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Bontragers and Bowers Engaged


Bazinga

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8 hours ago, BirdgirlH said:

There's a new blog up 'from Allison'. She mentions tough decisions she had to make in May, and the conspirator in me wonders if that's to do with a boy. A la Jessica Boyers failed courtship. I have nothing to base this on though, just a feeling. But I really wonder how it's all going to go now with the family, all the older boys dropping out/marrying. Will the family continue touring? Will the daughters find the godly husbands they've been waiting for so long??

It makes me wonder if the 2 Bowers daughters will go with them. 

ETA: just sometimes. Not all the time. 

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There's a comment under the Mitchell - Bryn announcement saying they heard something more was to come, but they wouldn't say what ... it really does sound like one of the girls might have something in the works, as well

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So it turns out Charlie's only 18 (the Bowers published their kids' ages): 

Carolina - 22
Cassidy - 19
Charles - 18
Carver - 15
Christian - 13
Crockett - 11
Chapman - 9

Campbell - 8

Crosby - 6

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  • 2 weeks later...

How will Mrs. Bowers function without her 2 sistermoms to raise/educate their younger siblings?

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The Bontrager daughters will serve their community and help with babysitting and homeschooling. It's their way of supporting their brothers quivers.

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20 hours ago, HereticHick said:

How will Mrs. Bowers function without her 2 sistermoms to raise/educate their younger siblings?

Maybe Charles and Carver will help with homeschooling. Or like PP said, the single Bontrager girls can help them out since they seem to have nothing else to do.

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20 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Or like PP said, the single Bontrager girls can help them out since they seem to have nothing else to do.

I don't believe that is accurate. As far as I can tell, Chelsy and Allison Bontrager, as in many farm families, work very hard. Chelsy handles the scheduling of their tours (you can see the current tour schedule on their blog--its exhausting), shipping of CDs, etc. Its a lot of marketing work. Alison works at the family hotel. They and other siblings do deep cleaning & maintenance work at the hotel. They are both fundy females who actually know how to sew--they alter thrift shop finds, sew costumes for their church's various shows, and help with weddings. They sometimes perform or do makeup at friend's/family weddings. The family has a big garden, and they do lots of canning. Chelsy sometimes does photo sessions for friends. On top of all that, there is daily music practice  and helping younger siblings with their schoolwork.  A Duggarling wouldn't last a day following the Bontrager schedule.

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A Duggarling wouldn't last a day following the Bontrager schedule.


Ha, yes! Duggarlings wouldn't know what hit them in the Bontrager household. I agree it sounds like they work very hard. They'll also have to keep up their music practice in between, and of course Chelsy and Alison also do lots of household chores like cooking family meals or doing all the laundry etc.

I found a Vlog where Chelsy and a friend answer how their lives as SAHD are, you can find it by googling Chelsy Renee Hannah Elise vlog (it's on her friend Hannah's website). I just wanted to see how Chelsy talked, her demeanour etc. Very interesting! I just, again, think how far she could have gone in the outside world, with her energetic personality.
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@HereticHick, I totally agree with you - they are hard workers that have a full schedule. But there are many many blog posts in which the family (not only the older girls, I have to admit that) is seen babysitting for friends or their pastor and so I could totally see this happening with the younger Brower kids, who could, depending on their age, also learn a lot while being with the Bontragers at their farm or in the hotel.

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I noticed that the Bowers have also participated in the National Bible Bee, according to their blog--I wonder if any of them have been good enough to win cash prizes. When I google "Bible Bee" and "Bowers" nothing comes up.

 

I see Denver Bontrager (who is 18 or 19 I think) was a contestant on the Bible Bee TV game show recently: https://www.christiancinema.com/news/national-bible-bee-game-show-week-one-recap

I wonder if he won anything (or was paid, other than expenses)

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3 hours ago, HereticHick said:

I noticed that the Bowers have also participated in the National Bible Bee, according to their blog--I wonder if any of them have been good enough to win cash prizes. When I google "Bible Bee" and "Bowers" nothing comes up.

 

I see Denver Bontrager (who is 18 or 19 I think) was a contestant on the Bible Bee TV game show recently: https://www.christiancinema.com/news/national-bible-bee-game-show-week-one-recap

I wonder if he won anything (or was paid, other than expenses)

Taylor won last year. $50,000 or 100,000 I believe. 

Edited because I said Denver not Taylor.

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Just a heads up, there are heaps of new blog posts up on the Bontrager family blog, and both Alison (fromAllison.com) and Chelsy (ChelsyRenee.com) have new posts on singleness when your (younger) brothers get married first!

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8 hours ago, BirdgirlH said:

Just a heads up, there are heaps of new blog posts up on the Bontrager family blog, and both Alison (fromAllison.com) and Chelsy (ChelsyRenee.com) have new posts on singleness when your (younger) brothers get married first!

I thought this passage in Chelsy's latest post was interesting. To me it implies that Bontragers allow courting couples to be alone in rooms without chaperones:

 

"I vividly remember one October Sunday, when all three girlfriends were over for dinner. I texted Allison pictures and said something like this: "Sister of mine...from my place at the kitchen window, washing dishes, I can faintly hear Mitchell + Bryn chatting in the schoolroom, I see Josh and Cassidy swinging and talking on the swings in the front yard, and Carson and Carolina are deep in conversation, still at the dinner table, the only ones left there."

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I'm also intrigued by the "House update" blog post: http://bontragersingers.blogspot.com/2017/06/house-update.html  about the house being built for Carson and Lina. 

"Note: some of y'all have been asking about the details for the house. My parents have been wanting to build something a little smaller than our current house, at a beautiful location in the woods, for them to live in someday. (for those of you who have been to our campsite, this house is located right on the outskirts of that) With there still being quite a few of us at home, my parents aren't ready to downsize yet, but decided to go ahead and build now, and rent the house to one of their sons. Carson was the first one engaged and he also will be working on the farm the most (with his mechanic business location there) so he is the one who will be living in the house for at least the first few years."

[also, in a reply to a post comment, they explain that this is some land the Bontragers own that is near, but not attached to, their main farm]

So-- we've got 3 brothers who get engaged within a few weeks of each other. Brother #1 gets a house built.  Wither brothers #2 and #3?? Where will they live, and how will they be employed?

 

Also, the elder Bontragers are only 49-50 years old. They are building what looks to be a 3 bedroom house, max. Clearly they expect their remaining 7 kids to get married and move out ASAP!!

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If the Bontragers are sticking with the Mennonite Tradition, I believe you are allowed to be alone with the person you're courting. The fact that the couples were spread around the family homestead without any eyes on them isn't surprising. I'm not saying the Bontragers would allow them to be alone in a bedroom or anything. I just don't think most people are psycho like the Duggars about eyes always being on the couple. 

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2 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

If the Bontragers are sticking with the Mennonite Tradition, I believe you are allowed to be alone with the person you're courting. The fact that the couples were spread around the family homestead without any eyes on them isn't surprising. I'm not saying the Bontragers would allow them to be alone in a bedroom or anything. I just don't think most people are psycho like the Duggars about eyes always being on the couple. 

I live in northeastern Pennsylvania around a lot of Amish and Mennonite families and you are absolutely correct.  These families expect their adult children (or almost adult) to act like.....you guessed it.....ADULTS!  Who are not in need of constant eyes.  They rightfully assume that they raised their children to not need babysitters.

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7 minutes ago, vspielman said:

I live in northeastern Pennsylvania around a lot of Amish and Mennonite families and you are absolutely correct.  These families expect their adult children (or almost adult) to act like.....you guessed it.....ADULTS!  Who are not in need of constant eyes.  They rightfully assume that they raised their children to not need babysitters.

I was raised near Amish in a different state ;)

The Sunday night buggy rides that are common amongst young Amish couples would be completely scandalous in Duggar World!

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Chelsy just explained to a question on her blog post that the double Bower-Bontrager wedding and the single Leppert (sp?)-Bontrager wedding will be held on back to back days.  Kalona, Iowa will be like fundy Woodstock that weekend!  Everyone will be there! 

 

"No, not a triple wedding. That would be insane. =)
Carson + Josh are marrying sisters, so the four of them decided they would rather get married all together in a double wedding, rather than several months apart, because more of their friends/family will be able to come to both, this way.
And Mitchell + his girlfriend decided that since the other boys are getting married on a Friday, they will get married Saturday, the following day, so that most of the guests can stay over and attend all the weddings. It will be a little crazy, but the boys have been planning/discussing it for quite a while already, and because they all want big weddings and as many friends/family as possible to be able to attend, this will make it a lot easier on all the out-of-state guests. 
Hence, three weddings in 24hours. =) =)"

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4 hours ago, HereticHick said:

Chelsy just explained to a question on her blog post that the double Bower-Bontrager wedding and the single Leppert (sp?)-Bontrager wedding will be held on back to back days.  Kalona, Iowa will be like fundy Woodstock that weekend!  Everyone will be there! 

It makes sense to do the Friday/Saturday that way, the Deckers did that: Andrew Morton & Kennedy Decker on September 26, 2015 and Dakota Decker & April Dawkins on September 27.

But still.................:pink-shock:

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I feel bad for Brynn. I just feel like she's going to get the short end of the stick since she's the only person out of the 6 that is not a Boner. 

I just get this feeling that the Bowers and Bontrager families are in a family courtship stage. You know how when you first fall in love with someone you are looking through rose colored glasses? I kind of feel like the Boners are in that point in their family relationship. Families can kind of be "in love" with eachother. I think they might have a lot in common but I am wondering when they will eventually take the rose colored glasses off. We saw what happened with the Smortons. 

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11 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I feel bad for Brynn. I just feel like she's going to get the short end of the stick since she's the only person out of the 6 that is not a Boner. 

I just get this feeling that the Bowers and Bontrager families are in a family courtship stage. You know how when you first fall in love with someone you are looking through rose colored glasses? I kind of feel like the Boners are in that point in their family relationship. Families can kind of be "in love" with eachother. I think they might have a lot in common but I am wondering when they will eventually take the rose colored glasses off. We saw what happened with the Smortons. 

Yeah, I agree to all this.  Do think that they will just use the same sanctuary decorations (flowers, etc.)  for both weddings?  I have a feeling that both receptions might be in the Bontrager's big barn--where they have their Labor Day shindig? WIll they recycle the reception decorations? I mean, this will be super economical and I respect that (death to the wedding-industrial complex!!!) but like you said, poor Brynn.

I also think that they all might get a little "short-changed" in the wedding & shower gifts department. Some friends and family might find it difficult to shell out for 3  nice wedding gifts at the same time.

So, if you were a Bontrager cousin or good friend--would you wear the same outfit to both weddings?  I'm sure lots of the guys might (and hope they don't spill anything on their shirt at the first reception!) And I guess there is no time for a wedding party rehearsal dinner in all this.

 

PS What if this is the same weekend as Joe Duggar's wedding? That would be tragic!

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