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

[BitterApple]

15 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Erin and Alyssa's babies are six months old. At the rate they have reproduced, they both could be up the duff now.

I was just thinking that. If their trend of back to back pregnancies continues, one of them will be (or already is) knocked up shortly. 

[DragonFaerie]

1 minute ago, BitterApple said:

I was just thinking that. If their trend of back to back pregnancies continues, one of them will be (or already is) knocked up shortly. 

when are their laundry room breakdowns coming.  I mean a 6 month old baby, plus toddlers, a house to run, laundry, meals, etc.  Are they streamlining caffeine or just sleeping through sex?

[Loves2Dance]

6 minutes ago, DragonFaerie said:

when are their laundry room breakdowns coming.  I mean a 6 month old baby, plus toddlers, a house to run, laundry, meals, etc.  Are they streamlining caffeine or just sleeping through sex?

And they both work. 

[riverblue22]

If Erin is pregnant, I feel bad for Chad.  He isn't ready for another in that 2 bedroom house of theirs.

Erin is built just like her mother, and I think she will be adding pounds with every pregnancy, unlike thin Alyssa.

[farmgal4]

On 10/5/2018 at 6:57 PM, Lunera said:

Josie and Kelton got married today in an outdoor ceremony. 

Kelton should’ve worn a sleeveless undershirt.  I’m glad Gil had the common sense to to look away and not gawk (looking at you, Boob!) while they were kissing.

[Saltgypsie]

I love everything about Josie's wedding..Stunning..my favorite Duggar Bates wedding so far...now to see what Carlin does to try and one up Josie!

[DragonFaerie]

23 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

Kelton should’ve worn a sleeveless undershirt.  I’m glad Gil had the common sense to to look away and not gawk (looking at you, Boob!) while they were kissing.

Totally agree on the undershirt.  Why, in all of these families, who supposedly can sew, can no man have a properly hemmed pant?  They are all like 1-5 inches too long and pool at the top of the shoes.  Gil and Kelton in this photo.

[BitterApple]

25 minutes ago, Saltgypsie said:

I love everything about Josie's wedding..Stunning..my favorite Duggar Bates wedding so far...now to see what Carlin does to try and one up Josie!

I'm thinking Carlin will be a Bedazzled Bride. If she lived in the real world, she'd be one of those girls on Say Yes To The Dress who heads straight for the Pnina Tornai salon the second they step into Kleinfeld's.

[Rabbittron]

46 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

Kelton should’ve worn a sleeveless undershirt.  I’m glad Gil had the common sense to to look away and not gawk (looking at you, Boob!) while they were kissing.

Because he doesn't get a hard-on because he doesn't  care about his kids sex life like hey hey hey because we all know hey hey hey is really into his kids sex lives.

[bigskygirl]

5 minutes ago, Rabbittron said:

Because he doesn't get a hard-on because he doesn't  care about his kids sex life like hey hey hey because we all know hey hey hey is really into his kids sex lives.

Would someone be kind enough to hand over the heavy duty extra strength brain bleach please.

[Loves2Dance]

1 hour ago, Fuzzysox said:

Erin's face sure looks puffy. I call pregnant too.

Poor Chad if this is true. 

[BitterApple]

5 minutes ago, Loves2Dance said:

Poor Chad if this is true. 

Someone on Erin's Instagram commented that Chad looks older. Yeah, you think? If I had everything on my plate that he does, I'd be aging in dog years too. 

Regarding possible pregnancy, it's hard to tell. Erin's always had sort of a round figure. She's one where it could just be lingering baby weight. Alyssa on the other hand is flat as a board two weeks after giving birth. Early pregnancy would be much more noticeable on her.

[Loves2Dance]

10 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Someone on Erin's Instagram commented that Chad looks older. Yeah, you think? If I had everything on my plate that he does, I'd be aging in dog years too. 

Regarding possible pregnancy, it's hard to tell. Erin's always had sort of a round figure. She's one where it could just be lingering baby weight. Alyssa on the other hand is flat as a board two weeks after giving birth. Early pregnancy would be much more noticeable on her.

Yeah, Chad looks rough for his age...really, really rough. 

[DangerousMinds]

57 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I'm thinking Carlin will be a Bedazzled Bride. If she lived in the real world, she'd be one of those girls on Say Yes To The Dress who heads straight for the Pnina Tornai salon the second they step into Kleinfeld's.

Oh, what a pretty pretty princess!?

Edited October 7, 2018 by DangerousMinds

[PradaKitty]

Looking at the picture of Gil Bates walking with his daughter brought me to the same question I have every time I see fundy dads in suits — Ever hear of tailoring? Pressing? Looking sharp? It’s a thing. Look into it. 

[Temperance]

I don't think any of them are pregnant. People's weight can fluctuate for a variety of reasons. And she could have fall allegeries. Chad looks like he may have allergies too. 

[Rabbittron]

59 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

Would someone be kind enough to hand over the heavy duty extra strength brain bleach please.

Here you go 

[RedheadZombie]

6 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Someone here called it. They threw Tori's baby shower while everyone was still in town. 

Has Alyssa been taking hair tips from Erin?  What a mess. 

[awaken]

4 hours ago, Triple P said:

Based on the photos on the Up tv site, I think Erin might be pregnant. In one photo she has her hands clasped under her midsection - the classic "see my pregnancy" pose.

 

www.uptv.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/josie-bates-kelton-balka-wedding-gallery-family.jpg

Oh my goodness, yes!  I hardly recognize Erin!  

What does Erin do for work?

[BitterApple]

32 minutes ago, awaken said:

Oh my goodness, yes!  I hardly recognize Erin!  

What does Erin do for work?

She's recorded a couple CD's and taught piano lessons. 

[graefin]

She looks pretty flat to me.

[Sew Sumi]

If she's 3 months (or less) and wearing black, I don't think we have any proof of anything. I just speculated that she COULD  be as much as 3 months gone.

Edited October 7, 2018 by Sew Sumi

[Sew Sumi]

Fundie Zoolander and his consort in their natural habitat. 

 

[Wishing Well]

If you look at Josie’s bouquet from the top, its actually gorgeous.  Most of the posed photos has her tilting the flowers down so that it’s more proportionate within itself.  I love giant, messy bouquets - the ones that look like a neat little bunch of roses don’t appeal at ALL.  The greenery looks better when you tilt and hide it.

[BetyBee]

10 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

Poor Chad if this is true. 

I wouldn't feel one bit sorry for Chad.  If she's pregnant, he certainly had a part in it.  And this is what they do.  

[GeeGolly]

When the Bates family played a Newlywed style game, Erin thought the question about family size was absurd. She said something like, "How would anyone know how many kids they might have?!".

However in that same show Alyssa said she planned on having a smaller family than her parents have.

They seem to be reproducing at the same rate. If Chad wants a small family then he needs to tell Erin that there's ways to avoid pregnancy. Alyssa might need that info too.

[BitterApple]

32 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

When the Bates family played a Newlywed style game, Erin thought the question about family size was absurd. She said something like, "How would anyone know how many kids they might have?!".

However in that same show Alyssa said she planned on having a smaller family than her parents have.

They seem to be reproducing at the same rate. If Chad wants a small family then he needs to tell Erin that there's ways to avoid pregnancy. Alyssa might need that info too.

On an episode of BUB, Gil's mother dropped a not-so-subtle hint to Alyssa that if she doesn't take matters into her own hands, she's on track for a baby every year. I think Erin is neck-deep in the Kool-aid and has become somewhat addicted to the attention having a newborn brings her, but Alyssa following in her mother's footsteps surprises me. Of all the kids she seems least attached to their previous lifestyle. I guess it really is that hard to undo years of brainwashing.

[Misslindsey]

I guess I do not expect any of these fundie's to stop at a few kids. Some might have smaller families than the fundie average, but I never expect any of them to just have two or three kids. I will be surprised when someone does have fewer kids. 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Misslindsey

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, Misslindsey said:

I guess I do not expect any of these fundie's to stop at a few kids. Some might have smaller families than the fundie average, but I never expect any of them to just have two or three kids. I will be surprised when someone does have fewer kids. 

I think statistically 1-2 are likely to have smaller families, just like 1-2 are likely to have no children. However personal desire (for children and potentially procreative sex), luck, medical issues etc play into this in ways we cannot predict. 

 

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Alyssa following in her mother's footsteps surprises me. Of all the kids she seems least attached to their previous lifestyle. I guess it really is that hard to undo years of brainwashing.

Alyssa’s may have really easy pregnancies, which probably helps in the “baby race”. 

[Nysha]

14 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

Poor Chad if this is true. 

If Chad doesn't want to have any more children, he is fully capable of making sure that doesn't happen. I don't feel sorry for him at all. 

[Scarlett45]

6 minutes ago, Nysha said:

If Chad doesn't want to have any more children, he is fully capable of making sure that doesn't happen. I don't feel sorry for him at all. 

Yeah me either. He’s got more power in that decision than a fundy wife has given their cultural mores and the mechanics of potentially reproductive sex. 

[dargosmydaddy]

2 hours ago, Misslindsey said:

I guess I do not expect any of these fundie's to stop at a few kids. Some might have smaller families than the fundie average, but I never expect any of them to just have two or three kids. I will be surprised when someone does have fewer kids.

I don't think any of us expected them to have small families, but the rate at which Erin and Alyssa are popping out kids is rather startling, considering Alyssa seemed over her own big family and Erin has her complications that require her to be on Heparin. Right now they're on a far better pace to have uber-mega-families, whereas the Duggar daughters and Anna are not. (Obviously that could change, but it just seems like Jessa, Jill, Anna, and Whitney Bates have done a little better at spacing their kids... which might not be intentional at all. But it seems like Alyssa and Erin could be trying to do something to curb their pregnancies, if they were so inclined.) 

[kokapetl]

16 hours ago, farmgal4 said:

Kelton should’ve worn a sleeveless undershirt.  I’m glad Gil had the common sense to to look away and not gawk (looking at you, Boob!) while they were kissing.

Maybe he was going for the Mormon look?

[Loves2Dance]

3 hours ago, BitterApple said:

On an episode of BUB, Gil's mother dropped a not-so-subtle hint to Alyssa that if she doesn't take matters into her own hands, she's on track for a baby every year. I think Erin is neck-deep in the Kool-aid and has become somewhat addicted to the attention having a newborn brings her, but Alyssa following in her mother's footsteps surprises me. Of all the kids she seems least attached to their previous lifestyle. I guess it really is that hard to undo years of brainwashing.

Alyssa also replied with "That wasn't our plan..." alluding to her not wanting to be her mom. Maybe she's trying natural family planning, which for some works wonders, for other's it doesn't. If that is failing her, it may be time to try something more. 

[Sew Sumi]

Interesting juxtaposition between the Websters and Paine's here. Erin really is a princess. 

[DangerousMinds]

13 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Interesting juxtaposition between the Websters and Paine's here. Erin really is a princess. 

That ridiculous hair!

[Spencer Hastings]

Chad is looking rough for his age but I’d still let him get me pregnant three times back to back. 

[queenanne]

Nice looking families, no doubt about it.  Tasty wee bites of kiddies, too.

[Heathen]

18 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

Yeah, Chad looks rough for his age...really, really rough. 

Living with Princess Erin can't be easy. I imagine her siblings were happy to see her leave the nest. 

Anybody else think Erin looks a little like Miss Piggy? Okay, I'll show myself to the prayer closet. 

55 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Interesting juxtaposition between the Websters and Paine's here. Erin really is a princess. 

Paines. 

Chad doesn't look bad for his age to me. I must be missing something if y'all think he's aging in dog years. John Webster looks older than Chad. 

[Sew Sumi]

Stupid autocorrect! Being left handed, and typing one fingered, I miss a ton of shit.

I really wanted to point out that Erin doesn't handle a child, while even Chad has a car seat. The Websters just seem more connected to their kids.

[BitterApple]

Is Brooklyn wearing leggings under her dress? Good grief, Erin...

It's a nice picture and the kids are really cute, but it boggles my mind that the entire lot were created in just three years. 

[Churchhoney]

On 10/5/2018 at 11:33 PM, Sew Sumi said:

That's one giant-ass leafy bouquet.

 

Didn't they once have a tree-trimming business? Maybe they just hacked something off. 

[GeeGolly]

Hard to believe that this picture was less then 10 years ago. Probably closer 5 or 6 years ago.

[cereality]

2 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Hard to believe that this picture was less then 10 years ago. Probably closer 5 or 6 years ago.

My guess on ages here -- Ern is probably 19-20; Trace ~14; Josie ~13. They are 27, 21, and 19 now, so I'd say that pic is 6-7 years old around 2011-12. The family has certainly modernized their attire since then, though I don't think the values have changed all that much except maybe that Zach is likely going fundie lite with only 2 kids in 5 years of marriage, working for outsiders who [gasp] may not be Christian, and taking on a mortgage for a nice home for his family.

[dargosmydaddy]

The littlest girl (being held by Zach) bears a striking resemblance to Erin's daughter Brooklyn, who I always thought was a dead ringer for Chad! Genetics are fun. Though the resemblance might just be that they're both fair haired and grumpy-looking. (Brooklyn Paine isn't quite Davia Waller-level of hilarious facial expressions, but the whole "keeping sweet" thing hasn't become her M.O. just yet and I hope she manages to keep it up past toddlerdom!)

[BitterApple]

Alyssa definitely had the biggest glow-up. Everyone else looks pretty much the same, minus the Prairie frumpers, of course.

[Jenilane6]

Chad and Erin don't attend her father's church service.

[LilJen]

23 hours ago, DangerousMinds said:

Oh, what a pretty pretty princess!?

Pretty Pretty Slut Princess, if it's Pnina Tornai. :D

[Heathen]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Alyssa definitely had the biggest glow-up. Everyone else looks pretty much the same, minus the Prairie frumpers, of course.

It didn't take Alyssa long to discover the Jill Rodrigues School of Hair, did it? 

[Normades]

9 hours ago, Nysha said:

t want to have any more children, he is fully capable of making sure that doesn't happen. I don't feel sorry for him at all. 

I feel sorry for all of these kids that were/are brought up in this lifestyle.  I realize men have the advantage, but it still must be really difficult for all of them, male and female to go against these beliefs that were so ingrained in them.  Changing style is one thing, but using birth control after being taught that it's a ticket straight to hell and makes Jesus cry has to be a difficult dilemma.  Their cult is so damaging to everyone involved.  It really pisses me off that Boob, MEschelle, Kelly and Gil all had opportunities for education and to make choices, but they've made sure to hamstring their own children.

That said, I hope these people remember their difficult childhoods and put on their big boy/girl pants and start making adult decisions about what they can handle as far as family size goes and overcome their fears.  If not, another generation will suffer. 

Seeing that pic of the Bates family in their matchy matchy outfits makes me see that JillRod is definitely trying to go for that style (and failing miserably).  They definitely have some style.  They all look clean, their clothes fit and I kind of like the little girls' matching dresses.  They look like retro 1970's maxi dresses and are cute on them. Poor JillRod, she'll never pull that off.