Duggars Without Pity

August 13, 2012, 9:30 PM, Papa Bill's Farm

The Bates head to the farm! Gil and Kelly Jo load up the family bus and head to see Gil's parents. We'll meet Papa Bill and Mama Jane and see what they think of having 19 grandchildren!

The family heads to see Gil's parents; meet Papa Bill and Mama Jane.

30 minutes

August 13, 2012,9:00 PM Bates Episode One Love Times 21

TLC has their web page up.

Gil and Kelly Jo just welcomed their 19th child into the world, but some complications send little Jeb back to the NICU. Back home, the rest of family pulls together to create a special homecoming as they plan to celebrate Valentine's Day Bate's Style.

Gil and Kelly Jo welcome baby number 19; celebrating Valentine's Day Bates' style.

30 minutes

Michelle on How to Embarrass Teens

Why would she want to do that?

Josh came by his bad driving habits honestly? And what is it with the Duggars and car horns?

Michelle on "The Birds and the Bees"

Link to her discussion.

Reith-Bates Courtship Ended

Kelly has posted to end the speculation or our near certainty that the courtship ended.

Many have asked for an update on Zach and Sarah’s courtship that was announced last June. After prayer, Sarah decided to end the courtship several months after it began. We have not posted any updates or answered any comments about it until now, in order to give both Zach and Sarah time to heal.

Any parting of a relationship causes pain, and although we would love to avoid heartaches in life, it is through these very trying times that character and faith often grow. For Zach, it has been a time of learning, thinking, and drawing closer to Christ.

Zach is grateful that he and Sarah hadn’t chosen the traditional path of dating, since it protected them from wrong goals and further pain. The three main goals of their courtship were 1. to maintain purity, 2. to discover if they were the right life partners for marriage, and 3. to honor God first and foremost in their relationship. In that sense, their courtship was a success, as they achieved each of these goals.

Although the relationship did not progress into engagement and marriage, their time together was focused on strengthening their walk with the Lord, and therefore ended in friendship. Zach is grateful for having developed a relationship with Sarah and her family. He has learned valuable insights from the example of their family harmony and love for God. In spite of the pain of parting, he is full of memories and experiences that have encouraged him, strengthened him, challenged him, and humbled him. He can appreciate the growth that has taken place in his life as a result of these circumstances.

Thank each of you for your prayers and thoughtfulness!

TLC DELIVERS MORE FAMILY FUN THIS SUMMER WITH NEW SERIES UNITED BATES OF AMERICA

(Los Angeles, CA) On Monday, August 13 at 9 PM ET/PT, TLC welcomes another supersized family in UNITED BATES OF AMERICA, an all-new series following Gil & Kelly Jo Bates and their large brood of 19 children, ranging in age from six-months to 23-years old. Audiences will recognize the Bates family from several episodes of the hit series 19 KIDS AND COUNTING, as they are close friends of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's clan. Each thirty-minute episode of UNITED BATES OF AMERICA explores a new adventure with the Bates family as they manage everyday life in the hills of Tennessee-and the inevitable chaos that ensues with 10 girls and 9 boys running around under one roof.

This eight-part series begins with newborn Jeb's emotional homecoming from the hospital-and the unavoidable adjustment of adding another child to the family-along with the children planning for their much-anticipated annual Valentine's "I Love You Day" gift exchange soiree. Over the course of the season, Kelly Jo and Gil share their love of music and family values-from homeschooling their children, to goofing off while building chicken coops and whitewater rafting. Second oldest daughter Erin, heads off to college for the first time to continue her education beyond her many years of homeschooling and the gang goes to hang out with the Duggars at the biggest social event of the year-the annual ATI homeschooling conference.

While the Bates family makes the country life look easy, they aren't without their struggles. See how the family copes with the older boys working at Gil's dangerous tree-cutting business, and when Kelly Jo is hospitalized, can the family function smoothly without her?

MEET ALL 21 BATES:

Gil: 47-years-old, father and owns the family tree excavation business.

Kelly Jo: 45-years-old, mother and homemaker extraordinaire who loves to cook.

Zach: 23-years-old, oldest brother and recently elected youngest county commissioner in Tennessee.

Michaella: 22-years-old, oldest sister, licensed EMT and nanny.

Erin: 21-years-old, first child to attend college, studying music and teaches piano.

Lawson: 19-years-old, "official" family shopper, runs his own lawn-mowing business.

Nathan: 18-years-old and dad's right hand man in the tree-cutting business.

Alyssa:17-years-old and spends time on mission trips most recently in Peru with Erin and Tori.

Tori: 16-years-old and plays violin alongside Erin in performances.

Trace: 16-years-old, ready to play ping-pong, football or any other sport with his brothers.

Carlin: 14-years-old, wows the family with her singing as she does laundry and irons.

Josie: 12-years-old and loves to read mystery novels.

Katie: 11-years-old, Kelly Jo's helper with the little kids either brushing hair or tying shoelaces.

Jackson: 10-years-old and causing mischief with his two younger brothers.

Warden: 9-years-old and always willing to lend a hand to his older sisters no matter the task.

Isaiah: 7-years-old and a great future catch with the way he compliments all his sisters.

Addallee: 6-years-old and loves spending time jumping on their trampolines.

Ellie: 5-years-old and likes to swing on their outdoor homemade swings.

Callie: 2-years-old, lights up the room with her smile and laugh.

Judson: 20-months-old and ready to hand over the spotlight to Jeb.

Jeb: 6-months-old and a little trooper despite his medical complications.

Free Discussion July 2012

Please use this for Duggar sightings, speculation, or general discussion. Note that this is Duggar discussion not other families, TV shows, politics, religion, or personal stories. If the comment is more about you or some other issue than the actual Duggars, please rethink before sending. Thank you!

TLC Has Up a Bates Family Page

TLC is gearing up for the show. They have a few videos up.

TLC website.
The one I've watched says at 45 Kelly is considered high risk. Ya think? Such edifying news they give us. Video

Sneak Peak New

Free Discussion June 2012

Trouble Reports of Seeing Comments

A couple of comments have come in about not seeing new comments. I'm not having an issue when I look at the blog. Perhaps it's because Free Discussion has gone over 200 comments? If that's it, readers need to click on the newest tab to see those after 200. I'll leave comments open here to see if that resolves the problem.

Free Discussion May 2012

Michelle Duggar on Expectations

From TLC's Parentables:

One of the things Jim Bob and I realized early on in our relationship was the idea that we have expectations that we sometimes can't live up to. We all have ideals about what we expect from our loved ones, and this is something Brother Elmore, who is our preacher and pastor at our church has talked a lot about.

As a mom I could have an expectation of a clean house (or a semi-clean house) so I can at least walk down the hallway without tripping over toys, or the expectation of a good night's sleep of eight hours. Whatever those expectations are, our pastor has explained, may be way up here in the clouds, but our actual reality may be down here with what we're dealing with, and everything in between is frustration. And you can find yourself getting very angry and put out about the way your life is because you've got all these expectations of how you thought it was going to be, or what it was like when you were growing up.

When we realized early in our marriage that we needed to give those expectations to God -- we needed to yield our right to a clean house, to a full night's sleep, to whatever it is that we think we deserve or we should have -- and say, "Lord, I'm not going to have these higher expectations that may not ever actually get reached. I'm going to give this to you, Lord, and if you allow anything to happen, that's good. I'm going to praise you, and I'm going to be grateful and yield my expectations to you."
And here's what I think happens if we don't do this and we don't learn this lesson in our relationships: We're going to withhold praise, and we' won't be able to praise our spouse or our children because they're never going to meet our expectations. We're always going to have this attitude toward them that "You're irritating me. You are a frustration in my life. You are causing grief." So we need to be able to set aside ourselves and our expectations.

And yielding our expectations doesn't mean we don't need to make goals. Setting goals and making plans is different. But giving up expectations gives us a grateful spirit -- we're not discontent with where we are in life. And we're not always grumbling and complaining about the way things should be -- it really does create a spirit of gratefulness in our heart.

Anna Pregnant Again?

We might as well join the internet speculation. Baby bump?

April 2012

On the Campaign Trail

Article here.

Duggars on Today Show April 2012

I still haven't seen a listing showing them, but in case an announcement is made or they appear, here's the spot!

Supposedly it's this coming Monday, April 9, and it's mainly a pre-filmed segment of a staffer visiting them with film crew to see how they get ready in the morning.

Free Discussion April 2012

Interesting Discussion Point

While looking for something else this morning, I found this gem. It doesn't exactly match my belief system but I thought since it directly contradicts Gothard it would be interesting. It's part of a headcovering discussion, so why if Gothard doesn't allow women to wear pants (Old Covenant) does he not require head coverings which are mentioned in the New Testament?

We, as Christians, are no longer under the Old Covenant Law, the Law of Moses, but under the commands that Jesus gives us in the New Testament. However, this is one place where these denominational groups go back to the Old Covenant Law and require people to follow the Old Covenant Law.This myth is based on Deuteronomy 22:5 and an incorrect translation that women are not to wear men's clothing. The word "man" in that verse is the Hebrew word for warrior. The Hebrew word translated "pertaineth" actually means "apparatus, armor, artillery, etc". The verse is prohibiting women from being part of the army and prohibiting a warrior from disguising himself as a woman.
It is amazing that the myth that Christian men and women should wear distinctive clothing styles has persisted because in Bible times it was not practiced that way. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament times, the men and the women wore very similar clothing styles. Even if this command in the Old Testament was prohibiting women from wearing men's clothing, it would no longer apply to us as Christians because we are no longer under the Old Testament Law. That command in Deuteronomy 22:5 was not restated in the New Testament. In the New Testament, neither Christian men nor Christian women are to be part of the military.

New Visitors

We have some new readers! Welcome. We have some rules here. What a shock, I know!

First, please select a screen name and try to use the same one consistently so people can get to know you. Also we don't address individuals much less call someone out, try to engage in debate with a person, or incite a fight. If there is a comment you specifically want to address, quote the comment not the person's name. Finally, we use close to standard English. I'll let a comment through that is missing one or two capitol letters or may correct them, but comments with multiple errors, shortened names for people (JB for Jim Bob), or especially deliberately written in all lower case will be destined for the trash bin.

There is a reason for the no addressing individuals. I've been on some boards and I visit one now, where this is allowed and it always ends in nastiness with some individuals and that makes my skin crawl. I really don't like it when a reader or readers try to set people up to debate with them, are deliberately obtuse, or are crass just to rise out of people.

Tuesday, March 27, A Duggar Loss

After announcing they're expecting baby number 20, Michelle and Jim Bob go to what should be an exciting ultrasound appointment to learn the baby's gender. But when a heartbeat can't be detected, how will the family deal with this devastating tragedy?

60 minutes

Tuesday, March 20, Boys Day Out

It's a fun day out for the Duggar boys! Watch as Jim Bob takes his sons to Fort Rock, AR for a father/son campout. But before they leave, Joy Anna has a special treat in store for the boys -- that is, if she doesn't burn them first.

30 minutes

Tuesday, March 13, Bates Family Special, 10:00 PM

The Bates Family (wt) introduces us to an amazing family of 21, living a simple, music-filled life in the picturesque hills of Tennessee. In this special, we meet the family, learn of their business, and witness the joy as they welcome their 19th child.
60 minutes

Bates family on Good Morning America

The Bates Family Series

Just announced this week.
Bates family statement on their blog.
Promo on ET website.
We'll put up posts for their episodes here as there are so many similarities that a new blog would be redundant.

Tuesday, March 13, Swerve & Serve

The Duggars are on the road again and in more ways than one! Watch as they head to Little Rock where they meet up with old friends and volunteer at a fish fry. And Michelle helps celebrate Joy Anna's 14th birthday with her first driving lesson.

30 minutes

Excellent example of "boards and boards" and why it isn't allowed.

Yes. And once my daughter said she wanted to drive a bulldozer for a living, but I haven't held her to that. How many kids say they want to be president, etc, and don't follow through with it?? Those poor Duggars. Apparently the audience must hang on to and remember every.single.word that they say and beat it into the ground years and years and years later. I bet John David wishes he'd never opened his mouth. I swear, if I hear "ONE time, John David said he wants to be a pilot," or "ONE time Josh said he wants to be a lawyer" one more time on this board I may blow a gasket! Because God knows, all of the posters have ALWAYS done every single thing they declared they wanted to do when they were 15 years old. GEEsh!

By Wash, rinse, and repeat, and repeat and repeat and repeat on Tuesday, March 6, Duggars in Space at 6:03 PM

Tuesday, March 6, Duggars in Space

The Duggars are out of this world! Jim Bob and the kids are going where no Duggars have gone before... Space Camp. The family tests their strength and skills in several astronaut training events, including a multi-axis trainer and flight simulator.

30 minutes