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

[doodlebug]

15 hours ago, lianau said:

Does anyone know what's going on with Jill R and her baby ? She's facebooking about some undisclosed issue with the baby and I can't decide if something is really wrong or if it's some minor issue she's milking for attention 

If the picture of the ultrasound she posted is of the baby, it looks like she might have polyhydramnios. too much amniotic fluid.  I'd need to see some measurements, but there's more fluid in the photo than I'd expect.  It can be a sign of a problem like the mother has diabetes or the baby has a birth defect, especially involving its GI tract.  Or it could mean nothing.  Just a guess at this point.

[Sew Sumi]

Well, that wedding was comparitively normal, other than Chelsy vowing to obey and be a helpmeet. Thank goodness they kept Stevehovah at bay, and the Boatrangers supplied all of the lectures and entertainment. The drone? Too much FUN! Steve's blood pressure must have been spiking at that moment. 

eta: Both mothers could have dressed up more. Tops and skirts aren't really acceptable when your kids are getting married. They needed to be in real dresses. And to make matters worse, Terrified was in all BLACK. Oh no, honey. 

Edited December 30, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[Temperance]

37 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Well, that wedding was comparitively normal, other than Chelsy vowing to obey and be a helpmeet. Thank goodness they kept Stevehovah at bay, and the Boatrangers supplied all of the lectures and entertainment. The drone? Too much FUN! Steve's blood pressure must have been spiking at that moment. 

eta: Both mothers could have dressed up more. Tops and skirts aren't really acceptable when your kids are getting married. They needed to be in real dresses. And to make matters worse, Terrified was in all BLACK. Oh no, honey. 

Talking about his vasectomy being reversed is just as weird if not weirder than her promising to obey.

I don't mind people wearing black to weddings, I've done it myself.  Both the bridesmaids and the bride had nice dresses ymmv. 

[louannems]

Steve Maxwell's grandkids.  Nothing like the quiverfuls teaching their little girls to be sister mom's!

[Sew Sumi]

4 hours ago, Temperance said:

Talking about his vasectomy being reversed is just as weird if not weirder than her promising to obey.

I don't mind people wearing black to weddings, I've done it myself.  Both the bridesmaids and the bride had nice dresses ymmv. 

Don't forget she also agreed to be his helpmeet! There was still plenty of fundiespeak in this wedding, despite her "forgetting" her vows and the drone fun parts. 

[Temperance]

Just now, Sew Sumi said:

Don't forget she also agreed to be his helpmeet! There was still plenty of fundiespeak in this wedding, despite her "forgetting" her vows and the drone fun parts. 

Definitely  fundie speak. They read 127th psalm, from which the whole Quiverfull movement sprang. 

[Sew Sumi]

And the pastor saying that he could go on and on preaching when they ran off to get Chelsy's vows. Somehow, I think he was in on the joke; his little spiel was just the exact amount of time needed for the stunt to play out. 

[Jynnan tonnix]

3 hours ago, louannems said:

Steve Maxwell's grandkids.  Nothing like the quiverfuls teaching their little girls to be sister mom's!

Well except for the one with a baby doll strapped to her chest. That IS a doll, right??? Or was that sarcasm? LOL Sometimes I have a hard time telling :) The other kids seem happy enough on this photo, and lots of little girls of whatever religious persuasion enjoy playing Mommy.

[awaken]

Congrats to Sierra and family. The little boy is a sweetie. Hope he gets all the love and attention he deserves. 

[MunichNark]

I can hardly believe that I did this, but........I watched a bit of that wedding yesterday. I'm officially bonkers.

Lost interest very quickly, it was so dull and boring. Was this supposed to be a Church? It looked so.......dull. No decorations, the whole thing was messy, chaotic and unlovely. A wedding is a sacred thing if you get married in a Church - holy Matrimony - so why do these fundies treat THE ONE THING in their life so shabbily? They don't dress properly usually, the venues resemble parking lots, the planning is sub standard, the food, well.

Was that her Father who waffled on and on? He was like a snake oil salesman, who clearly likes to hear himself speak a LOT. I couldn't make out what he was blathering about, nor did I want to, that's why I only checked in every so often. The drone, the bare feet..........just no. How could you act like this in a Church??

To me a Church is a sacred space where Jesus is actually present, is this not what Fundies believe? They always seem to act to leasurely in it.

A wedding in a Church should be sacred, joyful, lovely. This was none of those things. The one thing that gives me pleasure is that Steve's head must have exploded several times as he clearly didn't control that one.

[Temperance]

Chelsy's dress was lovely. 

Edited December 31, 2017 by Temperance

[Totally]

From my understanding, the church as a building isn’t sacred or holy it is the people that makes church,I’m pretty sure there is a verse in the New Testament about it

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can clear that up for me, I could be way off on my understanding

[floridamom]

Yes, I agree that a church, no matter what faith it is representing, is a holy, sacred place. Godly things happen in that space and it should be respected. I also agree that these seemingly 'so religious, pious, people' don't respect their own church spaces. Their dress and behavior during weddings is obvious to me. They act inappropriately when in God's house, IMO.

Catholics really believe quite strongly that a church IS a sacred place because yes, Jesus is actually present in the tabernacle, which contains the consecrated body and blood of Christ in the communion host, which is stored in the tabernacle in between masses. It is a place where you speak quietly and conduct yourself reverently. Social meeting, noise and talking can be taken outside of the building. It's a show of respect for us. These fundie people don't seem to respect much, really if you ask me. They sure don't respect other faiths for starters nor do they respect their own places of worship by their behavior.

[MunichNark]

That's exactly it, Floridamom. I'm Catholic, so I know that my view of an actual sacred place may not be shared by all, but surely any Church is a place of worship, to be treated accordingly? They have no qualm about filming, laughing, talking.......I don't understand that at all. Whether or not you believe Jesus to be actually present, this is still your holy place. Otherwise there really is no point in having a Church.

A wedding is all that these people aspire to, apart from breeding like crazy. Wouldn't you want this day to be truly blessed, special and reverent?

As a sidenote, it suddenly occurred to me that a marriage is a holy MATRIMONY, not a holy patriachry:-) So take that in your pipe and smoke it, fundie suckers who fancy themselves because they are male.

[Albanyguy]

4 hours ago, floridamom said:

Yes, I agree that a church, no matter what faith it is representing, is a holy, sacred place. Godly things happen in that space and it should be respected. I also agree that these seemingly 'so religious, pious, people' don't respect their own church spaces. Their dress and behavior during weddings is obvious to me. They act inappropriately when in God's house, IMO.

I think this attitude stems from their arrogance and entitlement. Their thinking seems to be: "We are God's favorite people; he loves us soooo much more than all those others out there. We're so special in His eyes that we can behave any way we want. Jesus doesn't want us to stand on ceremony, he's like an old buddy who lets us walk right into his house without knocking and put our muddy feet up on his furniture."

[Temperance]

I'm Catholic too. I disagree that they are sooo disrespectful. I have been to enough Catholic weddings to say it is normal for there to be laughing, and filming during the wedding. The priest will say something funny and people will laugh, and hey that happens often enough except at funerals. I've also seen people laugh for other reasons at weddings, but I have to think about what they were laughing about. Yes in the church. At church I've done a fair amount of laughing or talking before/after the service.  Talking during the ceremony/service etc. is of course rude, but as a Catholic we talk plenty before hand especially at weddings where we travel great distance to see people we only get to see a few times a year and afterwards during the endless pictures. Being on your phone isn't too respectful, more of a modern hazard.  Weddings are special occasions, so a fair number of people have them filmed including Catholics. 

[mythoughtis]

Temperance

Thats also the way it is at Protestant churches. Talking before/after ok. laughing at the pastors jokes ok- but pay attention and respect the activities taking place.  Stunts such as drones, people repelling in,  bare feet, pretending to lose the ring etc is inappropriate for us too. 

[Genevrier]

On 12/30/2017 at 5:14 PM, Temperance said:

Talking about his vasectomy being reversed is just as weird if not weirder than her promising to obey.

I find it significantly weirder.

[Temperance]

3 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Temperance

Thats also the way it is at Protestant churches. Talking before/after ok. laughing at the pastors jokes ok- but pay attention and respect the activities taking place.  Stunts such as drones, people repelling in,  bare feet, pretending to lose the ring etc is inappropriate for us too. 

We'll agree to disagree. If I was at a Catholic wedding, people pretended to lose the ring, I'd be annoyed because the wedding is long enough as it is. Maybe too cutsey.  I guess it's a little not taking the service seriously.  I thought the drone was kind of cute. As for bare feet, it's their feet. I probably would think it's impractical or too country for my taste, but it seems okay. I see nothing wrong with barefeet in church even though I've never been to church without shoes.  Some people think it comes from Exodus 3:5 when God tells Moses to "take off his sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy gound."  It did seem rather cold yesterday. Anyway her long skirts covered her feet for most of the service. 

Edited January 1, 2018 by Temperance

[mythoughtis]

Temperance - I thought I was agreeing with your interpretation of what was okay at Catholic Services. Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear. 

[kokapetl]

On 30/12/2017 at 4:00 PM, Sew Sumi said:

That man should get his neck checked out. 

[Annb67]

4 hours ago, Kokapetl said:

That man should get his neck checked out. 

What neck? Lol

[louannems]

I just see fat folds.

[floridamom]

What's medically wrong with Sierra's husband's neck? I don't notice anything out of the ordinary.

[Fuzzysox]

Has Tabby Paine dropped off the face of the earth? No word about her since she got married. By now she should have had a blessing.

[Mollie]

1 hour ago, Fuzzysox said:

Has Tabby Paine dropped off the face of the earth? No word about her since she got married. By now she should have had a blessing.

Actually, you can't get pregnant from anal sex.

[LilJen]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 2:17 PM, Tabbygirl521 said:

OK, so I am the ignorant one. LOL! Thanks for that; I can let my blood pressure ease back down now. 

PS: to be cre8v, I submit ""Zechyriah."

I'll go you one better: Zechyryah. Trendier and more unique, dontcha know?

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, LilJen said:

I'll go you one better: Zechyryah. Trendier and more unique, dontcha know?

Plus, it has TWO ys, compared to the lowly ONE y each girl's name has. Symbolic of the higher status of the male, doncha know? 

[ChiCricket]

On 12/29/2017 at 1:41 PM, PikaScrewChu said:

John's too busy writing poetry to care about what kind of trouble he's getting into with the Zambian government. He even started his own Facebook page.

So much cringe. Much wow.

This whole thing made my eyes cross. It is so f'ing LONG.

Wouldn't let me copy, so I screenshotted a smitch.

[Ohiopirate02]

2 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

This whole thing made my eyes cross. It is so f'ing LONG.

Wouldn't let me copy, so I screenshotted a smitch.

WTF is that.  I can't imagine that "poetry"  would ever get anyone to convert.  The Catholic missionaries would be welcome since they actually provide for the poor without this shit.   

Also, if the Catholic Church really did subvert Jesus's true message, shouldn't the Protestant bible have more books in it.

[PikaScrewChu]

7 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

This whole thing made my eyes cross. It is so f'ing LONG.

Wouldn't let me copy, so I screenshotted a smitch.

I need Gilbert Gottfried to do a dramatic reading of this.

[LittlePeas3]

I looked on John Schrader's FB page, apparently Esther is in labour, 2 1/2 weeks overdue and the midwife is having  car troubles, lives an hour away and would prefer not to drive at night.  I hope for Esther's sake her babies aren't big!  

[ginger90]

A midwife who prefers not to drive at night? There’s a good choice.

[Arwen Evenstar]

7 hours ago, PikaScrewChu said:

I need Gilbert Gottfried to do a dramatic reading of this.

I’d opt for Andy Serkis reading it aloud in his Gollum voice, like he did with Trump’s tweets on Colbert.  

Serkis: What’s covfefe, Precious?

Colbert: No one knows.

Yeah, just like that.....

(Trudges off to Prayer Closet with Starbucks in hand.)

[Fosca]

Or Mark Hamill in his Joker voice.

I wrote shitty poetry like that, but I was 13 and was wise enough never to show it to anyone. And it wasn't about religion; it was more about my angst/depression.  How old is this meatloaf again?  With how many kids?

[louannems]

Anna's sister, Esther has delivered her baby in Zambia.  Caleb.

[PikaScrewChu]

1 hour ago, louannems said:

Anna's sister, Esther has delivered her baby in Zambia.  Caleb.

Any word on what random Tongan word they've given this kid as a middle name? John seems to think he's a Zambian.

[louannems]

51 minutes ago, PikaScrewChu said:

Any word on what random Tongan word they've given this kid as a middle name? John seems to think he's a Zambian.

No middle name was mentioned.

[Arwen Evenstar]

2 hours ago, louannems said:

Anna's sister, Esther has delivered her baby in Zambia.  Caleb.

I cannot imagine Jilly Muffin up against such hardship.  Jilly belonged in a hospital giving birth, but I’m referring to her whiny about, “lack of hot water, water outages, air conditioning on demand, power outages, lack of WiFi, no JSlaves to do her bidding....Danger...danger while distributing banana bread and teaching interpretive dance. Esther has a much more difficult time in Zambia, even if she does live on a church compound as well, but sucks it up as the life she’s chosen. We don’t hear her twattering about stupid things and posting on instagram or complaining.  She’s just birthed her 11th, and she rarely comes home and counts herself lucky to get to do once a year. 

Though I think her husband is an idiot, at least HER heart seems to be in the right place when it comes to being a missionary/ missionary’s wife.

[Mollie]

“Fixer Upper” stars Chip and Joanna Gaines are expecting another baby – their fifth.  They have given up their reality TV show to have more time for their family.

[JoanArc]

2 hours ago, Mollie said:

“Fixer Upper” stars Chip and Joanna Gaines are expecting another baby – their fifth.  They have given up their reality TV show to have more time for their family.

Jessa's gonna be pissed. They were her spirit animal.

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 1:47 PM, Lunera said:

Many people asked her if she was pregnant after she poster her Christmas pictures looking a bit bigger. She said she was not. I think it might be stress or fertility drugs. 

I'm so happy to see these pictures.  Other than the proposal episode, I don't remember seeing much of Michael and her husband.  I've read here, and there seemed to be a lot of - he didn't want to marry her, but was pressured into it, he's cold, he's asexual, he was enraged when Michael showed up because she "lied" to him, etc.  So I've worried a bit for her.  But there she is, cuddled in her husband's arms, and obviously very comfortable doing so.  And he looks just as happy to have her there.

And I feel a little sad for her with Jingle's announcement.  I'm sure the rumors of possible birth control has run rampant, and yet Jinge is pregnant by her first anniversary.

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 7:17 PM, flyingdi said:

Am I the only one who actually thinks Michael is very pretty?Maybe in a more understated way than her flashier sisters but still, a beautiful girl.

Michael is a pretty girl, but she has a warmth that emanates and that probably adds to her attraction in person.

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 6:40 PM, cereality said:

Michael and Jana have always struck me as the stereotypical older daughters who dutifully did what they were supposed to -- believe the garbage their parents preached; raised the kids bc that what the daughters are supposed to do etc. Except I think they probably both thought that their other sisters would be in the same boat as them, except their other sisters being a bit younger had an advantage bc seeing what her life was like -- they realized they didn't want that and went into immediate "protect myself" mode so they wouldn't be the ones tasked with potty training or sewing clothes or whatever.

Alyssa and Erin both strike me as bitchy, whereas Michael seems more genuine. You know Alyssa and Erin always looked down on their fat(ter than them - though not actually fat) older sister given that they were blonde and beautiful. And in a cult based on competition for men and babies, you know the pity for her only increased when they got themselves married at 21 and 19, whereas their older sister was sweating it out until age 25 and practically had to beg Brandon to marry her -- while their suitors chased them. So then Michael gets married and she can't even gloat about it for a second bc they can't make a baby -- so the pity continues. And sure Erin had baby issues too, but those are long forgotten now that she pops out a kid per year so now it's back to "aw poor Michael." You know as sad as it looked to have her mom as her maid of honor, I'm glad she didn't ask Erin or Alyssa. I guess it's not allowed in a family where you have so many sisters, but she should've asked Jana under the guise of -- I have so many sisters, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings so Jana is maid of honor and all the sisters are the bridal party.

I haven't seen much of Alyssa, but she does strike me as bitchy, too.  Erin seems more like an over medicated, smiling airhead, who doesn't have to be a bitch because everyone bows down to her.  Alyssa and Erin may think they got the better catch, but when they have ten kids (if Erin's lucky enough to live through that many), Alyssa's husband doesn't want to watch a passel of kids while she goes and cleans buildings, and Erin can no longer devote endless amounts of time on her angelic hair, they're going to look at Michael, who will hopefully have at least one happy baby, look as cute as she did on her wedding day, and lives a much easier life because she married a man with better earning potential, and may rethink their superiority.

[queenanne]

On 1/2/2018 at 3:59 PM, Arwen Evenstar said:

I cannot imagine Jilly Muffin up against such hardship.  Jilly belonged in a hospital giving birth, but I’m referring to her whiny about, “lack of hot water, water outages, air conditioning on demand, power outages, lack of WiFi, no JSlaves to do her bidding....Danger...danger while distributing banana bread and teaching interpretive dance. Esther has a much more difficult time in Zambia, even if she does live on a church compound as well, but sucks it up as the life she’s chosen. We don’t hear her twattering about stupid things and posting on instagram or complaining.  She’s just birthed her 11th, and she rarely comes home and counts herself lucky to get to do once a year. 

Though I think her husband is an idiot, at least HER heart seems to be in the right place when it comes to being a missionary/ missionary’s wife.

You mean, Esther understands that being a missionary's wife involves these things called "sacrifices", of these other strange things called "creature comforts"?  I agree.  

ETA to add:  Though I grant not having running water is mega irritating when you've grown to expect it and have to think about how to get along without it, I'll give Jill that.

Edited January 4, 2018 by queenanne

[lianau]

Heads up , Jill R . is pimping out her future special needs baby on facebook . At least Amy-the-quadriplegic will have company in being used to grift.

[madpsych78]

2 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I'm so happy to see these pictures.  Other than the proposal episode, I don't remember seeing much of Michael and her husband.  I've read here, and there seemed to be a lot of - he didn't want to marry her, but was pressured into it, he's cold, he's asexual, he was enraged when Michael showed up because she "lied" to him, etc.  So I've worried a bit for her.  But there she is, cuddled in her husband's arms, and obviously very comfortable doing so.  And he looks just as happy to have her there.

And I feel a little sad for her with Jingle's announcement.  I'm sure the rumors of possible birth control has run rampant, and yet Jinge is pregnant by her first anniversary.

Michael is a pretty girl, but she has a warmth that emanates and that probably adds to her attraction in person.

I haven't seen much of Alyssa, but she does strike me as bitchy, too.  Erin seems more like an over medicated, smiling airhead, who doesn't have to be a bitch because everyone bows down to her.  Alyssa and Erin may think they got the better catch, but when they have ten kids (if Erin's lucky enough to live through that many), Alyssa's husband doesn't want to watch a passel of kids while she goes and cleans buildings, and Erin can no longer devote endless amounts of time on her angelic hair, they're going to look at Michael, who will hopefully have at least one happy baby, look as cute as she did on her wedding day, and lives a much easier life because she married a man with better earning potential, and may rethink their superiority.

I feel like of all the fundies that are discussed here, Michael is the one where people on here express sadness because she is NOT pregnant. Whereas with everyone else there is disappointment that they get pregnant so early (especially Jill, Joy and Kendra, but even Jinger as of late).

[RedheadZombie]

2 minutes ago, lianau said:

Heads up , Jill R . is pimping out her future special needs baby on facebook . At least Amy-the-quadriplegic will have company in being used to grift.

I've not heard of any of this.  Jill R's unborn child is special needs?  Is it confirmed via ultrasound or is she simply grifting?

[lianau]

3 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

I've not heard of any of this.  Jill R's unborn child is special needs?  Is it confirmed via ultrasound or is she simply grifting?

A few weeks ago she mentioned that there were some concerns during her ultrasound  and she needed to visit a specialist for further testing, asking for prayers  . She  was vague about all of it  and given that Jill is Jill people weren't sure if she was dramatizing some minor issue for attention . Tonight she went into more details and talked about the baby's brain and that it looks like the baby had a stroke in utero  and a hydrocephalus . I can't listen to her talking so I don't know if there is more to it . 

[Arwen Evenstar]

On 12/30/2017 at 2:37 PM, Temperance said:

I'm "watching" the Maxwell/Bontrager wedding livestream. Father of the bride opened with the father of the groom's vasectomy reversal! With all the kids born afterwards standing on stage! At the Ceremony!

So why is this relevant? Unless the one being wed is one of his reversal children.

55 minutes ago, lianau said:

Tonight she went into more details and talked about the baby's brain and that it looks like the baby had a stroke in utero  and a hydrocephalus . I can't listen to her talking so I don't know if there is more to it . 

As much as JRod has annoyed me, I wish her no harm. I’d be willing to pray for health and that of her baby. NOBODY deserves this kind of heartbreak. I really hope they don’t take this poor baby on a Mommy Martyrdom Tour And trot her out for certain causes.  Jill has every right to be heartbroken, but I just hope she doesn’t try to make this about her. Please no baby in a cage.

[Temperance]

10 minutes ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

So why is this relevant? Unless the one being wed is one of his reversal children.

Two reasons

1. One the groom is indeed born after Steve had his vasectomy reversed. 

2. To help push the Quiverful agenda onto this newlywed couple. The point is to make sure they will not use birth control and leave their family size up to God. I actually heard of vasectomy reversals being paraded in a church---- from survivors/former members of Gothardism and other Quiverfull groups.  The Gothard affliated groups would parade the vasectomy reversal kids on the stage, to prove something about being blessed with more kids. I have never heard of this at wedding before. This is the first wedding that I know of  which featured such a display.  The term Quiverfull comes from psalm 127 and that psalm was read/quoted at the wedding. 

Edited January 4, 2018 by Temperance

[Arwen Evenstar]

11 minutes ago, Temperance said:

Two reasons

1. One the groom is indeed born after Steve had his vasectomy reversed. 

2. To help push the Quiverful agenda onto this newlywed couple. The point is to make sure they will not use birth control and leave their family size up to God. I actually heard of vasectomy reversals being paraded in a church---- from survivors/former members of Gothardism and other Quiverfull groups.  The Gothard affliated groups would parade the vasectomy reversal kids on the stage, to prove something about being blessed with more kids. I have never heard of this at wedding before. This is the first wedding that I know of  which featured such a display.  The term Quiverfull comes from psalm 127 and that psalm was read/quoted at the wedding. 

Thanks for the answers. I knew Stevehovah had a reversal and they push the Quiverful agenda. He’s truly a joyless person.  No church, no friends, no fun...what kind of life is that for anyone?

Edited January 4, 2018 by Arwen Evenstar