

Jill looks so unflattering in this picture. It’s the same outfit that she copied Farrah Fawcett in. I’m haha until forever. What a long chin and her neck rolls are on display. 
 

Hi Jill.

[emmawoodhouse]

I think that's cropped from the bathroom pic.

[floridamom]

Re:  Tessie's eyebrows.....she has been marked.