Joy and Austin: This One Time At Family Camp

[GeeGolly]

55 minutes ago, floridamom said:

Michelle only saw Joy because Joy visited HER in the TTH.

Back in the day when my mom was still alive and I was pregnant and having kids I spent way more time at my parents home than either of them spent at my house. I never thought twice about it. It's just the way it was. Plus my kids loved going to their grandparents house.

[kokapetl]

3 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Michelle saw Joy plenty during the 9 months. It is sad that Michelle didn't make a special trip to see her daughter's first house though.

It was a shanty undergoing renovations though. 

[Sew Sumi]

It was mostly ready before Giddyup was born. They had a party for JD there, a month before. 

[awaken]

21 hours ago, Love2dance said:

So sorry @awaken. 

We seriously need a sad face, or I hear you, or sympathy emoji on Previously TV.  Sometimes a “like “ just won’t do.

Thank you, yes, I agree!  Something that represents standing in solidarity with our fellow posters, when what they are saying isn’t exactly “like”able!  The heart icon makes me feel like I’m sending love though!  ❤️

[Temperance]

Austin's sister (Megan) had another baby. She must have been pregnant when Gideon was born.  His sister now seems to have two kids under two. Both are girls. 

[Triple P]

10 hours ago, Temperance said:

Austin's sister (Megan) had another baby. She must have been pregnant when Gideon was born.  His sister now seems to have two kids under two. Both are girls. 

Hopefully we'll see an announcement about Baby Ballinger on the Dillard's blog soon! ?

[Zella]

11 hours ago, Triple P said:

Hopefully we'll see an announcement about Baby Ballinger on the Dillard's blog soon! ?

UGH I hadn't realized until you posted this and then I went to look it up that Austin's sister was married to Bob Ballinger's son. This must have happened while I was on a Duggar hiatus. 

Ballinger is a local politician. He is not well-liked in my county, but he seems to get votes in other parts of the district.

Nevertheless, this makes a lot of sense. I feel like Ballinger is a moderately more successful Jim Bob but with fewer kids. 

[scenicbyway]

I don’t get living in the camper.  Where do they store their furnishings or wedding gifts?  I get that this is how Austin must’ve been living before Joy, but this makes no sense with a baby.  If you can’t afford to live in your flip, you should probably have a different job.  Joy seems destitute compared to her siblings.

[riverblue22]

10 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I don’t get living in the camper.  Where do they store their furnishings or wedding gifts?  I get that this is how Austin must’ve been living before Joy, but this makes no sense with a baby.  If you can’t afford to live in your flip, you should probably have a different job.  Joy seems destitute compared to her siblings.

I don't see a bright future for Joy.  And when the show is over, Austin may not want to take money from his FIL so the trailer life could continue.  To be successful, I think Austin would need to hire help and flip these houses more quickly.

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, scenicbyway said:

I don’t get living in the camper.  Where do they store their furnishings or wedding gifts?  I get that this is how Austin must’ve been living before Joy, but this makes no sense with a baby.  If you can’t afford to live in your flip, you should probably have a different job.  Joy seems destitute compared to her siblings.

I don't either. For the heck of it, I just looked up apartments in their area. You can get 1-bedrooms for around $500-$700 a month. Granted, you won't have fancy shmancy appliances and garden tubs, but it's a hell of a lot better than having to pump your own crapper out every few weeks. Either Austin is a tightwad or he sucks at flipping houses and is too cash poor to set his family up in a halfway decent place. Are they just going to live like nomads for the rest of their lives? It's ridiculous.

[DangerousMinds]

5 hours ago, scenicbyway said:

I don’t get living in the camper.  Where do they store their furnishings or wedding gifts?  I get that this is how Austin must’ve been living before Joy, but this makes no sense with a baby.  If you can’t afford to live in your flip, you should probably have a different job.  Joy seems destitute compared to her siblings.

At least he HAS a job.

[floridamom]

Joy and Austin are living in a camper....again?

[JoanArc]

10 hours ago, riverblue22 said:

I don't see a bright future for Joy.  And when the show is over, Austin may not want to take money from his FIL so the trailer life could continue.  To be successful, I think Austin would need to hire help and flip these houses more quickly.

Flipping is all fine and dandy, but doesn't it get rough in a recession? Or when real estate prices drop? THEN what do they do? I suspect Jim Bob got stuck with a few unsalable properties, or lost money selling them, back in the day.

[Mollie]

On 9/12/2018 at 6:21 AM, Zella said:

UGH I hadn't realized until you posted this and then I went to look it up that Austin's sister was married to Bob Ballinger's son. This must have happened while I was on a Duggar hiatus. 

Ballinger is a local politician. He is not well-liked in my county, but he seems to get votes in other parts of the district.

Nevertheless, this makes a lot of sense. I feel like Ballinger is a moderately more successful Jim Bob but with fewer kids. 

Bob Ballinger is also an attorney and works for Travis Story, who is the attorney often used by Jim Bob Duggar.  

http://storylawfirm.com/attorneys-staff/bob-ballinger/

These fundy families all seem to know each other.

[FizzyPuff]

The one thing that annoys me is I thought Austin and Joy were building that home for themselves, not building it to flip and then move on. They need a house for themselves that they will never flip, the house they built and sold was 30 mins away from Joys family so not too far for her to go visit, So maybe it was too close for Austin? If it was Austin and Joy on there own then they can live in the RV and move around all they want but they have a baby now, Don’t they want a home that’s for them and not the RV.

[Temperance]

9 hours ago, JoanArc said:

Flipping is all fine and dandy, but doesn't it get rough in a recession? Or when real estate prices drop? THEN what do they do? I suspect Jim Bob got stuck with a few unsalable properties, or lost money selling them, back in the day.

JB owns more property than ever so that's still a concern and he's trying to flip them. If Austin is buying houses convenient to the Walmart corporate offices and other companies like that*, then the housing market may remain steady near where they are available, good jobs like the one Derick used to have.  It's especially true of the small starter homes like the ones Joy and Austin used to own. *(There are a few more corporations headed quartered in AR, but I forget what they are.)

42 minutes ago, Puffin said:

The one thing that annoys me is I thought Austin and Joy were building that home for themselves, not building it to flip and then move on. They need a house for themselves that they will never flip, the house they built and sold was 30 mins away from Joys family so not too far for her to go visit, So maybe it was too close for Austin? If it was Austin and Joy on there own then they can live in the RV and move around all they want but they have a baby now, Don’t they want a home that’s for them and not the RV.

I agree it would be good to have a long term home. Their old house was a hour away.  They might want to be closer to TTH so they can be near available babysitting. 

[Zella]

4 hours ago, Mollie said:

Bob Ballinger is also an attorney and works for Travis Story, who is the attorney often used by Jim Bob Duggar.  

http://storylawfirm.com/attorneys-staff/bob-ballinger/

These fundy families all seem to know each other.

Thanks! I knew Ballinger was a lawyer (has his own office in my neck of the woods) but was not aware of his connection to JB's lawyer. Very interesting. They do certainly seem to have a tight social circle. 

[awaken]

What is austin’s Educational level?  Was he homeschooled?

[floridamom]

All this 'intermarriage' is going to catch up with them sooner or later, genetically.

I'm not surprised of the Ballinger/Duggar-attorney connection. These families exist and marry for their own private-societal benefit.

[Barb23]

On 8/28/2018 at 4:00 PM, Pingaponga said:

 

On the scale of "High Maintenance to Low Maintenance", Joy is clearly a low maintenance woman.  Which is fine.  There is nothing that says she needs to care about her clothes, her makeup, her hair, her nails. But it's her overall lack of interest and energy that gets to me.  She wasn't always so dull and lethargic.  When she was little, there was nothing to indicate that she was particularly dumb, and she sure wasn't boring.  I remember her roller skating around, and talking with energy and enthusiasm.  Maybe she'll perk up when she's talking about the baby, but she sure hasn't been perky with Austin. I can't help but wonder what happened to her to cause such a complete about face in personality.

 

On 8/28/2018 at 4:31 PM, Ijustwantsomechips said:

Joy has about as much energy as me, and I’m incredibly anemic! As in about one hemocrit numbr away from needing an iron transfusion. I wonder if that’s her problem too.  Her hair looks dry, she seems lethargic, and we know she doesn’t eat iron-rich foods unless CFA added some spinach to the menu.  I have no proof, but it seems to fit with her rough birth, recovery and seemingly lack of self care.  If she isn’t seeing a doctor regularly, she wouldn’t even know.  

Where is the spunky Joy we all knew?Her comments about not being able to do anything but stay in bed for weeks after Giddy was born surprised me. Maybe the long labor w/o real medical supervision played a part. My son was born by an emergency Csection so I know it is major surgery & everyone recovers differently.   I was able to give out Halloween candy a week after his birth, go up & down the 6 steps inside our split level home and do light things around the house with my doctor's OK of course.   All this with dealing with my rheumatoid arthritis too and I was about 8 yrs older than Joy.

I wish Joy could read your post @Ijustwantsomechips. Hoping she does get her iron level checked. I'm anemic too & it really does zap your energy away if not properly treated.

[Brown eyed girl]

Gideon looks like Austin, especially in the second picture 

[Fuzzysox]

3 minutes ago, Brown eyed girl said:

Gideon looks like Austin, especially in the second picture 

And Josie in the first.

[jcbrown]

Are those Joy's pretty green eyes or does she wear colored contacts?

[queenanne]

He's growing Joy's chin though.  She looks like she is really enjoying him still and I'm glad being so young a mother, that she got a nice easy baby on her first try!

[Sew Sumi]

Her eyes seem to be like mine. My eye color has evolved throughout my life. I started out baby blue and have migrated from gray blue to Gary to gray green to almost flat out green these days (although wearing gray, as I am today, pulls back gray hues).

[BitterApple]

Those are her eyes. Color contacts look super fake and reptilian up close and I don't see that in Joy. 

[Nysha]

Thanks to Gideon we know what Austin would look like if he ever smiled. He is either a happy little guy or Joy is smart enough not to photograph him wrapped in a blanket and screaming.

[Jynnan tonnix]

10 hours ago, Fuzzysox said:

And Josie in the first.

That second picture is another perfect "Mr Roper" resemblance.

Gideon looks like SUCH a happy baby, though! 

[FizzyPuff]

On 19/09/2018 at 10:46 AM, floridamom said:

Joy and Austin are living in a camper....again?

Yes they've sold the house they were living in and are back in the RV while they flip a new one. 

 

On 25/09/2018 at 2:38 AM, Brown eyed girl said:

Gideon looks like Austin, especially in the second picture 

Poor kid has an old mans face, very smiley baby though thats cute. 

[ginger90]

Idk what episode it was, so I’m putting this  here. I just watched the beginning of the fondue story. The way Joy was eating that fruit, while still at home, I was wondering if they would have any left to bring with them!

[Barb23]

5 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Idk what episode it was, so I’m putting this  here. I just watched the beginning of the fondue story. The way Joy was eating that fruit, while still at home, I was wondering if they would have any left to bring with them!

I was thinking same thing & she was going at it at the party too.  Fruit shouldn't be too expensive for the two of them but she was eating it like she hadn't eaten it in months & it was a delicacy.  I know growing up fresh fruit was a delicacy at the Duggars but I would think Joy & Austin could afford a package of strawberries or some peaches.

[Ijustwantsomechips]

Now that I’m recovering from a bikini incision, I have more sympathy for Joy and I hate Austin even more. I seriously hope he put the mattress on a frame because there’s no way she could get in and out of bed after birth otherwise.  I also hoped Austin did more than change a few diapers.  I was seriously mobility impaired for the first week, and I had a good recovery, and wasn’t dealing with post-partum issues.  I still need help with laundry, reaching low things, and cooking two weeks post-op.  I surely hope she got at least four weeks of solid help, but MOTY needed Jana to raise her kids, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to do it.  

Edited October 2, 2018 by Ijustwantsomechips

[floridamom]

I, too, thought the same thing when I saw Joy scarfing down that fresh fruit before that dinner. I was surprised she ate so much of it.

[DCCme]

Joy and the fruit eating - as a lifetime dieter, I saw it as an “I’m trying to lose this baby weight, I’m on a freaking diet, I’m starving and look fruit, fruit is on the diet, give me all the fruit” moment.

[kalamac]

On 9/30/2018 at 7:36 AM, floridamom said:

I, too, thought the same thing when I saw Joy scarfing down that fresh fruit before that dinner. I was surprised she ate so much of it.

I read this and thought "wasn't Joy the one that tried to get them to buy broccoli at once when she was a kid? Maybe she just really loves fruit and vegetables". Then I realized I was thinking of an episode of Kid Farm.

Still, it's possible that living with Austin, Joy has had more access to fresh fruits, and found that she does love it way more than anything she ate at the TTH.

[Ijustwantsomechips]

Poor Joy’s body was probably craving vitamins and nutrients after 10 months of chicken fingers. 

[Normades]

On 9/25/2018 at 8:09 AM, Jynnan tonnix said:

That second picture is another perfect "Mr Roper" resemblance.

Gideon looks like SUCH a happy baby, though! 

I guess it's a good think Norman Fell isn't around or we all might be asking some questions?? ;)

[Sew Sumi]

Giddy Up-date.

[galaxychaser]

4 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Giddy Up-date.

He looks happy! 

Not that cute though... off to the prayer closet.

[libgirl2]

6 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

He looks happy! 

Not that cute though... off to the prayer closet.

He is cute in the sense that he is a baby Norman Fell. Seriously, I think he is darling. 

[louannems]

5 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

He is cute in the sense that he is a baby Norman Fell. Seriously, I think he is darling. 

I think he's cute, too, although his clothes don't seem to fit him.

[BitterApple]

He's cute in that little "old man baby" way, but he still seems awfully scrawny. How old is he now?

Edited October 24, 2018 by BitterApple

[Mollie]

16 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

He's cute in that little "old man baby" way, bit he still seems awfully scrawny. How old is he now?

8 months.

[Sew Sumi]

He was born in late February, so 8 months?

[ginger90]

He looks happy ? 

[farmgal4]

46 minutes ago, Mollie said:

8 months.

He looks tiny for an 8 month old IMO.

[Absolom]

I see Austin, Jr, except he's happy where Austin seldom is.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Absolom

[Jynnan tonnix]

He generally looks like a mini-Austin, but in the second photo, the smile looks just like Joy's.

[GeeGolly]

Oh Giddy, what a bundle of cuteness and personality. He's practically sparkling in the first picture.

[Ijustwantsomechips]

Giddyup is that baby at the daycare that isn’t cute, but he’s so gosh darned sweet that you can’t help but laugh when he laughs and smile when he smiles.  He seems like a sweet little fellow.  

Edited October 25, 2018 by Ijustwantsomechips