Jessa, Ben and Their Brood: Making a (Diaper) Mountain out of a Mold House

[Rootbeer]

11 minutes ago, Dirndl said:

My son is two and he got the cutest bible for his baptism.German bible

This is a popular one for 6 year olds in Germany. The Duggar's certainly would not like it. It is very German, there is some nudity in it. 😁

I feel so bad for the Serwald kids. Spurgeon is 6 years old and has no exposure to normal things. No school, no sports team, no music lessons, no running around town with friends, no first secrets from his parents. My neighbour's son is 6 years old. He has so much fun after school and on the weekends. He and his friends are riding bikes through town, building forts in the forest, playing on the playground,... They experience so many things on their own without their parents constantly watching them. Ok, we are in Germany but I don't think "normal" 6 years olds in the US are that different from German ones. 

I had a book of Bible stories as a kid that was similar to the German one.  It emphasized good and happy stuff like Jesus loving little children and multiplying the loaves and fishes and curing the sick. A story of creation emphasizing the beauty of nature and not the sin of Adam and Eve.  Stuff like that.  I don't think there was any mention of punishment or hell.  

It sounds like 6 year olds in Germany are pretty similar to American 6 year olds.

[ginger90]

In 1960 something, this was my Bible:

[beckie]

I love how the skates were a present for Spurgeon, but Ivy immediately absconded them.

[lookeyloo]

4 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

In 1960 something, this was my Bible:

I think this may have been mine.  Back in the 50s

https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m48091347828/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12877497079&utm_content=t0&adgroup=120335190446&network=g&device=c&merchant_id=126358573&product_id=m48091347828&product_id=696733477572&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4b2MBhD2ARIsAIrcB-RtpkP4mtrs2JetYoDNvk9SVCHDChqgvxARZD0PzdM_4gfdcN4dC4waAub0EALw_wcB

[CalicoKitty]

This is my first Bible that was given to me by my uncle when I was 7.  It is an actual Bible, but the cover is child-friendly, and it has nice color plates in it.  It is a bit worse for wear after all these years, but I still have it.  I need bigger print, now!

[MunichNark]

12 hours ago, Dirndl said:

My son is two and he got the cutest bible for his baptism.German bible

This is a popular one for 6 year olds in Germany. The Duggar's certainly would not like it. It is very German, there is some nudity in it. 😁

I feel so bad for the Serwald kids. Spurgeon is 6 years old and has no exposure to normal things. No school, no sports team, no music lessons, no running around town with friends, no first secrets from his parents. My neighbour's son is 6 years old. He has so much fun after school and on the weekends. He and his friends are riding bikes through town, building forts in the forest, playing on the playground,... They experience so many things on their own without their parents constantly watching them. Ok, we are in Germany but I don't think "normal" 6 years olds in the US are that different from German ones. 

Barbara Bartoes Hoeppner!!! I own several of her "Schnuepperle" books (and actually read one of them yesterday, cough)💖 Where in Germany are you??

Calling Jessa "Messa" is utterly appropriate. The next thread title must include that!

[Dirndl]

2 hours ago, MunichNark said:

Barbara Bartoes Hoeppner!!! I own several of her "Schnuepperle" books (and actually read one of them yesterday, cough)💖 Where in Germany are you?

I live between Augsburg and Munich 🙂. 

[ozziemom]

16 hours ago, beckie said:

I love how the skates were a present for Spurgeon, but Ivy immediately absconded them.

Spurge didn’t seem as interested in the skates as Ivy was. I heard Jessa say a couple times they could skate at “Granny’s” and it looks like they were flying kites at TTH too. Visiting TTH seems to be the way the Seewalds deal with their small house.

[MunichNark]

2 hours ago, Dirndl said:

I live between Augsburg and Munich 🙂. 

So quite near me. How exciting. I've a friend living in between there too. A fellow German snarker😀

[Dimi1]

Anyone know why Ben’s sister Jessica- the cop got divorced from her first husband…she just posted on IG she is remarried..but told her followers it was not due to domestic violence…wondering why she divorced  …cheating??

[GeeGolly]

26 minutes ago, Dimi1 said:

Anyone know why Ben’s sister Jessica- the cop got divorced from her first husband…she just posted on IG she is remarried..but told her followers it was not due to domestic violence…wondering why she divorced  …cheating??

From the Sun, but apparently the info is from the divorce documents.

In Jessica’s Affidavit obtained by The Sun, she claimed: “Constant verbal altercations creating an extremely intolerable home environment and causing me great emotional turmoil. 

“Financial strain from the beginning of the marriage due to poor money management on part of the defendant.”

[Cinnabon]

Just now, GeeGolly said:

From the Sun, but apparently the info is from the divorce documents.

In Jessica’s Affidavit obtained by The Sun, she claimed: “Constant verbal altercations creating an extremely intolerable home environment and causing me great emotional turmoil. 

“Financial strain from the beginning of the marriage due to poor money management on part of the defendant.”

Living together before you decide to get married has its pluses. You figure out if you can get along all the time.

[GeeGolly]

These look more like engagement photos of Jessica and Joe, but the caption is calling them Mr & Mrs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWMWPZor8lb/

[iwantcookies]

Wow Jessica found a new guy quick. 

It looks like she is either going grey or losing her hair.

[dargosmydaddy]

I think it's just weird lighting, and her dye job growing out. Her natural color is a lighter brown, which you can see around the roots.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, dargosmydaddy said:

I think it's just weird lighting, and her dye job growing out. Her natural color is a lighter brown, which you can see around the roots.

Yeah that’s what it looks like to me. 
 

This does seem quick, but she wasn’t married very long the first time. Maybe she didn’t need a lot time to grieve the loss of that relationship before beginning this one. Wishing them the best. 

[lilwhitelion]

Oh my, I love love love that Jessica's photographer had a lesbian couple's photo shoot.  It is the first set of pictures under Jessica's photo shoot.  The photographer said of the female couple, "I love the way they look at each other".

[BitterApple]

I hope Jessica doesn't become a serial divorcee. The failure rate for second marriages is even higher than that for firsts. I don't blame her for leaving her ex, but that's an awfully quick turnaround between serious commitments. I think I would've dated a bit longer before taking that leap. 

[lascuba]

I don't think there's anything wrong with moving on quickly after a divorce, but marriage? Did she not venture out of fundamentalism enough to figure out that she can have sex without getting married? 

 

[emmawoodhouse]

She didn't date more than a few months. She came out here to visit him in Cali this summer. I think I saw them together once before that. 

[Lady Whistleup]

I wouldn't worry about Jessica. She seems to be made of very stern stuff. I bet she doesn't take crap from anyone.

[farmgal4]

On 11/13/2021 at 2:43 PM, beckie said:

I love how the skates were a present for Spurgeon, but Ivy immediately absconded them.

I loved it too.  Maybe Ivy will be the one to fully escape the cult.

[dargosmydaddy]

2 hours ago, farmgal4 said:

On 11/13/2021 at 3:43 PM, beckie said:

I love how the skates were a present for Spurgeon, but Ivy immediately absconded them.

I loved it too.  Maybe Ivy will be the one to fully escape the cult.

Future thread title in 15 years... "Ivy Seewald: Roller Skating to Freedom"

[emmawoodhouse]

9 minutes ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Future thread title in 15 years... "Ivy Seewald: Roller Skating to Freedom"

She was better in too large skates than Spurge was. If she had normal parents, they'd get her into skating lessons in a few years. Of course, that will never happen. 

[auntieminem]

Poor Spurge, just plan one special day and let him have his gifts without his siblings horning  in. Where the heck was his father?  Ben sucks. I hope he does special things with the kids off camera, if so, sorry, Ben and keep it up. Comparing this to the birthdays of his cousins, Jill's boys, it is so sad.  

[CouchTater]

The ice cream celebration (last part of the video) at "Granny's" house was lowkey and empty.  Where was everyone?  Weird.  

 

[BitterApple]

I choked on my Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte when Jessa made the "Bin's the breadwinner and the bread cutter" joke at Outback. Boy, Bin's employment status really gets under her skin, doesn't it? Honey, we all know he isn't making jack shit from that virtual pastoring job, so who are you trying to convince? Us or yourself? 

I agree the TTH party was weird. The vibe felt so forced.

[Westiepeach]

I love how MEchelle always wears that silly apron. Like she wants us to believe she actually does any domestic chores. She checked out a LONG time ago.

[emmawoodhouse]

14 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I choked on my Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte when Jessa made the "Bin's the breadwinner and the bread cutter" joke at Outback. Boy, Bin's employment status really gets under her skin, doesn't it? Honey, we all know he isn't making jack shit from that virtual pastoring job, so who are you trying to convince? Us or yourself? 

I agree the TTH party was weird. The vibe felt so forced.

Yeah, the breadwinner remark was something else. Keep convincing yourself, Jessa. No one else buys it. 

They did get a new van. 

[CouchTater]

1 minute ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Yeah, the breadwinner remark was something else. Keep convincing yourself, Jessa. No one else buys it. 

They did get a new van. 

And it wasn't a fawning breadwinner comment, a la JillRod or OfBooks.  There was a slyness to it, almost like a deniable dig.  Or maybe I'm projecting my own opinion?

I did think the birthday dinner at Outback was nice for Spurgeon.  And he got the "adult" steak, too cute.

Jessa's kids are smart.  I hope their future gets brighter.

[BetyBee]

The kids are all so cute. I can't help but feel sad for the future they face, with a rudimentary education and very little stimulation. By the way, if Spurgeon's birthday was the 6th, then that was his golden birthday, which is what we call it in my family. My middle was born on the 1st, which is a golden birthday no kid remembers! 

[GeeGolly]

No one came to Spurgie's ice cream party? No Bella, Gracie, or Giddy & Evie or Garrett, Addy & Brooklyn?

[beckie]

52 minutes ago, BetyBee said:

The kids are all so cute. I can't help but feel sad for the future they face, with a rudimentary education and very little stimulation. By the way, if Spurgeon's birthday was the 6th, then that was his golden birthday, which is what we call it in my family. My middle was born on the 1st, which is a golden birthday no kid remembers! 

Spurgeon's birthday is the fifth.

[CouchTater]

51 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

No one came to Spurgie's ice cream party? No Bella, Gracie, or Giddy & Evie or Garrett, Addy & Brooklyn?

Nope.  I wonder what, if anything, it indicates about the status of the extended family?  Are there fractures?  They've definitely had huge family gatherings post-COVID, so it can't be that.

With all those cousins, Spurgeon's ice cream social should have been rocking.  It was really, really quiet.

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by CouchTater

[BitterApple]

Spurgeon getting the grown-up steak was really cute, I agree. It was funny how he assumed his birthday would shift to Nov. 6 because he turned 6. It's nice that he was going to the football game with Michael and Marcus the next day, but sad he never gets the opportunity to make other friends. I love my family but I wouldn't want them to be my sole option for socialization. 

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

No one came to Spurgie's ice cream party? No Bella, Gracie, or Giddy & Evie or Garrett, Addy & Brooklyn?

Nope, nada. It was only some of the M's, Hannie, Jordyn, Josie, and I think I spotted Jana (and Boob and Michelle, of course). None of the marrieds attended and none of the older boys were there either. The house was like a morgue. I understand that in such a massive family, not everyone can make every event, but for no one to show up outside the people who already live there? It makes me wonder if rumors of a divide are true. 

[lilwhitelion]

It was either Jana or Laura, but whoever it was, I was surprised they were wearing pants.  I know both of them wear pants now in public.  I just wasn't sure they would do it at home.  

At least Ben and Jesse divide and conquer at a restaurant and sit across from each other, so they can tend to the littles.  Unlike Derick and Jill who insist on sitting side by side.

Fern is so darling!

[GeeGolly]

I think Ivy is the trouble maker in the family. She sits in the back of the van next to Spurge and sat with him at the restaurant. I'm guessing its more keeping her from Fern, than having her near Spurge.

[SMama]

I wonder if they bought the “new” van from Jed’s carlot, where you never know if it will start once you get to your destination. 33,000+ miles is not bad. 

[YupItsMe]

2 hours ago, lilwhitelion said:

It was either Jana or Laura, but whoever it was, I was surprised they were wearing pants.  I know both of them wear pants now in public.  I just wasn't sure they would do it at home.  

<snipped>

I think Jana has been wearing pants at home for awhile, just not during filming and not in public where she might be photographed. Now that the show is over, I believe many of the rules for the young adults have been relaxed.

[emmawoodhouse]

1 hour ago, SMama said:

I wonder if they bought the “new” van from Jed’s carlot, where you never know if it will start once you get to your destination. 33,000+ miles is not bad. 

Oh, I'm 1000% sure it's from Champion Motorcars. I wonder what they got for trade-in on the white van? 😂

[Rootbeer]

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

I think Ivy is the trouble maker in the family. She sits in the back of the van next to Spurge and sat with him at the restaurant. I'm guessing its more keeping her from Fern, than having her near Spurge.

I expect Spurge is probably Ivy's 'buddy' and he is assigned to wrangle her just like Jessa was assigned to supervise her younger siblings.  Ivy isn't old enough to be a sister-mom yet, but I am sure, in a couple of years, Spurgeon will be allowed to step back and revel in being the Golden Child, the firstborn son; but for now, he is on Ivy patrol.

 

[ranchgirl]

Spurgeon is such a sweet child.  Very smart.  Its sad that he seems so sheltered.  

Also, I saw four or five of Josh and Anna's kids when Spurg was opening his presents at the big house.  They missed the ice cream.  Or maybe they were there but I didn't see them in any of the footage when the ice cream was served.    

[emmawoodhouse]

Yeah, Jessa told Spurge that Mason gave him the box that could serve as a "frog holder." Spurge said it could hold salamanders. 

So yeah, a four year old gifted his cousin an empty box. And Jessa, of the sheet gift wrap, ran with it. 

[Ijustwantsomechips]

33 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Yeah, Jessa told Spurge that Mason gave him the box that could serve as a "frog holder." Spurge said it could hold salamanders. 

So yeah, a four year old gifted his cousin an empty box. And Jessa, of the sheet gift wrap, ran with it. 

That was sweet of Mason.  Jessa sucks though. 

[Quilt Fairy]

5 hours ago, YupItsMe said:

I think Jana has been wearing pants at home for awhile, just not during filming and not in public where she might be photographed. Now that the show is over, I believe many of the rules for the young adults have been relaxed.

Jana is 31.  She's an adult, period. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by Quilt Fairy

[GeeGolly]

Jessa and Jana have both filmed and/or taken pictures of themselves in pants for a while now. Jessa wore pants to her early ultrasound while pregnant with Fern and in a couple more videos since then. Jana was shown in shorts on the show during a boat outing and has also posted two recent pictures of herself in pants on SM.

[floridamom]

Yes, Jana is certainly an adult but their belief system says that as long as daughters remain unmarried (and living in their parents' house) they are still subject to their parents' rules and regulations. This is why it is such a surprise to see Jana wearing pants...did her parents finally admit that the 'no pants' rule was wrong? If this was easy for Jana to do, why did Jinger publicly behave like she was afraid to tell her mother that she wanted to wear pants, shorts, etc? She is a married woman and now 'subject to Jeremy', not her father and mother...doesn't add up to me.

[lookeyloo]

2 hours ago, floridamom said:

Yes, Jana is certainly an adult but their belief system says that as long as daughters remain unmarried (and living in their parents' house) they are still subject to their parents' rules and regulations. This is why it is such a surprise to see Jana wearing pants...did her parents finally admit that the 'no pants' rule was wrong? If this was easy for Jana to do, why did Jinger publicly behave like she was afraid to tell her mother that she wanted to wear pants, shorts, etc? She is a married woman and now 'subject to Jeremy', not her father and mother...doesn't add up to me.

Not being fundy at all but can understand them still not wanting to risk the parents tsk tsk ing at them and looking disapprovingly.  When I got married the first time, the ex liked big hair and eyeliner.  This was in the 60s. So I did that. Willingly.  My father was appalled and never let me forget it.  I reminded him that "MY HUSBAND" wanted me that way (but I liked it too) and he knew that but still gave me crap about it. So maybe they don't want the crap associated with doing something different.

[AgathaC]

It’s possible the married daughters doing it sort of paved the way for Jana. “They didn’t get struck by lightning so maybe it’s not a big deal if Jana wants to do it.”

I’m not fundy either and my parents are very hands-off in a “we raised you but we trust you to make your own choices now” way, but my sisters and I still have that inner voice that says “don’t disappoint the parents.”

[lascuba]

There's an old picture of a teen Jinger wearing pants in the TTH. While Michelle is personally obsessed, I think the "No pants" rule has been nothing but an affectation for the cameras for several years now.