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

[BigBingerBro]

Why is the one little girl dressed as Laura Ingalls?

[Sew Sumi]

Just saw these in her stories. So, they got another family to pay for a meal. 

These people are the worst. Then again, people fall for it, so I don't see them stopping any time soon.

[Temperance]

Michelle Seewald turned 18 earlier this month and she is engaged to her boyfriend Elijah Barger. They previously posted pictures with a lot of non-side hug touching, but otherwise I'm getting Ben and Jessa flashbacks. I guess Ben's parents learned nothing about marrying a kid off too young. Ben's sister Jessica became a cop and was 22 when she got married. Danielle is 20 and works as a hairdresser. 

I have no idea how old Elijah is, but he looks just as young as Michelle. Ben was 19 and 1/2 when he got married and Michelle will probably be younger when she gets married. 

(Michelle is Ben's sister, Jessa's sister-in-law and an aunt to Spurgeon, Henry and Ivy.)

If you want to see the pictures Michelle Seewald post some announcing her engagement to her Instagram. Maybe someone can post the Instagram post here?

[BitterApple]

Just like Carlin and Katie Bates, Michelle is beautiful and her fiance is a total dweeb. I know looks aren't everything, but she could do way better. I don't know why there's a flurry of young girls settling for the first guy who comes there way. It's like they're afraid they'll fall victim to the Jana Duggar Curse.

[Oldernowiser]

I LOVE how hard that baby is side-eyeing all those crazy-ass white people.

[Sew Sumi]

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Sew Sumi

[Oldernowiser]

I am sure it was a complete coincidence that there just happened to be a beautiful stone window and a photographer there when that surprise proposal happened totally out of the blue. 🙄

Most of the time SM doesn’t bug me that much. But this faux staged re-enactment crap is just...wrong.

ETA: And while I’m at it, he looks like he could be the son she’s dropping off at JV soccer practice. 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Oldernowiser

[Temperance]

9 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Just like Carlin and Katie Bates, Michelle is beautiful and her fiance is a total dweeb. I know looks aren't everything, but she could do way better. I don't know why there's a flurry of young girls settling for the first guy who comes there way. It's like they're afraid they'll fall victim to the Jana Duggar Curse.

He's cute in my eyes. If I was her age, he's exactly the type I'd be dating. 

[65mickey]

5 minutes ago, Temperance said:

He's cute in my eyes. If I was her age, he's exactly the type I'd be dating. 

Dating maybe but marrying?? He looks like he is about 15 year old. 

[fonfereksglen]

3 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

Dating maybe but marrying?? He looks like he is about 15 year old. 

He looks like Anthony Michael Hall circa Sixteen Candles and is probably as dorky.

[Temperance]

5 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

Dating maybe but marrying?? He looks like he is about 15 year old. 

He's good looking to me, although at my current age I'm too old for him. He's probably the same age as Michelle and both of them are probably too young to get married. His looks aren't the problem to me; it's their ages, that neither of them has had time to figure themselves and that they probably still navigating careers to support themselves and each other. Her older sisters both have good jobs/careers so Michelle could also be working. 

[Sew Sumi]

The last I heard, Michelle was working at Chick-fil-A. Not sure if she's moved on or not.

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

What's interesting is the one header on the landing page vaguely mentions events but none of the pricing is about an event that is not wedding-related. 

She's a Gothardite. Do they know any other kinds of events exist? 

 

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

She's a Gothardite. Do they know any other kinds of events exist? 

 

Big Sandy! Revivals! Um, Big Sandy! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[galaxychaser]

Michelle looks like a drag queen too much makeup. The boyfriend is cute enough lol.

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

Michelle looks like a drag queen too much makeup. The boyfriend is cute enough lol.

Jill Rod may have broken my makeup meter, but she looks fine to me. I think she's a pretty girl. He's not hideous-looking, but he looks like he's about 12 to me. LOL 

[BigBingerBro]

He looks prepubescent.

[JoanArc]

2 hours ago, 65mickey said:

Dating maybe but marrying?? He looks like he is about 15 year old. 

Clicked on this thread and thought I'd stumbled across some christian MILF pron.

Michelle should ask her older brother how getting married young works out. Take a long, hard look

[Lunera]

Sooo, are they going to live off her part time Chick fila job? 

Michelle is young and dumb and marrying a young dumb kid. She'll be pregnant immediately. She really should have learned from Jessica. 

[galaxychaser]

Rods thanked Pastor Sawyer for pool time and free bbq. 

[Lady Edith]

What the HELL is this child dressed in?????  Is that a hair shirt under a summer dress???  And a baby bonnet?   I agree with the others who said she looks like a (demented) Laura Ingalls!   Is she being punished for something?   I feel like this is a still from the set of a horror movie. People Under the Stairs 4: Children of the Stinkbus.  Maybe someone told her that she is as pretty as her mama, so that had to change, pronto!  This poor girl. She just spent two (?) weeks in the Florida sun and still looks like she hasn’t seen daylight in years.  

[Temperance]

3 hours ago, Lunera said:

Sooo, are they going to live off her part time Chick fila job? 

Michelle is young and dumb and marrying a young dumb kid. She'll be pregnant immediately. She really should have learned from Jessica. 

Maybe she did learn something from Jessica and won't be pregnant immediately. Jessica lived with her man before she married and she married in May.  As far as we know, she isn't pregnant yet, so evidently they found a way around it. Maybe young marriage won't be such a bad idea if they wait a little to have a kid. 

[ginger90]

5 pictures:

 

 

 

[Tasya]

Has Josie Bates officially left the cult? Her website is very, very non-fundie. I wonder if some of these "kids" are just towing the party line for TV at this point. Plus a female in business is basically the complete opposite of every single thing that family embraces. 

The little baby with the Rods looks tortured and all I could focus on were his dirty fingernails! That is such a pet peeve of mine. 

[Guest]

I just cannot with those older girls using a swimming pool like a baptism tank. Or a bathtub. 

I was at Volcano Bay in Orlando and was waiting for a water ride behind a Muslim woman who had the most fashionable modest bathing suit on I'd ever seen. I wanted one! There's no reason, other than self-inflicted poverty and ignorance, that the slob heads of the Rodriques household can't outfit these kids (well, just the girls, really) in proper swimwear. 

Pastor Vinny probably had to burn down his pool after they left.

 

[BradandJanet]

18 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

I LOVE how hard that baby is side-eyeing all those crazy-ass white people.

Mrs. David doesn't look too happy either. She probably knows what the outing is going to cost. Why do the Rods have empty plates, but their hosts have hardly eaten? 

[galaxychaser]

15 hours ago, Lady Edith said:

What the HELL is this child dressed in?????  Is that a hair shirt under a summer dress???  And a baby bonnet?   I agree with the others who said she looks like a (demented) Laura Ingalls!   Is she being punished for something?   I feel like this is a still from the set of a horror movie. People Under the Stairs 4: Children of the Stinkbus.  Maybe someone told her that she is as pretty as her mama, so that had to change, pronto!  This poor girl. She just spent two (?) weeks in the Florida sun and still looks like she hasn’t seen daylight in years.  

Orphan Annie circa 1850.

[beckie]

Janessa, that little hussy. Holding hands with a boy and not even engaged! 

(And yes, I'm joking. I think it's adorable. But I agree with whomever up thread said the little boy looked tortured. He's probably never seen such loony people!)

[SMama]

1 hour ago, BradandJanet said:

Why do the Rods have empty plates, but their hosts have hardly eaten? 

Because they eat Lord of the Flies style?

Edited February 24, 2020 by SMama

[libgirl2]

20 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

 

Is he 11 years old? Yikes! 

[Churchhoney]

20 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Is he 11 years old? Yikes! 

Some people look younger than they are .... and that's a genetic thing -- that often lasts for life. So maybe he's just one of those lucky ones....

I mean, they are too young, in my opinion. But his looks don't prove that he's necessarily as young as or younger than she is or that he's among the more immature people of his own age or anything. 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Churchhoney

[sugarplum]

20 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

I am sure it was a complete coincidence that there just happened to be a beautiful stone window and a photographer there when that surprise proposal happened totally out of the blue. 🙄

Most of the time SM doesn’t bug me that much. But this faux staged re-enactment crap is just...wrong.

ETA: And while I’m at it, he looks like he could be the son she’s dropping off at JV soccer practice. 

Photographer here. Believe it or not, it’s a VERY common thing for guys to hire a photographer to capture their proposal as it happens. I’ve been hired to do this many times. I always arrive at the spot he plans to propose early so I can find a place I won’t be seen and tell him exactly where to stand and which way to face. Once the proposal happens and they have some time together, I come out of hiding and have a mini photo shoot with them. Those appeared to be professional photos - I am certain this is what happened for this. It wasn’t a “faux” re-enactment. It was captured in real time by a professional who gave very clear instructions on where to stand for the best photos. 

[farmgal4]

10 hours ago, ginger90 said:

5 pictures:

 

 

 

FFS!! 🤬 The way she dresses those kids infuriates me!  They look like they live on the streets and got their clothes out of a dumpster.

[BradandJanet]

The brown shirt and prairie cap look like a home sewing project. And then to put it under that long pink crocheted dress thing. Sigh. 

Is that Nathan in street clothes in the pool too? Nurie in the pink shirt is going to have a wet t-shirt moment, and Nathan is going to lose it.  

 

[louannems]

On 2/22/2020 at 10:05 AM, galaxychaser said:

I’m surprised due to their poor diet the girls aren’t bald. At least they have long hair. 

But like floridamom said, Nurie's long hair is just awful.  In the lighthouse photo, where the backs of Nurie and Nathan are shown, her hair is simply fried.  So frizzy and unsightly.  I agree she needs at least a foot of the mess chopped off and maybe if she stops with the constant teezing and heat and hair spray, just maybe it will become healthy looking hair.  A good healthy diet would help her hair, too.

[lianau]

1 hour ago, farmgal4 said:

FFS!! 🤬 The way she dresses those kids infuriates me!  They look like they live on the streets and got their clothes out of a dumpster.

Close .RV and old churchlady bin .

[3 is enough]

On 2/23/2020 at 3:18 PM, madpsych78 said:

It actually looks pretty good, but thoughts on marketing hair and makeup only for weddings? Particularly, only the bride and bridesmaids? I would expand that out to include formal dances and other dress-up social events of all types, as well as the mother of the bride, mother of the groom, etc.

It actually says "wedding and event".  I assume they will also do proms and other functions too.

That is a well designed website.  And Josie's "about me" page does not mention Jesus at all.

Also, she posted an Instagram story of Kelton dancing with Willow and singing along to Ed Sheeran a few weeks ago.  And when Lawson came home it looked like Kelton was not there- he was probably WORKING.  

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by this couple.

[louannems]

22 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

I am sure it was a complete coincidence that there just happened to be a beautiful stone window and a photographer there when that surprise proposal happened totally out of the blue. 🙄

Most of the time SM doesn’t bug me that much. But this faux staged re-enactment crap is just...wrong.

ETA: And while I’m at it, he looks like he could be the son she’s dropping off at JV soccer practice. 

Seriously, for a second I thought the fiance was Jackson Duggar!!!

[Sew Sumi]

12 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

It actually says "wedding and event".  I assume they will also do proms and other functions too.

That is a well designed website.  And Josie's "about me" page does not mention Jesus at all.

Also, she posted an Instagram story of Kelton dancing with Willow and singing along to Ed Sheeran a few weeks ago.  And when Lawson came home it looked like Kelton was not there- he was probably WORKING.  

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by this couple.

Josie also posted a story with Kelton reading the Bible to Willow, calling it a bedtime routine. They haven't totally left the cult 

[ginger90]

4 pictures, 2 videos:

 

 

 

[3 is enough]

25 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Josie also posted a story with Kelton reading the Bible to Willow, calling it a bedtime routine. They haven't totally left the cult 

Well, yes, but it appears they may be capable of not being "All Jesus, all the time" like their parents and some of her siblings.  Honestly, I don't expect any of them to leave all of their beliefs behind, but toning it down a bit is a good thing.

Edited February 25, 2020 by 3 is enough

[Sew Sumi]

3 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

Well, yes, but it appears they may be capable of not being "All Jesus, all the time" like their parents and some of her siblings.  Honestly, I don't expect any of them to leave all of their beliefs behind, but toning it down a bit is a good thing.

I think they're just aware of appearances. Kelton invokes Jesus plenty on his SM. 

[BigBingerBro]

Wow, these people seem to be on a perpetual vacation!

[GeeGolly]

7 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

Wow, these people seem to be on a perpetual vacation!

With no discernible income either. Go figure.

[Sew Sumi]

Well, they haven't paid for a meal since they set foot in FL. And Jill is now obsessed with trying to prove her kids eat.

[OpieTaylor]

They sing maybe once or twice a week in some church, and then vacation the rest of the time - this is full-time ministry??

[fonfereksglen]

1 minute ago, OpieTaylor said:

They sing maybe once or twice a week in some church, and then vacation the rest of the time - this is full-time ministry??

I think they grift the random vacation experience from innocent churches, pastors and their wives.  The rest is travelling as cheaply as possible on the proceeds from a church service offering to the next church service offering.  I doubt they ever are welcomed back.  It must be exhausting and scary when the bookings dry up so they ramp up the printing press.  And start again.

I find their lifestyle horrific.   And I truly weep for their children.  

 

[galaxychaser]

$15x14=210

thats about what Rods cost per meal to each family who treats them

 

[emma675]

I don't understand why Jill felt the need to call out their boat host's back pain. I'm actually being sincere, lol! What was the point of that?

[Churchhoney]

30 minutes ago, OpieTaylor said:

They sing maybe once or twice a week in some church, and then vacation the rest of the time - this is full-time ministry??

Just change your title to Your-Name-Here-Family-Serving-Jesus and you can shamelessly beg for room, board and subsidized entertainment while vacationing too. And, apparently, people'll have to give it to you.  😈

Edited February 25, 2020 by Churchhoney