MMLEsq July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 With Erin and Chad’s due date looming, the whole family gathers for their baby shower. Erin’s friend Kelsey comes for the occasion and helps put together a sentimental surprise that leaves Erin speechless. Nathan and Lawson’s friends from New York, Ashley and Anastasia, also visit and the kids have fun showing these city folk a real country adventure! Link to comment
BitterApple July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 (edited) Wow, that was an awfully familiar hug Nathan gave Ashley when she arrived. I wonder if more than fellowshipping and Bible reading was going on during that mission trip, lol. Lawson making fun of Nathan's badly disguised flirting was hilarious. While I think Kelsey had 100% pure intentions, I wasn't so keen on the balloon release. It's great she wanted to honor Erin's struggle, however I'm not so sure it was a good idea to bring up three miscarriages when the woman is in the middle of a high risk pregnancy with potential for complications during delivery. I thought Erin looked upset at the end. Edited July 3, 2015 by BitterApple 6 Link to comment
andromeda331 July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 While I think Kelsey had 100% pure intentions, I wasn't so keen on the balloon release. It's great she wanted to honor Erin's struggle, however I'm not so sure it was a good idea to bring up three miscarriages when the woman is in the middle of a high risk pregnancy with potential for complications during delivery. I thought Erin looked upset at the end. I thought the same thing. It seemed like an odd time to bring it up when Erin still pregnant and the chances of things going wrong were still so high. Her baby shower should have been a time even for a few hours not to have to think about that. Or worry about it. Just relax and have fun. Nathan was not shy about his feelings. 3 Link to comment
Hero July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 (edited) I thought Nathan looked adorable when he was with Ashley. It seemed like he really liked her. He was smiling from ear to ear whenever he was with her. I like how Nathan gave Ashley a real hug and not an awkward side hug. EDIT: After I watched it more closely, Nathan did give her a side hug, but it wasn't a weird robotic one. Edited July 3, 2015 by Suzy123 2 Link to comment
IndianPaintbrush July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 (edited) I think Erin was genuinely touched by the balloon release, but it did end the shower on an oddly sad note. I don't think I could ever be quite so "public" in mourning a miscarriage, but clearly they take a lot of comfort in it. I really liked Anasthesia (I mean Anastasia, lol), and Ashley. I wasn't getting a "she totally likes him" vibe from Ashley though, so we'll see. They would definitely make a funny couple and I would love to see Nathan's reaction to the Bronx. Edited July 3, 2015 by IndianPaintbrush Link to comment
BitterApple July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 I would love to see a Nathan/Ashley courtship. Maybe she's just slick and playing hard to get as opposed to Michael who's desperation is painful to watch. On a completely shallow note, I think Ashley is really pretty. She and Nathan would have adorable kids. I wonder where Erin bought her maternity clothes. She looked adorable at her shower. All of the Bates girls pull off modest-modern really well. 2 Link to comment
ranchgirl July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 Nathan was really smittened by Ashley and it was cute. He was really glad to see her. He has grown into such a nice looking young man. Jackson is going to be very handsome too. (I think that was his name.) I thought it was weird that Erin's sisters were so late to her baby shower because one sister thought the other was driving? So only the driver knows when it is time to load up and leave? Kelly and Gil seem a lot more relaxed about their kids mixing with the opposite sex than JimBoob and Michelle. Link to comment
Flowers July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 I guess I had Nathan pegged completely wrong?.... Link to comment
Sew Sumi July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 Flowers, so did I. I wonder if the Bateses heard the chatter and brought Ashley down to quell it. I didn't like the Yankee vs. South stuff. The Bateses sure want you to conform to their lifestyle, but given what Nathan and Lawson said about Ashley's place in the Bronx, that doesn't go both ways. I feel sorry for Michael, who will have to live amongst people who don't have Southern drawls for the forseeable future. 3 Link to comment
BitterApple July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 I didn't like the Yankee vs. South stuff. I don't like it either. I find it extremely condescending. I know the Bateses don't get out much, but horseback riding isn't something that's exclusive to country folk. When one of the boys snarked about not being able to ride in NYC, I loved when Ashley shot back with "you can ride if you don't mind paying fifty bucks for half an hour." She came off as a lot more street-wise and sharp than the average Fundie girl. 4 Link to comment
Flowers July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 I like this family, but the talk made them sound like they just fell off the back of a turnip truck. "There are all these doors at the front of one big building, and people on the other side of the walls!!" 2 Link to comment
Hero July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 I guess I had Nathan pegged completely wrong?.... I always thought it to be Lawson. Link to comment
Sew Sumi July 3, 2015 Share July 3, 2015 I don't like it either. I find it extremely condescending. I know the Bateses don't get out much, but horseback riding isn't something that's exclusive to country folk. When one of the boys snarked about not being able to ride in NYC, I loved when Ashley shot back with "you can ride if you don't mind paying fifty bucks for half an hour." She came off as a lot more street-wise and sharp than the average Fundie girl. I feel for her. It looks like Nathan is the one being primed to take over Gil's tree service, so she would be moving to TN. Talk about some culture shock! Yes, it's pretty, but to someone raised in NYC, would be super dull in a hot minute. 1 Link to comment
andromeda331 July 4, 2015 Share July 4, 2015 I didn't like the Yankee vs. South stuff. The Bateses sure want you to conform to their lifestyle, They really do don't they? Ashley and her sister weren't the only ones they said stuff like that either. They were pretty jerky to Brandon too about him living in the north. 1 Link to comment
Flowers July 4, 2015 Share July 4, 2015 (edited) To be fair, were the situation reversed, the "power in numbers" thing would still show itself. Family of, say, 10+ from Staten Island, let's say, familiar only with their little bubble, entertain two people from Arkansas. The generalizations and cultural differences would be flying. "Whaaaaat? Yooo nevah had a sub sangwich? Whatsamattah yoo????" "Why have horses an a big yaaaaahd? Why don't your ma serve gubbagahll??" (Trust me, I know of what I speak, here!) Edited July 4, 2015 by Flowers 3 Link to comment
BestestAuntEver July 4, 2015 Share July 4, 2015 Flowers, so did I. I wonder if the Bateses heard the chatter and brought Ashley down to quell it. I didn't like the Yankee vs. South stuff. The Bateses sure want you to conform to their lifestyle, but given what Nathan and Lawson said about Ashley's place in the Bronx, that doesn't go both ways. I feel sorry for Michael, who will have to live amongst people who don't have Southern drawls for the forseeable future. Being from TN this is not just a Bates thing, especially in Eastern TN. I'm a WOC from West TN and still heard about "what do you expect? He/She/They are a yankee". I currently live in Texas and have heard some referred to as Yankees as well. Nathan is ssooo smitten with Ashley. I was surprised to hear his already been up to NY to visit her and her family. I wonder how long they were both in the Philippines together. Link to comment
birkenstock July 4, 2015 Share July 4, 2015 I liked that Ashley seemed to let the Bronx teasing roll off her back, it showed that they were comfortable around each other and that she doesn't take herself too seriously. She seems like a secure young lady and was able to think on her feet. I wonder if she teased Nathan about living in the country or anything similar. If they do enter a courtship, Ashley will be able to hold her own and be able to express herself without getting bulldozed. I agree it was annoying when the other Bates kids started in on the Yankee stuff in the interviews. I hope that they are as good of guests when visiting places as Ashley and her sister were. Nathan does have moves. It's interesting to see since Zach didn't know how to talk to girls when he was in his first courtship. I think that Nathan is naturally more outgoing than Zach, but it shows how the changes in Kelly and Gil's rules helped their kids enter normal relationships with the opposite sex. 1 Link to comment
IndianPaintbrush July 5, 2015 Share July 5, 2015 (edited) I too have heard lots of southerners refer to northerners as Yankees. I'm a half-breed because my mother is from Texas and my father is from New Jersey. Many of my mom's family and friends gave her a hard time for marrying a Yankee, and only some of them were joking about it. I think Gil is into Civil War history because I remember seeing some photos of Confederate generals and other memorabilia on their walls. And I don't have an issue with that, as long as they aren't lobbying to fly the Confederate flag from the Tennessee State Capitol. Edited July 5, 2015 by IndianPaintbrush 1 Link to comment
Sew Sumi July 5, 2015 Share July 5, 2015 Being from TN this is not just a Bates thing, especially in Eastern TN. I'm a WOC from West TN and still heard about "what do you expect? He/She/They are a yankee". I currently live in Texas and have heard some referred to as Yankees as well. Nathan is ssooo smitten with Ashley. I was surprised to hear his already been up to NY to visit her and her family. I wonder how long they were both in the Philippines together. The Bates boys have done two trips to the Philippines, in 2/14 and 2/15. They are about three weeks, including travel time, about 17 days of "mission" work. I assume that the sisters went on this past trip. Someone in the Gothard organization must be paying for it, because as I understand, this mission was the brainchild of either Lawson or Nathan (or both). Obviously, they don't have the capital to get something like this off the ground on their own. I am also fully aware of what Southerners call us (with derision). I have plenty of friends from the other side of the Mason Dixon. LOL I'm just waiting for a Bates girl to throw the ultimate Southern shade: "Bless your/her heart." :D Link to comment
cereality July 10, 2015 Share July 10, 2015 They came across so refreshingly normal for fundies. Nathan is smitten and was totally flirting -- from the very familiar hug to just the general smiling and laughing at everything one of the sisters said to practically having his arms around her and reaching over her to point out the mountain view -- which Lawson made fun of him for. Even Zach said that his brothers would show off for girls and the pre-teen brothers all recognized it was flirting. It's nice to see it bc that's what a 21 yr old male should be like. They can call it "get to know you" or courting or whatever -- but it is dating. Sure there are a lot more family members around, but there are lots of people esp these days who don't view dating as a dinner and a movie but rather as mostly hanging out with friends and family. I think that Nathan and Lawson can be a bit rude about the "south is better - you're a Yankee thing," though in this case it was clear that the sisters could dish it out and take it -- so it didn't come across that bad. It was rude with Brandon who is a really quiet guy and had nothing to say, so then it sounded like they were criticizing where he was from and telling him where he should be living. They do come off a little country bumpkin-ish -- but that's what they are. They've spent their whole lives in the Tn. mountains and can't seem to wrap their minds around the fact that some people don't ride horses regularly or live in housing situations where there are a lot of front doors next to each other and shared walls (um -- apartments or row homes, anyone) or don't have backyards or backyards with no grass (uh -- a patio adds a LOT to property value in NYC even if it's just a few feet of private outdoor space behind your apartment). I hope they were a bit more gracious and open minded about these things when they were visiting the girls in the Bronx bc making these observations outright sounds like a critical putdown -- unless the girls' parents can also dish it out and have no problem making a few backwater Tenn jokes. Can't remember if Erin's baby shower was the same episode -- but bringing up miscarriages and doing a tribute to those babies at a happy event!? WTF?! I get what she was doing, but in what universe is Amazing Grace a song that you hear at a happy event? And no matter what Erin said about how touched she was -- she was hurt/sad by the miscarriages being brought up and being such a huge part of her shower; I mean she didn't just wipe tears away once -- for the entire 5-10 min it must have taken to gather everyone, go outside, sing, release the balloons -- Erin can be seen wiping away tears. Way to make a new mom feel happy. 3 Link to comment
BitterApple July 10, 2015 Share July 10, 2015 I think Kelsey meant well, but she's young and doesn't have enough life experience to know that bringing up previous miscarriages at a baby shower is cringe worthy. It sucked that Erin's shower ended on a morbid note when it really should have been about celebrating Carson. I also agree about Amazing Grace. It reminded me of a wedding I attended where they played the bagpipes. Growing up in an Irish Catholic family, that's something I associated with funerals. It was really weird. 1 Link to comment
trimthatfat July 16, 2015 Share July 16, 2015 (edited) I think Gil is into Civil War history because I remember seeing some photos of Confederate generals and other memorabilia on their walls. And I don't have an issue with that, as long as they aren't lobbying to fly the Confederate flag from the Tennessee State Capitol. He does? That bothers me a lot. Ashley and Anastasia were super cute. Nathan was clearly 'in like'. I wonder if a courtship is in their future. I like how naturally they were able to hang out with the family - like I could see Gil and Kelly leaving the girls to hang out with the boys in a room and not peeking around the corner every two seconds. I think they trust their kids which is really nice to see. The baby shower was cute! Not sure I understand why the sisters were so late. The tribute to Erin's miscarriages was very odd though. I've never seen that at a baby shower and it would have rubbed me the wrong way as the mother of honor. I really hope the woman who did that tribute at least checks with a mother in the future to see if she's okay with that. I cringed through the 'Amazing Grace' part as well because I only ever hear that song at funerals. Erin didn't seem that upset so I guess her friend knows her best. Edited July 16, 2015 by trimthatfat Link to comment
Patricia07 October 9, 2015 Share October 9, 2015 This photo was on Lawson's instagram. Nathan and Ashley?? https://instagram.com/p/8mLO04Pfeu/?taken-by=lawbates Link to comment
BitterApple October 10, 2015 Share October 10, 2015 (edited) I saw that picture as well! They look adorable together, I'm totally rooting for a courtship. Edited October 10, 2015 by BitterApple 2 Link to comment
Sew Sumi October 13, 2015 Share October 13, 2015 Kelly posted another family picture from Parrot World (or whatever the place is called) in TN which also features Nate and Ashley together. I think the courtship is officially ON! (But they can't confess that because...TV plot!) 1 Link to comment
BitterApple October 14, 2015 Share October 14, 2015 (edited) Kelly posted another family picture from Parrot World (or whatever the place is called) in TN which also features Nate and Ashley together. I think the courtship is officially ON! (But they can't confess that because...TV plot!) Does anyone know what ethnicity Ashley and her sister are? They look mixed to me, but I can't figure out with what. Regardless, Ashley is really pretty. Bates 5, Duggars 0.I agree that they're definitely courting. They're popping up together far too often for it to be a "just visiting for the heck of it" situation. I wonder how Ashley will do moving from NYC to rural TN. Edited October 14, 2015 by BitterApple 1 Link to comment
IndianPaintbrush October 15, 2015 Share October 15, 2015 Their last name is Salyer. Someone on the Free Jinger forums thinks her family might be of Dominican heritage, but I don't know if that's true. 1 Link to comment
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