Josiah and Lauren: He Has To Marry Somebody

[Snow Fairy]

If she conceived on her wedding night, she should be around 8 weeks... so I guess too early to announce to the public.

Give it another months or two

[floridamom]

Of course, when Lauren does announce that she's pregnant, she will say that she is 'shocked, amazed and so surprised that it happened so quickly."....like they all do. And, they'll be 'blessed' too by this. Count on it, folks.

[Mollie]

2 hours ago, MunichNark said:

That's a strange marriage if there ever was one.

There were real clues in last week's episode.  First of all, Josiah invites Lauren over for dinner and says, "At this time, I'm still trying to impress Lauren."  So how does he do this?  By serving her take-out leftovers from the fridge with someone else's germs all over them, rancid guacamole, and a wheat flour tortilla when he knows she is gluten intolerant.  She should have run for the door, but instead she just smiles and looks all gooey eyed because she so wants to be a TV Duggar.

Then Josiah asks her, "If money wasn't a factor, where would you like to go on a get-away?"

"I've always wanted to go to Israel," she responds.

"Israel?" he says.  "I am kind of surprised that you were going to say Israel because I remember that you've always talked about The Sound of Music and that was kind of cool, and all the mountains.  Is it Aus-tri-YAH? Not Australia….so that's probably your second."

"The first would be Israel," Lauren says with dreams of her future honeymoon destination.  So, where do they go on their honeymoon?  To Austria.

It's plain that Josiah is a total idiot and is just not that into her.  But then, Lauren is not that into him, either, so they probably deserve each other.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Mollie

[yogi2014L]

On 8/7/2018 at 11:44 PM, queenanne said:

It should be OK for anyone to hold anyone's hand in prayer circles.  There is certainly something to be said for the theory that it's potentially not an un-erotic act; but honestly, I've held hands with myriads of relative strangers of both sexes in the same situation, and I find nothing sexy about worrying about whether or not your hand is sweating all over the other person's.  

I loved holding hands in prayer circles as a teen because hormones. LOL! But I went to a liberal methodist church with a huge youth program and we were all about showing love to one another...haha. Everyone was sleeping with or hooking up with everyone else. I have fond memories of church. 

The Duggars just make it up as they go along. I don't even think the kids truly know why they do the things they do, it's just the rules. If holding someone's hand will send you into an out of control sexual outburst then you should be locked up. It is really ridiculous. 

[Pingaponga]

37 minutes ago, Mollie said:

Then Josiah asks her, "If money wasn't a factor, where would you like to go on a get-away?"

"I've always wanted to go to Israel," she responds.

"Israel?" he says.  "I am kind of surprised that you were going to say Israel because I remember that you've always talked about The Sound of Music and that was kind of cool, and all the mountains.  Is it Aus-tri-YAH? Not Australia….so that's probably your second."

"The first would be Israel," Lauren says with dreams of her future honeymoon destination.  So, where do they go on their honeymoon?  To Austria.

TLC already sent the Duggars to Israel, so there was no way they were going to send Josiah and Lauren there for their honeymoon.  So at least she got her second choice.  Jill and Derick went to...one of the Carolinas?  She may have been the first daughter to get married first, but TLC hadn't yet figured out the benefit to them of paying for destination honeymoons.

[BitterApple]

47 minutes ago, Mollie said:

 

It's plain that Josiah is a total idiot and is just not that into her.  But then, Lauren is not that into him, either, so they probably deserve each other.

I feel the same. The more I see of Lauren the more I think she has an agenda. She reminds me quite a bit of Marjorie. I think dreams of TV stardom were what drew them to Si, because I can't see what attraction they'd have for him otherwise. In terms of looks and personality he's Smuggar Jr. 

[DragonFaerie]

I still don't understand the reason the Swansons uprooted the entire family, sold their home, left their friends and such and left behind the landscaping company to move close to the Duggars in Arkansas.  Something just does NOT add up there.   You're going to pack up an entire house, with a pregnant wife or soon to be pregnant, buy a new house, move, set up a new church or like a woman's group and find more friends, start your biz from scratch, all so 1 of your kids could enter maybe into a courtship???

I'm wondering if JB helped finance this little adventure to get them up there to get Josiah hopefully married off.  If so he's an idiot, especially since local landscaping is one of HIS businesses.

Still curious where they are going to live.  Perhaps the Swansons just kept everything in Georgia and are renting that house and then turn the keys over to Si and Lauren?

[leighdear]

Maybe the Swanson's approached JB with an offer of "Help us pull up stakes & get settled in your area, and we'll take that little problem named Josiah off your hands".  No choice for either Si or Lauren.  They don't hate each other, so they make the best of it.

[Lunera]

What I found strange was that they added "If God should bless us with children..." to their vows instead of the usual "We'll have as many as God blesses us with..."

[DragonFaerie]

6 minutes ago, Lunera said:

What I found strange was that they added "If God should bless us with children..." to their vows instead of the usual "We'll have as many as God blesses us with..."

Maybe they added that because they've discussed it in those 5 hour video chats and realized that 19 is waay too many kids and they'd rather go for the 8 or 9 level.  Wasn't it Josiah who ran out of them room when they announced J'chelle was pregnant with Josie?

[Lunera]

4 minutes ago, DragonFaerie said:

Maybe they added that because they've discussed it in those 5 hour video chats and realized that 19 is waay too many kids and they'd rather go for the 8 or 9 level.  Wasn't it Josiah who ran out of them room when they announced J'chelle was pregnant with Josie?

Yes, Josiah realized early on his parents were insane. Also, he mentioned spending the 1st year getting to know eachother. Lauren seems really vain and probably doesn't want to start losing her youthful shape at 19. I wonder if they'll abstain for a whole year.

[Temperance]

13 minutes ago, DragonFaerie said:

Maybe they added that because they've discussed it in those 5 hour video chats and realized that 19 is waay too many kids and they'd rather go for the 8 or 9 level.  Wasn't it Josiah who ran out of them room when they announced J'chelle was pregnant with Josie?

No that was #20 (Jubilee) when he ran out of the room. 

[DragonFaerie]

Ahh, thank you @Temperance.  I couldn't remember.  

[ginger90]

There’s an edited version which includes this picture (screenshot) after the announcement. I didn’t see the unedited announcement at the time.

[Fuzzysox]

6 hours ago, DragonFaerie said:

I still don't understand the reason the Swansons uprooted the entire family, sold their home, left their friends and such and left behind the landscaping company to move close to the Duggars in Arkansas.  Something just does NOT add up there.   You're going to pack up an entire house, with a pregnant wife or soon to be pregnant, buy a new house, move, set up a new church or like a woman's group and find more friends, start your biz from scratch, all so 1 of your kids could enter maybe into a courtship???

I'm wondering if JB helped finance this little adventure to get them up there to get Josiah hopefully married off.  If so he's an idiot, especially since local landscaping is one of HIS businesses.

Still curious where they are going to live.  Perhaps the Swansons just kept everything in Georgia and are renting that house and then turn the keys over to Si and Lauren?

I have to wonder if Boob dreams of owning a big church and is getting a bunch of pastors together to make it happen!? Lauren's father and Kendra's father, etc seem to be really chummy with Boob so it could happen. 

Edited August 13, 2018 by Fuzzysox

[Soaper410]

JB is worth millions.  He has a tv show, provides his kids a home and a place to work (or their spouse) when they get married, there are book deals, speaking engagements,  and people magazine exclusives!

A lot of fundies believe once someone asks for forgiveness it’s done.  It’s the devil that caused those impure thoughts!  Josh isn’t to blame for being a pedophile or an adulterer...nope it’s the devil!  So, in that same vein,  JB & Michelle aren’t responsible for the molestation or letting Josh get away with it.   See, they are good people fighting the devil!

So I think a lot of fundies see the Duggars as one of the only Christian reality shows on the air and seem them as a banner!  Hence why all the preachers want their kids to hook up with one of the kids.

Edited August 13, 2018 by Soaper410

[leighdear]

13 hours ago, Lunera said:

Yes, Josiah realized early on his parents were insane. Also, he mentioned spending the 1st year getting to know eachother. Lauren seems really vain and probably doesn't want to start losing her youthful shape at 19. I wonder if they'll abstain for a whole year.

I think she'll send him to a Walmart a few towns over wearing a fake mustache, baseball cap & glasses to buy a case of condoms.  Pop out a couple of kids a couple of years down the line, then go back to living separate lives, gettin' some strange on the side when needed.  Easy enough. 

[mythoughtis]

Josiah - they make these things called beard trimmers.  You can trim your own beard. Adults do that. 

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, mythoughtis said:

Josiah - they make these things called beard trimmers.  You can trim your own beard. Adults do that. 

Criminy Anne. My husband has a beard, we've been together 25 years, and I swear if he expected me to trim it for him I would inquire as to what had happened to his own hands. These people.

[Ijustwantsomechips]

10 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Josiah - they make these things called beard trimmers.  You can trim your own beard. Adults do that. 

Game recognizes game on this one.  Think about it: if you were a teenager boy and were maybe allowed to hold hands as of a month ago, but no front hugs, wouldn’t you let your girlfriend trim your beard and hair too? It’s unobstructed physical contact, she’s close, he’s close to her boobs, etc.  I think Si would agree to give ger a pedicure if he thought he could get away with it.  

[SunnyBeBe]

I suppose it's a matter of perspective, but, I'm pretty liberal and I consider bead trimming really personal and not really appropriate for a girlfriend to be doing to a boyfriend, if they are trying to maintain boundaries. I'm not sure why I feel that way. Even cutting the hair is personal.  IDK. Just something about it.  

I think that Josiah would really annoy me like a gnat.  Nice guy, but, as a mate......I don't get it.  She seems to have a good attitude and I do like her. 

[Scarlett45]

19 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I suppose it's a matter of perspective, but, I'm pretty liberal and I consider bead trimming really personal and not really appropriate for a girlfriend to be doing to a boyfriend, if they are trying to maintain boundaries. I'm not sure why I feel that way. Even cutting the hair is personal.  IDK. Just something about it.  

I think that Josiah would really annoy me like a gnat.  Nice guy, but, as a mate......I don't get it.  She seems to have a good attitude and I do like her. 

I most certainly think beard trimming/grooming is a very intimate act. I don’t think it’s inapprorpiate in anyway, not all intimacy is sexual. 

My maternal grandmother used to give my maternal grandfather at home pedicures (in the 1950s/60s) cause his feet hurt after a long day (no polish, but buffing, soaking, foot rubs and all of that). That’s a similar display of non sexual intimacy IMO. 

[graefin]

Josiah comes across as weird and awkward, but Lauren is more self-possessed and well spoken than I initially gave her credit for. I really wonder what the attraction is for her because she could do better, IMO. 

Also, there was more odd subconscious distancing language from Josiah with the long beard joke. (Growing his beard so long for the wedding she'd have to swim through it to find his lips? Really? He's either not really keen on kissing her or has a strange sense of humor.)

Edited August 15, 2018 by graefin

[xwordfanatik]

Josiah comes across as Smuggar lite, to me anyway.

I agree Lauren probably could have done better.  Odd matchup.  I see Boob's hand in this, for sure.

[SMama]

The Swansons home is huge and nice. Who knew a lawn mowing business could be so lucrative. It’s not the pool house, correct?

Edited August 15, 2018 by SMama
Who is different than how.

[BitterApple]

19 minutes ago, SMama said:

The Swansons home is huge and nice. How knew a lawn mowing business could be so lucrative. It’s not the pool house, correct?

Definitely not the pool house. I think one of the parents comes from money. Not to say Dwain's business isn't successful, but Lauren sort of gives off an uppity air. I don't get the impression she grew up on Ramen noodles and used shoes while her dad built up his clientele.

[lookeyloo]

1 minute ago, BitterApple said:

Definitely not the pool house. I think one of the parents comes from money. Not to say Dwain's business isn't successful, but Lauren sort of gives off an uppity air. I don't get the impression she grew up on Ramen noodles and used shoes while her dad built up his clientele.

Well then she is in for a rude awakening!  To me she seems like she is playing a part for the cameras.  maybe because she is new at the business.  Time will tell.  

[Temperance]

3 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Definitely not the pool house. I think one of the parents comes from money. Not to say Dwain's business isn't successful, but Lauren sort of gives off an uppity air. I don't get the impression she grew up on Ramen noodles and used shoes while her dad built up his clientele.

I don't get an "uppity" air from Lauren, but I could see it being true one of the parents came from money. They seem wealthier than I would expect from people who own a small farm and a lawn keeping business. Compare the Swansons to the Bates when they first were on 19 kids and counting. The Swansons seem somewhat better off while the Bates were struggling at that time. 

[3 is enough]

Real estate is pretty affordable in NW Arkansas.   It's possible that the Swansons had a more modest home in Georgia but their money went further in Arkansas.  

We moved from NE Pennsylvania to the Dallas area in 1996.  We were able to buy a much bigger, nicer house for roughly the same amount we paid for the PA home.  Then we moved to Denver and got less house for more money.  

As they say in real estate, location, location, location!

[jennblevins]

Some relatives-by-marriage of mine got pretty wealthy from running a pool cleaning business — I wouldn’t be surprised if it was possible to do so with a yard care business as long as they had the same sort of (well-off but hands-off) customers 

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, jennblevins said:

Some relatives-by-marriage of mine got pretty wealthy from running a pool cleaning business — I wouldn’t be surprised if it was possible to do so with a yard care business as long as they had the same sort of (well-off but hands-off) customers 

Same with tree services. Lots of money ? in that!

[EtheltoTillie]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Same with tree services. Lots of money ? in that!

My father ran a tree service. He did well but we were not wealthy. It was also very dangerous work. 

[becca3891]

On 8/12/2018 at 7:06 PM, Lunera said:

What I found strange was that they added "If God should bless us with children..." to their vows instead of the usual "We'll have as many as God blesses us with..."

 

On 8/12/2018 at 7:14 PM, DragonFaerie said:

Maybe they added that because they've discussed it in those 5 hour video chats and realized that 19 is waay too many kids and they'd rather go for the 8 or 9 level.  Wasn't it Josiah who ran out of them room when they announced J'chelle was pregnant with Josie?

 

On 8/13/2018 at 8:31 AM, leighdear said:

I think she'll send him to a Walmart a few towns over wearing a fake mustache, baseball cap & glasses to buy a case of condoms.  Pop out a couple of kids a couple of years down the line, then go back to living separate lives, gettin' some strange on the side when needed.  Easy enough. 

Totally disagree with you all on this. Jinger specifically did not include the vow to trust god with the size of their family in their wedding vows. Josiah and Lauren did. The "If god should bless us..." was just a nod to the fact that they do acknowledge fertility issues, not taking away from the bullet point, which is that they have drunk the no birth control Kool-Aid.

On 8/14/2018 at 7:56 AM, Ijustwantsomechips said:

Game recognizes game on this one.  Think about it: if you were a teenager boy and were maybe allowed to hold hands as of a month ago, but no front hugs, wouldn’t you let your girlfriend trim your beard and hair too? It’s unobstructed physical contact, she’s close, he’s close to her boobs, etc.  I think Si would agree to give ger a pedicure if he thought he could get away with it.  

I totally agree -- in my opinion, it's more intimate than hand holding. 

[zenme]

I don't think we pay too much for our yard to get cut, but what starts adding up for us is the plantings, sprinkler work, rakings (after the leaf drop), etc.  Our guy does practically everyone on our small street--not including our neighborhood. I would imagine Swanson hiring cheap labor too, so makes sense they'd have the McMansion. Plus, isn't he a minister of some sort?

[mythoughtis]

On 8/16/2018 at 4:35 AM, becca3891 said:

 

 

Totally disagree with you all on this. Jinger specifically did not include the vow to trust god with the size of their family in their wedding vows. Josiah and Lauren did. The "If god should bless us..." was just a nod to the fact that they do acknowledge fertility issues, not taking away from the bullet point, which is that they have drunk the no birth control Kool-Aid.

 

I think it’s just enough different that JB snd Michelle think they’ve drunk the Koolaid, while leaving an out clause in Josiah’s mind.  A person could always use birth control or family planning and say ‘ if God really wants to bless us with a child, he can get around birth control. If he doesn’t care one way or the other about giving us a child, then he’ll let the birth control work’

The Swanson’s may or may not  have seen thru it. 

If they had really drank the Koolaid, they’ve have used the standard ‘leave it up to the Lord’ verbiage. Because that covers fertility issues too. 

Edited August 17, 2018 by mythoughtis

[becca3891]

1 hour ago, mythoughtis said:

I think it’s just enough different that JB snd Michelle think they’ve drunk the Koolaid, while leaving an out clause in Josiah’s mind.  A person could always use birth control or family planning and say ‘ if God really wants to bless us with a child, he can get around birth control. If he doesn’t care one way or the other about giving us a child, then he’ll let the birth control work’

The Swanson’s may or may not  have seen thru it. 

If they had really drank the Koolaid, they’ve have used the standard ‘leave it up to the Lord’ verbiage. Because that covers fertility issues too. 

But Boob and Mechelle know about infertility, whether or not they had chosen that exact wording for their vows. We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. They may well come to the conclusion that they don't want an endless stream of kids, but I believe they are committed to it right now. Not that their vows are some kind of loophole.

[Caracoa1]

The Duggar boys look so dirty and unshaven... does Boob make them all share the same disposable razor...after all...as King...he gets his own private electric razor.

[PradaKitty]

The Dugger boys are trying to adapt the scruffy beard look the Jeremy , Derrick and Ben have had at times. Unfortunately, it’s not working for them and they just look slovenly.

[kokapetl]

1 hour ago, PradaKitty said:

The Dugger boys are trying to adapt the scruffy beard look the Jeremy , Derrick and Ben have had at times. Unfortunately, it’s not working for them and they just look slovenly.

They are slovenly. Jeremy probably spends more time and effort on his appearance than the Duggar boys combined. I think Jeremy has a beard because he likes the look. I have a beard because shaving is a hastle, and I bet the Duggar boys have beards for that reason. 

[madpsych78]

4 hours ago, kokapetl said:

They are slovenly. Jeremy probably spends more time and effort on his appearance than the Duggar boys combined. I think Jeremy has a beard because he likes the look. I have a beard because shaving is a hastle, and I bet the Duggar boys have beards for that reason. 

Jeremy is one of the few males on this show who actually looks better with a beard than without. He might be able to pull off a goatee as well. 

[xwordfanatik]

JD actually looked less dorky with some facial hair, IMO.  Josiah just looks more dorky with, like I would imagine Boob and Smuggar would.

When Jeremy shaved his facial hair, he looked awful to me.  Much better with.  

[farmgal4]

12 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

JD actually looked less dorky with some facial hair, IMO.  Josiah just looks more dorky with, like I would imagine Boob and Smuggar would.

When Jeremy shaved his facial hair, he looked awful to me.  Much better with.  

I predict that poor Josiah will be completely bald on top in 5 years or less.

[louannems]

I was the awful person who described Jason as a gnome.  Last night proved my point.

[xwordfanatik]

2 hours ago, louannems said:

I was the awful person who described Jason as a gnome.  Last night proved my point.

Jason actually is kind of cute, in a gnomish way.  Jason looks better to me when he's sitting next to Josiah, who I find completely unappealing.

[MyPeopleAreNordic]

On 8/6/2018 at 12:12 PM, Christina87 said:

And premarital kissing! If you haven't watched that cringeworthy gazebo scene where they're all over each other and then suddenly start singing, while still fooling around, with a class of sixth graders, you haven't lived!

at least he did propose right after that. Maybe he realized that if he kissed someone, he had to marry her! That scene has always bothered me, though, because the Baroness probably hadn't even finished packing her bags and left the property yet. It's like...daaaaamn, Captain! Can't you wait a day?!

#TeamBaroness all the way. The baroness made off the best in that story and I knew that even as a little kid.  She lost the hot captain, but she also lost having to be a mom to a passel of kids and got to keep her independence, style, and her money for herself. I wish one of the Duggar girls would take a hint from the glamorous baroness who was planning to send the VonTrapp kids to boarding school and realize there's more to life than babies and marriage. Yeah, maybe the baroness was sad for like a minute, but then she just left in beautiful, expensive dress and jewelry and went home to her own house where she could do what she wanted without having to worry about the needs and wishes of a headship and seven kids. The baroness dodged the bullet and I could see that when I watched The Sound of Music as a child.

Also, young Christopher Plummer as Capt. VonTrapp just might be the hottest man ever in a musical film. (But the baroness still didn't need him.)

[PradaKitty]

Ah.. but then the baroness had to live through the war and post war Austria. Life may not have been so glamorous... 

[Ohiopirate02]

59 minutes ago, MyPeopleAreNordic said:

#TeamBaroness all the way. The baroness made off the best in that story and I knew that even as a little kid.  She lost the hot captain, but she also lost having to be a mom to a passel of kids and got to keep her independence, style, and her money for herself. I wish one of the Duggar girls would take a hint from the glamorous baroness who was planning to send the VonTrapp kids to boarding school and realize there's more to life than babies and marriage. Yeah, maybe the baroness was sad for like a minute, but then she just left in beautiful, expensive dress and jewelry and went home to her own house where she could do what she wanted without having to worry about the needs and wishes of a headship and seven kids. The baroness dodged the bullet and I could see that when I watched The Sound of Music as a child.

Also, young Christopher Plummer as Capt. VonTrapp just might be the hottest man ever in a musical film. (But the baroness still didn't need him.)

Yes movie Baroness was everything, musical version Baroness, not so much.  One song cut from the movie was her and Max telling the Captain that the Nazis were on their way and there was no way to stop it.  While Elsa was not a Nazi Supporter, she did not see a lot wrong with the regime.  Which is why my middle school production left this song out, and I got to play the Baroness.  If it had stayed a singing role, I would not have made my stage debut.

[fonfereksglen]

1 hour ago, MyPeopleAreNordic said:

#TeamBaroness all the way. The baroness made off the best in that story and I knew that even as a little kid.  She lost the hot captain, but she also lost having to be a mom to a passel of kids and got to keep her independence, style, and her money for herself. I wish one of the Duggar girls would take a hint from the glamorous baroness who was planning to send the VonTrapp kids to boarding school and realize there's more to life than babies and marriage. Yeah, maybe the baroness was sad for like a minute, but then she just left in beautiful, expensive dress and jewelry and went home to her own house where she could do what she wanted without having to worry about the needs and wishes of a headship and seven kids. The baroness dodged the bullet and I could see that when I watched The Sound of Music as a child.

Also, young Christopher Plummer as Capt. VonTrapp just might be the hottest man ever in a musical film. (But the baroness still didn't need him.)

Since we are way off topic .... give me Howard Keel in Kiss Me Kate.  And Keel does his own singing.  

[Jynnan tonnix]

On 8/21/2018 at 2:51 PM, fonfereksglen said:

Since we are way off topic .... give me Howard Keel in Kiss Me Kate.  And Keel does his own singing.  

Yul Brynner in The King and I

And an honorable mention for Gene Kelly in any number of bits and pieces...

Edited August 23, 2018 by Jynnan tonnix

[irisheyes]

It’s not a musical, but Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch makes my heart go pitter-patter. 

Wandering back into Topicville, how many weeks have they been married?  Isn’t time for a pregnancy announcement?